Fund-of-funds Books

Hugo Grotius was a brilliant man and tireless scholar of the Dutch Enlightenment. In these three volumes (very nicely translated and attractively priced) he does nothing less than discuss the history of war up to his times, but not just as history: he seeks to define the difference between just and unjust wars, the use of pretexts for war, the purposes of embassies, treaties, and alliances, and the ethics of waging war. He admits early that civilized nations can behave like common thieves, but makes the best case he can for suppressing savagery.
Most admirable is his thorough research: he explores the major authors of antiquity, Jewish tradition, and the Christian Church, quoting from them often and to the point. Some of his opinions are as shocking as anything in Machiavelli, but they are always supported by historical evidence. It is not important that he be always right: it is important that he tried to be, with untiring skill and diligence.

Regular readers of the business press know that mutual fund companies don't attract the breathless media coverage typically devoted to the intrepid, visionary geniuses who launch hedge funds and private equity firms. After all, everyone knows mutual funds are boring, right? They can't short stocks, can't use leverage, are heavily regulated and have to disclose all their best ideas. Why talk about common Chevrolets when you can write about mysterious Lamborghinis? To these folks, a book about the rise of mutual funds is about as enticing as one about the rise of vanilla ice cream. It won't be the first time these folks have been dead wrong.

Matt Fink's book is not so much about the investment side of the fund business. That subject presumably would have been a stretch for someone whose career was spent inside the beltway. Instead, Fink provides us with a guided tour of nearly 70 years worth of public policy developments that allowed the investment side of the fund business to expand and prosper, ultimately reaching nearly two-thirds of all middle-income American households. Remarkably, Fink was a major participant in many of these developments through his work at the Washington trade group that represents mutual funds, the Investment Company Institute. Fink does not press the point, but one of this book's many quiet virtues is to demonstrate that strict government regulation that is intelligently conceived, executed and overseen can help rather than hurt financial businesses, and enhance rather than constrain the interests of individual investors.

Fink does not shrink from the fact that his job was to advance the interests of mutual fund companies. Refreshingly, he also refrains from pious assertions that his industry's success in Washington was attributable to leaders who were more noble or public-spirited than others in the private sector (although some clearly were). Instead, an industry on the brink of extinction in the 1930s realized that strong and effective regulation provided an opportunity to begin remedying and rebuilding relationships with investors, many of whom had been betrayed or, at a minimum, badly served, by fund organizations in the euphoria of the late 1920s.

Fink describes how the ethos that brought industry leaders together in support of comprehensive legislation in 1940 persisted over the decades and generally served fund companies, and fund investors, surprisingly well. If they didn't get it in the industry's early years, most fund leaders understand now that the success of the mutual fund business model depends entirely on individuals who are committed to long-term investing. Fink explains that this structural fact is profoundly important: that it is what aligns the interests of fund investors with those of the advisers who manage their investments, and what distinguishes mutual funds from so many other financial services and products.

Mark Twain said that "prosperity is the best protector of principle." Fink recounts that the first major fund industry scandal since the New Deal followed the bursting of the tech bubble in early 2000 and the three-year bear market that followed. To his credit, however, Fink does not suggest tough market conditions or other external factors caused the abuses, and he is unsparing with respect to the industry executives directly involved. Fink's shock and disappointment is evident as he describes how the unfolding series of abuses in 2003 and 2004. In light of our current difficulties, it seems especially notable that shareholders in the funds affected by the scandal recovered 100% of their losses (which proportionally, were rather small) and that numerous executives were fired and held personally liable. Moreover, the scandal accelerated a flight to quality that has seen most of the industry's most acclaimed, shareholder-friendly firms attract new investors and significantly expanded shares of the market.

Mutual funds are obviously not immune to the economic difficulties we read about and feel every day. Like many others, my family's retirement and college savings accounts have gotten clobbered. But Fink's book is a reminder that mutual funds are resilient and -- unlike the unfathomably complex products devised by the geniuses on Wall Street (at least those who are not now known as former geniuses) -- have a proven record of surviving and even flourishing through all sorts of national crises and market declines. We are keeping our faith, and our money, in mutual funds. And if you want to know why, Matt Fink's book supplies a big part of the answer.

An excellent introduction to fund raising; without doubt the best available. Rosso is clear and concise in this brief and easily digested text. This is not a "how to" book. You will not learn the details of running a capital campaign or conducting prospect research. Rather, Rosso provides an overview of the elements of fund raising. The major laws of fund raising science are presented along with the less well defined knowledge areas of fund raising art. He discusses topics including sequential solicitation, the donor data base, and using a gift range chart. But also communicated are the human elements which are essential to success in this field. The account is highly personal, drawing on years of practical experience. The recollections are well chosen and thoughtfully integrated into the text. Although this book will have most value for those with little or no prior knowledge of its subject, I suspect that even the experienced fund raiser will obtain benefit from its reading.

This is a fabulous book about a fabulous artist. Roxy Paine works in varied media, and one of his most recent projects is a series of tree-sized steel sculptures of trees, which are then planted (usually among the real things) internationally. This book includes a lengthy conversation with the artist about his entire body of work, photos of the construction of a specific steel tree, and articles about the history of Central Park, New York--where the tree, named "Bluff", was installed for a season. The book is hardcover. The jacket is an image of bark and when you slide it up, the cover and coverpages shimmer in silver (like stainless steel).

I love this artist. The interview offers detailed insight into his process and motives that would benefit any creative mind.

The first 25 pages are a lecture delivered on December 2, 1968 under the auspices of the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund. The balance of the book is a listing of his writings in the collection of the Library of Congress compiled by Ruth S. Fritag.
--- from book's card catalog notes.

This is an outstanding resource -- an excellent and comprehensive introduction for non-profit administrators who want to learn more about fundraising, but also a fresh perspective for professional grantseekers.

A copy should be in every nonprofit library. It's an indispensable guide to fundraising!

Researched beyond all prior literature, this well written book ads sugnificant knowledge to our understanding. Historians and attornies will find this book fascinating.

I remember when I first got this book from the AMORC bookstore. I looked through it and started learning of the cycles of life and I was so amazed. It's true, I have had an illness or injury in the period before my birthday almost every year before getting the book and it's happened a few times since! I got the coin and the booklet on hourly cycles but don't use it much, the breakdown of periods during a year (from one birthday to the next) is much more interesting to me personally and it's fun to look through it and realize how true it is, I try to plan for the cycles now and I have had a lot of benefit from it.

I first encountered this book while working at a historic site and wanted my own copy immediately! Page after page is filled with interesting games, dramatic plays, mind puzzles, and tricks to fit just about any social situation. Originally printed in the mid-19th century, the contents of this book remain as timeless as ever. Even if you have no plans of throwing your own nostalgic party, this book will provide pages of fun and fascinating information!