Books on Investing: Discussions, Reports &amp; Suggestions

Top 47. Jun 8, 2001 8:26 AM

» Thruhiker - i read schwabs book on vacation and felt it was good for a "lear

i read schwabs book on vacation and felt it was good for a "learned beginner" or for someone with average knowledge.

likes: he states that you need 230,000 in financial assets for each 1,000 in monthly income at retirement. much easier to understand that discussions of drawdown rates and the theory behind them.

dislikes: he states that in most cases stocks should be held in tax deferred accounts and fixed income in taxable accounts. he also states that large cap funds should best be indexed; small cap and foreign funds should be managed. i tend to disagree with both these viewpoints. also suspect that because of his fund supermarket that this advice is somewhat self serving.

-- posted by Thruhiker

Top 48. Jun 8, 2001 8:50 AM

» Mark_J - Die Broke

One of my favorite books is by Stephen Pollan, Die Broke.

Instead of telling one to just buy index funds and hold them forever, this book goes a little deeper into the psychology of working for a living, saving, and retiring. Description from Amazon:

Baby boomers, forget all you've learned from your parents about managing your money, your career, and your life. In Die Broke, Stephan Pollan challenges readers to rethink their notions of workplace, money, retirement, and inheritance. He believes that most of us are rooted in thinking that's out of sync with the realities of today's economy. For example, according to Pollan, the "job" is not what it used to be--there's no such thing as corporate loyalty. Making it in today's workplace means putting your own interests first, not your company's. Pollan argues that you should do your best at work, but make sure you're getting the best deal financially. If you're not, then get another job. After all, it's only a job.
Die Broke is organized into two sections: the first lays out the principles for dying broke. Pollan bases his whole argument on these four maxims: quit today and work for yourself, not your company; pay cash, melt your credit cards, and don't even think about using your ATM card; don't retire, retirement is a relatively new concept created during the Depression, instead plan to work all your life, and; die broke, after all, you can't take it with you.

-- posted by Mark_J

Top 49. Jun 19, 2001 2:26 AM

» litab16 - New Book

Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know I've got a new book coming out in the fall, Teach Yourself Retirement Planning in 24 Hours.

The writing is done and I can breath again.

-- posted by litab16

<img src=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0028642120.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg width=113 height=140 align=left>Alpha Teach Yourself Retirement Planning in 24 Hours

Top 50. Jun 19, 2001 6:14 AM

» Kirk - Alpha Teach Yourself Retirement Planning in 24 Hours

In response to message posted by litab16:

Congratulations Lita!

by Alan Feigenbaum & Lita Epstein

This item will be published on September 12, 2001. You may order it now and Amazon.com will ship Lita's book to you when it arrives.

Paperback - 400 pages 1st edition (September 12, 2001)

Alpha Books; ISBN: 0028642120

-- posted by Kirk

Top 51. Jun 19, 2001 8:04 AM

» litab16 - Re: Alpha Teach Yourself Retirement Planning in 24 Hours

In response to message posted by Kirk:

Thanks Kirk. Now that the book is done it will be nice to get my life back.

-- posted by litab16

Top 52. Jul 1, 2001 10:34 AM

» Kirk - Jack Welch Book Updated

<img src=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0071373462.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg width=87 height=140 align=left>Get Better Or Get Beaten
by Robert Slater, Jeffrey A. Krames

Book Info
A guide to better sales techniques, from the Jack Welch, of General Electric. Offers chapters on Six Sigma, e-business, and GE's acquisition of Honeywell. Offers secrets for executives, proven leadership strategies that will take the reader on a path to success, in the footsteps of the CEO of General Electric. DLC: Leadership.

Your Choice and Welch Can Help You Make It, April 11, 2001

Reviewer: Robert Morris (see more about me) from Dallas, Texas:

Jack Welch would be the first to point out that none of the 29 Leadership Secrets to which the subtitle refers is really a secret. In fact, most of the material in this book has been recycled or updated from previous publications, notably from Slater's excellent Jack Welch and the GE Way and The GE Way Fieldbook, both of which I also highly recommend. Slater is an excellent judge of material and writes very well. After more than 25 years as a successful journalist, he has developed a keen sense of what key business issues are, and, how Welch's comments on those issues can be most effectively shared with the reader. Two factors set this book apart from most other business books which also share "secrets." First and obviously, Welch's well-deserved reputation as a great leader. Also, the business context in which Slater anchors each of the 29 key points. With brevity and precision, Slater addresses questions such as these:

• How to "harness the power of change"?

• What does "Face Reality!" mean? Also, what does it require?

• What is the best process for evaluating your organization with a "fresh eye"?

• What are the major perils as well as benefits of Six Sigma initiatives?

• What are some of the most effective e-business strategies?

• How can e-business "put the final nail in bureaucracy"?

Thanks to Slater, as I read the book I felt as if Welch himself were making a series of assertions directly to me. In response to each I am inclined to ask, "Exactly what does he mean by that?" An explanation then follows, based on the wealth of information about Welch which Slater and others have accumulated over the years. Slater also includes a series of lists of "Welch Rules" and then, in an Appendix, a list of "GE Values"...the same list which (reproduced on a laminated card) is carried by each GE employee.

Welch himself has been and continues to be an avid student of business. Time and again, he has gratefully acknowledged what he has learned, not only from other great business leaders but also from his associates at GE...especially from younger GE executives who share his contempt for what Jim O'Toole has characterized (in Leading Change) as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom."

If you share my great admiration of Jack Welch and also wish you could spend some time with him one-on-one, here's probably your best opportunity to do so. For me, the experience was as much a pleasure as it was a privilege.

-- posted by Kirk

<img src=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0071362479.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg width=90 height=140 align=left>The Mutual Fund Wealth Builder: A Profit-Building Guide for the Savvy Mutual Fund Investor
by Dick Fabian

Top 53. Jul 10, 2001 5:47 AM

» Kirk - The Mutual Fund Wealth Builder

First mentioned Here by kongholoon

Book Description:
“The Fabian trend-following plan is one of the simplest [and] most understandable, and is one that investors can actually live with.” --The Hulbert Financial Digest

Editorial Reviews:

Over the past two decades, even before the introduction of enhanced index funds, Dick Fabian has helped thousands of individuals average an astonishing 17 percent compounded growth. His mutual fund-based investment plan was ranked #1 nine times by the respected Hulbert Financial Digest.

Now, in The Mutual Fund Wealth Builder, Fabian gives individual investors the tools to trade mutual funds with lowered risk and increased rates of return. This plain-spoken book shows investors how to:
*Follow six investment steps to increase returns
*Understand concepts including compounding and indexing
*Perform--and act on--their own market analyses

From the Back Cover
Winner of Mark Hulbert's "Best Stockmarket Timer" Award

The Easy-to-Follow Program to Achieve 20 Percent Annualized Compounded Growth--Using Mutual Funds and Clear-Cut Market Signals

Over the past two decades, Dick Fabian has helped thousands of individuals earn compounded growth rates far superior to the widely followed S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes. Fabian's followers obtained these returns by following his guidelines--and letting others do the work.

Note. The January 22, 2001 Issue of Forbes, with input from Hulbert, ranks newsletter writers and lists "Doug Fabian/Maverick Investing" as having an 11.5% annualized gain since 5/31/90 vs 15.0 for the "Wilshire5000 Value Weighted Total Return Index".

Top newsletters had grade B in both up and down markets. Forbes/Hulbert gives Maverick investing a grade B in up markets and a grade C in down markets for an above average rating.

-- posted by Kirk

Top 54. Jul 20, 2001 10:34 AM

» Kirk - A Random Walk Down Wall Street

<img src=http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0393047814.01.MZZZZZZZ.gif width=91 height=140 align=left>A Random Walk Down Wall Street
by Burton G. Malkiel
Hardcover - 461 pages Revised edition (May 1999)

Reviewed by Rande Spiegelman (7/19/01):
Whether you’re a novice investor or consider yourself experienced, A Random Walk is for you. Here, finally, is an investment book for everyone. Did we say, “finally?” Malkiel’s book first hit the investment scene in 1973 and, despite ruffling more than a few feathers along the way, has long since become an investment classic in the truest sense of the word. In the three decades past, finance professors everywhere have earmarked this gem as required reading for their graduate students. The good news is you don’t need to sit through any boring lectures or have taken any prerequisite courses on your way to that advanced investment degree. It’s yours for the taking should you decide to embark upon your own “Random Walk” with Malkiel as your guide.

Have you ever heard investors talk about such things as “beta,” “the efficient markets,” “valuation,” “technical analysis,” or “fundamentals” and wondered what on earth they were talking about? Wonder no more. Malkiel explains these concepts and much, much more, all in plain English for the layman. From the academic “Firm Foundations and Castles in the Air” and “Madness of Crowds” to the more practical “Outlook for Inflation and the Returns from Financial Assets” and “Life-Cycle Guide to Investing,” the breadth and depth of subject matter offers something for every investor. And somehow, through it all, Malkiel even makes it seem like fun.

Peter Lynch’s best selling book Beating The Street proclaimed that anyone could do as well as the “pros,” even the “little guy.” Burton Malkiel might ask, “Of course you can ‘beat the Street,’ but why even bother trying? The Street hasn’t done all that well to begin with.” Along the way, he does throw a few stones at the establishment, those who spend their time and efforts in a furious attempt to “beat” the market. Neither the fundamental nor the technical analyst escape Malkiel’s common sense, and sometimes irreverent, scrutiny. All their efforts are so much sound and fury signifying nothing as far as he’s concerned, especially since it’s supposedly as easy as simply deciding on a proper game plan to begin with and then just sticking to it. Whether you end up agreeing or not, the author will challenge you to think and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

The praise for “Random Walk” is legendary. As the hardback’s dust jacket attests, Forbes magazine puts it “in the classics category.” Andrew Tobias, author of The Only Investment Guide You Will Ever Need, includes it among his list of the “few great investment books.” The famous economist Paul Samuelson says, “There is no sure way to investment affluence, but Malkiel has…improved the odds in the reader’s favor. As my colleagues reach retirement age and as my children turn twenty-one, I am giving each of them a copy of this book. Everyone in between can buy his own copy on my recommendation.” For what it’s worth, you have my hardy recommendation as well. This book is first on my recommended reading list for all investors. Just ask anyone who’s ever read it. Except, perhaps, your broker.

Rande Spiegelman, CPA, CFP

-- posted by Kirk

Top 55. Jul 21, 2001 6:21 AM

» rckeys - What have you learned

Hi all,

This is a very valuable forum for the new investor as well as seasoned investors who want to get back on track. It should be bookmarked and recommended as a primary resourse for any new investor.

I would like to second Frank Armstrong's on line book "Investment strategies for the 21st century". It can be found on Brills site as an earlier poster (happy) noted, and it can also be found at http.//www.investorsoultions.com

To expand this forum to the next level, I would like to ask, What is your one favorite book, and what is the one thing from that book that that made a difference in your investment philosophy or strategy?

Best Wishes,

-- posted by rckeys