The Neatest Little Guide to Mutual Fund Investing (Paperback)

by Jason Kelly (Author) "Welcome aboard! This easy guidebook teaches everything you need to know to begin an investment program in mutual funds..." (more)
Key Phrases: asset allocation fund, portfolio turnover rate, international investing, Value Line, Twentieth Century, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The world of mutual funds can be bewildering, but finding one's way in it has become a little easier in the past few years, with the arrival of books such as Mutual Funds for Dummies . Yet even this Dummies guide, weighing in at 406 pages, can be a little intimidating. Someone should write a smaller book, readable in an hour or so, with just the basic information on how mutual funds work and how to identify and evaluate the appropriate ones.

Which is exactly what Jason Kelly has done. The Neatest Little Guide to Mutual Fund Investing is admirably brief at 131 pages. It could be used as a textbook example of how to render a complex subject in the simplest and clearest way possible. Yet nothing essential has been left out, and even experienced fund investors could benefit from this quick read. How many investors fully grasp, for example, the various measurements of a fund's riskiness? Kelly explains what to make of a fund's alpha, beta, and standard deviation, and he does it in a way that anyone can understand and use. --Barry Mitzman

From Booklist
It's amazing that amid the crowded mutual-fund field no one has thought to explain the ABC's of mutual funds objectively--until this computer tech writer, unaffiliated with any financial services company, decided to tackle the subject on his own. The result, though aimed 100 percent at invest-o-phobes, is remarkably easy, even, at times, fun to read. (After all, how many of the serious specialized journalists would define bear, bull, and lobster markets in one illustration?) Readers learn about the fallacies of investing for your age, the different categories of funds, and the how-to's of interpreting a prospectus and an annual report. Unbiased data on fund monitoring through publications and media (e.g., Morningstar is truly for the serious investor) and on taxes, capital gains and losses, and other related topics are presented both in words and in charts, leaving little to the imagination. A worthy prequel to heavy readings such as Jacobs' Handbook for No-Load Fund Investors. Barbara Jacobs

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Plume (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452277094
• ISBN-13: 978-0452277090
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #408,305 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta read this one!, November 24, 1999

By A Customer

this book has to be the simplest and easiest to read investing book ever written. Because of its brevity and straightforward manner, it can be read by any neophyte investor in a short period of time. GOOD LUCK!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book deserves not 5 but 6 stars, July 31, 1998

By A Customer

Reading this book is the easiest and most time-saving way to learn about mutual funds. If you want a quick introduction to mutual funds which is funny and to the point this book is definitely for you.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is informative, concise, and motivating., June 11, 1997

By A Customer

I had read many investment books prior to Mr. Kelly's and only gained a modicum of diverse knowledge regarding the structure and function of mutual funds. Because of his suggestions, I literally fired my broker--I know as much as the broker does regarding betas, alphas, deviations, etc. Indeed, a scary feeling. For those whose broker is making the profits, I highly recommend this book