Protecting Your Wealth in Good Times and Bad [Paperback]

Richard A. Ferri (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2003

This title offers techniques for individual investors to safeguard their money, even when markets fall back. When attempting to "time" their way around market downturns, individual investors are up against thousands of professionals who are paid billions of dollars to do the same. Throw in unpredictable, marketspooking world events, and the odds against investment success can become even worse. "Protecting Your Wealth in Good Times and Bad" shows investors how to invest for the total market, not just for individual phases, and build a portfolio to weather all markets with long-term safety and security. Full of practical advice and easy-to-understand techniques and examples, this uniquely proactive guidebook provides proven strategies to: know what news is important and act accordingly; invest for specific needs, from college savings through long-term care; and diversify assets to minimize risk and increase overall returns.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Time-Tested Techniques for Building and Protecting a Solid Financial Foundation

Markets go up. Markets go down. And somehow in that never-ending cycle, you have to invest and save wisely enough to keep your family safe from financial worry. Protect Your Wealth in Good Times or Bad outlines an easy to understand, practical, and market-proven financial plan calculated to grow and protect your family's savings as it substantially eases your money concerns and crises--today, tomorrow, and throughout a long, happy, and healthy retirement.

Praise for Protect Your Wealth In Good Times and Bad:

"A comprehensive manual of sound advice for the investor who is serious about planning for the long term."--John Bogle, Founder, The Vanguard Group, Author, Common Sense on Mutual Funds and John Bogle on Investing

"Whether you are just beginning to save for the future, already in retirement, or somewhere in between, Ferri's new book is the best investment you will ever make."--Larry Swedroe, Author, Rational Investing in Irrational Times and What Wall Street Doesn't Want You To Know

"Rick Ferri tosses a precious lifeline to the millions of small investors battered by the bursting of the market bubble. Readable and comprehensive, his book lays out went wrong and what you can do about it."--William Bernstein, Author, The Intelligent Asset Allocator and The Four Pillars of Investing

"Rick Ferri is an outstanding teacher, writer and investment advisor. Protect Your Wealth in Good Times and Bad is an excellent financial information resource that I plan to use for many years to come."--Michael LeBoeuf, Ph.D., Author, How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life and The Millionaire in You

About the Author

Richard A. Ferri is president and senior portfolio manager of Portfolio Solutions and a professor of finance at Walsh College. He has written numerous books on personal investing, including Serious Money and All About Index Funds.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (April 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071408177
• ISBN-13: 978-0071408172
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Ferri is the founder of Portfolio Solutions, LLC (www.portfoliosolutions.com), a low-fee investment advisory firm based Troy, MI. Portfolio Solutions manages close to $1 billion in separately managed accounts for high-net-worth individuals, families, non-profit organizations, and corporate pension plans. The firm specializes in analyzing and using low-cost and tax-efficient index funds and ETFs to build wealth for clients.

Mr. Ferri earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Science degree in Finance from Walsh College. He also holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Prior to joining the investment community in 1988, Rick served as an officer and jet pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps and is now retired from the Marine Corps Reserve.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Message to Boomers: Save or Bust !, July 10, 2003

By 

dennis wentraub (schenectady, new york USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Protecting Your Wealth in Good Times and Bad (Paperback)

Americans are saving no more for retirement than they did twenty years ago. Bad advice from the brokerage community, the financial media, and mutual fund companies compound the difficulty of developing a sound strategy for accumulating sufficient wealth to achieve financial independence. All this is at a time when workers have more retirement options available to them. This book is written for people who want to do their own financial planning. Each of the chapters summarizes and list key points for easy back reference. Given the obstacles investors face from outside advisors and the author's conviction that the projected benefits from Social Security are "destined" to be reduced, the importance of financial planning is compelling.

Ferri's investment advice is straightforward: Save consistently. Diversify. Keep investment costs low. Use market tracking index funds. Many of Ferri's ideas can be found in other recently written books on the subject, but as a stand alone introduction, this is a good place to start. Some readers will take the author's suggestion and begin with the third and final part of the book where advice is given for readers at different stages of their investment lives. But it is in the earlier sections of the book the author builds his case for developing realistic return expectations, reducing risk by using different kinds of assets like foreign stocks and real estate, and keeping costs down. It is also in these sections that Ferri is especially hard, I think unfairly, on stockbrokers who are dismissed as undereducated and mercenary, but these traits are more representative of individuals than a profession. His criticism of the mutual fund industry is more objective with respect to hidden costs and strategies for inflating performance for public consumption. These criticisms echo the periodic comments of industry gadfly John Bogle whose book on mutual funds is recommended in an Appendix.

Not every investor - my guess is only a small minority - will have the discipline to learn to manage their own financial affairs without some outside guidance. However, sound information covering a broad range of topics of the kind Ferri has compiled in this book will greatly improve an investor's chances for success with or without outside help.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource for Do-It-Yourself Investors, May 16, 2003

By 

Warren McIntyre, CFP (Troy, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Protecting Your Wealth in Good Times and Bad (Paperback)

As a fee-only financial planner, I really enjoyed this latest book by Rick Ferri. It provides a straightforward approach whereby anyone can construct a low-cost portfolio to build and preserve wealth. The book would be valuable to anyone who wants to understand why markets behave as they do, and to fashion a plan to invest in uncertain times. The author includes useful advice about how much money one needs to accumulate for retirement, and how much income can be withdrawn safely. Mr. Ferri offers plenty of technical information to support his ideas, but it is presented in an easy to read style. I particularly liked the guidelines for setting realistic expectations for investment returns in the future, and the practical advice for successful investing at different phases of life. Many of my clients are do-it-yourself investors who are looking for some guidance. This book provides it - and I plan to recommend it to clients as an educational resource.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Primer with Detailed Examples, May 14, 2006

By 

Dale C. Maley "Index Fund Investor" (Fairbury, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Protecting Your Wealth in Good Times and Bad (Paperback)

I was very impressed with this book and give it an A. Ferri's writing style is easy to read.

Ferri wrote this book near the end of the biggest 3 year drops in the U.S. stock market since the Great Depression. Many investors were wiped out from jumping on the tech stock bubble of the late 90's.

Ferri does a great job of explaining the advantages of index funds and the theory of asset allocation. He offers several ways for investors to judge what their "real" risk tolerance is with regards to selecting the proper stock to bond asset allocation.

I enjoyed the later sections of the book where Ferri broke down his recommendations by age groups (from young people to retirees). He offers specific asset allocations and specific funds to achieve these asset allocations.

Ferri is also brave enough to publish his estimate of future returns of the major asset classes.

If more investors had followed Ferri's asset allocation advice in the late 1990's, they would not have suffered the loss of most of their retirement investments.

All-in-all, a good book for serious investors who manage their own portfolios. I would suggest companion books to supplement this book including The Richest Man in Babylon, Bogle on Mutual Funds, The Millionaire Next Door, The 4 Pillars of Investing, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, and the Coffeehouse Investor.