Countless books have been written in the United States on the subject of investment which have helped to nurture a sensible approach to going about it. It's not easy to contribute something new to English-speaking readers. This book is an attempt to offer something similar to European investors, especially readers from the Spanish-speaking world, where investment shortcomings are much more pronounced. As such, most of the examples that are provided here are European or Spanish.

Even so, English-speaking investors will come across some ideas or elements which they may find interesting.

• Investment books seldom talk about the economy and even less so about Austrian economics; this book may prove enlightening in this regard. It outlines the basic tenets of the Austrian School and how they apply to investment.
• One of the main applications is the need to invest in real assets (real estate, shares in companies, commodities, etc.) to maintain the purchasing power of savings. These real assets are the only defence against currency depreciation when the latter is not supported by a strong anchor, such as the gold standard.
• Risk is misrepresented in the financial world; something which this book addresses, unpicking some of the myths.

My career path as an asset manager from a different cultural environment is also somewhat different from the norm. I have drawn some lessons from my own life story, experiences, the different obstacles and client attitudes I have encountered and the overall environment, which might prove applicable to the reader's own circumstances.

In sum, I hope that this book proves to be as interesting to English-speaking readers as it seems to have been to a Spanish audience.