What Are the Best Books to Learn About Global Investing?

There are thousands of different books about investing, including timeless classics like The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham and A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel. While the concepts from these books apply to any market around the world, there are many topics that are unique to international investment, such as macroeconomic indicators, global asset allocations, and currency risks and effects.

These are some of the best books to learn about international investing:

A History of the Global Stock Market: From Ancient Rome to Silicon Valley

They say that history repeats itself—and that’s especially true in financial markets. B. Mark Smith’s A History of the Global Stock Market provides an in-depth review of past financial crises and the evolution of global markets over time. International investors may want to pick up the book to understand where we’ve come in order to better predict where we’re headed. The book also covers recent trends, like globalization and technology.

The Language of Global Finance: Stocks, Bonds, and Investments

The financial industry is known for its complex terminology that only gets worse when expanded to include global markets. Michael J Defosse’s The Language of Global Finance helps decipher these terms with over 1,400 terms, phrases, and acronyms related to stocks, bonds, and other investments around the world. International investors may want to keep it as a desk reference when they come across an unfamiliar term.

Global Investing: The Professional’s Guide to the World Capital Markets

There’s a lot involved in international investing, ranging from currency effects to asset allocations. Roger Ibbotson and Gary Brinson’s Global Investing discusses topics ranging from asset allocation to foreign exchange rates while diving into equities, fixed income, real estate, venture capital, and commodities. While the book was written in the early 1990s, nearly all of the material still applies to today’s markets.

Applied Financial Macroeconomics and Investment Strategy: A Practitioner’s Guide to Tactical Asset Allocation

Most global investors make extensive use of macroeconomics. Robert T. McGee’s Applied Financial Macroeconomics and Investment Strategy is a great resource for understanding these topics. While there is a lot of noise in macroeconomic indicators, McGee helps separate the ‘economic wheat from the chaff’ and provide investors with clearer insights, leveraging his experience as Director of Macro Strategy & Research at U.S. Trust, Bank of America.

Global Macro Trading: Profiting in a New World Economy

Global macro traders try to capitalize on global trends rather than individual securities. Greg Gliner’s Global Macro Trading provides a down-to-earth guide for these traders. With experience at some of the world’s largest hedge funds, Mr. Gliner provides insights into portfolio construction, risk management, biases, and essentials to query building with a focus on equities, currencies, fixed income, and commodities.

Step by Step Emerging Markets Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Investments in Emerging Markets Stocks

Emerging markets are the fastest growing opportunities in the world. Joseph Hogue’s Step by Step Emerging Markets Investing is a relatively short read at just around 60 pages, but it provides in-depth information into emerging markets investing, including reviews of the best and worst countries and strategies for mitigating the higher risk associated with these countries. Global investors interested in these markets may want to consider the book.

Investing in Frontier Markets: Opportunity, Risk and Role in an Investment Portfolio

Frontier markets represent the up-and-coming markets that could become the next big emerging markets. Gavin Graham, Al Emid, and David Feather’s Investing in Frontier Markets provides a comprehensive guide to these exciting markets. You’ll learn about the major frontier market regions, how to manage risk and volatility, and where to find reliable information before investing in these markets.

The Power of Impact Investing: Putting Markets to Work for Profit and Global Good

Impact investing has become increasingly popular as a way to balance profit with social good, particularly in emerging markets around the world. Judith Rodin and Margot Brandenburg’s The Power of Impact Investing explores these benefits, looks at how to find opportunities, and finally, look at how to get started building impact investments into your portfolio. If you’re interested in supporting social good in your portfolio, you may want to check out the book.

The Cross-Border Family Wealth Guide: Advice on Taxes, Investing, Real Estate, and Retirement for Global Families in the U.S. and Abroad

International investors face unique challenges to reaching their financial goals, including complex tax situations and retirement implications. Andrew Fisher and Tim Kochis’ The Cross-Border Family Wealth Guide provides insights into these topics to help families that are living abroad or foreign families living in the U.S. make sense of their situation, while also providing insights into international investment taxes and laws.

Getting Started International Investing

The best way to get started with international investing is to develop a firm understanding of fundamental and technical analysis and supplement that information with the concepts from books focused on international investing, such as those mentioned in this article. There are also a growing number of online resources designed to simplify international investing and make it easier than ever to capitalize on opportunities around the world.