Economist on Wall Street (Peter L. Bernstein's Finance Classics): Notes on the Sanctity of Gold, the Value of Money, the Security of Investments, and Other Delusions

by Peter L. Bernstein

One of the foremost financial writers of his generation, Peter Bernstein has the unique ability to synthesize intellectual history and economics with the theory and practice of investment management. Now, with classic titles such as Economist on Wall Street, A Primer on Money, Banking, and Gold, and The Price of Prosperity—which have forewords by financial luminaries and new introductions by the author—you can enjoy some of the best of Bernstein in his earlier Wall Street days. Peter Bernstein's Economist on Wall Street is a collection of writings from 1955 to 1970. The book is especially interesting because so many of Bernstein's observations reflect the most important issues of the present—the outlook for inflation and its control, the intricacies of monetary policy, the future of the dollar, and the dilemmas of household finances. Bernstein was also concerned with developments in portfolio management, including the new influence of institutional investors and rules for optimal asset mixes. He provides light touches, too, as he indulges in fantasies and philosophical musings over a wide variety of topics.

With so many years of hindsight, we should not be surprised to find some of Bernstein's predictions running awry. But why? In each instance, these forecasts were biased by memories of the past. There is a big lesson to be learned there.

Economist on Wall Street is a remarkable book, with lasting relevance and keen insights into the art of investment management, the capital markets, gold and the dollar, and the fun of being alive.

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Founder and President of Peter L. Bernstein, Inc., which he established in 1973 as economic consultants to institutional investors and corporations around the world.

In 1951, after teaching economics at Williams College and a five-year stint in commercial banking, Peter became Chief Executive of a nationally–known investment counsel firm, where he personally managed billions of dollars of individual and institutional portfolios. The assets under management at the firm had grown more than tenfold by the time he resigned in 1973 to launch Peter L. Bernstein, Inc.

Peter was the first Editor of The Journal of Portfolio Management in 1974, a widely-read scholarly journal for investment managers and academics in the field of finance and investments. He is now Consulting Editor of the Journal.

He served for many years on the Visiting Committee to the Economics Department at Harvard University, as a Trustee and member of the Finance Committee of the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), and as a Trustee of the Investment Management Workshop sponsored by the Association for Investment Management & Research’(AIMR).

He is the author of nine books in economics and finance plus countless articles in professional journals such as The Harvard Business Review and the Financial Analysts Journal, and in the popular press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Worth Magazine, and Bloomberg publications. He has contributed to collections of articles published by Perseus and FT Mastering, among others

He lectures widely throughout the United States and abroad on risk management, asset allocation, portfolio strategy, and market history.

Peter graduated from Harvard College with a degree in economics, magna cum laude. He was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

After serving as a member of the research staff at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and in a civilian capacity at the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, he joined the armed services and rose to the rank of captain in the Air Force in World War II, assigned to the Office of Strategic Services in the European theater.

He taught economics for many years as an adjunct professor on the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York.

Peter has received three major awards from the Association for Investment Management & Research (AIMR), the key organization for investment managers and analysts:

The Award for Professional Excellence, AIMR's highest award,

The Graham & Dodd Award, given annually for the outstanding article in the Financial Analysts Journal for the previous year, and

The James R. Vertin Award, recognizing individuals who have produced a body of research notable for its relevance and enduring value to investment professionals.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I'd say that there is enough insight (particularly regarding the value of gold as a monetary standard) to make this book an important read, but I must say that it also reminded me of why I initially disliked economics. Pseudoscience, hindsight, and assertions are everywhere. There is no doubt that it is logically reasoned and perhaps fits previous data, but it is hard to treat some of his conclusions as anything more than curiosities, given the constant flux of economic conditions.

At least Bernstein is self-aware enough to realise this at times:

I have never discovered any systematic relationship between what I think the market will do and what it actually does

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great title.could be more verbose.