Most investors base their decisions only on their life experience, which causes them to overlook powerful forces that repeatedly reshape financial systems, economies, and securities markets. ”Investing in U.S. Financial History”
explains these forces by recounting the key events that shaped the financial history of the United States from 1790 to the present day. The work is the product of a nearly four-year research effort, and it stands alone as the first book to recount the entirety of U.S. financial history in a single volume.
The book was originally intended for investment professionals, but it quickly expanded to address a much broader audience. It has also crossed the bridge into academia. Investing in U.S. Financial History is already included in the syllabi for spring semester at several U.S. business schools. It also can provide value to trustees of institutional investment plans and individuals. In fact, one of the most important messages in the book is that investors overcomplicate their portfolios, which creates unnecessary fees. By streamlining their allocation and using low-cost index funds, individuals and institutions can free themselves from these non-value added fees.
I wrote this book because I learned from self-study that understanding financial history is the best way for people to place the present into context and envision potential future scenarios. This was and always will be the mission that inspired me to write it.