Foreword

Few people realise that state pensions are a giant Ponzi scheme on which millions rely. To be secure in the future everybody needs to save; and if their savings are to be meaningful, each saver needs a cogent investment strategy.

The subtitle of Peter Stanyer’s book reveals his views on investment strategy. Strategy must be supported by an understanding of how markets move, how risk should be judged and how investors behave. In this extensively revised second edition, Peter elegantly surveys the entire field of investment, with valuable advice for individuals and investment professionals.

Global markets recently experienced one of the worst downturns ever. To better understand markets, long-term financial history has become a hot topic among investors and their advisers. It was therefore with great pleasure, and some pride, that I read through this volume. Peter interrogates the long-term, international dataset that my colleagues and I have compiled, and allows the past record of financial markets to enlighten us about recent events and to underpin informed judgments about the future.