The Roaring 2000s Investor: Strategies for the Life You Want [Hardcover]

Harry S. Dent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 1999

Offers pragmatic investment strategies in a guide to making the most of money, and life, over the next few decades.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In The Roaring 2000s, America's favorite optimist, Harry S. Dent Jr., makes the case that demographics drive all economic activity and that, thanks to the current baby boom, we're set for one whale of a good time over the next 10 years. In The Roaring 2000s Investor, Dent shows how to cash in on this boom, then prepare for the worst when the downturn finally hits in the latter part of the decade. Dent believes that the best investment opportunities exist in the stock market--specifically technology, financial services, health care, and leisure stocks. But watch out after 2008, because that's when he thinks the bottom falls out. For these tough times, Dent recommends a shift away from stocks to out-of-favor investments such as bonds and commercial real estate.

In addition to investment information, Dent includes a good dose of living advice. He counsels not to be the millionaire next-door, counting change in a darkened living room while the greatest economic boom in history roars past. He writes, "Life should be interesting; investment and financial plan should be boring." Dent's prescription: Understand what drives the economy, then get a financial advisor and learn to enjoy life. Other subjects he touches on include asset allocation, international investing, and tax planning. Some might find Dent's reliance on demographics as an economic barometer a bit too simplistic. But for others, The Roaring 2000s Investor just might be the perfect framework for building an investment strategy into the next millennium. --Harry C. Edwards

Review

Business Times Dent shares his vision of our country's economic future and reveals his proven methods for taking advantage of these anticipated trends to redesign how we work and live. Dent's valuable business and investment strategies will enable people from all walks of life to prepare for -- and make the most of -- the inevitable boom ahead. -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 14, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684862328
• ISBN-13: 978-0684862323
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,472,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harry S. Dent, Jr. mission as CEO and founder of economic research and analysis company HS Dent is 'Helping People Understand Economic Change'. As a former strategic consultant at Bain & Company, Dent's analysis states that demographic trends are the greatest drivers of our economy, along with radical new technologies, working together to follow a four-stage life cycle of innovation, growth, shakeout, and maturity. Since 1992 he has authored two consecutive best sellers The Roaring 2000s and The Roaring 2000s Investor (Simon and Schuster). In his latest book The Great Depression Ahead(Free Press), Harry Dent offers portfolio allocation strategies during an economic crisis, as well as the bad news that the worst of the housing downturn will occur between 2010 and 2013. Harry Dent also publishes the HS Dent Monthly Economic Forecast newsletter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gives you the 'Long' on the Western Economies, April 1, 2000

By 

Edison Lauw (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Roaring 2000s Investor: Strategies for the Life You Want (Hardcover)

We are seeing (and enjoying) similar macro-economic effects of the baby boomers in Singapore. However, as is typical with our far-sighted Government, we are now beginning to be actually worried about the "baby-bust"; if at the current birth rate (below replacement), we would be facing a declining population after 2020 or so.

What Harry Dent puts forth makes sense - that baby-boomers drive economic growth. (It is only but one of many factors.) He admits that he came around to this population demographics reason for economic cycles not necessarily from pre-conceived ideas. Of course now that he has taken a stand he has to defend it for the sake of his professional reputation.

According to the author, the American economy may slow down after about 2008. What does that mean to the investor? Lighten up on US equities? Overweight the other countries that are going into the baby-boom driven phase of their economies?

Remember that his view is but one of many. As a matter of balance I would recommend a read of Krugman's "The Return of Depression Economics".

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One More Level of Detail on The Roaring 2000's Argument, November 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Roaring 2000s Investor: Strategies for the Life You Want (Hardcover)

As my publisher loves to say, you have to connect the dots for people. That is precisely what Dent has done in this sequal to The Roaring 2000's. Specifically, he shows how how large and small cap stocks have fared in various demographic environments, and then concludes that it is big stocks until 2008 in the U.S. He further elucidates on foreign stocks by showing the demographic pattern by country, to give guidance on where to go for international diversification. Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong, and China all look very interesting here. You also get a sense of where to go in Europe (avoid France). Dent also provides his own philosophy about investing, get some help and keep it simple. Those who want to be day traders will be quite upset with this book, but for most people this is good advice. He also reminds us to rotate our holdings among the faster growing sectors of the S&P 500 to beat the benchmark. I would need to see more years of evidence to conclude that the argument is rock sound in this book, but it certainly adds a totally different perspective to the continuing issues of asset allocation. I see relatively little potential harm in the advice, as long as you stay flexible and run out of stocks should the scenarios not be developing as Dent forecasts. I know of few things that can be accurately forecast solely from demographics, so I remain skeptical about an investment approach totally based on it. I am equally skeptial of an investment approach that ignores demographics. The book is well worth your while, and you will enjoy the things you learn. If you have never read Dent before, you can start with this book and be all right. If you have read lots of Dent, the benefit is in the new details.

60 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Harry Dent we all love waste our time in this book., October 7, 1999

By 

Michael W. Tate ([e-mail]) (Birmingham, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Roaring 2000s Investor: Strategies for the Life You Want (Hardcover)

I have read most of the books Harry Dent has authored. If you have never read Harry Dent's books you may love this book. For those of us looking for new knowledge, it was not to be had in this book. The reason why is frightening. Harry Dent pandered to the brokerage community who pays him royally to speak to them. There is no specific advice because the brokerage community wants to pick the stocks. Harry could have easily told us how to invest on our own with great tech and financial stocks, and index spiders offered on the AMEX. Unless Harry's next book declares on the cover that he is giving specific information, I will never buy another book authored by Harry Dent. We already know how long to invest in U.S. stocks, and when to invest more in Asia and other countries. Harry told us that two books ago.