From the Author
The conventional wisdom may be conventional, but it's not wisdom. All the fancy charts, arcane terminology, and pseudo-scientific research can't hide one uncomfortable fact: the "smart money" - the experts - have been turning in crummy results for some time. Followers of conventional wisdom have hit into the investment equivalent of a double play. They've lagged the market when it's gone up, but haven't achieved an offsetting stability on the downside.
This book takes a skeptical look at what, until now, has been the commonly accepted way of things in the mutual fund world. You'll see that much of what financial planners, the media, advisors and mutual fund companies have told you is simply not true. It's a bizarre, almost Alice in Wonderland type story. You'll see how efforts to reduce risk can actually become dangerous, while attempts to achieve large gains can result in loss, not profits. It's a story of mutual fund expertise gone mad, all the while proclaiming itself as the epitome of rationality.
The good news is that by shining a light on the delusions that keep your portfolio from its fullest potential, you will be able to see more clearly what actually does work. You'll find to your amazement - or anger - that what works is much different from what you've always been advised to do.
I wrote this book for the informed general investor, one who brings more common sense to the table than technical knowledge. I have tried to reduce, and in most cases eliminate, the usual investment jargon that clutters so many money books. Financial service professionals too often assume that "lay people" possess the same specialized vocabulary and shorthand as they do. It's been my experience that many intelligent and successful nonfinancial people have a hard time giving accurate definitions of even basic investment terms like PE's, asset allocation, and bid/ask prices. If that's you, don't worry. When the need arises to use industry lingo, I'll assume nothing and try to provide clear definitions and perspectives to ensure that we're all talking about the same thing.
As Victor Hugo wrote, "There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come." The time has come to reevaluate the accumulated dogma of the mutual fund world. I guarantee that after reading this book, you will never approach your investments the same way again.
From the Back Cover
Warning! The advice you are getting from financial planner and the media is wrong!
In the midst of the biggest bull market in history, many investors are wondering why they have not achieved better results. The reason, as Robert Markman clearly and compellingly shows, is that the financial services industry has promoted strategies that are doomed to failure. Hazardous to Your Wealth: Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Mutual Fund Experts is a fascinating expose of the misguided and ineffective advice that passes for conventional wisdom in today's investment world.
Learn the truth about the delusions that can cost you profits: Why international funds won't help your portfolio Why value funds are not the safe and prudent choice Why small-cap funds are doomed to lag the market Why advice from financial planners often reduces your potential for long-term profits
"Robert Markman is one of the nation's savviest judges of no-load funds." Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street
In Hazardous to Your Wealth, veteran investment adviser Robert Markman does more than just show that the mutual fund emperor has no clothes. He also helps you break out of mediocre returns by sharing with you solid, practical, easy-to-follow advice; the same advice that has generated millions of dollars of gain in today's market for thousands of investors like you. Before you make your next investment move, you must read this book...then give it to your financial planner and watch him squirm!
