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Brian Baker, CFA

Senior writer, Investing and Retirement
  • 15
    Years of experience
Ribbon Icon EXPERTISE
  • Investing
  • Wealth management
  • Behavioral finance
  • Stock analysis and valuation
Education Icon EDUCATION
  • CFA Institute
  • Bachelor of Arts, Finance, Michigan State University
  • Master of Science, Journalism, Northwestern University

 

About the author

Brian Baker, CFA, covers investing and retirement for Bankrate. He previously worked in equity research at Diamond Hill Capital Management and is a CFA Charterholder. His work has appeared online in various publications including MarketWatch, Fortune, the Omaha World-Herald, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Detroit News, MSN and Yahoo Finance.

Prior to joining Bankrate, he covered mergers and acquisitions for MLex Market Insight in Washington, D.C. Baker is passionate about helping people make sense of complicated financial topics so that they can better plan for their financial futures.

Readers can rely on his articles to learn more about a variety of investing topics such as how to start investing, investing through mutual funds, when to sell a stock and how investors can manage their emotions.

Baker’s passion for investing developed in college after reading about the success of long-term investors like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.

Investing can be intimidating, but following some basic principles can put you on the path to achieving your financial goals.

— Brian Baker, CFA

Brian's latest articles

  • Stash Review 2025

    With a well-developed educational section, Stash is an easy-to-use pick for those just getting started on their saving-and-investing journey.

    6 min read Apr 07, 2021

  • Acorns Review 2025

    Acorns offers a useful app for managing many aspects of your financial life, from basic spending to saving with its “round-up” feature to investing in a diversified portfolio of securities.

    6 min read Apr 05, 2021

  • Wealthfront Review 2025

    Wealthfront ranks among the best robo-advisors, offering sophisticated portfolio management, a top cash management account and some of the most useful planning tools. Wealthfront scores big in all major areas – then somehow does it all at low cost, too.

    9 min read Mar 22, 2021

  • SoFi Robo Investing Review 2025

    SoFi Robo Investing offers a low-cost robo-advisor that can get the job done without a lot of fuss. Its biggest advantages include no management fee, cheap ETFs, and access to certified financial planners.

    6 min read Mar 19, 2021

  • Webull Review 2025

    While Webull may not receive the fanfare of Robinhood for no-fee trading apps, the broker is at least as capable and may even make a better mobile or web-based trader than its popular rival.

    7 min read Jan 25, 2021

  • Axos Self-Directed Trading

    Axos Self-Directed Trading is a good home for investors in mutual funds and stocks, especially existing Axos customers looking to keep their financial life under one roof.

    4 min read Jan 25, 2021

  • E-Trade Review 2025

    E-Trade has a wide variety of valuable tools and easy-to-understand resources that offer a lot of value for beginners.

    5 min read Mar 29, 2019

  • SoFi Active Investing Review 2025

    SoFi Active Investing is a low-cost broker that should meet the needs of new investors looking to only trade stocks and ETFs.

    4 min read Mar 29, 2019