Charles Schwab's Guide to Financial Independence: Simple Solutions for Busy People (Paperback)

by Charles Schwab (Author) "What do you think of when you hear the word invest?..." (more)
Key Phrases: international index funds, portfolio this way, asset allocation plan, United States, New York, Investor Profile Questionnaire (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Charles Schwab's Guide to Financial Independence: Simple Solutions for Busy People, by the founder of the pioneering discount brokerage firm that bears his name, is a nuts-and-bolts handbook for people who recognize the importance of investing, but know little, or nothing, about how to do it. Charts that illustrate complex financial concepts and worksheets that help readers prepare individual fiscal agendas keep the focus on making proper choices and developing workable plans. Utilizing his 40 years of financial experience, and relying completely on his admitted bias for stocks, Schwab explains the ins and outs of planning an investment, choosing the components and bracing for taxes, putting the plan into action, and preparing for future developments. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Schwab, founder of the discount brokerage firm, has written a beginner's guide to investing. He explains the importance of investing and presents worksheets to help determine personal investment goals and risk tolerance. Schwab briefly explains various types of investments and how they have performed over time. His overall advice is to invest long-term for growth through a diversified portfolio of stocks and stock mutual funds both in the United States and overseas. Some of his examples and advice naturally favor Charles Schwab offerings, but the book is generally objective. As a beginner's guide, it gives a lot of information in a few pages, but an appendix lists additional sources of information (including web sites), and there is a fairly extensive glossary. Schwab's wide name recognition and his 4.5 million customers will make this a necessary purchase for all public libraries.?Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, Pa.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (December 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609802720
• ISBN-13: 978-0609802724
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #960,252 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb introduction to investing, August 9, 2000

By	twisesq - See all my reviews

Schwab, of discount brokerage fame, has written an easy to read introductory guide to savings and investment. None of his material is unique or new - it is similar to that presented by Suzie Orman and the Dummies guides. Nonetheless, Schwab's book is probably better for new investors because he uses plenty of charts, graphs and personal examples, and presents it all in a very user-friendly format. The theme is basically not to jump in with both feet, but to do as much as you can. There are a few gratuitous plugs for his brokerage firm, but the book is definitely not one big advertisement. This book is well recommended for first-time investors and recent college graduates about to start their first job (good graduation gift). It is not recommended for people who are already in the stock market or who already own mutual funds and regularly invest - you already know what is in this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you were afraid to ask about investing, but......, March 6, 2000

By	Marsha Currie (Middletown, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I went to a branch office of Schwab, I asked if they had any literature for the novice--ultra novice--investor, one who was even reticent to discuss the subject for fear of revealing genuine ignorance of it.

When the broker gave me a copy of Mr. Schwab's book I thought that this was going to turn out to be a booksize ad for the Schwab company.

I couldn't have been more incorrect: the book explains even the most fundamental terms/aspects of personal finance and investing in a most clear and insightful way. Yes, of course, the Schwab Co. (and it's services) is mentioned, but in a non-skewed or biased manner--alongside discussions about other such companies.

Mr. Schwab recommends some additional books for the beginer--I purchased them, and have been more than satisfied with the contents (i.e.--the "Dummy" series, Jane Bryant Quinn, others.)

Mr. Scwab succeeds in his stated desire to demystify (paraphrase) personal finance. It's a fine book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Simple Introduction to Investing in Financial Assets, February 16, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This book is an almost ideal introduction for the person who doesn't want to think very much about investments, but would like do better than with a certificate of deposit in a bank.

The book favors financial assets (not too surprising, given that Mr. Schwab's company is the leading discount broker), but he offers a number of time- and trouble-saving reasons for that. The book is supported by a number of quantitative analyses, questionnaires, model portfolios, and personal examples from Mr. and Mrs. Schwab's experience. The book is well written and clear.

The book is in three major parts. In part one, he argues in favor of why the growth potential of stocks gives them long-term advantages over many other asset classes, and takes you into setting your goals. In part two, he explores which types of investments will work best for what you want to accomplish. Using your goals, he helps you adapt the assets you buy to fit your circumstances. In part three, he describes how to get started and maintain your strategy.

The best part of the book comes in the way it uses questionnaires to help you develop your financial goals, risk preferences, and financial time frame. Then the book gives you financial portfolios (based on historical studies described in Stocks for the Long Run) to match up with your situation. You could easily spend quite a bit of money with a financial advisor to do this for you without getting a much different result.

I also liked the way the book directly takes on the problem of market fluctuations and the emotional tendency to buy high and sell low into account. For those with shorter timeframes and lower risk tolerances, Mr. Schwab recommends buffering the fluctuations by having an asset allocation into less volatile securities (although those that will earn lower returns).

But still, the book could use more advice on how to overcome emotion. Telling you to "learn to keep a tight rein on your emotions" will not be enough for many people. This problem will be compounded by Mr. Schwab's insistence that "timing is a very minor player in the larger scheme of investing." Tell yourself that if you had just bought a lot of technology and dot com stocks in March 2000 and held them until now.

I think that timing (even if you are going to buy and hold indexed mutual funds -- something that is highly recommended here) is important. If you buy into an index (or stocks or other financial assets) at a relatively low price, you will spend less time being upset about the volatility of your investment. Since the average asset class is highly volatile on an annual basis, you can at least try to get in near the low of the last 12 months.

That will have a big impact on your psychology as you get started. As Mr. Schwab points out, the biggest mistake is not investing at all. Concern about lack of time and feeling intimidated about making a mistake keep people from getting started. Setbacks cause people to retreat from investing. He encourages a minimum five-year buy-and-hold period to allow growth to bail out any near-term losses.

I think that Mr. Schwab writes off investing in your own business or in real estate much too quickly. My suggestion is that you read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" to get the opposite point of view on those investment classes.

For a better look at using indexed mutual funds, I recommend John Bogle's Common Sense About Mutual Funds, which is more thorough than this book. You may decide to avoid picking individual stocks when you know more about the track record of trying to find mutual fund managers and stocks that outperform the indices.

A good lesson from this book is that we must pay attention to important subjects, or face the consequences. Where else in your life are you paying too little attention? How can you get the information to overcome your stalled thinking and behavior?

May your life be filled with riches from the attention you place on making good decisions!