Play to Prosper: The Small Investor's Survival Guide aims to equip readers with the ability to make better investing decisions. Using game and play analogies, it helps readers more easily navigate the often confusing world of investing, providing a broad understanding of financial markets and demystifying both the investing game's playing field and the players who make a living on it. The book is not about giving stock tips; it is about providing knowledge and insight, resulting in empowerment.
This book is primarily intended for investors who:
seek a greater understanding of, and control over, their investing activities;
feel lost, intimidated, confused or overwhelmed by financial markets and the mere thought of having to make investing decisions; or
are suspicious of financial advisors, brokers and economic forecasters.
Dr. Yuval Bar-Or is a leading expert in decision-making in the context of risk. He is an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University's Carey Business School, where he teaches finance. Yuval is the author of four books, including the Play to Prosper series directed at investors who are confused or intimidated by financial markets and unsure whether they can trust their financial advisors.
Dr. Bar-Or has lectured extensively in academic and professional settings on the subjects of decision making, risk management, and financial literacy. He holds a Ph.D. in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1998, Dr. Bar-Or established The Light Brigade in the belief that enlightened decisions - those made with better knowledge of facts and consequences - will result in lower personal and corporate risk. His company consults in the areas of financial literacy education, business & risk management, leadership development, and corporate credit risk.
Prior to launching The Light Brigade, Dr. Bar-Or held senior strategy and operations roles with some of the world's leading risk management firms, including KMV and Algorithmics. His roles have included managerial responsibilities in New York, Toronto, London, Singapore, and Australia.
Yuval Bar-Or has been quoted in various media, including The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, BusinessWeek, US News & World Report, The Arizona Republic, Bankrate.com, FoxBusiness.com, Morningstar.com, Investopedia.com, RIABiz.com, Forbes.com, AdvisorOne.com, InvestmentNews.com, Treasury & Risk, the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, and the Journal of Labor Economics.
His first book, "Leveraging People for a Corporate Turnaround: Leadership and Management Guidance for Organizational Change," touches on the importance of good decision-making skills for corporate leaders. His second book, "Is a PhD for Me? Life inside the Ivory Tower: A Cautionary Guide for Aspiring Doctoral Students," is set in the academic world.
Born in the USA, he spent over a decade in Israel and Canada, where he completed three university degrees at McMaster University. He lives in the Eastern United States, and is currently pursuing a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
This review is from: Play to Prosper: The Small Investor's Survival Guide (Paperback)
Praise for Dr. Bar-Or's "Play to Prosper." Dr. Bar-Or has created an innovative investment book that uses sports analogies that details every dimension of the game. Whether you are a student of finance/economics or a novice investor who wants to learn more about the investment "game," there is something for everyone in "Play to Prosper." The book is easy to understand and uses a logical framework that is easy to follow for those interested in investments and who want to improve knowledge of financial markets.
There are three general concepts in the book. The first is that financial advisors do not have a crystal ball and they "do not have a sure recipe for success." The second is that "a small investor should have a general idea of basic investing principles and risks" to avoid unintended consequences. The third is, more often than not, "believing that someone else's motives are perfectly aligned with your interests is wishful thinking."
This book provides the small investor with the necessary toolkit to make the playing field more level and fair. Dr. Bar-Or breaks down difficult concepts so they are easy to understand. "Play to Prosper" is a must for anyone who wants to learn more about investing activities, those who feel intimidated with financial markets, or are suspicious of financial advisors.
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This review is from: Play to Prosper: The Small Investor's Survival Guide (Paperback)
Whether you are someone like me who would like to make informed decisions prior to investing your money in a mutual fund, or simply someone who would like to learn more about the financial markets, this is the book to buy. The author has done a phenomenal job at explaining those cumbersome financial concepts and theories in an easy to understand way using game and play analogies. The book covers a broad number of basic investment vehicles (including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs), as well as more sophisticated investments. It also describes the different players who eat a piece of your pie. Unlike some other books that only give you general information on investment vehicles, this book provides much deeper insight into the motives and behavior of the market players, as well as the many real risks you face as an investor. Finally, it provides meaningful advice about how investors can make the playing field more level and fair.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the financial markets. It's a pleasant read, it's honest and it's written with you (the average person or as the author calls "the small investor") in mind.
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This review is from: Play to Prosper: The Small Investor's Survival Guide (Paperback)
This book is presented from the outlook of the investor as the investment game is covered from head-to-toe. The reader learns that very few participants of the game are on your side. Feeling as though we have no friends in the game, fortunately Dr. Bar-Or is on our team. Play To Prosper is great because you know everything in it is true and "is actually how it works." I would not want to engage the markets without Dr. Bar-Or in my corner. Having read other big names, this book is on the shelf closest to my desk. There are other investment books out there but none with the same level of astuteness and credibility put forth by this author. The author's credentials are amazing. You want to know what he knows about investing and the financial markets.
The framework used to inform the small investor is effective in keeping the reader interested while glimpses of hope are experienced. The book is well-written and offers tremendous creativity in the way that knowledge is passed along to the reader. And, all I can say is that the information is presented in such a way that the book is very interesting, on top of being the holy grail of investment guides. It is a quick read. I highly recommend this book and would love to hear your feedback on my post and the book.
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