fainancial

at average investors. So don't wait for the "magic" to happen. Get educated about investing. This is certainly one of my top 10... Smart investors make their own magic, one step at a time...

I just had a few comments to make.

Malkiel is famous for his position that no-one can beat the stock market over the long term. The evidence for this is so sobering that I won't repeat much of it here, since it's now so well known--such as 90% of the mutual fund managers failing to beat the indexes year after year. Also, managed funds vs. index funds have higher expense ratios, which further lessons their performance since those costs are passed on to the customer. This is certainly a potent argument in favor of investing in index funds that track various things, such as growth stocks, high tech, or the broad market.

However, there is one major problem with Burton's argument which he doesn't discuss in the book that I could recall. Burton's data refers to mutual funds, which typically buy many stocks. At its height, for example, the big Magellan fund owned 1400 stocks. The average mutual fund owns about 100 stocks, and many own more. The turnover can be as high as 75% a year or more, which further increases costs because of all the commissions.

The problem with needing to own that many stocks is that mutual funds often run out of top-quality picks, and then are forced to buy second or even third-tier stocks, which degrades their performance. This almost guarantees that there will be a regression to the mean in terms of overall performance of the sort Malkiel talks about. However, the small investor has no such limitation. He can cherry pick and create a top-quality portfolio without having to buy the less steller (or worse) stocks that would make your typical mutual fund manager green with envy.

The problem here, of course, is being able to ferret out the top quality stocks. Malkiel would point out that this approach isn't without its risks, either, since such a portfolio with a small number of stocks could lack diversification. However, there's a way to deal with that. If you had, say, $100,000 to devote to a portfolio of stocks, you would be adequately diversified if you bought 15-20 stocks and picked the best stock in different sectors, ranging from high-tech to low-tech such as retail. Some people find that this is too many stocks to track, and that 10-12 in different sectors is a good compromise that still offers good diversification without having to track so many stocks. This has been proven to be almost as effective a way to diversify as buying the overall market (the economist who developed this asset allocation theory won the Nobel Prize in econ some years back), but has the major advantage of not diluting the strength and quality of the portfolio with poorer stocks.

Since Burton is a financial economist I'm surprised he doesn't seem to be aware of this. If you didn't want to devote all your money to this strategy, you could still put half of it in index funds and then use the other half for this. Whichever way you decide to go, good luck and happy investing!

This book provides an excellent framework for planning out your course of investments over the next decades, making sure that you're balanced correctly for the amount of risk you're willing to have now and the goals that you have in the future. It helps you understand why heavily trading stocks daily or monthly can work for some people but, for most people, it's better just to play the whole market and rely on the aggregate behavior in the long term.

I also loved that he took the time to debunk analysts, heavily managed mutual funds, and helped explain some of the details to look at in prospectuses -- I know that I personally had trouble understanding them in great detail when my 401k gets updated or they revise the rules.

For people who don't think they're going to magically get rich in the next 5 years, I'd highly recommend this book.

I bought this book based on the previous reviews. I was able to use about ten pages of it. The main premise for debt reduction is taking out a second mortgage-useful if you own a home, utterly useless if you don't. The pages I was able to use were pretty much common sense-Set aside the same amount of money each month to pay your debts, pay off high interest debt first, don't reduce the amount of money going out when one bill is paid, add it to another one and make a bigger payment.

I also found the author's practice of using bold font for emphasis overused, preachy and distracting.

Read it in one day. A must for anyone considering a mortgage. Those already in a mortgage can save $1,000's and years off their debt. A lot of good and sound advice in plain english.

You don't want to make all the mistakes yourself, learn from others and avoid the pitfalls...

I found the strategies unbelieveable...too good to be true before I tried them myself. And they work! I will be paying off my house years and years before my 15 year mortgage would have been paid and saving ten of thousands of dollars! It's well worth the cost and will pay itself off instantly if just one strategy is used!

It's nice to see a 'money' book that's about more than money. When life becomes all about how to make and hold on to cash and lucre, something has gone wrong. This book showed how to rediscover things beyond office/work culture. Sure, make money and be happy - but don't think that making money MAKES you happy. I'm the child of depression era parents, and I know that money does not equal happiness.

The financial terms applied to everyday life work nicely. This is a good way to teach people to be good to themselves and eachother again. I'm glad I got this.

It's encouraging to see two people involved with finance and business and such go to the effort to write something like this. They've done what no one else, to my knowledge, has yet been able to do: strike a realistic, achievable balance between the American drive to succeed and acquire, and our tendency to try and do so in the most ignorant, ham-handed way possible. They teach that it is possible to earn and amass money while still living true to all the lofty ideals we had in college. The only thing that bums me out is that too many people will thumb through it and immediately think "ah, bunch of hippy dreamers." Trust me, the hippies wish they had a vision this clear and universally applicable.

Just about everyone seeks out some sense of security and wealth in order to lead a fulfilled and happy life. The problem lies in how we define security and wealth. We all have various concepts of security and wealth that have been defined by our culture, our parents, our friends, and our experiences. This is a shaky foundation on which to base your happiness.

In "Inner Security and Infinite Wealth" the authors examine the concepts of will, inheritance, ownership, value, trust, allowance, investment, appreciation, and exchange and redefine them into deeper concepts instead of being only related to money. They recognize that money is an important part of net worth, but reframing the above concepts can change an individual's relationship with money. Enlightening, well written, and powerful, this is easily one of the best books of the year in the area of self-worth and a highly recommended purchase.

If you like me need to get to SCM strategic or tactical decisions, I would rather consult other books I also own. "Strategic Logistics Management" from a school book perspective and the brand new "Designing and Managing the Supply Chain" are excellent and better resources, covering everything (and then some) this book can offer. I will probably resell my copy of this book.
For SAP "Jockeys" or those who are thinking about SAP, "Supply Chain Management based on SAP Systems" is Excellent.

Generally...I have found that an individual needs to read three books on any one subject to capture a firm grasp upon the topic. With this title you may stop at two after a basic supply chain text is read.

The author covers all the key topics...with enough depth to interest the reader in additional topics/books on specific elements of the supply chain.

This book is an excellent overview of logistics and supply chain management. I own dozens of texts on these subjects and this is one of the best. If your looking for a college text with problems to work out; then this is not the book for you. But, if your looking for quick insight into these topics, this is an excellent choice. The book quickly teaches the reader strategy, industry trends and supplies some basic quantitative tools. The industry examples bring the topics to life. Two thumbs up from me.

A great book about "how the middle class became the money class." Talks about great pioneers like Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Visa, and many others. If you are finance buff or want to learn more -- read this book.

Particularly interesting is the stories of people like Charlie Merrill and Dee Hock -- real pioneers in modern consumer finance.

What a thriller! Nocera describes the way Am. attitudes toward debt, investment, savings, and inflation have been transformed since 1958 (the day 60,000 credit cards got mail-dropped in Fresno). Every chapter revealed another fascinating aspect of our changing relationship to $: Credit cards, money market funds, the discount brokerage boom and Charles Schwab's relationship to that force, the superstart fund managers and the personal stories of Peter Lynch and Fidelity, as well as the second wave of credit card design, which focused on poaching upon those most prone to run up debt. This book can give you a deeper understanding of your own attitudes toward finance, while also offering many insights into America's ambivalent relationship toward the dollar and debt.

I reviewed this book for the Lexington Herald Leader when it was first published and have purchased over 200 copies for friends, clients and employees over the years. If you don't just want to understand personal finance but understand American socialogy in general, this is the book to read.

Don McNay don@mcnay.com

Well, what can I say. I am extremely disappointed and really upset. I want my money back. !!!They ripped me off!!!. I bought this book because Lev Borodovsky is the Chairman of the GARP, but unfortunately he didn't write the book. He didn't developed any theme. He is just a seller who recommends the purchase of the book. He plays a decoy role. It's a dishonest attitude towards the readers and risk management professionals. The professional's handbook of financial risk is no more than a dictionary, a big dictionary on risk management. As a reader said: a summary. There is NO huge and depth development of each subject. In this handbook the themes are presented in a simply and tiny way

One reader said, this book is for consumers who work in the field of financial risk management. Well, I work as a professional risk management consultant and derivatives lecturer. So, I can use this book as a simple dictionary. It doesn't add anything. I prefer Risk Management by Michel Crouhy as a better professional handbook on risk management. With respect to VaR, Jorion's Value at Risk is tremendously and immensely much better.

The second theme: Measuring volatility, ARCH models and GARCH specifically are terribly bad developed, pitiable and vague. There is no useful application. A great, objective, practical discussion on GARCH, estimating volatility and correlations are discussed in Options, Futures & other derivatives by John C. Hull. Believe it or not.!! Every book must have a balance between a theoretical and practical content, let's say 50-50. Borodovsky's Financial risk management has a 90% conceptual (not theoretical) and 10% practical. When I say practical, I mean effortless and unclear exercises, not professional solved cases and applications of the real world. Back testing and stress testing themes present a deficient, incomplete and poor development. A Montecarlo simulation very unsatisfactory and pathetic.

The professional's handbook of Financial risk management is a rip-off. Definitely a rip-off!!!. This book should cost $40.00 dollars. It's just a dictionary. It deserves 2 star.

This book is great for practitioners; if you are an academician it may not be that helpful. The book focuses on application, with easy to read sections, and is quite comprehensive. I'd highly recommend it for people considering a career in risk management or want to get a broad overview of the field.

I used this book extensively for the Financial Risk Management exam and I am pleased to say passed and am a certified FRM now. The contents of the book cover the syllabus of the exam well.

Having read several recommendations for "Retire Early," by John Wasik, as a good book on retirement issues, I as anxious to read it. Maybe it's like being told a movie is good before seeing it, then being disappointed, because after having read "Retire Early," I can't see what all the fuss is about.

The book's preface gets things off to a good start, as there is hardly a mention of how to accumulate or magnify one's nest egg and all that financial stuff that can be found in so many other "retirement" books. Here we get goodies like, "There is clearly another path that is more satisfying than the one we know," and "...for most of us, it's hard to break the chains that make us wage slaves." This is promising stuff.

But after a first chapter, which is also promising, the good stuff ends abruptly.

Unfortunately, the bulk of "Retire Early" is a compilation of all the financial basics you can get from a million other sources. And like so many of the "new" retirement books emerging, covering all the bases of financial advice seems to be the name of the game. Thus, we get advice on determining your nondiscretionary expenses, buying a car, using only one credit card, paying cash for meals, and on and on. And how about this for great advice: "For most people, real wealth is accumulated only if they spend a lot less than what they make." Now, there's something you can take to the bank with you on your next trip.

This stuff goes on for about 150 pages: All kinds of financial dribble that, like many other books of this nature, surely includes something to offer to most. But the point here is that I was told this was a really good book on retirement. When do I get to that? Surely there is more to retirement than all this financial stuff!

Bingo: Like an entirely different book, that last 30 pages are a hodgepodge of advice and information from nearly every conceivable angle other than financial. The problem is that it is too little too late, and much of it seems more appropriate to a "drop out" persona than a retiree. Some of it borders on just plain weird, like the author's suggestion to write down a list of one's failures in life. With this he says, "throw it in a drawer or file and review it later." Boy, that would be a valuable way to start your retirement plans. And how about his comparison of his "New Prosperity" with "Traditional Retirement?" Two of the entries here are "Chance to pursue passions" vs. "Chance to play golf all the time," and "Part of a global community" vs. "Member of gated community." Where are we going with this? Are we about to define "alternative retirement?"

Then, to end the rambling, non-financial stuff, there's a chapter on happiness, where we find quotes from 14 books in just five pages, as if the author did a quick skim from books off his favorite bookshelf.

I'm sorry, folks, I think the book is a mess, and I hope that this onslaught of retirement primers that start off with financial basics and all their inconsistencies, then end with rambling advice on how to be happy and fulfilled, soon will run their course.

I'll stick with my two old favorites: "The Joy of Not Working," by Zelinski, and "breaking the watch," by Savishinsky. While there will probably never be the perfect "retirement" book, I think those two are at least valuable contributions to the quest. I don't think this Wasik book holds a candle to either.

I loved this book so much I read it four times. Mr. Wasik takes the reader through all the steps neccessary to plan for an early retirement. The whole book is engrossing.
One thing is dated a bit though: I dont think that a technology mutual fund is the best bet right now...but I guess I could be wrong.
If you read this book you will figure out what you will do when do retire. This helps you to visualize more clearly and make you want to achieve your goal that much faster. It may also prevent much boredom in those years.
Like I said, this book is excellent and I read it four times.
The reference section is excellent. And I loved that Wasik covered the guy who runs the Retire Early Homepage.
Wasik makes a wonderful suggestion at the beginning of his book: Develop your skills, interests, and abilities, and have great faith in your dreams.

The financial planning in this book was excellent, but the added value to me was the advice Wasik provides on how to enjoy and prosper with early retirement. He spends several chapters discussing the value of work and personal pursuits. How to form a personal ecology that balances growth, spirituality, and life passions. He also recommends many intriguing titles for further exploration of the topic. I'm 48 and ready to move on, and this book was just what I was looking for.

I am over 65 and have found the "Roth IRA Book, An Investor's Guide" by Dr. Gobind Daryanani to be an excellent information source. There are a number of factors to be considered in evaluating the the conversion of a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Dr.Daryanani's book is an excellent supplement to IRS Publication 590 (Individual Retirement Arrangements) since it explains and clarifies many potential problem areas. His book is well organized and written in clear understandable language. The book, together with reference to Pub. 590, provided the information I needed to feel comfortable in my IRA planning and execution.

This book takes some pretty complicated number crunching and makes sense our of it. It walks you step-by-step throught the calcualtions to determine what kind of benefit a ROTH IRA would provide to you. After reading you should easily be able to tell if the ROTH IRA is the best choice for you. Additionally, if you have other funds eligible for rollover into a ROTH IRA, the book helps you determine the optimum rollover amount. I thought is was very well written.

I've been reading a lot about the Roth and this is the most complete treatment I've seen. This is easy to follow and complete. I'm happy to have read it and have already saved money.

The authors provide an excellent overview of what to expect when embarking upon the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system like SAP. They provide thoughtful insight on factors that should influence the decision to proceed with such a project as well as sufficient detail on the particulars of SAP.

An excellent introduction to SAP by people who live and breath it.

This book has excellent sections on Business Case, Functionality (showing the links between modules, not just functions)and Deployment Options. It really helped me understand what I was going into implementing SAP for my company.

The Book has only two dissappointing sections. The chapter on process reengineering could have been better structured and applied, Hammer has better material. The walk through of methodology in chapters 17 and 18 was dry, uninspiring and again unapplied. More could have been written on ASAP.

This book is designed for managers and deciders who are in an evaluation phase and compare different ERP solutions. R/3 is a world-class integrated ERP solution and the less risky possible choice. If there is any doubt left, this book will convince the reader. SAP is not just a piece of software, it's also a culture and a club. Belonging to it is a real asset in someone's career.

This book has the best of intents, but no delivery mechanism. It is marketed toward the novice financier. The young people who have the motivation to take the next step towards financial independence, but no formal education in the world of money. This book assumes your an expert with tax brackets, investments, and bonds. In addition, the advice is very quickly becoming outdated with the economy the way it is. TAKE HEED! Be prepared before delving into this book. Very helpful, although it requires a great deal of prior knowledge.

Time is Money has a load of basic financial concepts in its coffer. It was a pleasure to read, and the short quizzes at the end of each chapter really helped my focus and made certain I got the main concepts of each chapter. I am very annal about picking books because reading an entire book is a big investment of time, which I don't have a lot of to dedicate to pleasure reading--the time was definitely worth it. I've since recommended this book to friends.

Good luck! Jason

I bought this book almost 2 years ago and this really made me serious investing for the future. Easy to read yet very thorough. Best book for newbies on mutual funds & stocks. I am so glad that I came across to this book. I really appreciate the author to write such an awesome book. My investments on mutual funds are doing extremely well, I am starting investing on stocks as well. Thanks alot!