Synopsis
"One of the greatest financial writers of this era." – Downtown Josh Brown, star of CNBC's The Halftime Report, co-founder and CEO of Ritholtz.
"If you want to get better at managing your money, Risk & Reward is a must-read.” – Nick Maggiulli, author, Just Keep Buying
Let me tell you the secret to investing. There is no secret.
When investing your hard-earned money, risk and reward are attached at the hip. There are no shortcuts. Getting rich overnight is a pipe dream.
Author, podcast host, and Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management Ben Carlson CFA, offers a modern guide to surviving and thriving in the markets by taking a wrecking ball to his own investment philosophy to truly examine the good, the bad and the ugly.
Carlson contextualises the biggest risks of long-term investing by analysing key moments in global financial history. He examines everything from the Great Depression and its aftermath in the 1930s to the Japanese financial bubble of the 1980s, to the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the 2000s, and considers what modern investors can learn from these events to apply to their future trading strategies.
Part practical manual, part economic history, Risk & Reward will give you a better grasp of the biggest risks in investing and teach you how to protect yourself against them so you can survive the short-term, and thrive in the long-term.
Whether you’re a first-time saver or a lifelong investor, this book will change how you see risk – not as something to fear, but as the very reason reward exists.
Details
12 May 2026
9781804094525Reviews
Ben Carlson reveals the dirty little secret that every seasoned investor knows: patience, simplicity and recognizing our own blindspots are far more important than whatever so-called ‘experts’ trot out, or the fool's errand of trying to time the market. With mathematical evidence and compelling stories, Risk & Reward is a great read for new investors and an excellent refresher of core concepts for those who have been at it for years.
One of the great misconceptions about investing is that risk is something we should strive to avoid. This causes people to leave returns on the table for others to claim. Ben Carlson, one of the greatest financial writers of this era, has educated millions about the need to take risks, which ones to take and, most importantly, how to ensure that all this courage will ultimately lead to reward.
The road to investment success is strewn with washouts and cliff edges. But fear not: Ben Carlson's Risk & Reward supplies the road map that will safely guide you past them. Read, enjoy, and prosper.
Ben Carlson crushed it in Risk & Reward. From the excellent data visualizations to the crystal clear messaging, this book belongs on every investor’s bookshelf. If you want to get better at managing your money, Risk & Reward is a must-read.
