Book Description
In this one-of-a-kind “how-to” guide, Joseph Hooper and Aaron Zalewski provide step-by-step instructions for generating large monthly cash returns from almost any stock investment—while at the same time decreasing the risk of stock ownership. Filled with in-depth insights and proven techniques, this book is the definitive, rule-based guide to covered calls and calendar LEAPS spreads.
Customer Reviews:
Save your money.......2007-09-09
As an alum of the seminar , I can tell you most of the claims in the book are possible, but very un-probable. Markets are random and all of the technics Joe Hooper touts require you to pick a direction of the market. I have been to the covered call seminar and also the leap seminar(only because it was free with the first one).Joe Hooper is very arogant and self serving. If someone asked a question he didn't like ,he talked down to them so they would not ask again.
I have invested with covered calls for years.They are fantastic way to invest. But in my opinion, Hoopers way is just to make Hooper money with all of the subscription add-ons.My account balance does not lie. There is a much better way. Listen to someone singing Hooper's praises and you will find out they have not been using CSE methods for long, or somebody is getting paid.
Not Worth The Money, Difficult to Read, DVD is worthless.......2007-08-22
After hearing their radio program and claims that "You will never lose money with properly structured Calls," I could not resist buying the book. Having read the book, I do no see how they can make the claim that you will never lose money. It is no a brainer that in the event you buy a stock and sell a covered call just out of money and get called out, you win both ways. You gain from the sale of the stock and profit from selling the covered call. But, in the event the stock drops, you gain from the sale of the covered call but you now have a paper loss on the value of the stock. This is where the book fails to properly account for this paper loss. This is the risk that I never hear them discuss on the radio or in their book. Once the stock drops, you are now on the hook to try and recoup some of your losses with the sale of additional covered calls while at the same time being careful not to get called out at an overall loss. This is not possible 100% of the time. The author's dismissal of not accounting for at least the paper loss on a dropping stock is fraudulent from my perspective because in the end, you have less money then when you started. The 2-3% gain on the call is of little value if it is over shadowed by the dropping of the stock price. In some cases, it might take 6 months or more of painstaking trades to try and get even. However, there will be some cases where the stock drops so much that it will not be possible to recover yet this is never discussed in the book. If I buy a stock at $25 and it drops to $5, by their accounting I have not lost any money until I acutally sell the stock. This is convenient for them but in reality paper losses are real in that you do not have the same level of spending power. I guess if the stock drops from $25 to $5 and you never sell it, you never have a loss but this is totally bogus accounting.
The book is poorly written in that it often refers to techniques like a Tethered Slingshot in the early chapters but is not explained until much later in the book. The organization is confusing and hard to follow.
The DVD is of ZERO value and poorly produced. It highlights a masters session hosted by seasoned veterans discussing nuances that are far in advance of the book. The value of the DVD and quality of the presenters is not worth the time to watch.
Okay Book --- TERRIBLE DVD !!!!!.......2007-08-20
The book is divided into 2 parts. Part 1 describes covered calls (CC) and Part 2 describes Calendar Leap Calls --- a surrogate stock purchase that is not as capital intensive as doing CCs. The DVD similarly is divided into 2 sections. Poor video quality and POOR EXPLANATION.
Now, my preference is Calendar Leap Calls, but they take more work than the conventional CC, but not impossible by any means.
Compound Stock Earnings is the Fort Worth based company that wrote the book, and also pushes their $3250 2-day bootcamp. There is a yahoo newsgroup, several years old with members whom have attended the seminar, bought the book, and/or both. The overwhelmingly predominant opinion is that the seminar is A WASTE of money. Since I live in Texas, I contacted the primary owner...Joseph Hooper, also one of the authors of the book. What an egocentric, full of himself individual. The same sentiments expressed on the user group. He is elderly, a Texan with a folksy accent and sounds like a 'good ole' boy.' Well he is NOT good. He is offensive and abrasive. Could not get any questions answered. NEVER MIND !!!
The Calendar Leaps Call is NOT a new strategy, but it is explained thoroughly with easy rules to follow. Buy the book if you must, not the bootcamp.
Happy Investing !!!
If you want the stock market demystified...this is the book for you!.......2007-08-10
I am not a financial whiz kid nor do I want to be one, but I do want to be in charge of my own financial future and receive a good return on my investments.
I attended the many financial seminars and read the books and felt less adequate by the page or event. Like drinking from a fire hose, the information left me on overload even with all the bells and whistles. But for a novice trying to learn the stock market it was absolutely worthless while the cost was anything but...
Then a friend encouraged me [more times than I want to admit] to read this book. He knew my struggle with trying to grasp stock market concepts. I purchased the book and have not put it down since. I continue to use it as a roadmap to my financial freedom. My friend is a savvy trader and he utilizes the CSE rules in his trades.
This book's content is easy to understand, even for the "never bought or traded a stock before" individual, the principles are solid, and my trading results have been amazing - anticipating ending the year with a minimum of 3% per month.
I trade, I follow the rules and I make money. As my husband says, "my wife doesn't hit homeruns she just hits single after single". It has been fun learning. I love the process and just feel that these guys [Joseph Hooper and Aaron Zalewski] are dedicated to helping positively transform people's financial lives. . . The book is not designed for those looking for get rich quick schemes or complicated mumbo jumbo trading jargon with theories to debate. It is about selling covered calls and strategies to enhance your trading positions. This book teaches simply the market is the market - stocks go up, stocks go down, learn the rules that have been proven to work and have patience.
Joe and Aaron have provided many resources to assist the new and experienced traders and the book is only the beginning. If you want more support, they provide it through additional seminars, online toolbox and online coaching. As their organization grows and their clients request more and simpler tools, they have provided them.
Don't worry about any negative press you read about CSE or the book. If you want to get started trading, learn the stock market basics, be in control of your hard earned money, or you are an advanced trader and you want to learn and improve your trading results ....then buy the book and get started...like me you will be sad you didn't know about CSE years ago!
Not for the faint at heart.......2007-08-01
An excellent book, but this is not casual reading. You will have to re-read this book over and over again, and also have your Excel spreadsheet out to understand the concepts and details.
Book Description
Written by a lawyer for lawyers, Deborah Arron's book is a virtual encyclopedia for lawyers in transition, covering such topics as how to conduct a self-assessment and transferrable skills analysis, how to detect and prepare for layoff, how to establish a transitional financial plan, how to market your special talents, how to work with career consultants and headhunters, how to decide whether to stay in law or leave, how to avoid job-interview hell, how to handle compensation negotiations that work in your favor.
Customer Reviews:
useless for anyone who needs help.......2007-09-07
My problem with all these books that are supposed to help us lawyers find a job or a new career is that they assume we are already successful lawyers. Most of the advice offered is for people who've been practicing for years and therefore have an established network of contacts. The advice for those without experience in the law is geared toward those who already had another career prior to law and suggests that job seekers focus on that career.
This book, all the other "how lawyers can find job" books, and my useless Career Services Office simply assume that all job seekers have parents who are partners in law firms, great networks, and years of related experience.
Even the one of the good reviews given on this site is from someone who has years of experience. Duh! The book promises that it can help anyone at any level of their career. It fails.
What an EXPERIENCED lawyer can do.......2007-02-05
I'm very disappointed in this book. As a recent law school grad WITHOUT years of experience, I was looking for ALTERNATIVES to practicing law at all!! Instead, this book wasted my time and money by assuming I would have the legal work experience to make me attractive to other professions or give me the knowledge to begin some business of my own.
All I really learned was what I already knew was available as an alternative -- teach!
Phoey!! What a waste of my money and time.
Good Starting Point.......2006-09-10
So many lawyers feel burned out, exhausted and stressed--and they don't where to turn next. This book is an easy and anonymous next step for lawyers exploring career change solutions.
Some of the other reviewers raised valid criticisms; parts of the book are very general indeed. However, for many lawyers, it's the ideal starting point for analyzing what they really want to do with their life.
Many lawyers I know have enjoyed this book's exercises for mapping out an ideal job and analyzing transferable skills. They also like the appendix listing jobs in and around the law; it's good for brainstorming possibilities.
As a lawyer coach, I particularly appreciate the chapter dealing with lawyers' finances. Far too many attorneys have no realistic handle on their spending--either personal or professional. Many don't know how much money they REALLY NEED to live on. A financial analysis and budget are critical parts of any job change.
The author peppered the book with links to websites listing jobs, salaries and benefits, and other job-hunting tips. The book functions well as intended: as a good starting point for lawyers contemplating career change.
This book was overly simplistic and had little good advice........2003-12-05
I could sum this book up in eight words:
So you didn't like law school? Try teaching.
There I just saved you the time of ordering and reading it. This book was a typical one of those books you see in a public library with really basic common sense ideas and little insight.
WHAT ARE THESE OTHER REVIEWERS TALKING ABOUT?.......2003-10-27
I cannot believe the criticism of this book. THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR LAWYERS WHO ARE HAPPY IN THEIR WORK AND WHO HAVE FOUND THEIR NICHE.
THE THRUST OF THE BOOK IS TO ASSIST LAWYERS WHO HAVE EITHER GROWN DISILLUSIONED WITH THE PRESSURES OF LEGAL PRACTICE OR WHO HAVE DECIDED THAT THEY WISH TO APPLY THEIR SKILLS IN ANOTHER ARENA.
YOU CANNOT READ THIS BOOK ONCE AND EXPECT TO APPLY THE PRINCIPLES WITHIN A FEW DAYS OR WEEKS. This is a book for long term change and not for the impatient, which is a quality I suspect some of the negative reviewers have demonstrated.
THIS BOOK HAS HELPED ME ENORMOUSLY THROUGH A DIFFICULT CAREER CHANGE. WITHOUT THIS BOOK I WOULD NOT HAVE COPED BECAUSE THE STRATEGIES AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT TAKE TIME TO PUT INTO PRACTICE. IF YOU TAKE A LONG TERM VIEW, IMPLEMENT THE IDEAS AND REGULARLY REFER TO THE BOOK WHEN REVIEWING YOUR PROGRESS THEN THIS BOOK IS INDISPENSIBLE.
The author has pinpointed with great accuracy the level of discontent in some quarters of the profession. Hey with the blame culture, billable hours, risk management, and so on, it is important that alternative career options be identified.
These issues are not often discussed among professionals and can make for uncomfortable reading. This does not mean that they should be swept under the carpet and ignored.
The techniques start with self assessment and identification of the unbelievable skills that we have acquired as Lawyers. Nowhere does the author criticise the profession or fellow professionals.
Indeed she gives people positive strategies for reviewing the options available, making choices and taking action steps.
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A CAREER CHANGE WITHIN OR OUT OF THE PROFESSION, THIS IS THE LEADING BOOK AND AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE.
Book Description
Praise for Future Energy
"Do not despair. Energy independence is in our future and this book has the road map! Bill Paul, one of the most astute observers of the energy scene, describes the new technologies that are taking us there and that will change our lives. A must-read book showing how business, citizens, and investors can take advantage."
—Consuelo Mack, Anchor and Managing Editor Consuelo Mack WealthTrack
Concerns over the availability and security of world energy supplies, especially when it comes to crude oil, have many people wondering what the future of this industry holds and how technology will continue to change it. Thanks to the energy technology revolution currently taking place, a promising "new" oil industry is quickly beginning to take shape-and it will, without a doubt, affect every company, household, and investor.
In Future Energy, author Bill Paul-a national energy and environmentaljournalist for more than thirty years-skillfully addresses the investment implications of this new oil industry and shows you how to profit from the changes that lie ahead. Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, Future Energy will introduce you to some of the most essential issues found within this new environment, including:
- The companies that will be counted on as the producers andinfrastructure providers of the new oil industry
- Why you should consider holding "oil shock" absorbing investmentsin your portfolio
- How electricity will become a new transportation fuel, providingunprecedented transportation fuel diversity
- The role that substitute liquid fuels (SLFs) will play in the newoil industry
- And much more
Customer Reviews:
Worse than amateur.......2007-09-14
Bill Paul wastes our time and money with this worse than worthless book. Here are a few examples of its problems:
- On page 1, Mr. Paul dismisses global warming as an "environmental anxiety", as though anyone concerned with global warming is suffering from a type of delusional and irrational phobia. Global warming is never brought up again (according to the index), as the author expounds on and extols such environmental horrors as oil from coal and oil from tar sands.
- In the one potentially redeeming chapter, "The Power of Efficiency", the author somehow recommends the Chevrolet Corvette as "the spirit that I feel must guide the new oil industry". Perhaps one can conjure up a worse symbol, such as a Mercury Navigator, but there are far better ones, such as the Toyota Prius.
- The same chapter starts with a diagram showing "Kilowatt Gasoline" as a type of efficiency, clearly a false representation.
- The author is so untechnical that he doesn't know the difference between power and energy.
The book is filled with so much misinformation, that the author should receive a negative royalty with each copy sold.
good but incomplete introduction.......2007-08-04
The reader should know that one purpose of this book is to give investors advice on companies to invest in. Mr. Paul hardly mentions solar or wind power, though in Denmark the wind provides 20% of the country's energy. The author believes that, except for a difficult transition period because we have failed to plan and with a few caveats, basically everything will be just fine. The author also believes that with more government control that things will be even better, despite the government's past failings in this area. The facts the author himself mentions would indicate a less rosy picture.
Nonetheless, I gave this book 3 stars. It is clearly written, not too abstract or technical; has a good glossary, index, appendixes and footnotes; and has a list of relevant internet web sites. The author states that one of his purposes is to open a discussion. I believe the author has succeeded in that area.
Excellent on some points, misses the boat on others.......2007-07-31
Bill Paul's book takes a stab at predicting what the energy sector of the future will look like. It's refreshing to see a journalist taking the future of energy seriously. I really like some of his analysis. For example, he calculates that if all the hidden subsidies were included, the cost of a gallon of gasoline would be at least $11 a gallon. These subsidies include such things as military expenditures, lost economic opportunities due to transfer of funds to oil-producing countries, and the like. Paul is certainly correct here. In my opinion, $11 a gallon is actually a lowball figure. For example, he says nothing about one of the most destructive forms of government subsidy, local regulation requiring the provision of certain numbers of parking spaces around businesses and residences. Most American localities have such regulations, which are known as parking requirements. The idea behind parking requirements is to make sure that free parking is always available. Unfortunately, the effect is to favor automobile travel over other forms of transportation, like walking, that don't require all that vehicle storage space. It's a form of enforced inefficiency. U.S. building codes also favor the automobile in other ways, such as by requiring very wide streets. Parking requirements are one of the main reasons why housing is so expensive in the U.S. The cost of parking requirements in the United States is in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year, which would shove up that per gallon price a few more dollars. For more on this, see Donald Shoup's book "The High Cost of Free Parking."
Paul assumes economic growth is a good thing. Economic growth is generally measured by GDP, which as a measure of well-being is so inaccurate as to be almost laughable. GDP is measured by counting up what is spent on various items. This works more or less OK if you're counting food bought by hungry people, but very poorly indeed if you're counting money spent on bombs or automatic rifles, or on parking garages for rich people's cars. GDP is not corrected for increasing population, pollution, exhaustion of natural resources, or declining quality of life. More accurate measures of economic growth, such as the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare or Genuine Progress Indicator, tend to show that there has been far less genuine economic growth than the official statistics suggest. For more on this, see McKibben's book "Deep Economy," Daly's "Beyond Growth," or Brian Czech's "Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train."
I think Paul is too optimistic on how easy it's going to be to make the switch to new technologies and keep our current American lifestyle going. Driving 90 minutes alone each day just to get back and forth to work in my opinion is not a viable option for the long-term future, no matter how efficient the car. The U.S. population is still climbing. None of Paul's proposals will work if this continues. Even if we managed to find a way to fuel all the existing cars with alternative fuels, it's very unlikely we could find enough to fuel cars for all the newcomers, not to mention housing, heat, lighting, etc. No matter how you look at it, a stable population is the first requirement for a sustainable economy. In the U.S. that means we have to take reducing immigration seriously. If we want to keep any semblance at all of the current U.S. lifestyle, we can't invite an unlimited number of people to this party.
Paul is excited by the possibility of converting garbage and other wastes to energy. I tend to disagree with him here. A great deal of the wastes we deal with today are themselves products of the age of cheap oil. An example is meat by-products, such as turkey offal. Cheap turkey is itself a product of cheap grains, which are produced using natural gas-based fertilizers and shipped long distances using diesel fuel. These products are not likely to be available for energy production in the future. For more on this see Kunstler's book "The Long Emergency."
Paul devotes a chapter to "Every Drop of Oil We Can Get is Important," discussing how to get more oil out of of the ground to meet demand. Paul has this completely backward. The more we push to get the last drop out of U.S. oil fields now, the sooner the earth's oil endowment will run out. Fossil fuels are the product of millions of years' worth of sunlight falling on ancient swamps. When they're gone, they're gone. We'd do better keeping them in the ground for a while longer. That oil will be worth a lot more in 50 or 100 years than it is today. What we need to be aiming for is the softest possible landing when making the transition away from fossil fuels. The sooner we start, the longer we'll have at least some of those fuels around to ease the transition.
Paul thinks raising gas taxes is a loser because of how Americans feel about their cars and trucks. He prefers a scheme known as Tradable Gasoline Rights, or TGR. I simply don't see the advantage of this over conventional gas taxes. I think a rise in gas taxes would work fine if it were carefully handled. The most important point is that it needs to be a tax shift, not a tax increase. Raise gas taxes while reducing income taxes, with the shift in tax types being dollar-for-dollar as closely as possible. Why would people object to this? After all, if they really wanted to, they could simply take their income tax savings and spend them on gas. We need to tax less things we want--like income and employment--and more of things we don't want--like fossil fuel use.
Paul also doesn't like gas taxes because they can hurt the poor. Wake up! Anyone who can afford a car these days probably isn't among the poor.
I really enjoyed Paul's analysis of the risk of large shocks in oil prices. This is a serious problem that doesn't get enough attention.
The High Cost of Free Parking
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development
Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train: Errant Economists, Shameful Spenders, and a Plan to Stop them All
Future energy provides realistic options for the future;by the time you are done, these expectations will be things of the past!.......2007-05-07
Though Future Energy by Bill Paul provides pheasible expectations for our country/planets energy future, I feel the book was too slow a read to be rated highly. Though the facts were good, I see this book as a waste of blank pages. I give this book a 2 star rating out of pity and respect for facts.
Average customer rating:
- Interesting Book Flawed by Numerous Typos
- Lacks Depth of Coverage
- Only focuses on risk of returns and leverage
- BEWARE!
- Good book with a very narrow focus
|
The Hedge Fund Handbook: A Definitive Guide for Analyzing and Evlaluating Alternative Investments
Stefano Lavinio
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
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Binding: Hardcover
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Hedgehogging
ASIN: 0071350306 |
Book Description
Hedge funds--one of today's most popular and lucrative investments for high net-worth individuals--also carry tremendous risk for the unwary. The Hedge Fund Handbook provides new tools and frameworks for understanding these complex funds, with the emphasis on risk measurement and management. Extensive charts and graphs demonstrate the inadequacies of traditional methods of analysis while offering the reader a striking new method for detailed, accurate analysis.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting Book Flawed by Numerous Typos.......2006-07-31
This book is certainly not a definitive guide to evaluating hedge funds. It focuses pretty much exclusively on a number of tools for evaluating the risks and returns of hedge funds from a quantitative perspective. It discusses and illustrates some interesting ideas such as the Hurst Index and d ratio to help us evaluate the dynamic nature of hedge fund returns. However, the book is flawed by many figures that either do not display what they are said to in the text or sometimes simply repeat the previous figure with a different number and caption, or perhaps are completely wrong. This makes the book hard to understand in parts.
Lacks Depth of Coverage.......2003-04-26
I read this book in about an hour, it is vey simplistic in the analisis and its conclusion or based on assumptions that can never be applied to hedge funds, specialy his survivorship analysis. I have read about 10 books in hedge funds, I find this the least helpful.
Only focuses on risk of returns and leverage.......2001-06-18
Only focuses on one aspect: risk computations and leverage This book is certainly not a handbook on how to buy a hedge fund. It spends a great deal of time discussing how to disect a fund's returns mathematically. It does a good job of explaining in simple English what is wrong with using standard deviations of returns in trying to determine a fund's risk. Unfortunately, that is not all that one should consider in evaluating a fund. It does not go into detail about looking at other funds a manager may have been involved with, comparing that fund's returns to other funds in its class. It does not talk about understanding how hedge funds determine their fees, how to watch out for fraud, how to evaluate a fund's accountants and lawyers and the relative importance of these factors. It does not spend much time on discussing the risks involved due to the fact that most funds limit when one can put in or take out money or that a fund may force you to take some of your investment back. It also does not discuss tax treatment. Many funds' earnings are reportable as regular income. This may be important. The bottom line is that you can find out about risk and volatility from a stat book. It is the other behind the scenes unformation that is also critical in choosing a hedge fund.
BEWARE!.......2000-07-02
I am highly skeptical of the data behind most of this book. The figures seem consistently wrong. I doubt a single set of data could give the #s shown in both Table 4.2 & Chart 4.5. I find it funny that in Charts 7.1 & 7.2, 2 managers have tremendously different gross returns, but seemingly the exact same set of monthly returns. Funny again, in Charts 8.1 & 8.2, "Best" & "Random" managers seem to have the exact same results. Are the errors in proof-reading, concept, or facts?
Good book with a very narrow focus.......2000-05-18
This book will be useful for the money manager interested in choosing among the growing universe of hedge funds. Despite some overmethodical and occasionally dubious measurement techniques (much is made of the mysterious-sounding "d ratio", which is simply the ratio of winning months to losing months), Lavinio does provide some useful tools for evaluating the past performance and future prospects of different hedge funds.
The only disappointment is that Lavinio tends to treat hedge funds as mysterious black boxes, scrutinizing their results without any real attention to their methods. The lay reader will probably find little to satisfy his/her curiosity.
Book Description
Praise for Active Alpha
"Active alpha is the quest for every sophisticated investor. This book covers all of the key alpha sources currently mined by active managers, reduces the complexity of the subject, and helps the investor get started in the right direction."
-Mark Anson, Chief Executive Officer, Hermes Pensions Management Ltd.
"Long-held traditional methods for investing large portfolios are giving way to new processes that are designed to improve productivity and diversification. These changes find their locus in the sometimes overly mysterious world of absolute return strategies. In this book, Alan Dorsey demystifies that new world and provides a guiding pathway into the future of professional portfolio management. This is an important read for any investor who plans to succeed going forward."
-Britt Harris, Chief Investment Officer, Teacher Retirement System of Texas
"With great lucidity, Alan Dorsey's book, Active Alpha, fills an important void by identifying the relevant institutional features of this complex subject and by providing a unifying analytic framework for understanding and constructing portfolios of alternative assets. For anyone investing in the alternative class, from the new student to the experienced practitioner, Active Alpha is a necessary read. I am recommending it to everyone I know with such an interest, and it is destined to become a much thumbed reference on my shelf."
-Steve Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics, Sloan School, MIT
Book Description
Are the 95 million Americans invested in mutual funds making a mistake? Will inherent problems in the fund industry keep investors from achieving their goals? ""Absolutely,"" says author and financial expert Don Wilkinson. ""Mutual funds are the road kill of American investing.""
In Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds, Wilkinson throws passé investment strategy out the window to make room for the reality of a new era. According to Wilkinson, there’s a smart alternative to mutual funds-separately managed accounts, or SAMs.
In this brilliant how-to guide, Wilkinson explains that investors can gain and maintain wealth through a SAM, an individual basket of stocks or bonds. This new handbook shows how the average investor can now open a separate account for as little as $25,000-and have the account managed by a top institutional money manager through the investor’s financial advisor.
Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds proves to mainstream readers that they can invest like the super-rich and reap the myriad benefits of a SAM: reduced taxes, elimination of hidden fees, customized holdings, and potentially improved performance.
Packed with top-notch advice from a financial pro, Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds is the bible for investors seeking superior results with greater control. One of the most useful and thought-provoking investment books published this year.
Highlights In Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds, Don Wilkinson provides:
•Point-by-point comparisons of SAMs to mutual funds, outlining risks, benefits, and returns
•A user-friendly process for opening, customizing, and switching to a separate account from mutual funds
•A comprehensive list of financial advisors for fledgling investors
•Ways to find advisors who handle separate accounts for clients
Customer Reviews:
Book's thesis is nonsensical.......2007-07-14
Wilkinson spends most of the book deriding mutual funds and selling the idea that (if you are already wealthy) you should place your investable assets in seperately managed accounts. Strangely, the reasons he uses to slam mutual funds apply equally to SEPs.
Wilkinson blames high fees, incompetent or corrupt fund managers, and investor ignorance for mutual funds' supposed poor performance. His answer? Invest your money in your own account with broker's fees, an account manager to guide you, and your own investment decisions.
The audience for this book seem to be people with around $100K to invest, who are savvy enough to handle their own diversification and investment strategy and make sure their broker is on the level, but are unable to track the performance and diversify their mutual fund holdings.
If you are wealthy enough to safely follow the ideas in this book, chances are you don't need the advice in the first place.
A convincing explanation why you should avoid mutual funds and an alternative.......2007-01-06
Due to recent revelations, there are several messages that investors should receive loud and clear. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has done the general investor a great service. By exposing and prosecuting dubious and illegal practices by investment institutions such as flawed recommendation strategies and after hours trading, he has made the investment industry much more transparent. Many investment advisors were counseling their clients to purchase stocks where the advisor had a conflict of interest. Some were also conducting after hours trading, which in the words of Spitzer, was equivalent to "betting on yesterday's horse races." There is a simple lesson in this, there is no substitute for performing detailed and consistent due diligence regarding your investment portfolio.
In this book, Wilkinson points out the general ineffectiveness of investing in mutual funds. In doing so he performs a significant service for the higher end "average investor." By the time the fees and taxes are paid, expenses that are often understated by mutual fund brokers, most mutual funds under perform high interest money market accounts. Furthermore, mutual funds often lock you into investments that you would rather avoid.
Fortunately, while debunking investment in mutual funds, Wilkinson presents a viable alternative. It is the separately managed account, which provides a great deal more flexibility and where the expenses are much smaller. Unfortunately, most separately managed accounts require an initial investment of at least $100,000. Therefore, if you are an investor in that category, it would be very advantageous for you to read this book. Even if you are not, it is worth reading to learn the many pitfalls of investing in mutual funds.
The disadvantages of mutual funds and the advantages of separately managed accounts are completely explained in non-technical language. I am not an investor in mutual funds and after doing the research that reading this book prompted me to do, I probably never will. Wilkinson's main point of advice is very sound, but not easily executed. "Find a caring, knowledgeable financial advisor interested in benefiting you and stick with them for the long haul."
Stop wasting weath improved my bottom line.......2006-02-10
I have read Mr. Wilkson's book and really took it to heart. My wife and I changed our entire investement strategy as he suggested and now are making 12% on our IRA. Could not be happier.
Joe DeCamp
Great book for individual investors!!!.......2006-02-07
This a book worth reading. It provides plenty of useful information for the investor. If you are currently investing in mutual funds, read this book and find out why you shouldn't.
Excellent Information.......2006-02-02
As an investor in mutual funds for many years, I have finally found the
answers on why I have been losing money consistently in mutual funds.
For example, the book powerfully and successfully explains the
excessive fees and the built-in capital gains burden of mutual funds.
The idea of "tax harvesting" performed by a professional money manager
described clearly in the book makes sense to me. Unlike one reviewer,
who appears to want a textbook to teach financial planners about
separate accounts, I 'm an investor who demands solutions not a myriad
of details. I expect my Financial planner to take care of the
specifics. After reading this book, I am going to be questioning him
on why he hasn't put my portfolio into a separate account earlier. This
book is for investors like me. Low returns, paying excessive capital
gains taxes, nicked by fees and charges I don't even know about is my
history investing in mutual funds. This book offers an
alternative--separately managed accounts-- and makes sense for the
right investor. Check it out. I give it high marks
Book Description
Praise for The Handbook of alternative investments
"Finally, one book explains the ins and outs of alternative investments and what investors should expect from this asset class."
-Daniel A. Strachman
author of Getting Started in Hedge Funds
"Many forward-thinking fund managers have recognized the benefits of treating alternative investments as a comprehensive asset class, including both marketable and nonmarketable assets, rather than setting policies and targets for individual components. This kind of treatment allows more efficient understanding and management of this pool of uncorrelated assets. However you treat alternatives, this excellent book is a necessary reference."
-Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg
President and CEO, Strategic Investment Group
"A wonderful introduction to the fascinating world of alternative investments . . . should be on the desk of every senior investment management consultant."
-James P. Owen, The Prudent Investor Network
author of The Prudent Investor's Guide to Hedge Funds: Profiting from Uncertainty and Volatility
Customer Reviews:
a mixed bag.......2003-10-26
as a reasonably sophisticated individual investor, i was hoping for some additional insights over what i already know re: convertibles, metals, hedge funds, etc. --the successes and failures of this book are largely section specific: for example, the chapters on Energy, Distressed Securities and Hedge Funds were insightful and worthwhile, whereas the chapters on Gold and Microcaps were hardly worth reading (i.e. no insights whatsoever). In general, Tremont Advisors did a great job in their sections, and the rest (except the one on Energy) were woefully inadequate.
It seems this book was written with a target audience of unsophisticated / non-critical high-net worth individuals in mind...how many of them are out there, hmmm?
Proceed with caution.
Book Description
Creating Alternative Futures has pioneered many debates on how to guide industrial societies on healthier paths toward more equitable, ecologically sustainable human development. Henderson explains how GNP distorts the goal of human development worldwide. She points out misleading assumptions and a redefinition of health, wealth, and progress for humanity's long-term survival. The book predicts the sweep of democratization and the new "third sector" of grassroots globalists.
Customer Reviews:
The Optimistic Jew.......2007-08-31
This was the first book that made me realize that GNP figures include traffic accidents, natural catastrophes (like hurricanes) etc. as positive growth additions. In other words the costs incurred cleaning up the devastation of Katrina added to economic growth figures. Once I became self-employed and could analyze what economists were saying, I realized that most of them live in an idealized Platonic universe and not in the actual, economic reality of real human beings. Economic growth is based on innovation. Innovation is based on cultural values, constitutional protections and human imagination.
Henderson's insight have made me suspicious of economists whose theories contradict common sense (e.g. if you had one teacher per 20 students and now have one teacher per 40 students you have doubled teacher productivity). They have also made me suspicious of social reformers who similarly believe that increased education and health budgets will solve our problems (what I call in my own book "The Optimistic Jew" the quantitative fallacy). What is needed is the imaginative and innovative rethinking of the entire social welfare issue.
Book Description
This book establishes beyond a doubt that life insurance is the best techniques available to discount estate tax costs, at the same time optimizing the assets you leave your heirs. It's so simple, it's almost unbelievable. You buy. You die. It pays! No other asset - no investment - can do that!
Customer Reviews:
Required reading.......2005-09-24
this book should be required reading for anyone who is serious about their financial future.
Getting rich is only half the battle.......2000-01-12
Estate taxes can claim up to 55% of your estate. Barry Kaye's simple yet amazing concepts showed me how to legally discount that amount by more than 90%. When I showed them to my accountant he didn't believe them at first ... but now we're both sold! Thank you Barry Kaye for helping preserve and protect my estate for my children and grandchildren.
Create Irrevocable Trust, buy second to die life insurance.......1999-03-25
This book makes a pursuasive case for creating, at nearly any age (assuming you have a net worth in excess of $2-3 milion), an irrevocable life insurance trust, and using the cash to fund a second to die life insurance policy. The proceeds will be used to pay estate taxes, giving you huge leverage over other alternative investments. All good concepts, proved with numerous and interesting examples. Unfortunately, the book is redundant, starts out a bit "hard sell", and has a defensive tone throughout. Mr. Kaye would be better served by writing in a less collequial way...more "professional" in tone. And, not frustrating his reader who eagerly turns each page to learn new concepts, only to find Mr. Kaye making the same point over and over again. It is almost as though Mr. Kaye doesn't think he will be believed...so he repeats the thesis again and again. It got tiring...
excellent creative non conventional estate planning.......1998-10-11
This book shows and tells about a totally new approach to estate planning. It also intoduces life insurance as a commodity to be utilized as an additional diversification of assets for any portfolio. In this manner it shows how you can offset and discount your estate taxes while diversifying, optimizing and guaranteeing your assets.
The author introduces many new concepts in short three page chapters with completely understandable charts.
In the back of the book there are valuable tables that are most useful as well as the rates for the lowest priced policies at every age.
Excellent for anyone who never knew but wants to know or any professional looking for easily understandable information on this subject written by the leading practicioner on this subject.
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- eBay Income: How Anyone of Any Age, Location, and/or Background Can Build a Highly Profitable Online Business with eBay
- eBay Powerseller Secrets:Insider Tips from eBay's Most Successful Sellers
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- Economics of Regulation and Antitrust - 3rd Edition
- Essentials of Corporate Finance (Mcgraw-Hill/Irwin Series in Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate)
- Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide
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