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"An excellent primer for the investor who is not a finance specialist." --Eugene F. Fama, Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, Chicago Booth School of Business, widely recognized as the "father of modern finance," Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2013
"Goldie and Murray have distilled the essence of the matter, and explain in clear English, the advantages of using a fee-only financial advisor, how to select such, and how to work with one in the short and long run. This is sound advice, which you will rarely if ever get from a daily financial newscast." --Harry M. Markowitz, PH.D., Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1990, Father of Modern Portfolio Theory
"Gordon Murray and Dan Goldie have written a book that every American should read. Its clarity de-mystifies the investment process and its insights can make anyone who reads it a better investor." --Bill Bradley, former United States Senator
"I'm glad to see Gordon and Dan collect these insights into a handy, easy-to-use primer so Gordon can stop explaining these principles at Sunday brunch and family birthdays. Full disclosure: Gordon's my brother-in-law. That said, I found this slim volume incredibly helpful in explaining how to think about investing. It's reassuring to know there are some simple principles anyone can keep in mind to make decent decisions and banish the vague anxiety most of us have about where we've put our money." --Ira Glass, Edward R. Murrow Award winner, Host of NPR's This American Life―-
"Murray and Goldie use simple yet compelling logic to explain the fundamental principles of investing. Their clear advice will improve your investment experience." --Kenneth R. French, Heidt Professor of Finance, Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business
"Gordon Murray and Dan Goldie share secrets that Wall Street would rather you not know. You can implement a few simple strategies at a very low cost that will outperform most of the stock picking and complicated advice hawked by high-priced brokers. Read this book and prosper." --Joseph A. Grundfest, former SEC Commissioner, cofounder of Financial Engines, and Professor of Law and Business at Stanford Law School
"Wow! Goldie and Murray have just hit a home run. If I could give only one book on investing to my friends and family, this one would be it." --Bob Waterman, co-author, In Search of Excellence, former director of McKinsey & Company―-
Review
"Demystifies the investment process . . . a book every American should read." —The Honorable Bill Bradley, former United States senator
"Wow! If I could give only one book on investing to my friends, this would be it." —Bob Waterman, bestselling coauthor of In Search of Excellence
About the Author
Daniel C. Goldie is president of Dan Goldie Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm. A former professional tennis player and Wimbledon quarterfinalist, he has been recognized by Barron’s as one of the top 100 independent financial advisors in the United States. He graduated from Stanford University and has an MBA degree from the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley.
Gordon S. Murray spent more than twenty-five years working on Wall Street, primarily at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and Credit Suisse First Boston in a variety of institutional sales and management roles. After his Wall Street career, Murray worked as a consultant with Dimensional Fund Advisors. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and earned an MBA from Columbia University.
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Great book that pretty much states what Warren Buffet and Charles Schwab have said for years; you can't capitalize on market inefficiencies (and arbitrage them) in the long run, especially with today's technologies. If you are the average investor, indexing with appropriate asset allocation and weighting based on your target age trigger and risk acceptance will beat active management every time. Period. My only disagreement is that they advise a fee-only advisor. I think this is not really necessary. They do NOT know anything more than the well informed average investor does. You will pay 1-2% per year for this service. I had one for 9 years, and all he did was MAYBE rebalance things once every two years and make sure he sold enough shares every six months so he could pay himself out of my portfolio! If you need this service, what you are really paying for is the illusion that someone is taking better care of your money than you can. If that were true, I would do it. It's not, and all the data in the world supports that. If you really want to be afraid of active managers and Wall Street "geniuses" read Michael Lewis's "The Big Short". Certainly made me put everything a broad index funds with proper weighting. If there weren't indexing, I would pull everything out of the stock market yesterday. It's a terrifying read. Anyway, this is a great book. Read it. Put the advice in action, and relax. We are all in the same boat.
This excellent, 66-page guide to stock-market investing presents very clear, time-proven recommendations, written in terms that everyone can understand and follow. The book's backstory is powerful: When one of the authors was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he vowed to use the final years of life to divulge the keys to successful investing that many brokerage firms won't tell you because that would mean less profits for them. Sadly, he did die the following year but left behind a heroic parting gift for individual investors like me.
Given the daily barrage of investment shows, the non-stop stream of investment advice, the obsession of millions of Americans with the market--as a hobby, a lottery, a game at which you win or lose--this is a productive book to read even if you think you know the "investment answer" to begin with. The public's constant preoccupation with "star" fund managers, with ratings of funds that, after 10 years, tend to converge, whether growth funds or money market funds, in percentages gained and lost--all borders on Freudian narcissistic anal fixation. This book's very brevity, on the other hand, challenges the notion, espoused by many, that what the public, including young people, need most is "education" about finances. No wonder we're losing ground to nations like China and failing to produce better thinkers and scientists if that's the general understanding of the term "education." Investing is about common sense, statistics, and being in possession of some crucial "information"--which is a far cry from the life-changing, mind-expanding potential of a broad yet deep "education."
If you're incapable of tearing yourself away from CNBC for a single day or of checking on your portfolios by the hour, this book could lead to a fuller, more rounded and productive life. It covers what is largely familiar territory for those who are aware of the enormous odds against simply matching the market averages and who have learned about "efficient markets" and the advantages of "passively managed," or "index funds," which are always the best bet at staying even with the market while not giving back any earnings to the high-expense funds that trade heavily. It endorses "diversification" but warns against diversifying over narrowly--as some investors are prone to do when their singular success in one technology stock leads to purchase of many more stocks in the same sector.
Perhaps the most surprising statement made by the authors--especially after the public has been constantly teased by prospects of higher and higher gold prices and the virtual "necessity" of having at least 10% of one's life-savings invested in the metal--is the authors' contention that gold, silver, platinum, titanium, hard commodities and agriculture--don't belong in the average person's portfolio, period. Commodities take you out of the earnings stream and and limit positive growth. Above all, capitalism by its very definition means a "positive return" for the economies that practice it. As a so-called "hedge," commodities don't reduce risk, which is what investing should be about: instead, they increase risk, whether in terms of a short-term loss or a short-term gain. Investing in commodities is nothing more than a bet. The authors bluntly say that, in their opinion, investors don't need alternative investments such as commodities in order to have a successful investment experience.
In short, investing is about going on a trip to a place you firmly believe exists and to which you would like to travel. It's not, contrary to the practice of many investors, a game of winners and losers, so why "hedge" against either possibility? Yet some people will buy expensive insurance contracts in the event the trip is cancelled or invest in over-priced umbrellas in the event of rain. If such use of time and money is fun, and you don't mind the extra cost, do it. On the other hand, the authors are saying that if you want to experience worry-free investment success, save yourself all that wasted time and money and make the most out of your short life. At the very least, you'll save not just your money but some precious time and talent to give to those in need. Paradoxically, the person who stands to profit most, is the giver. That's when capitalism begins to run with, instead of against, the tenets of the world's major religions, including Christianity.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2011
Verified Purchase
It's always good to see authors who simply want to help investers rather than manipulate them. As a Wealth Manager & Financial Planner myself, I know what works, and happily ignore the lies and deceipt that abound out there. In short - keep it simple by investing in risk assesed asset class passive portflios, and aim to achieve your goals with the minimum risk. Review and rebalance each year, and ignore the hype and noise from the Active Fund Managers who only have their own interests at heart - not yours! As someone said when shown a marina full of yachts owned by Fund Managers - "where are the customers yachts?".
good, quick read (60 pages), but not really an investment answer. very basic information that you can find anywhere on google or youtube. you would be better off as a beginner into the world of personal finance to pick up something like "the wealthy barber returns," "rich dad, poor dad," or "the millionaire next door," over this book.
best advice in one line from this book, start saving, start young. done...saved you money from not buying this book to start investing just like that.
