Customer Reviews

Chicks Laying Nest Eggs : How 10 Skirts Beat the Pants Off Wall Street...And How You Can Too!

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Millions of investing books are bought or read by people who never get around to buying any stocks. Karin Housley, busy mother of four and wife of professional hockey player Phil Housley, found that the solution for her was to form an investment club with her friends across the country. Occasional face-to-face meetings would be supplemented by having a bulletin board on-line, regular e-mail, and now they have a web site where you can visit to keep up-to-date with them and share their results.

The book is the first simple explanation I have seen for how to take all of the little steps needed to start an investment club. By working together, individuals can have a good time, try their hand in the market, and get a lot accomplished with little money and time spent. If you like company when you make financial decisions, an investment club is much less expensive than a full service broker.

I graded the book down by two stars for two reasons. First, Ms. Housley strongly argues for trying to beat the market averages and crows about how easy it is. Seeing the club's stocks, I suspected that things had fallen down since the book was printed. As of April 10, 2001, the club's stocks had lost 16.56 percent while the S&P 500 had lost 7.27 percent. So the club members during the bear market greatly underperformed, having significantly outperformed during the waning days of the bull market. Only time can tell how they will do in the long run.

I think that most people should have almost all of the money they plan to invest in stocks in indexed, no-load mutual funds. Since this investment club is just a small part of the member's total investing, no harm is done.

However, do take the crowing here with a big grain of salt. Most people would not even claim to have outperformed the S&P 500 with a track record of less than 5 years. This club has been going for less than 3 years.

Second, the book is very badly organized, poorly written, and hard to follow. There are brief summaries at the ends of chapters, but the material is very circular. Brief lists of key points at the end of each chapter help. The book has a solid glossary. Now, I did not grade the book down more because any book by the typical head of a newly formed investment club would probably have similar problems.

On the other hand, I do recommend that you read the book if you find it hard to get started with stock investments. I think you will find the book helpful, and I do not know of a better book to steer you to concerning investment clubs. There is an organization you should know about, The National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) based in Michigan, which can help you get started as an individual or as part of an investment club.

Here are the book's strengths. First, it explains financial concepts reasonably clearly. Second, it suggests investing principles that some successful investors use (such as the Gardners, Warren Buffett, and Peter Lynch). Third, it has a fine glossary. Fourth, it is interesting to read about the women in the club, so there's a personal story line that adds zest. This also gives you a flavor of the personal benefits of being in a club, aside from your investing results. Fifth, the book doesn't assume anything. You get help with everything from purchasing a computer to figuring out who to invite into the club to how to file your tax returns. I admired the thoroughness of how the small details were handled.

The club was formed in part because Ms. Housley feels that women need to be able to handle their own finances and develop their own financial security. I agree. So the book is pro-female. The terms used make it sometimes sound like women are being put down. I don't think the book is intended that way, so give her the benefit of the doubt.

In the book's comments, Ms. Housley refers to owning a mutual fund and trailing the averages as a bronze medal. Well, that's the level of performance they have now. She describes the indexed solution as the silver medal. Beating the market is the gold medal. I see almost everyone I know get bronze medal performance by trying for the gold medal. It's not easy to achieve gold medal performance. Less than one professinal investor in ten succeeds.

After reading this book, I suggest that you consider where else having friends to do things with would encourage you to get started. Exercise? Learning a new skill? Finding a better job?

The best way to learn is to get some experience. Start now!

I just finished reading Karin Housley's "Chicks Laying Nest Eggs" and absolutely loved it! She's witty and bright--and has taken a unique approach to educating women (and men) on investing (and starting an Investment Club). I have read many, many guides to investing...spent plenty of time on websites like E-trade, and the truth is, they never keep my attention and the advice is consistently contradictory. Karin has designed twelve, easy to understand guidelines for investing in stocks. It's a no-nonsense approach that helps new investors build confidence, while trying to navigate the market.

For the critics that criticize the "Chicks" performance recently, the philosophy is to buy for the long term...so that you don't need to spend every day agonzing over your investment decisions. By purchasing companies that you know and understand, with strong management and solid financials, you are setting yourself up for success in the future. And you can pay attention to the things that are most important in your life...your kids, your career, your hobbies, living life.

The book has wonderful stories about all the women in the Chicks Investment Club--the personal approach was refreshing, adds interest and has certainly motivated me to get a group of girlfriends to start a club of our own. In addition to investing, they've helped each other through the joys and tears that comes from life. They've supported charitable organizations and it sounds like they've created life-long friendships!

It's about time we see an interesting author that explains the complexity of investing to women, who quite frankly aren't all interested in becoming obsessed with investing--but rather interested in learning...sharing...and being empowered to create their own futures. Thanks Karin...your book is a treat!

The first problem I had with this book was the incredibly condescending attitude by the writer. Just because *she* was completely clueless about their family investments doesn't mean the rest of the *housewives* in the country are. She continually talked down to her readers and spoke absolutely horribly about her children. Whether she was joking or not, I found her style extremely offensive. This breastfeeding, clothing diapering, homeschooling mother who happens to love her children didn't fit into ANY of the stupid examples she used.

But I muddled through those first few chapters to get to the meat of the matter - The Chicks Dozen. This is the all-knowing formula that one must run each potential company through before buying the stock. The problem? It worked fine when the bulls were running full steam last summer and they went with primarily tech stocks. Now? Their portfolio is a total loser and they were hit hard. I mean HARD. I notice they don't even publish the numbers on their site any longer.

As it is now, I don't think ANY company would fit into their standards and, in fact, they've changed strageties completely (I mean a COMPLETE reversal!) and are now going with mutual funds. There was page after page in the book BASHING mutual funds and now they've realized that putting all your eggs into single stocks in this bear market just doesn't wash.

They may have beat the men on Wall Street for ONE YEAR, but they sure aren't clucking now. So save your money and check out their website to see their current strategies because they've changed their tune. You'll also notice that one of the members has already left.

Didn't anyone at the publishing company *read* this book with it's hogwash advice before publishing it?

After reading this book (on a business trip) my first thought was how this book is for everyone, not just women. Not being stock market savvy, I started with the index, looking up subjects I thought might be interesting. What I ended up doing was reading this book cover to cover and finding myself much the better for it. Karin Housley shows a real talent for knowing where the starting point is in every step of the way. The biggest problem I find with the market is that it is approached with implied knowledge assumptions that are not always valid. Ms. Housley assumes you know nothing...and that is the perfect approach. She almost takes you to the point of "To turn on the computer, press the on button" which is exactly what many people, like me, need. Each chapter is introduced, explored and summarized in a very easy to understand fashion. There is also a very welcome comedic approach which makes all of the chicks very real and approachable. Do yourself a favor, buy this book and read it. And then keep it. You will be using it again.

Like all flash-in-the-pan popular "investment books" this one had a lucky run, until....errr, uhhhh, ......the portfolio began to stink.

There is an iron rule for "popular" investment books: avoid them.

Instead, look at the easy-to-read books written by investment pros: John Train, Warren Buffett's annual reports (those are very inexpensive), Ben Stein, Joel Greenblatt, and Andrew Tobias.

If you are a frazzled housewife who wants to have an investment club made up of folks similar to yourselves and put together a market beating portfolio this book will lead you astray. For tips you can e-mail me.

Full disclosure: my wife also is a professional portfolio manager, mother of two, and is a better investment manager than me. What Professor of Finance would ever admit that? An honest one.

I can't express just how excited my girlfriends and I were to read this book. It is like a step-by-step process of how to set up a club, and appears to leave nothing out! All 8 of us have bought one and read it, and cannot wait to get started! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I went to a book signing by one of the Chicks, and appreciated their honesty about not being "experts." More than anything, they have given my friends and I (ages 37 to 62) the courage to just do it! I strongly encourage anyone even considering getting started in a club to get this book. It sets the framework and makes it easy and FUN!

I just finished reading Chicks Laying Nest Eggs by Karin Housley and must admit that it definitely kept my attention from cover to cover. The manner in which it was written kept my attention and before I knew it I was finished. I have been thinking of starting an investment club and this has already caused me to make a list of the girls I think would like to join me in this adventure. I would certainly suggest that they all read Ms. Housleys book first and I am sure it would make them feel like I did when I finished the book. I can't start investing soon enough.

I like the fact that Ms. Housley emphasized that it is so much fun to learn something that was quite foreign to you before but more importantly to have fun while you learn. It certainly sounds as though the ladies in her club do have fun, both on their on line meetings and at the personal get togethers.

Once again, any of you people out there, men or women, who have thought about starting an investment club should read this book!

Maybe they made money when you could throw money at virtually any stock and make a fast profit. But this silly advice won't work in the current markets. If you are serious about making money in the markets you need better advice that can work in all kinds of economic conditions.

This book falls woefully short on all counts.

I can't express just how excited my girlfriends and I were to read this book. It is like a step-by-step process of how to set up a club, and appears to leave nothing out! All 8 of us have bought one and read it, and cannot wait to get started! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I went to a book signing by one of the Chicks, and appreciated their honesty about not being "experts." More than anything, they have given my friends and I (ages 37 to 62) the courage to just do it! I strongly encourage anyone even considering getting started in a club to get this book. It sets the framework and makes it easy and FUN!

It sounds to me like people either loved or hated this book. I'm in the middle. The content was excellent for beginning investors. Even though the math may have been a bit elementary, sometimes a refresher is needed! Skip over the examples if you have just graduated from Harvard.
I am going to be starting an investment club and have read a few books on it now. This one is very light-hearted, even if you don't think her humor is. It does, however, allow one to read more than one chapter without falling asleep, a problem I did have with another book.
What is comes down to is this -- this book is full of IDEAS, a place to start. Some of us ARE middle-class stay-at-home moms and some of us aren't. It really doesn't matter either way. She is showing us what worked for her and her club. It is up to us to decide which information we would like to use and which information we could care less about.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in forming an investment club, or just learning a few of the ways to go about researching, choosing and following stocks.