Customer Reviews

David Scott's Guide to Investing in Bonds

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A super easy to read book, that provides all the details necessary in unterstanding how to purchase the different types of bonds available on the market. The book gives a clear and easy guide, for the investor, to follow in determining the bonds appropriate for their portfolio. It outlines the risks and opportunites -- with special attention of how inflation and interest rate changes can impact on bond value. Higly recommend that this book be thoroughly read before purchasing your first bond and then reviewed each time a follow up purchase is to be made. A fighter pilot has a check list to be review before each flight. This book is the check list for the bond buyer.

I have read a few books in the David Scott's Guides series and find them to be very well written, with understandable terminology and examples. He's a very good teacher and doesn't assume you know all the jargon of investing. In this book he builds a solid foundation for what the various kinds of bonds are, why they are issued, how to value them, etc. All your questions are answered clearly and he includes several Web sites to visit to get more information. Buy it, keep it handy, and enjoy the overlooked (by me, anyway) world of investing in bonds.

A good overview of bonds. I have been dabbling in stocks for several years but avoided bonds because I really didn't understand them. This book provides a concise and easy-to-understand description of bond investments. Even better, it is one of the least expensive books available.

I found this book an easy read and quite informative for someone who is not well versed in bonds. I had often considered bonds to be a part of my portfolio but I didn't know enough about them to make an intelligent decision. This book helped me decide how best to purchase bonds (mutual funds, closed-end investment companies, individual bonds) and what things to consider. I highly recommend the book for someone thinking about adding bonds to their investment portfolio

There are much better choices for learning about investing in bonds. Reasonable explanations of the concepts that are covered, but some important concepts aren't included, and, ultimately, there is not enough advice contained to act upon. Disappointing.
Data is old (e.g., federal tax rates from 2003).
No information on bond ladders (how they work, how to build one).
Sections on treasuries and inflation risk contain no information on, nor references to inflation protected bonds (TIPS).

The book did a very good job at covering the basics, but that's it. The book constantly repeated the information, and if it was meant to drill the information into the readers head, then the author must have been aiming this book at people with no experience, or intelligence. The information was dry, and the book could be reduced to a third of the size. All the information can be found on the internet. No real information on how to invest into bonds, but just what they are and how interest rates and time can change the market value of them.

To end on a positive note... The book is cheap, and if you want to know just the basic information maybe to understand what your 401k is doing, then this book is for you.

This is a fair book if you are not very familiar with investing in bonds. Of course many of the things that you read in this book are readily available on the internet for free so you don't necessarily have to buy it and read it. Even if you understand all the things that are in this book you still have a long way to go in investing.

Some Essential Advice

(1) Try to buy bonds when federal funds rate/interest rates are high and sell them when the interest rates are low. Bond Prices and interest rates have inverse relationship.

(2) Do Not Trust rating agencies, ever. You have seen what happened with sub-prime mortgages.

(3) Do Not Watch mainstream financial news such as CNBC or FOX Business.
Try independent blogs such as MaxKeiserdotcom or Bob Chapman.

(4) Do not tamper with junk bonds.

(5) You can try Bond ETFs or Bond Index Funds. Try Vanguard Funds for that matter.

(6) All dollar denominated financial assets or products are at risk of losing their value because the Federal Reserve, a private banking cartel, keeps printing phantom money out of thin air backed by nothing.

(7) Always do independent research and do not listen to your financial advisers.

This book is written in clear, understandable English and no technical jargon. Where terms need definition or explanation, they're kept simple and concise. Where appropriate, simple examples are given.

If you want to have a better understanding of bonds, the bond market and how the bond market works, this is the book!