Summer Reading List

There’s something about summer that invites a different kind of reading. The pace slows down just enough to pick up a book, not because you have to, but because you want to. Whether it’s a deep dive into markets, a big-idea business book, or even a compelling biography, summer gives us permission to learn without pressure.

Each year, some of the biggest names in finance such as J.P. Morgan, Dimensional, Vanguard, and others release curated reading lists that reveal what’s on their minds and what they believe is worth reflecting on. These aren’t just lists of financial theory or dry investment manuals. They include stories of curiosity, leadership, and innovation, reminders that good investing starts with good thinking.

So I did some digging. Here’s a look at what financial firms are recommending this summer and what those picks say about the industry’s mindset heading into the second half of the year.

JP Morgan:

Life in Three Dimensions by Shigehiro Oishi - exploring “psychological richness” through curiosity

Becoming You by Suzy Welch - crafting purpose driven careers

Reset by Dan Heath - breaking old habits

Raising AI by De Kai - navigating AI’s impact

Mars (TASCHEN) - rich NASA photography of the Red Planet

(Full list)

Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA):

Clarity & Connection by Yung Pueblo - how intense emotions accumulate in our subconscious and condition us to act and react in certain ways.

The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter - discover the mind and body benefits of living at the edges of your comfort zone and reconnecting with the wild.

The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection by Michael A. Singer - a road map for letting go of fear and embracing the unfolding of life in a state of inner peace.

Mind Gym: Achieve More by Thinking Differently by Sebastian Bailey and

Octavius Black - transform your personal and professional life by changing the way you think

(Full list)

Point 72:

Expectations Investing - provides an essential framework for valuing stocks based on the expectations embedded in their current market prices.

The Art of Science and Prediction - reveals how ordinary people can make extraordinarily accurate predictions by avoiding cognitive traps and using structured approaches to probability. 

The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe - offers something far more valuable than tips for winning arguments; it teaches you to recognize your own biases and faulty reasoning patterns. 

(Full list)

However, the book I’m currently reading didn’t make it onto any of these lists but I’d argue it absolutely should have.

Rethinking Investing: A Very Short Guide to Very Long-Term Investing by Charles D. Ellis is a concise yet powerful reminder of what really matters in investing. Ellis highlights the extraordinary power of compounded, reinvested returns in indexed stock portfolios over decades, making a compelling case for simplicity, discipline, and staying the course. For any long-term investor, it’s essential reading.

So, what are you reading?