May 28, 2025
Whether it’s a classic, new bestseller or little-known gem, a good book can make summer that much sweeter.
It’s no secret that many Capital Group investment professionals are voracious readers. Here are six of their favorite books to help you make the most of summer.
Most people don’t visit museums or paint to improve their health — but maybe they should. “Art can have a profound impact on our lives, and it’s often overlooked given the emphasis in schools on science, math and English,” says Rob Lovelace, portfolio manager for New Perspective Fund®.
His book recommendation, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, delves into how the brain processes aesthetic experiences. According to authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, art can have life-extending effects when practiced regularly. In addition to mental and physical health benefits, art can improve the brain’s problem-solving capabilities.
Lovelace, who is also chair of the J. Paul Getty Trust, considers art a human endeavor that is especially important in the era of artificial intelligence. “The book gets into architecture and our constructed spaces, and how it affects the ways we think, learn and function. Great design is not only easier to use but feels better too.”
It’s a scene we’re all too familiar with: A simple weather check on the phone turns into an hour of scrolling. Jody Jonsson, Capital Group vice chair and portfolio manager for New Perspective Fund, vowed to spend less time on screens and tablets after reading The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.
“It’s a book especially relevant for parents of preteens and teenagers and is a window into what smartphones and social media are doing to young people’s attention spans and learning potential,” Jonsson says. Author Jonathan Haidt links children’s social media and smartphones use to reduced playtime and increased anxiety and major depression. He recommends that parents delay giving children smartphones and schools ban their use while in session.
With markets on an extraordinarily bumpy ride, determining the best course of action may be difficult for even the most experienced investors. When volatility hits, Chitrang Purani, principal investment officer of CGCB — Capital Group Core Bond ETF, turns to Thinking, Fast and Slow, the 2011 book by Nobel Prize winner in economics, Daniel Kahneman.
An instant classic, Kahneman’s book offers insights into human decision-making, both rational and non-rational. For example, prospect theory suggests that individuals value gains and losses differently, often assigning more weight to losses than gains.
“The book is a good reminder for me to be less emotional about short-term market swings I’m seeing on the screens and to focus on our research,” Purani says. “It helps me to stay invested with a long-term focus.”
It’s easy to feel uncertain about what success means later in life. With that in mind, Matt Hochstetler, portfolio manager for CGGO — Capital Group Global Growth Equity ETF, enjoyed From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks.
The book discusses two distinct concepts of intelligence: fluid and crystallized. Society often views intelligence as the former, which is the ability to process information quickly and draw conclusions just as easily. It emphasizes flexibility and complex problem-solving, as well as novel ideas.
Crystallized intelligence refers to the sum of our experiences and learnings. It’s a natural progression to move from fluid to crystallized as we age. “I think it really applies to investing in terms of being able to work with a lot of different analysts and recognizing patterns that you've seen over your 20 or 30 years of investing,” Hochstetler says.
Cheryl Frank, a portfolio manager for CGCV — Capital Group Conservative Equity ETF, is an avid reader and has offered several book recommendations via the Capital Ideas podcast. Her latest is medical mystery novel, The Covenant of Water, by physician and author Abraham Verghese.
The story unfolds in India, where generations of the Malayali family are haunted by drowning deaths. Set against the backdrop of India’s independence, the author weaves a story about hardship, the passage of time and humanity’s progress. “It’s a beautifully written, immanently quotable epic with incredible lessons,” Frank says.
Hear more from Cheryl Frank:
There are a number of ways you can go wrong when it comes to investing — and author Barry Ritholtz isn’t afraid to tackle them head-on.
In his book How Not to Invest: The Ideas, Numbers, and Behaviors That Destroy Wealth — and How to Avoid Them, Ritholtz reinforces well-known investment concepts like “avoid timing the market,” while also delving into the psychology of investing. “It’s not a recipe for the steps you should take to invest, but how to avoid some of the behavioral traps. It’s a perfect book for this moment,” says content director Will McKenna.
Rob Lovelace is an equity portfolio manager and chair of Capital International, Inc. He has 39 years of investment industry experience (as of 12/31/2024). He holds a bachelor’s degree in mineral economics from Princeton. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Jody Jonsson is vice chair of Capital Group, president of Capital Research and Management Company and an equity portfolio manager. She has 38 years of investment industry experience (as of 12/31/2024). She holds an MBA from Stanford and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton.
Chitrang Purani is a fixed income portfolio manager with 21 years of investment industry experience (as of 12/31/2024). He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's in finance from Northern Illinois University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Matt Hochstetler is an equity portfolio manager with 20 years of investment industry experience (as of 12/31/2024). He holds an MBA from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree in international finance and economics from Georgetown University.
Cheryl Frank is an equity portfolio manager with 27 years of investment industry experience (as of 12/31/2024). She holds an MBA from Stanford and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard.
