Book · 2006
All About Asset Allocation
by Richard A. Ferri
Rick Ferri's guide to building a multi-asset portfolio: choose your allocation, stop tinkering, and go enjoy your life.
What does Reddit think of All About Asset Allocation?
Twenty-eight mentions across 7 years, with r/Bogleheads doing 22 of them — this is firmly a Boglehead book, barely noticed elsewhere. r/investing accounts for the remaining 6, mostly in threads where someone asks how to even begin thinking about ETF selection. The praise is quiet and practical. One commenter recalled recommending it to a young investor after realizing they'd never actually read it themselves — bought it on a whim that night. Another has followed Ferri's framework for 15 years, regrets nothing about the international allocation even after a rough run, and considers the discipline the point. The ↑31 comment captures the r/Bogleheads consensus bluntly: pick an allocation to match your risk tolerance, then stop. Ferri's book is the how-to manual for that sentence. The ↑31 aside — "Rick Ferri's All About Asset Allocation never asked me a single question" — lands as the book's informal tagline on Reddit. It means: the framework doesn't need your specific situation to tell you something useful.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Asset allocation as the primary driver of portfolio returns
- · Low-cost, broadly diversified index funds over active management
- · Setting an allocation and maintaining discipline over decades
- · International diversification despite underperformance cycles
- · Writing an Investment Policy Statement as an anchor against emotional decisions
Common praise
- + The framework tells you what to do without needing your specific numbers first.
- + Readers who followed it 15 years ago still hold the positions and don't regret it.
- + r/Bogleheads recommends it to young investors starting their first 401k as a first move, not a supplemental one.
- + The allocation-first approach produces better returns than most professional portfolios, according to the ↑31 investing thread.
Common criticism
- − The international allocation guidance has underdelivered for a long stretch, and Ferri doesn't give you an exit rule.
- − 28 mentions over 7 years means the book doesn't generate ongoing debate — people read it once and move on.
- − r/investing barely touches it; outside the Boglehead orbit, the book's existence is news.
Who it's for
You're starting your first real job and someone told you to max the 401k — this is what to read before you pick funds. If you've already read A Random Walk Down Wall Street and The Four Pillars of Investing, Ferri's book is the operational layer those two don't fully provide: the actual allocation decisions, written down as an IPS. Intermediate investors who've been 'slicing and dicing' equities for years will recognize the framework they've been running informally. Skip it if you want someone to tell you exactly what to buy; Ferri hands you the methodology and expects you to fill in the numbers.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for All About Asset Allocation?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“It helps pay for your broker’s Mercedes and keeps you feeling helpless and trapped by the prospect of unwinding all of those positions if you ever leave them. That’s about it. This isn’t a portfolio for you; it’s a portfolio for your broker. Once you acknowledge that, you’ll be on your way to fixing…
“While giving advice to a young person over DM (they were somewhat awed by a comment I made that I had been a Vanguard indexing investor for some 27 years now), I remembered this book being suggested and said would a be a good one for them. And then it dawned on me that I had not read it, so on a fl…
“Probably shouldn’t ask for advice if you won’t provide numbers required to help you. You can always read a book. Rick Ferri’s All About Asset Allocation never asked me a single question
“My opinion, pick an asset allocation to your willingness/ need/ ability to take risk. Then call it a day and go enjoy your life. Doing this will cause less stress and surprising to most (many) will produce better returns then most professional and amateur alike. If you don't know how to do the ab…
“I read Random Walk and Four Pillars in college before starting my first job. I was a Boglehead from my first paycheck into my 401k. I “sliced and diced” my own 60/40 AA with 20% of equities to international. I wrote my IPS (investing philosophy or personal statement), which was a big deal and heavi…
“I followed Rick Ferri’s “All About Asset Allocation” for my portfolio like 15 years ago. Has not been a good run for international, but I’m glad I still have it.
“I'm sorry for your loss. With regard to your financials, you are in a very healthy spot - your dad did you right. Despite what you might feel about having this land on you suddenly, there isn't an obvious need to do anything to your investments. Steady as she goes. The cash in the brokerage ac…
“I keep my international at about 1/3 of equities. I think I got that from Rick Ferri's *All About Asset Allocation*, but I'm not sure. Just 10% seems low to me, but there is no "correct" answer (except in hindsight). It's all a somewhat-educated guess anyway. Honestly, I could've landed on anywhe…
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Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with All About Asset Allocation — counted from the comments, not curated.
The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
Morgan Housel paid off a 3% mortgage early and calls it his best money decision ever — 209 Reddit mentions say the paradox is the whole point.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Burton G. Malkiel
Burton Malkiel's 50-year argument that you can't beat the market, backed by data, and Reddit's most-cited reason to stop stock-picking.
The Millionaire Next Door
Thomas J. Stanley
A 1996 study of 1,000 American millionaires found they drove used cars, lived in modest houses, and got rich by spending less than they earned.
All About Asset Allocation — frequently asked
What does Reddit actually think of All About Asset Allocation?+
Quietly positive. The book gets 28 mentions across 7 years, almost entirely on r/Bogleheads (22 of them). No one argues against it — the ↑31 comment calling it a book that 'never asked me a single question' is about as close to an endorsement as that sub gets.
Is All About Asset Allocation still relevant in 2026?+
Depends what you're after. The core methodology — pick an allocation to your risk tolerance, diversify across asset classes, stop touching it — hasn't aged. One commenter has used Ferri's framework for 15 years with no regrets. The international underperformance chapter stings today, but the argument for holding it anyway is still intact. r/Bogleheads kept recommending it as recently as late 2025.
How does All About Asset Allocation compare to The Four Pillars of Investing on Reddit?+
On Reddit, Four Pillars gets recommended alongside A Random Walk as the theory pair; Ferri's book shows up after, when someone needs to actually build the portfolio. A ↑30 r/Bogleheads comment mentions reading both Bernstein titles in college, then using Ferri's allocation framework to implement. They're not competing — Four Pillars explains why, All About Asset Allocation explains how.
Should I read All About Asset Allocation if I already use a target-date fund?+
Probably not urgent. The book is aimed at investors who want to construct and manage their own multi-asset allocation — the ↑31 r/investing comment says pick your allocation and 'call it a day,' which a target-date fund already does for you. Where it earns its keep is if you want to understand what that fund is doing, or if you're ready to graduate off it.