“An educated investor is one who understands the importance of diversification, the trade-off between risk and return, and how to evaluate an investment opportunity. An educated investor understands that if something sounds too good to be true, it likely is.”
- Cynthia Glasser, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, April 2006
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"In my view, before they make a purchase, investors deserve full and clear disclosure of all the fees and costs that come out of their pockets, either directly or indirectly, to pay for all the activities related to the operation and sale of these products, including whether a broker's recommendation benefits the broker."

- Cynthia Glasser, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, March 2006

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"It is my contention that active management does not make sense theoretically and isn't justified empirically. Other than that, it's O.K. But it's easy to understand the allure, the seductive power of active management. After all, it's exciting, fun to dip and dart, pick stocks and time markets; to get paid high fees for this, and to do it all with someone else's money."

- Rex Sinquefield, Dimensional Fund Advisors, 1995

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"Investors… invest on the basis of performance, try as we might to tell them that past performance is no indication of future performance."

- Commissioner Paul Atkins, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, April 2006

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"Investment return is far more dependent on investor behavior than on fund performance.

DALBAR Inc.

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"The discrepancy between a fund's performance and that of its shareholders can be large. Investors would benefit from knowing how well they did as opposed to how well their fund did."

- Barry Barbash, director of the SEC investment management division, 1997

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Book Reviews



Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Readability *****
Technicality *
Beginners        Intermediate        Advanced
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Summary: Rich people buy assets that produce income. Poor people accumulate liabilities and expenses. This book does an outstanding job of covering the big picture of why rich people are rich and poor people are poor. By the time you finish this book you have a clear understanding of the fact that you need to buy income producing assets such as real estate, businesses, stocks and bonds, but the book doesn’t get in to the details of how you get started. There are plenty of other books that cover the technical side however; so for anyone who plans to accumulate wealth, this book is a must read.


Missed Fortune

Readability **
Technicality ****
Beginners        Intermediate        Advanced
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Summary: Paying down your mortgage doesn’t make sense because instead you can use the banks money and Uncle Sam’s money to accumulate an enormous amount of wealth by funding other investment vehicles. The concepts in this book are solid and make a lot of sense, however the author suggests that people should fund investment grade life insurance contracts and should someone pursue his recommended strategy a great deal more caution and knowledge is advised. Overall, for investors who want to use leverage (other people’s money) to continue to grow their wealth the concepts in this book worth reading. The book references many tax laws and the technical information and numbers may make it a slow read.

The Number
By Lee Eisenberg
Readability **
Technicality **
Beginners        Intermediate        Advanced
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Summary: A book for the well educated. Superbly written with real life antecdotes and stories. It questions our values about money, retirement and how much money we really need. At the core it subtly suggests that the reason so many people procrastinate about retirement planning is because they are not inspired. The motivation to plan would come from visualizing a future retirement full of passions, fun and value. For avid readers this book is insightful and enjoyable to read from beginning to end.


The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom
By Suze Orman

Readability ****
Technicality ***
Beginners        Intermediate        Advanced
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Summary: Delves into the emotional values we have about money and how they affect our success or failure. This book also covers the basics of financial planning: how to use retirement accounts, estate planning, mutual funds, industry fees and expenses, financial advisors, etc. It is highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about how to appropriately deal with their money or with their lack of money.