Review of Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor (Hardcover)

For almost a decade now, this has been my bible on mutual funds.Using a straightforward and candid approach, Vanguard founder John Bogle explains every aspect of mutual funds and the industry behind them.Never does Bogle exaggerate information or mislead the reader as many other financial "guru's" do to sell their books.He is a true consumer advocate and his goal is clearly to educate.

Covered is everything from stocks, bonds, money market funds, indexing, asset allocation, expense ratio's and the risks inherent not only in investing but in not investing (e.g. the erosion of the dollar vs. inflation in "safe" investments).Bogle utilizes numerous graphs and statistical data throughout the book to help make his point and to allow the reader increased comprehension.

It is important to note that this book was published in the early 1990's.Since then capital gains tax laws have changed and the Roth IRA was yet to be created.For more up-to-date information I would recommend reading Bogle's newer book, Common Sense on Mutual Funds. Nevertheless, Bogle On Mutal Funds is a great place to start educating yourself to become more financially savvy.This book has been invaluable to me and I believe it is key to my investing success.I find myself often referring to it, expecially now in these turbulent market times just to hear Mr. Bogle remind me to, "stay the course" and I will be rewarded.No wonder so many admirers refer to the beloved Mr. Bogle as, "Saint Jack."



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Review of The Successful Investor Today: 14 Simple Truths You Must Know When You Invest (Hardcover)

I was very impressed with this book and give it an A. Swedroe's investment advice is excellent and the writing style is very easy and fun to read.

I read all 4 of Larry Swedroe's stock investingbooks in the last few weeks, and although they are excellent books and I agree with most of his recommendations, he tends to re-use the same information in each book.To keep this book straight in my mind, compared with the other 3 books, this review is structured along his Outline of the book.

Truth 1: Active Investing Is a Loser's Game: It Must Be So

Larry lays out the case why active investing always loses to passive investing.

Truth 2: The Past Performance of an Actively Managed Fund Is a Very Poor Predictor of Its Future Performance

He does a good job of citing many studies demonstrating that past performance is not a good predictor of future performance.

Truth 3: If Skilled Professionals Don't Succeed, It Is Unlikely That Individual Investors Will
Truth 4: The Interests of Wall Street and the Financial Media Are Not Aligned with Those of Investors

He points out why passive investing is not promoted by Wall Street and the financial media.

Truth 5: Risk and Reward Are Related: Great Companies Provide Low Expected Returns
Truth 6: The Price You Pay Matters
Truth 7: The Most Likely Way to Achieve Above Average Returns Is to Stop Trying to Beat the Market
Truth 8: Buying Individual Stocks and Sector Funds Is Speculating, Not Investing
Truth 9: Reversion to the Mean of Earnings Growth Rates Is One of the Most Powerful Forces in the Universe
Truth 10: The Forecasts of Market Strategists and Analysts Have No Value, Except as Entertainment
Truth 11: Taxes Are Often the Largest Expense Investors Incur
Truth 12: Knowledge of Financial History Is Critical to Successful Investing
Truth 13: Adding International Assets to a Portfolio Reduces Risk

Although I agree with the author's claim that foreign stocks help reduce portfolio risk, I do have trouble believing or following his recommendation of 20 to 40% asset allocation in foreign stocks. I feel more comfortable with a 10 to 20% allocation to foreign stocks.

Truth 14: There Is No One Right Portfolio, but There Is One That Is Right for You

He points out that investing is not an exact science, and the optimum portfolio is difficult to achieve. Each person must get comfortable with the risks and complexity of their allocations. He also gives a convincing argument for skipping mid-cap stocks in favor of only small and large cap stocks.


Conclusion
A: The Enron. Debacle: Lessons to Be Learned

It was interesting to see how some of the supposedly smartest brains in the investing world loaded up on Enron stock, including the Janus funds.

Appendix B: More Investment Truths You. Must Know to Be a Successful Investor
Appendix C: Investment Vehicle Recommendations

Great list of investment choices to implement you asset allocation plan.

D: The Home Financing Decision:To Borrow or Not


Nice analysis of an issue than many investors struggle with.He combines a nice financial analysis with the "able to sleep at night" test.



All-in-all, a great book for serious investors who manage their own portfolios. To me, his four books are very similar. If you choose one of the four books to read, I think you will get 90% of his message versus spending the time to read all 4 books.

I would suggest companion books to supplement this book including The Richest Man in Babylon, Bogle on Mutual Funds, The Millionaire Next Door, The 4 Pillars of Investing, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, the Coffeehouse Investor, and the Bogleheads Guide to Investing.



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Review of Financial Darwinism: Create Value or Self-Destruct in a World of Risk (Hardcover)

I was fascinated by the premise of Financial Darwinism and found myself agreeing with most of its conclusions and remedies. The subject matter is extremely timely right now. Investors, politicians, and financial people are struggling to understand the new financial world order. An astounding amount of leverage and risk was not at all visible before this crisis and resulting losses were surprising, to say the least.

The theory is solid and fascinating and is clearly a strong suit. This is why I couldn't wait to get to the "real life" examples presented in Chapter 5, which is the heart of the message. The case study of the current financial crisis illustrates why Tilman's theory works. This chapter makes getting through the detail in prior chapters, where the reader is trying to understand the implications of the book's ideas, worth it.

Notwithstanding somewhat excessive use of dashes (the author's amusing style quirk), the clarity of thought is impressive. As a journalist and personal investor, I was afraid that this book would only be understandable (and of use) to finance experts, executives, economists, and such. This was not at all the case - thanks to all the main points clearly laid out in the first chapter.

Despite the Darwinian message, it is likely this book will become the new "bible" for businesses and investors around the world.



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Review of Fraud Examination (with ACL CD-ROM) (Hardcover)

This book is a very thorough and well-written introduction to the field of fraud examination. Authors' lucid and easy-to-read style with plenty of fraud story examplesis helpful to digest complex concepts such as financial statement frauds and e-commerce frauds. Chapter sizes are carefully kept small. Quizzes and case studies are also well-thought out.

Some reviews on Amazon don't do this book a justice. Overall a comprehensive text book in the area of Fraud examination. For curious and interested in this field, I also recommend Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports, Second Edition.



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Review of Steiner's Complete How-To-Talk Mortgage Talk (Paperback)

This book is very basic and may be good for the first time homebuyers.As a mortgage professional, I was looking for something to help with my corporate training material for new associates.I continue this search.

Product Description
Product Description (1000 characters, including spaces):Did you know that your home is NOT the biggest purchase you'll ever make in your lifetime?Your mortgage is your biggest lifetime purchase.At today's rates, the MORTGAGE INTEREST you pay your friendly lender will be MORE THAN TWICE what you paid the seller for your home. Mortgage Talk takes a straightforward approach to getting the best loan for the consumer - whether you're buying or refinancing.Set up as a glossary, you don't have to read everything before you get started.Just go to the part you need, use the evaluation forms in the book for interviewing lenders, finding the best, and you're there.



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