Investment-management

I have a pile of books that address the same subject and would not have picked this one up if a colleague had not persistently badgered me into reading it. Instead of yet another tome on business cases, ROI and value, I discovered what to me is the absolute best book on the following three areas:

(1) business case development - the authors shine here by showing how to craft a realistic business case that does look at the important factors and benefits. More importantly, you're shown how NOT to write a business case, and common problems with too many business cases that are presented (and all-too-often accepted). This aspect of the book alone raises the bar in business case development.

(2) properly computing ROI that is real - in many organizations ROI is a forbidden word and NPV used instead. One reason for this is it's rarely computed correctly. Before reading this book I used ROI as a quick and dirty gage, but always looked to NPV as the deciding factor when exploring the feasibility to a project or solution. The way the authors expose fallacies of improper ROI computation, and how to avoid them is invaluable, and will restore credibility to ROI as a realistic indicator.

(3) assuring value - the VALUE-on-Demand approach the authors propose is a straightforward method for evaluating, selecting and prioritizing projects. This methodology has no flaws that I can find, and will add structure, clarity and process to governance.

Regardless of your experience, there is much to learn from this book. It can serve as a company 'how-to' guide and standard as is with little-to-no tailoring, and represents the best book I own on business case development and determining ROI. It's also one of the best books on establishing a viable governance program I've read.

I have heard of Jack Keen and his ROI work at notable companies like PeopleSoft and Oracle where his methodologies apparently have paid off well at those companies and at others. He has long had a web site but its exciting to see his methodologies carefully described in this book and where it is easy to understand and implement. Our sales teams have quickly come up to speed on his methodologies and his ROI tool and are now able to present more compelling business cases to prospects. Engaging prospects in lively discussions about their needs and concerns is a big part of the book and it certainly has paid off well for us as we have clearly decreased our sales cycles by better putting ourselves in our prospects' shoes and more clearly understanding their needs. The result is more effective selling!

Have you ever been in situations where you are asked to implement some project and all that back it up are some fuzzy logics?
Discussion is going nowhere because no one is able to get beyond gut feel to show real benefits?

Well, I had. And until I encounter this book, it was a struggling process.

This book's step by step method make it all clear how to justify a project, what are the right question to ask, how to get people all aligned. Suddenly a framework appears, a road map indeed that guides all the discussions and leads to conclusion.

The best I like about it is how to get from intangible to tangible. From just premise to prove. How you can justify user request that goes "We want this system because it improve our efficient". "Yeah right, so does dozen others that want to get implemented"

Get this book.

If you've never read a book about investing in the stock market, this is a great book to start with. Having read many of the authors that Jason cites, I found his distillation of their concepts quite good. Jason first teaches one how to evaluate stocks, and then what the Master Investors (e.g., Buffett, Fisher) can teach us about investing and stock selection. Jason also focuses on a book entitled "What Works on Wall Street." This book by James O'Shaughessy revolves around his study of 43 years of results from 1952-1995 contained in Standard & Poor's Compustat database. Jason's book ends with chapters to help you set up your own core portfolio utilizing the methodology he has set forth.

Bottom line: if you're looking for a thorough discussion of the Capital Asset Pricing Model or the Equity Premium, then I would look at more academic texts, but if you want a clear, user-friendly, well-researched discussion of the stock market, I would buy this book. The average 5 star review from 25 people (as of this review) is substantial evidence to this book's value.

Kelly has put together an excellent book here. In 7 chapters, he covers a breadth of knowledge that every serious or potential stock investor should be familiar with. I learned more in the week I spent reading this book, than in 6 months of listening to tips from co-workers, on-line discussions, and self-directed research.

In chapter 1, he defines all the terminology you'll encounter in stocks. In a very readable manner, he quickly covers EPS, P/E, PSR, ROE, Beta, and numerous other concepts that are useful.

In chapter 2, he describes the methods of 6 all-time top investors (including: Buffett, Lynch, O'Neil, etc.) comparing and contrasting there methods.

In chapter 3, he explores what some historic evaluations of stock growth show. This is great stuff, especially during a down market.

In chapter 4, he explains in detail the Dow Dividend Strategy. Anyone can understand this and with only 30 minutes of work per year have a relatively successful investment plan.

In chapter 5, he covers the process of choosing a broker and placing orders.

In chapter 6, he covers some of the many methods you can use to research stocks. With a ton of web-sites, newsletters, and books, Kelly's advice can save you countless hours wasting time looking for information from the wrong source.

In chapter 7, he explains his own strategy. With easy to understand worksheets and using the knowledge gained earlier in the book, he guides you into an investment plan that will suit you.

Not only is this book full of good information, but it's written in a very readable manner. I highly recommend reading this book BEFORE making another investment decision. Even if you have a broker that you like, you owe it to yourself to educate yourself with this book.

"The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing" is a great book for all investors.

This book will teach you how to analyze individual stocks. You will learn which information is important and where to go to find it.

It makes the vagaries of investing clear. It concisely covers areas such as Valuation Ratios, Growth Strategies, and Value Strategies.

No only does this book cover a wide variety of information, but it then distills it down into the best strategies for investment success.

Essentially, this is a must have book for anyone new to investing.

Market Models is an essential tool for practioners who would like to gain fundamental expertise on financial modeling. Aside from the practical view, Alexander's book has got such a clear and comprehensive reading that even the most inexpert individuals can get enthusiastically involved in learning issues related to risk management, investment analysis and financial forecasting. Recent econometric techniques on time series are brilliantly applied with real examples on the finance field. The book demonstrates that the author has a great knowledge on both a theoretical as well as a practical basis on market modeling and knows how to combine the two aspects in a very intelligent way. I considered this book to be a fundamental reference for either financial profesionals and academics.

Targeted towards practitioners concerned with model development, the book addresses key issues in market risk measurement, quantitative trading and investment analysis in a very systematic and clear exposition. I find it particularly reassuring that someone with the author's academic background and hands-on expertise has decided to undertake the responsibility of putting-up a comprehensive guide to financial modelling, from the basic use of financial data to statistical techniques selection and model implementing. Particular attention is paid to supporting each subject with real-world examples, both within the text and in the associated CD. Moreover, the spreadsheets contained by the CD can always represent a useful reference for building your own models. As I find this book really helpful for applied, but also academic model development, I recommend it highly.

If you are looking for detailed rigorous mathematical development then look elsewhere, that is not the reason to purchase this book. It is targeted towards application and there it excels. I have not seen any other book on this topic that so effectively presents a level-headed applied approach that keeps the basic assumptions of the models firmly in sight.
What tool fits when is nicely discussed.

This is a superb investment book. Bernstein first covers basic statistical topics and historical risk and return data for stocks, bonds and bills. He then presents a lucid discussion of portfolio theory and its applications for the small investor. The most important result of this theory is that the risk and return of a portfolio are very different from the risk and return of its constituent parts, so that adding a 'risky' asset to a portfolio can actually decrease the portfolio's overall volatility. This discussion requires only minimal mathematical background. Bernstein then takes on the controversial topic of market efficiency. He also describes stock valuation models, current valuation levels, growth and value investing, Fama and French's three factor model, the concept of the efficient frontier and numerous other important topics in finance. But the discussion throughout is very clear and understandable as well as practical. After making a compelling case for index investing with periodic rebalancing, Bernstein presents helpful Vanguard and DFA model portfolios. What the author has done is to take the most significant results from academic finance and translated them into English for the individual investor. He has done investors a great service.

I would have to agree with John Bogle's endorsement: "This is a great book!"
While Malkiel's Random Walk covers Modern Portfolio Theory, Bogle covers the virtues of index investing, and Graham, Lynch and Fisher cover individual stock selection, studies show that asset allocation alone is responsible for over 90% of a portfolio's performance in the long run. Yet asset allocation theory seems to me to be under-represented in the investment literature for non-professionals.
Bernstein's book goes a long way to correct this gap. He starts out almost too simply. Bernstein takes the reader step-by-step through a discussion of basic financial math and statistics (hitting variance and correlation coefficients in particular) as he builds the case and explanation behind asset diversification. He writes to an intelligent audience but does not assume a mathematical or financial background. I like that he encourages the reader to take a chapter at a time. He instructs the reader to finish the chapter, and then put the book down and get back to life. This adds to the methodical tone of the book: a step at a time.
In the final chapter "Odds and Ends" the author changes gears. Suddenly we are in the world of - well - odds and ends, the finer points of portfolio management. This was the most interesting part of the book for me. Here Bernstein reviews the case for index investing and - of special interest to me - value investing. What is the premium in returns for small vs. large caps, value vs. growth? Which MPT stat, P/E or P/B is the better predictor of future performance? Why is value averaging so important and yet so counter intuitive? This chapter alone was worth the price of the book.
Finally, Bernstein shares the wealth. The bibliography and recommending reading sections are terrific. This alone might be worth twice the price of the book.
In a time when we are all more intimately involved with the management of our retirement accounts, I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone and everyone. You cannot afford not to be familiar with the contents of this book. Highly recommended.

When you pick up this book and look through it the graphs my scare you. Don't let your math phobia kick in. William Bernstein does a great job of walking you through each chapter. In fact at the end of one of the first chapters he tells you to put the book down for a few days and just digest the information. I would rate myself as at least an investor with moderate investing knowledge. I found this book helpful and the charts held validate the points Mr. Bernstein is making. I suspect I will refer to it often when I have a guestion about investing.

In these tough economic times, this book is more important than ever. I liked the Tightwad Gazette better, but only because it was closer to where I was in my Frugal Jorney. This is a guide for those who never thought about thrift. Those who never set foot in Goodwill before and are living the American Dream...conspicuous consumption and debt up to their eyebrows! Mrs. Hunt is candid and opens her life to the reader. She tells how to get off the crazy, spendaholic merry-go-round and examines the reasons why people spend too much. Then, she shows how to fix it. Thank God we weren't in as much debt as she was, but she showed us how to fix the debt we had. For that, I am forever in her "debt." =) This is advice I never could have gleaned from the Tightwad Gazette, as Amy D. and her family did it right from the start. Defintiely a great read!

Mary Hunt's book is great. I read it quickly. I understood all the concepts and have been able to actually apply them. The thing I loved most is that is she was once like the rest of us - working, creating debt and figuring out how to manage it. She made her mistakes and learned from them and I admire that too. SHe lays her experiences on the line for us to learn from and hopefully not to repeat them. I am still using the concepts today.

Has worrying about money or paying your bills ever kept you up at night?

Me, too. Until I found this book.

About 7 years ago, our family was suffering from unbelievable money problems. Depressed and confused, I decided to stop by the bookstore and browse the personal finance section. There was only one problem. I didn't have twenty or thirty dollars to buy money management advice. I decided to get Mary's book and could not believe how many great examples and strategies she gave for reducing debt.
By following Mary's instructions, our family quickly began reducing our debt and wiped out almost $ 20,000 of credit card bills within a few years.
Her book is my money "Bible" and like scriptures in a holy work, I have highlighted paragraphs on almost every page that give insights into a subject that had always been beyond my control.

This book saved my marriage and brought me peace.
I highly recommend it. . . to everyone.

It only took me 30 seconds to buy the book after I scan the titles of the chapters in a fantasitic bookstore in middle Taiwan...all matter to me even if I am a Taiwanese who's so different from those who are supposed to read it.The subject is so universal that,after wandering among the shelves for hours with limited budgets, I decided to take it. The book provides us with so many tips and give us so many substantial thoughts and agendas that a man has to take to make himself rich, materially and spiritually. I am so amazed that,even books about the same subjects in the books are countless,this is a real DIFFERENT book which is written on basis of the authurs' financial expertise and their ideas of helping people, withour meaningless preach and crabbs. This book is a real life bible. I am so glad that I have it.

It's hard to gain control of your life these days--if things are going well at the office,then you've got some personal crisis to deal with. That's what so appealing about INVEST IN YOURSELF. It offers a fresh approach to figuring out what's important and then includes financial strategies that will help you keep your life in balance. I urge everyone who wants a handle on their finances to read it!

I am a big fan of wealth books. Used to have a huge collection and then gave them all away. Then financial misfortune came my way and a good friend with good intentions and tough love got me straight again.

This is one of the few books that I kept. One chapter in particular talked about going in business for yourself. I had bookmarked that and perhaps it was ironic because shortly thereafter, my company closed down.

6 secrets to a rich life will lead you to a rich life. My life is back on track now. This book has helped. Some others are The Automatic Millionaire, Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Richest Man in Bablyon and More Wealth Without Risk.

Good luck

If you can only purchase one book about rental properties, get this one! It is well-written, well-organized, and worth the price. I purchased this book at a point of peak frustration after making some costly and discouraging rental mistakes. This book has been immensely helpful in turning things around for me; it has saved me time, money, and headaches.

As a beginning landlord, I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!

This book has helped through every step of buying my first investment property. It's like having your own professional standing over your shoulder, reminding you about every detail of every step. The section on insurance alone is completely priceless, pointing out that a landlord needs not just property loss coverage but also personal liability. And not just physical liability, but coverage of potential slander, libel, discrimination, unlawful eviction, invasion of privacy suits... And don't forget loss of rents! It's that kind of detail that maybe someone who's done this before would call 'basic.' But I admit: I am no pro, yet when I called an insurance agent and explained what I wanted coverage for, he said to me, "Um, you've done this before, haven't you?" Thank you, nolo!

This is the best landlord book! You have to get it. The CD ROM contains everything I use to manage my properties and be a good landlord. It makes property management and landlording so rewarding and easy than any person could succeed at it if they follow this book's guidelines.

I own 3 properties so far and this book has made my success possible!

"Low-Stress Investing" is a great book . This book has made it possible for me to understand a topic I never thought I would be able to comprehend let alone profit from. You see, I am the author's (Andy Millard's) older brother. Growing up, I never much listened to what he had to say. I see now that I would have had much better financial stability had I taken time to hear some of his wisdom sooner. I am an educator and know little about investing and developing a portfolio. Taking the time to read this book has not only made me a better investor but has helped me to appreciate more fully the knowledge and wisdom of my brother. Brother or not, I would recommend "Low-Stress Investing: 10 Simple Steps to a Worry-Free Portfolio" by my brother Carl Andrew Millard for anyone that is interested in understanding more fully the world of finance.

I can't recommend this book highly enough for the early investor looking for a place to start! More importantly, this book is an absolute must read for every Federal Employee making decisions regarding the Federal Thrift Savings Plan as a part of their retirement. Andy Millard dispenses with the normal investment jargon that in the past has made me feel grossly inadequate to understand the topic. Finally, investing information has been presented in a thorough and simple way so that, even as a layman, I feel I can completely participate in my investments whether I make them myself or through an advisor. While I have never considered myself and investor, this well-written book made me aware that most of us are in fact making investments in one form or another and we had better have some understanding of how it all works.
As a Federal Civil Service employee, I participate in the Federal Thrift Savings Plan as a part of my retirement savings. Thrift Savings operates much like traditional 401K plans do in private industry, and it can be very intimidating for the uneducated investor. "Low Stress Investing" gave me strong information without overwhelming me. After reading this book, I was able to confidently decide how to best apportion my Thrift Savings contribution and allow my retirement savings to work for me. I now have the courage to let go of the ledge and balance the risk in my retirement plan. I talk to co-workers every day that settle for the lowest return on their Thrift Savings in order to maintain the lowest risk, simply because they don't understand the concepts of balanced risk that Andy Millard so expertly explains in this book.
"Low Stress Investing" is a down to earth well-written book. The honesty and passion for the subject conveyed by the author is like a breath of fresh air in a hard sell society where scoundrels and skeptics abound. Try it - you'll love it!

I have been in the financial business for the past 15 years working the past 8 for one of the largest mutual fund companies in the world. I have read many books on asset management, but have yet to read one that targets the investor who is looking for a simple yet practical why of managing their financial picture as well as this one does. This book hits the mark, and could not have come at a better time. I particularly like the way Mr. Millard deals with topics such as asset diversification. He uses great analogies to bring it all together, and offers great advice on others who can help with the process. Mr. Millard does a great job of bringing it all together in an easy yet necessary read for of us looking to make sense of it all.

Many people are stuck in a 8-5 JOB and want to start a busines but don't have the capital or time to do it. The author is honest and up front that you can become a millionaire through your own real estate investing business but it won't happen overnight. He takes you step by step on how you can get started with out a lot of risk, working on weekends and with very little money to get started.

What the author shares in this book works as he has successfully used the same material he teaches in the book to build his own real estate investing business. I first became acquainted with the author Mike Summey when I purchased the "Wealth And Empowerment Training" course from Carleton Sheets Training Institute. Mike did a lecture on one of the video's as he is one of Carleton's most successful students. During the lecture he showed slides of his properties and he explains in detail how he built his Real Estate Investing Empire. If you are serious about becoming financially independent buy the book!

Easily the best real estate investing book I've read. This is a no-nonsense, very practical look at how to buy single-family homes and rent them out. It's a page-turner, it doesn't get lost in the details yet is descriptive enough for people to get started. The authors' philosophy is to generate an income stream through renting your properties, and then use the properties as leverage for buying subsequent properties. They basically advocate NEVER selling them unless they're not profitable.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the sections on negotiating are excellent and should not be taken lightly. The techniques they describe were eye-opening, I was shocked at how they might be used, or used against me! To many, the section on negotating may even be more useful than the rest of the book.

To further motivate you to get started, the book includes 8 chapters at the end, each representing one week, that describe exactly what to do in your first 8 weeks of getting started. Very well written, i've already recommended this book to several others.

The authors correctly convince you that the terms of the deal are often as important, or more important, than the selling price. This is because you can still get a good return on investment (ROI) even if you pay more than the asking price. Then, to me, the only weakness in this book relates to financing homes in very expensive markets. The authors advocate only buying houses within a 10-mile radius of where you live. Sure, if you have so-so credit and little money, you can probably scrape up financing for homes in the $50000-$100000 range. But what if you're like me, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where 1300 sq foot homes in decent neighborhoods can go for $300-400k? This is a VERY high barrier for entry. This becomes laughable when the authors describe an example where they bought a 12000 sq foot manufacturing facility for $200k, and the challenges they faced with making this facility profitable when rented. I'm not sure that any amount of creative financing will be able to help some people in markets like this.

Most importantly I like the fact that the authors had the sense to write in short easy to understand chapters. While the book touches on the vast complexities of real estate investing and negotiating they do it in a way you can understand. I'm always skeptically of books that are printed in a yellow cover with the words weekend and millionaire in the title, but trust me (a person you never met) that the small investment of the purchase price and time to read it are worth your time (We've all blown money on worst things than this).

Curt has tackled one of the least understood techniques in investment decision-making and done it in a manner that is easy to understand by the layman. He provides clear explanations for such oddly-named creatures as "head and shoulders formations" and "double and triple tops." Even fundamental investors who might not be prepared to base their investment actions on technical analysis as such would benefit from this exposure to another way of looking at the message of the market.

Alfred Kugel, Chief Investment Strategist, Stein Roe Investment Counsel LLP

At last, an investment book that is as entertaining as it is informative. With language and charts that are easily comprehensible, Curt Renz nimbly guides the reader through the arcane world of technical analysis.

Finally, an easy to read book for a novice like me, one who has been hoping to understand how the stock market really operates. I've tried and failed to wade through more ponderous tomes full of what to my mind is mumbo jumbo. The early chapters of this book nicely brought me up to speed on many marketplace basics, including the effects of human psychology. The clearly drawn charts made it easy for me to visualize the way that human behavior repeats itself in the market. I always appreciated the way Curt Renz demystified the stock market each day on his TV show. Now, in one place, he has tied together for me many of his keen insights. I now feel better prepared to tackle those more advanced texts. Although, if Curt would write a sequel, I'll wait for that instead.