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The Sloth Investor
Simplifying Investing for All
by R P Stevens
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date 28 Jun 2024 | Archive Date 9 Jul 2024
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Description
Step aside bull and bear, the humble sloth is the BEST animal to characterise successful investing.
From Mr. Sloth, the host of the Sloth Investor podcast, comes The Sloth Investor, a book catering to beginner investors, young and old, seeking to take advantage of the greatest wealth creation machine of all time. The Sloth Investor provides an evidence-based framework for those looking to increase their wealth in a simple, yet powerful manner. Underpinned by his 5 bedrock principles (Simplicity, Low Fees, Own the World, Time, Headstrong) Mr. Sloth shows you how to construct a simple, low-fee, globally diversified portfolio.
The Sloth Investor shines a spotlight on investors past and present that have shaped Mr. Sloth’s approach to investing money. Crammed full of actionable takeaways that are distilled into easily understandable chapters, Mr. Sloth expands on the evidence for an inactive, less is more, ‘sloth-like’ approach to investing. The humble sloth is the investing spirit animal that you didn’t learn about at school.
Now, here’s your opportunity!
A Note From the Publisher
Provides solid, overwhelming evidence in favour of a simple, inactive approach to investing.
Draws on the wisdom of successful investors, past and present.
The Sloth Investor (or ‘Mr. Sloth’) is R P Stevens, the host of the Sloth Investor Podcast. His mission is to simplify investing for all, enabling people to understand the wisdom of an inactive approach to investing. Born in the UK, he now lives in Hong Kong with his wife (‘Mrs. Sloth’) and two children.
Advance Praise
“For many, investing is both complex and intimidating. The Sloth Investor, through his 5 bedrock principles and naturally inactive demeanour, provides a clear, evidence based approach to investing. It’s the perfect antidote to the complicated jargon commonly used by the financial media.” - Daniel Crosby, author of The Laws of Wealth & The Behavioral Investor
“I really like the idea of investing slowly, patiently and persistently, with low costs and an unshakeable focus on the long term.” - William Green, author of Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life
Investors have an in-built bias towards action, which the media only encourages and the industry loves to exploit. But R P Stevens is perfectly right: lethargy and sloth produce much better outcomes. - Robin Powell, The Evidence-Based Investor
If one lesson stands out from the annals of financial history, it is that investors get in their own way. These self-imposed hurdles often stem from over-complicating investment strategies and/or trading too much. For most investors, a simple investment approach is the best tactic. There is truth to the old adage that the best performing accounts belong to those that have died, and could no longer get in their own way. Of the 5 ‘Sloth Investing’ principles, I think the power of simplicity is particularly crucial. - Jamie Catherwood
Available Editions
EDITION | Ebook |
ISBN | 9781805148913 |
PRICE | £8.99 (GBP) |
PAGES | 248 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
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Was very curious to read the book as I started my investing journey a year ago and already had some knowledge about investing. I really loved Sloth Investment approach and can see myself starting to implement in my investing journey straight away.
I really liked the fact that a book had a section of examples for investment portfolios for investors all around the world. Because personally my biggest struggle with financial books that they are predominantly focused on US markets and targeted toward US residents. Was very nice to see diversity in that sense.
Great beginners book however heavily focuses on Vanguard so I would probably recommend to read a couple of their investment books to learn more about different investment managers/ advisers.
I hugely relate to less-is-more mentality and it’s definitely what this book is about, overall 10/10 recommendations for beginner investors who still has a stigma that investing is complicated and for the rich.
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If you're coming at this book having heard nothing about investing or retirement planning, then you're all set. The problem, though, is that several other authors have trod this same path before, and R P Stevens offers little in the way of new information that couldn't have been found by reading The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, or The Millionaire Next Door.
With one exception -- he spends an inordinate amount of time talking about expatriates and their investing habits. I was not aware that was what I was about to get into when I picked up this book. As he is a English expat living in Canada, I suppose it's a relevant perspective for him, but it was completely useless for me.
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For context, I hate to say it, I hope I don’t sound ridiculous, I don’t know who this man is. I mean, he could be walking down the street (or speaking on a podcast), and I wouldn’t know a thing. Sorry to this man.
Prior to reading this book, I was not aware of the author or their podcast they frequently promote. Based on the non-financial context, namely the anecdotes and examples, I’m clearly not the target demographic (white man who plays sports) but as the author argues, investing should be for all so here I am.
I can’t help myself, I need to get this off my chest. Respectfully, I cannot help but side-eye a man who cites Malcolm Gladwell as a reliable source of information (spoiler alert, he’s not and has a lot of weird racist undertones and beliefs; see the chapter on airplane crashes and growing rice with a significant amount of cherry-picked sources and disinformation from his book “Outliers”) and includes pseudoscience as fact like our “lizard brains” with his full chest. For all that is good and right in the world, authors verify your sources of information! (Side note: If Books Could Kill has a fantastic podcast episode on “Outliers” if that tickles your pickle).
This book provides a good overview of investing for most people, however, I’ve read so many other financial books that have resonated with me significantly more and go beyond the basics to discuss ESG or ethical investing and the settler-colonial and racist history of the West that has created disproportionate gaps in investing knowledge and wealth which are fundamental to a discussion about investing. This book’s biggest problem is that it doesn’t add anything new to the body of literature on investing. As an avid reader of finance books, I have yet to read a finance book that encourages day-trading and buying individual stocks over buying and holding indexes and ETFs, i.e., the sloth method. This book has so many quotes and references to other better books (personally, I’d just read “Millionaire Teacher” and call it a day) and investors that say the exact same thing as him. It’s bordering on an investing dude-bro echo chamber in which they yammer on about the same topic over and over again. There are so many newer books on ESG or ethical investing focused on climate and social issues that are framed in the real historical context as described previously that in comparison, this book just feels so lacklustre. Again, this book isn’t bad, it’s just meh and didn’t add anything that it’s predecessors didn’t already cover. It could be worth a read but many other books cover the same exact investing advice.
Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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I really enjoyed this read. While I did feel like there was quite a bit of repetitiveness at times, I didn’t mind it that much because it helped drill the information into my head so I will remember it! The way everything is explained is done so well and I found it very easy to understand. I was never taught anything about investing growing up, so this was nice and clear-cut for me, which I appreciated. I feel like I have the understanding needed now to invest in a low-fee globally diversified portfolio, which is the way to go after reading this. I had never heard of the Sloth Investor podcast before reading this book but will be checking it out now!
Thank you @troubador_publishing for allowing me access to this ARC via @netgalley
All thoughts are entirely my own.