More Money Than God

This book is more than a decade old, but it is so smart, so well written, so ultimately enraging that I devoured it.

Part history lesson, part colourful character study, it begins with the origin story of the hedge fund industry and takes the reader through the most important events and changes in the space over time. Mallaby does a great job of explaining the technical details and industry intricacies in approachable and understandable ways that helped me see things in a new way.

A history of hedge funds might seem like a weird recommendation by someone who has written a paean to passive investing.

But my favourite books use a subject to tell a much broader story, and Mallaby’s definitive book on the hedge industry manages to show how even the most illustrious investing careers can fizzle out as market regimes ebb and flow.  

Personally, I am not crazy about the title, but this book is an excellent account of the history of hedge funds. The book is thoroughly researched, very well written, and accurate based on my experience in writing about the same subject matter.