Customer Reviews

The Seven Deadly Sins of Investing: How to Conquer Your Worst Impulses and Save Your Financial Future

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This is an unusual book on investing, as it provides neither advice on investing nor investment strategies. Instead it focuses solely on explaining the negative impact of specific investor emotional traits on investment performance. It is written in an easy-to-understand, friendly, conversational style.

Specifically, Fertig covers seven psychological factors that result in causing investors to perform poorly. These factors include: envy, pride, lust, greed, anger, gluttony and sloth. He covers these topics one at a time, and includes interesting personal stories and examples that clearly illustrate his key points.

From my own investment experience spanning 49 years, I can attest to the critical importance of keeping your emotional behavior and psychological weaknesses in check, otherwise investment results suffer. Too many investors buy at the top and sell at the bottom, because they were never strong enough to overcome their weaknesses. Hopefully, by reading this enjoyable book and thinking about their own situations and need for discipline, and taking corrective ACTION, the reader will improve his/her investment performance.

We live in an age of instant gratification, instant messaging, and an overabundance of stock market commentary from the TV talking heads and media outlets. All this extraneous information (not knowledge) negatively impacts investors thought processes. Investing is not a game and should be considered a place to have fun. Investors need to get control of their internal weaknesses and realize what factors need to be overcome to be successful. This book fills that need very well. Along with books on charting and stock market strategies, this book is part of the trilogy of books that potential investors need to read to become successful.

Making money in the stock market would be a lot easier if we did not succumb to the whim of our emotions. In order to beat the stock market, you must assess your weaknesses and overcome these emotional traps: envy, pride, lust, avarice, anger, gluttony, and laziness. The author explains how all of us are sinners, but some of us can be saved.

Simply saying that you will avoid making these mistakes is easy but doing so when under the pressure that the market inflicts is much more difficult. Every trader needs to go through the list of emotional breakdowns above and think about how they react to these emotions. Write down the mistakes you make because of fear or greed. Think about times when you have been reckless in your trading and write down a plan to overcome them.

Before you make another trade, create a plan to overcome the seven deadly sins of trading. Doing so will do more to your profit than anything else you can do.

A very readable book. I found myself identifying past mistakes with all the sins at some point or another in my life. I wish I had this book 15 years ago -- I could have avoided many bad apples along the path.

You don't have to be in the investment business to understand this book. It was a real eye opener and provided me with signifigant insight into why I invest as I do. This is a very helpful tool for every investor no matter at what level.

No crash diets here....In this very readable book, the author gives us sound advice on how to "get rich slowly". Using the Seven Sins (Gluttony, Sloth, etc.) to illustrate temptations that we may all be vulnerable to in our investment behaviors, he helps the reader recognize his/her own tendencies and adopt a more pragmatic, long-term and ultimately successful approach. His case examples, lack of jargon, and clear, concise language make this book helpful in shaping an investment strategy---and fun to read.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF INVESTING: HOW TO CONQUER YOUR WORST IMPULSES AND SAVE YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE probes the psychology of investors and investments, sharing the knowledge Maury Fertig has gained from a long career at Salomon Brothers to help save investors from their self-defeating impulses. Each investment decision holds possible dangers: the author analyzes common problems and paths and offers up solutions based on psychological insights.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a serious investor,I learned a lot about investment strategy....now I need to put this sage advice to work. I highly recommend this book.

I am not typically a person who would read a finance book, but this one was easy to read and accessible. I highly recommend 7 Deadly Sins to any person interested in making good, well-informed investment choices.

It is a must read for anyone who is serious about investing. Great investment details with personal stories, and it can be beneficial to both experts and beginners.

Informative and well organized, "Sins" presents an interesting and unique way to look at the "got yas" that many investors make. Great for both casual and serious investors.