William J. Bernstein, PhD, MD, is a bestselling author known as a grassroots hero to independent investors. Formerly a practicing neurologist, Bernstein approaches the problems of saving and investing as someone who had to figure it out for himself—from first principles up. He is the author of The Intelligent Asset Allocator and The Four Pillars of Investing—highly regarded, plain-spoken guides on how to build a diversified portfolio without the help of a financial advisor—the editor of the asset allocation journal Efficient Frontier, and the founder of the popular website efficientfrontier.com. He has also written two volumes of economic history, The Birth of Plenty and A Splendid Exchange, and is a coprincipal in Efficient Frontier Advisors.