{"id":112758,"date":"2023-09-08T17:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T21:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=112758"},"modified":"2023-09-12T14:40:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T18:40:16","slug":"benefits-of-index-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s “passive investing”? Do you want to make money in the stock market without managing a portfolio or paying someone else to do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Beating the Street<\/em>, famed mutual fund manager Peter Lynch says anyone can succeed in the stock market if they make the right choices and put in the hard work. But, he also offers an option for people who’d rather stay away from active portfolio management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn about the benefits of index funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Benefits of Index Funds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lynch explains that index funds are a type of stock fund, and he outlines the benefits of index funds for certain types of investors<\/a>. Let’s look at what stock funds are in general and then zoom in on index funds and why Lynch believes they can be a good option for some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book, Lynch argues that you should invest in stocks instead of bonds and explains how you should build and manage your personal stock portfolio. But, what if you want to get exposure to the stock market without going through the trouble of researching, building, and managing your own portfolio of individual stocks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lynch writes that stock funds can offer a good alternative to constructing and maintaining your own stock portfolio<\/strong>. So, what are stock funds and how do they work? A stock fund is a type of investment fund that pools money from multiple investors to invest in a selection of stocks. When you buy shares in a stock fund, you don\u2019t actually own the underlying stocks\u2014instead, you own shares of the fund itself. The fund manager is responsible for selecting and maintaining the mix of stocks in the fund, which saves you the time and trouble of having to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, as we\u2019ve seen, Lynch is skeptical of pricey fund managers, who he argues often charge high fees and deliver returns that don\u2019t even beat the average market returns. That\u2019s why he recommends stock index funds as a particular type <\/em>of stock fund for investors who want to enjoy solid returns without having to manage their own portfolio\u2014or see their returns eaten up by high management fees<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Index funds are stock funds composed of a broad portfolio of stocks that are designed to mirror one of the big market indexes. Many popular index funds at large investment companies like Vanguard, Fidelity, or State Street offer index funds that track well-known market indexes like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stocks in an index-tracking mutual fund are automatically selected based on their position in these indexes. You’re not actively managing it, nor is a fund manager. The fund you invest in purchases shares of companies in proportion to those companies\u2019 positions within whichever index the fund is tracking. For example, if the fund you bought into tracks the S&P 500\u2014and Google stock comprises 3% of the total market capitalization of the S&P 500\u2014your fund will have 3% of its holdings in Google stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rise\u2014and Risks\u2014of Passive Investing <\/strong>

In the years since Lynch wrote Beating the Street<\/em>, index funds have risen greatly in popularity. These funds are described as being \u201cpassively managed.\u201d They don\u2019t have an active manager like Lynch selecting stocks for inclusion in the portfolio based on their financial performance or projections for future growth. Instead, these passively managed funds buy and sell stocks automatically when those stocks enter or exit indexes like the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

And, because index funds have become such major purchasers of US stocks, index funds now control 20% to 30% of the US equities market. Despite their popularity, some observers are concerned that the growth of index funds represents a dangerous concentration of economic power.

Today, for nine in 10 companies listed on the S&P 500, their largest single shareholder is one of the \u201cBig Three\u201d money managers<\/a>\u2014BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. And these three firms control 80-90% of the index fund market. With this level of concentration, we could soon be facing an economic future where a small handful of individuals would have vastly disproportionate power over most publicly traded companies.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Different Types of Index Funds for Different Investment Needs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lynch advises that there are many different types of index funds<\/a> that track different segments of the financial market, depending on where an investor wants to put her money, such as market cap funds, sector-based funds, and regional funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market Cap Index Funds<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

These are funds that invest in stocks based on those stocks\u2019 total market capitalization (or \u201cmarket cap\u201d)\u2014the number of shares currently issued multiplied by the price per share. So, for example, a company with one million shares currently issued trading at $50 per share would have a market cap of $50 million. There are funds that invest in large-cap stocks (those with market caps above $10 billion), mid-cap stocks (with market caps between $2 billion and $10 billion), and small-cap stocks (those with market caps between $250 million and $2 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019d purchase shares in large-cap index funds if you want the relative stability of investing in mature, well-established companies that are more likely to earn steady returns than small companies or startups. On the other hand, you\u2019d invest in medium- or small-cap index funds if you want the potentially high returns that can come from investing in startups and growing companies\u2014and can stomach the higher volatility and risk that can come with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sector-Based Index Funds<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are also index funds that buy stock in companies exclusively in a specific industry or market<\/a>. For example, a fund may buy shares of companies in sectors like energy, consumer goods, health care, information technology, or real estate. You\u2019d invest in a sector-based fund if you believe that that sector offers higher potential for growth than other sectors of the economy, or if you want to hedge your portfolio if you\u2019ve invested in other sectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, let\u2019s say you\u2019ve invested heavily in the traditional energy sector (which includes oil companies, natural gas producers, and coal mine operators). You might then want to purchase shares in a renewable energy index fund (which includes companies engaged in wind, solar, hydroelectric, and even nuclear energy), so you can offset potential losses in case the price of oil drops or if the government passes new regulations that restrict fossil fuel production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regional Index Funds<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are also index funds that buy shares in companies (often those with the largest market caps across a wide range of industries) that are based in a particular region or country. So, for example, there are funds that trade exclusively in North American, European, Asian, or South American stocks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You would invest in regional index funds if you believe that a particular region or country\u2019s economy offers the kind of growth you want. If you want more stable, but potentially lower returns, you would perhaps invest in a regional fund that comprises companies from more developed markets, such as North America or Western Europe. If you\u2019re looking for potentially high returns (and can handle higher risk), you might invest in regional index funds composed of stocks from companies in developing parts of the world\u2014such as sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s “passive investing”? Do you want to make money in the stock market without managing a portfolio or paying someone else to do it? In Beating the Street, famed mutual fund manager Peter Lynch says anyone can succeed in the stock market if they make the right choices and put in the hard work. But, he also offers an option for people who’d rather stay away from active portfolio management. Continue reading to learn about the benefits of index funds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":51416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,31],"tags":[1258],"class_list":["post-112758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-money","tag-beating-the-street","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some investors want to enjoy solid returns without having to manage their own stock portfolios. Discover the benefits of index funds.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some investors want to enjoy solid returns without having to manage their own stock portfolios. Discover the benefits of index funds.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-08T21:37:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-12T18:40:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1069\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-08T21:37:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-12T18:40:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/\"},\"wordCount\":1237,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Beating the Street\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economics\",\"Money\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/\",\"name\":\"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-08T21:37:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-12T18:40:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"Some investors want to enjoy solid returns without having to manage their own stock portfolios. Discover the benefits of index funds.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg\",\"width\":1069,\"height\":670},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing - Shortform Books","description":"Some investors want to enjoy solid returns without having to manage their own stock portfolios. Discover the benefits of index funds.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing","og_description":"Some investors want to enjoy solid returns without having to manage their own stock portfolios. Discover the benefits of index funds.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-09-08T21:37:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-12T18:40:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1069,"height":670,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing","datePublished":"2023-09-08T21:37:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-12T18:40:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/"},"wordCount":1237,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg","keywords":["Beating the Street"],"articleSection":["Economics","Money"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/","name":"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg","datePublished":"2023-09-08T21:37:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-12T18:40:16+00:00","description":"Some investors want to enjoy solid returns without having to manage their own stock portfolios. Discover the benefits of index funds.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg","width":1069,"height":670},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-index-funds\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Benefits of Index Funds: Peter Lynch on Passive Investing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/relaxed-man.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112758"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112845,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112758\/revisions\/112845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}