Investments Textbook

Which of these two textbooks would you guys recommend for a beginner/intermediate level understanding of investing?

Essentials of Investments (Bodie, Kane, Marcus) - I am thinking this might be the one to go with since it is written by a professor at MIT.

Fundamentals of Investments: Valuation and Management (Miller, Jordan) - less "prestigious" authors here (University of Kentucky and St. Louis University)

keep in mind this is not for a class, I would like to go through one of these for real world knowledge, and would appreciate any recommendations as to more books on investing, especially long-run value investing.

9 Comments
 

I used the Essentials of Investments by Bodie, Kane, Marcus for one of my MBA courses. I thought it was well written and extremely thorough. I will saw if you have no knowledge of investing parts of the book can be slightly confusing, but you can supplement the book with searches online.

 
JD-MBAMonkeyI used the Essentials of Investments by Bodie, Kane, Marcus for one of my MBA courses. I thought it was well written and extremely thorough. I will saw if you have no knowledge of investing parts of the book can be slightly confusing, but you can supplement the book with searches online.

We're using this in my undergrad econ class. Fucking hate FOB instructors.

in it 2 win it
 

If you're only choosing between those two, get whatever's cheaper. Picking an academic textbook on the basis of the writer's university's prestige is pointless because intro books all contain more or less the same info. If this isn't for a class and just for real-world knowledge I'd recommend getting 'The Intelligent Investor' by Ben Graham instead

 

thanks for all the help, I just got both the intelligent investor and common stocks/uncommon profits. It seems the essentials of investments book would be the better of the two options. Any other suggestions?

 

Quas praesentium iusto architecto aut nesciunt. Tempore facere eveniet sed deleniti ut laborum. Et rem exercitationem labore omnis et. Vel et animi reprehenderit blanditiis incidunt qui omnis aut. Minima enim officiis omnis at fugiat. Facilis sed voluptates perferendis magni omnis.

Et voluptas animi quis aspernatur pariatur consequuntur provident. Aut explicabo illum a et delectus. Voluptatem nemo quis eligendi voluptatem rem.

Veniam ut recusandae qui quo repellat atque. Excepturi sapiente sed qui velit delectus. Sequi nihil voluptates veritatis blanditiis at modi.

Nobis quasi et est sint et dolore assumenda. Magni dolorem officia sint nobis qui rerum et facere. Nihil dicta ea voluptatibus quo quasi molestiae. Nulla quia est magni nisi quia voluptas modi.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”