Planning Wealth

In Investment Psychology Explained Martin J. Pring, one of the most respected independent investment advisors in the world, argues that in the revisionist ’90s there are no quick, magical paths to market success. Rather, he emphasizes the timeless values of hard work, patience, and self-discipline—and much more. Drawing on the wisdom of creative investors such as Jesse Livermore, Humphrey Neill, and Barnard Baruch, as well as his own experience, Pring shows how to:

• Overcome emotional and psychological impediments that distort decision making
• Map out an independent investment plan—and stick to it
• Know when to buck herd opinion—and “go contrarian”
• Dispense with the myths and delusions that drag down other investors
• Resist the fads and so-called experts whose siren call to success can lead to disaster
• Exploit fast-breaking news events that rock the market
• Deal skillfully with brokers and money managers
• Learn and understand the rules that separate the truly great investors and traders from the rest

Reading Investment Psychology Explained will give you a renewed appreciation of the classic trading principles that, through bull and bear markets, have worked time and again. You’ll see, with the help of numerous illustrative examples, what goes into making an effective investor—and how you can work toward achieving that successful profile.

Emerging Real Estate Markets

“In this book, you’ll discover how to snatch real estate opportunities at low prices, before their value becomes common knowledge. Buy all the copies on the bookshelf before your competitor does!”
–Frank McKinney, “The Maverick Daredevil Real Estate Entrepreneur” and author of Frank McKinney’s Maverick Approach to Real Estate Success

“I’ve never seen another real estate book even come close to laying out a profit road map the way this one does. If your local economy is too hot or too cold, Lindahl’s guide will show you how to invest in the up-and-coming markets with the greatest profit potential.”
–Stacy Kellams, President, www.RealEstateCourseReviews.com

“Lindahl shows you how to look into the future and see where the next hot real estate markets will be. It’s the closest thing I’ve found to a real estate crystal ball.”
–Jeff Adams, President, www.FreeRealEstateMentoring.com

“The brilliant thing about this book is Lindahl’s approach to investing by ‘remote control.’ He has a real-world system for living in one place and making money from investments in another.”
–William Bronchick, attorney and coauthor of Flipping Properties

“In the crowded field of real estate gurus, Lindahl stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. This book is must reading for any serious investor–beginner or veteran.”
–Justin Ford, author of Seeds of Wealth and Main Street Millionaire

This groundbreaking book is the first to both identify the wide range of political risks that global firms face and show investors how to effectively manage them. Written by two of the world’s leading figures in political risk management, it reveals that while the world remains exceedingly risky for businesses, it is by no means incomprehensible. Political risk is unpredictable, but it is easier to analyze and manage than most people think. Applying the lessons of world history, Bremmer and Keat survey a vast range of contemporary risky situations, from stable markets like the United States or Japan, where politically driven regulation can still dramatically effect business, to more precarious places like Iran, China, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, and Nigeria, where private property is less secure and energy politics sparks constant volatility. The book sheds light on a wide array of political risks–risks that stem from great power rivalries, terrorist groups, government takeover of private property, weak leaders and internal strife, and even the “black swans” that defy prediction. But more importantly, the authors provide a wealth of unique methods, tools, and concepts to help corporations, money managers, and policy makers understand political risk, showing when and how political risk analysis works–and when it does not.

Authored by Ian Bremmer (author of the bestselling The J-Curve) and Preston Keat, the president and research director (respectively) of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk consultancy firm, The Fat Tail is an indispensable guide for anyone involved in the international economy.

This reliable resource provides you with the tools to help you understand and analyze opportunities within today’s global Consumer Staples sector. With this book as your guide, you can quickly become familiar with how the Consumer Staples sector is segmented by industries, their respective macroeconomic drivers, and the challenges facing companies in this sector. Additionally, there are chapters dedicated to explaining many of the unique aspects of Consumer Staples products in emerging markets and security analysis techniques focused on Consumer Staples firms.

You don’t have to be a professional to learn to better invest in the Consumer Staples sector—but you do need to be prepared. Fisher Investments on Consumer Staples can help get you up to speed in this area and help you make better decisions through any market conditions.

For more information visit www. consumerstaples.fisherinvestments.com

Using the dot-com crash as an object lesson in how not to manage your portfolio, here is the best-selling, gimmick-free, irreverent, vastly informative guide to navigating the turbulence of the market and managing investments with confidence.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street is well established as a staple of the business shelf, the first book any investor should read before taking the plunge and starting a portfolio. With its life-cycle guide to investing, it matches the needs of investors at any age bracket. Burton G. Malkiel shows how to analyze the potential returns, not only for stocks and bonds but also for the full range of investment opportunities, from money market accounts and real estate investment trusts to insurance, home ownership, and tangible assets like gold and collectibles.

Whether you want to verse yourself in the ways of the market before talking to a broker or follow Malkiel’s easy steps to managing your own portfolio, this book remains the best investing guide money can buy.

Amazon.com Review

It’s unlikely that you’ll spot many dog-eared copies of A Random Walk floating amongst the Wall Street set (although bookshelves at home may prove otherwise). After all, a “random walk”–in market terms–suggests that a “blindfolded monkey” would have as much luck selecting a portfolio as a pro. But Burton Malkiel’s classic investment book is anything but random. Since stock prices cannot be predicted in the short term, argues Malkiel, individual investors are better off buying and holding onto index funds than meddling with securities or actively managing mutual funds. Not only will a broad range of index funds outperform a professionally managed portfolio in the long run, but investors can avoid expense charges and trading costs, which decrease returns.

First published in 1973, this seventh printing of a A Random Walk looks forward and does so broadly, examining a new range of investment choices facing the turn-of-the-century investor: money-market accounts, tax-exempt funds, Roth IRAs, and equity REITs, as well as the potential benefits and pitfalls of the emerging global economy. In his updated “life-cycle guide to investing,” Malkiel offers age-related investment strategies that consider one’s capacity for risk. (A 30-year-old who can depend on wages to offset investment losses has a different risk capacity from a 60-year-old.) In his assessment of rocketing Internet stocks, Malkiel defends his “random” position well, explaining how “the market eventually corrects any irrationality–albeit in its own slow, inexorable fashion. Anomalies can crop up, markets can get irrationally optimistic, and often they attract unwary investors. But eventually, true value is recognized by the market, and this is the main lesson investors must heed.” Written for the financial layperson but bolstered by 30 years of research, A Random Walk will help individual investors take charge of their financial future. Recommended. –Rob McDonald

Venture Capital Due Diligence provides a clear and complete explanation of the venture capital (VC) due diligence process and shows you how to use it to assess investment opportunities, make smart investment decisions, and increase the return on your overall venture capital portfolio.

This comprehensive guide offers a full explanation of the VC due diligence process, from using screening mechanisms that sort out potential opportunities, to assessing the management qualities, business models, legal issues, and even intangibles of target companies. Structured around a number of carefully crafted questions that venture capitalists often ask when performing due diligence, this book puts you–the reader–in the position of a VC conducting due diligence on a particular company.

In-depth discussions of these questions and their possible answers pull together opinions from many of the major players in today’s venture capital industry, including . . .

• Richard Testa of Testa Hurwitz & Thibeault
• Ann Winblad of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
• John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• Craig Johnson of the Venture Law Group
• Don Valentine of Sequoia Capital
• Kevin Fong of the Mayfield Fund

. . . and many others who are qualified to comment on the proper methods of performing VC due diligence and making VC investment decisions.

An essential guide for anyone involved in venture capital investing, Venture Capital Due Diligence helps you uncover potential problems, while showing you where to look and what to look for when conducting VC due diligence.

This book will change the way you invest. . .and it’s about time!

If your main concern is getting the most out of your money without sacrificing financial security, Dan Solin tells you how to take control of your finances and end up in the top 5% of all professionally managed money.

Solin provides a clear, simple, easy-to-follow road map that will show you exactly how your assets should be invested, using trusted, brand-name funds. He explains how to assess risk and how to allocate assets so that your portfolio is tailored precisely for you.

Most important, Solin’s four-step plan will give you a portfolio that consistently outperforms the professionals (without the fees and without the worry.)

You can avoid the biggest mistakes most investors make:

• Falling for “dumb money” solutions that give your hard-earned cash over to hyperactive brokers and investment advisors.
• Buying into the hype that stock picking and market timing are anything but a fool’s errand.
• Giving too much credence to the media and self-styled gurus who peddle “financial pornography.”

Best of all, the vast majority of investors can implement Solin’s plan in ninety minutes or less per year, without any broker or adviser.

Read by Craig Wollman

Amazon.com Review

If you had to summarize Fail-Safe Investing in three words, it would probably be these: Embrace the obvious. Look at your job, Browne advises. You get ahead because of your experience, education, and common sense. Your job is the reason you have money to invest in the first place. So the first of Browne’s 17 rules is, “Build Your Wealth upon Your Career.” Don’t jeopardize your career; it’s going to take many years of smart investing before your earnings will surpass what you earn at your day job–if they ever do.

The other rules aren’t quite as obvious, but equally simple. Browne explains the difference between investing (making a long-term plan and sticking with it) and speculating (betting that you can beat the overall market during a specific period). He shows how life savings are easily lost when you borrow money to invest rather than investing only the money you already have. Browne also suggests a portfolio that he says is the simplest and safest possible for continual, steady returns above inflation: an equal division among stocks, bonds, gold, and cash. That covers an investor in times of prosperity (stocks), inflation (gold), deflation (bonds), and recession (cash). While many investment analysts would undoubtedly gag if you presented them with a portfolio that consisted of a 50 percent investment in gold and cash, Browne nonetheless makes a compelling argument that such an allocation makes it easier to sleep at night. And common sense tells you there are worse things than a good night’s sleep. –Lou Schuler

In Rule the Freakin’ Markets, Parness uses visual aids and practice exercises to show online traders and investors how to:

- Practice responsible trading techniques that maximize reward and limit risk
- Avoid the “Seven Deadly Sins Plus Fear” that block success in the market
- Protect investments no matter what the market does
- Understand how market technology drives daily and cyclical market moves
- Avoid the pitfalls of trading in cyberspace
- Recover and learn from significant losses
- Strategize and anticipate, rather than overreact or freeze, when change occurs
- And finally, live full and satisfying lives as traders

With its lively tone and refreshing approach to trading and investing, Rule the Freakin’ Markets is an essential guide to profiting from today’s turbulent market.

Amazon.com Review

Those who can ignore the rather garish cover on this book will find a solid, straightforward guide to making winning trades in even the most bearish of markets. The author, who millions of insomniacs know through his middle-of-the-night infomercials, writes with a highly personal voice that some may find a bit grating, but his rags-to-riches story is compelling and needs to be told.

In a nutshell, Michael Parness went from living on a park bench in Brooklyn to a summa cum laude degree from Hunter College in New York City to founding a successful sports memorabilia company. After making $150,000 in that business, he followed his broker’s advice in 1998 and ended up losing virtually his entire nest egg. Since then, he has invested carefully after studying media reports and understanding “market psychology.” Now a broker-averse multimillionaire, he shares with readers a number of strategies that have worked for him in both bull and bear markets.

Augmented with exercises that truly help readers determine their own level of risk aversion, this guide shows online traders and, particularly, investment clubs exactly how market psychology drives daily and cyclical market moves. As Parness says, “I’m not mechanical, and I’m not good at figuring out technical stuff like computers or plumbing or chain saws, but I can figure out how things measure up in terms of probability. And probability is what trading is all about.”

A few too many ka-chingos and wowsas mar an otherwise informed writing style, but nevertheless the book offers some excellent insight into how the market actually works, and how one can make money using that insight. Those looking for a serious study of economic trends and forecasts may want to look elsewhere, but readers interested in a breezy, anecdotal read about market bubbles and bursts will be entertained and more than likely enlightened. –Charles Decker

Charles J. Givens’ Wealth Without Risk has become a classic in the field of financial self-help books for one simple reason: it works. His safe, legal, and proven approach has already started millions of Americans on the road to accumulating wealth through better strategies for personal finance, tax reduction, and investment. More Wealth Without Risk keeps you at the cutting edge of practical, easy-to-use financial techniques. Givens delivers more than 350 low-risk financial strategies — with special sections on protecting your credit and keeping the IRS’s hands out of your wallet — including how and why to:

* Get your next raise totally tax-free
* Make your vacations and trips tax-deductible
* Get your retirement-plan money tax- and penalty-free before age 59 1/2
* Use high-powered, little-known strategies for getting out of debt and rebuilding credit
* Get next year’s tax refund this year

And much, much more!

“Security analysis toward both better odds and higher long-term payoff: A readable, authoritative guide.”
–Professor Bill Baumol, New York University

“In reading this book, one is struck by the simplicity of the ideas and the dependence of the investor on his own understandings of reality as opposed to the myths on the street. The updated version of this 1979 classic incorporates all the modern financial engineering that has occurred as a product of the late 20th century, and the new methodologies refine your abilities to measure risk but don’t change the fundamentals of value. The updated version of The Aggressive Conservative Investor is very much a value-added proposition.”
–Sam Zell, Chairman, Equity Group Investment LLC

“I concur with those people who regard Marty Whitman as the ‘Dean of Value Investing.’ This book is a must-read for everyone interested in understanding the art of investing.”
–Melvin T. Stith, Dean, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University

This no-holds-barred presentation of one of the most successful investment strategies of all time — value investing in distressed securities/companie — shows you how to analyze and evaluate stocks just like controlling owners. Based on the assumption that stock price rarely reflects real value, authors Whitman and Shubik use numerous case studies to present risk-minimizing methods that also provide high rewards. Still relevant today, this classic work includes a new introduction discussing the dramatic changes that have taken place in the value investing world since its first publication in 1979.

A revised and updated edition of an investment classic, The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You’ll Ever Need remains clear, understandable, and effective. This edition contains a new chapter comparing index funds, ETFs, and passive asset class funds, an expanded section on portfolio care and maintenance, the addition of Swedroe’s 15 Rules of Prudent Investing, and much more.

In clear language, Swedroe shows how the newer index mutual funds out-earn, out-perform, and out-compound the older funds, and how to select a balance “passive” portfolio for the long hail that will repay you many times over. This indispensable book also provides you with valuable information about:

- The efficiency of markets today
- The five factors that determine expected returns of a balanced equity and fixed income portfolio
- Important facts about volatility, return, and risk
- Six steps to building a diversified portfolio using Modern Portfolio Theory
- Implementing the winning strategy
- and more.

Let David Bach show you a whole new way to prosper—by going green

Internationally renowned financial expert and bestselling author David Bach has always urged readers to put their financial lives in line with their values. But what if your values are a cleaner and greener earth? Most people think that “going green” is an expensive choice they can’t afford. Bach is here to say that you can have both: a life in line with your green values and a million dollars in the bank.

Go Green, Live Rich outlines fifty ways to make your life, your home, your shopping, and your finances greener—and get rich trying. From driving the right car to making your home energy smart, Bach offers ways to improve the environment while you spend less, save more, earn more, and pay fewer taxes. Best of all, he shows you exactly how to take advantage of the “green wave” in personal finance without the difficult work of evaluating individual stocks. What’s more, he will get you thinking about a green business of your own so you can help the world along as it is changing for the better.

David Bach is on a mission to teach the world that you can live a great life by living a green life. With Go Green, Live Rich, you can live in line with your eco-values on the road to financial freedom.