About this product: ''Having worked with Michael for a number of years, I know that his professional experience with a wide range of investment products and sophisticated investors gives him the expertise and credibility to offer clearly articulated value-added advice to individual the investor.'' Peter Mallinson - Principal, CDK Group; Former Partner, Goldman Sachs ''A great book that demystifies important financial concepts, written by someone who wants to share his Wall Street insights and knowledge with a broader audience that can realize concrete benefits from the straight-forward advice.'' Michael Mills - Executive Director, Morgan Stanley ''I have known Michael to work in the best interests of investors and savers for the last ten years. This work is no different.'' Alain Schibl - Founder and Co-CEO, Duet Asset Management ''A comprehensive yet easy to read look at how the financial world works and how to make smart decisions with your money. For everyone from students to CEOs.'' Roger Metta- Managing Director, Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) The subject of saving and investing is too important not to understand fully or to ignore. Fortunately, the subject is straightforward and easy-to-understand - as long as we get the facts and the complete picture. By understanding saving, investing and the financial markets, anyone can be empowered to make consistently better financial decisions, understand the world of finance and the investment choices that surround them fully, and move far along the road to fulfilling their investment dreams.
About this product: Susan R. Meisinger on Investing in People: Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives
"If you can't measure it, you can't manage it."
It's a lesson I learned more than twenty-five years ago, as a young manager, from one of the most effective executives I've ever worked with. More importantly, I also learned that "measuring it" wasn't enough. What's measured, why it's measured, and how the measurement is used to drive outcomes are what really matters.
As the human resource (HR) profession has continued to evolve beyond transactional responsibilities, many HR professionals have embraced the fact that technology enables them to collect and analyze data
efficiently and in ways never before possible. They've discovered that the ability to analyze, measure and articulate HR's contributions to organizational success allow them to make even greater contributions within their organizations. They're using measurement to invest in people.
But many HR professionals aren't agile in the use of measurements to move their businesses forward. Some simply don't know where to begin or are still looking for the "one true way" to measure—or are asking, "just tell me what to measure and what the number should be." They are thirsty for an analytic framework that underlies the whole issue of measurement.
The mission of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is to serve the HR professional and to advance the HR profession. As you read this book, I think you'll find that Investing in People shares this mission. The profession will be well-served by the tools and analytic frameworks for the use of measurement provided by Wayne Cascio and John Boudreau. The observations offered by the authors on how best to "get started" in using measurements to inform and motivate strategic partners to think more clearly about the implications of decisions about talent will also serve the HR profession well. By basing their work on a foundation of solid scholarship and practice gained through their academic and consulting experiences, Wayne and John help to advance HR as a profession that is recognized as a decision science requiring special knowledge and expertise.
—Susan R.Meisinger, SPHR President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management
About this product: Psychology rules the stock market, according to Hersh Shefrin. In Beyond Greed and Fear, Shefrin shows how bias, perception, and other aspects of psychology often rattle investors and move stocks. From the individual who keeps losers too long to overconfident money managers who mistakenly think they can predict financial trends, human nature foils investment returns. "Behavioral finance is everywhere that people make financial decisions. Psychology is hard to escape; it touches every corner of the financial landscape, and it's important. Financial practitioners need to understand the impact that psychology has on them and those around them. Practitioners ignore psychology at their peril," writes Shefrin, a finance professor at Santa Clara University. An academic volume geared toward financial professionals, the book details an emerging field known as behavioral finance, in which psychology is believed to be at least as important as market fundamentals, such as earnings and balance sheets. Shefrin describes how investors are motivated by fear, hope, overconfidence, and the need for short-term gratification. The book gives plenty of examples of investment mistakes, and analyzes them from a behavioral-finance perspective. While Beyond Greed and Fear targets professionals, individual investors will benefit from this look at an important mover of markets. --Dan Ring
About this product: "Throughout the ages, many things have been used as currency: livestock, grains, spices, shells, beads, and now paper. But only two things have ever been money: gold and silver. When paper money becomes too abundant, and thus loses its value, man always turns back to precious metals. During these times there is always an enormous wealth transfer, and it is within your power to transfer that wealth away from you or toward you." --Michael Maloney, precious metals investment expert and historian; founder and principal, Gold & Silver, Inc.
The Advanced Guide to Investing Gold and Silver tells readers:
The essential history of economic cycles that make gold and silver the ultimate monetary standard.
How the U.S. government is driving inflation by diluting our money supply and weakening our purchasing power
Why precious metals are one of the most profitable, easiest, and safest investments you can make
Where, when, and how to invest your money and realize maximum returns, no matter what the economy's state
Essential advice on avoiding the middleman and taking control of your financial destiny by making your investments directly.
Formulas that make the difference between making profits and losing equity
The only way to win the real estate investing game is by mastering the numbers. This revised and updated edition of the popular reference shows how to target the best investments in the present market. It answers all your real estate questions, and provides new discussions of capital accumulation and internal rate of return. This book’s basic formulas will help you measure critical aspects of real estate investments, including
About this product: The Intelligent Portfolio draws upon the extensive insights of Financial Engines—a leading provider of investment advisory and management services founded by Nobel Prize-winning economist William F. Sharpe—to reveal the time-tested institutional investing techniques that you can use to help improve your investment performance. Throughout these pages, Financial Engines’ CIO, Christopher Jones, uses state-of-the-art simulation and optimization methods to demonstrate the often-surprising results of applying modern financial economics to personal investment decisions.
About this product: Investors still numb from their stock market losses in recent years will find some solace in the message of Worry-Free Investing by Zvi Bodie and Michael J. Clowes. They argue that stocks are "not safe in the long run" - a dismissal of Wharton School Professor Jeremy Siegel's extensively documented work on the subject. It is the nature of equity prices to be uncertain. The unpredictable risk of future stock market returns stems from the unexpected, 'random', flow of information that changes investor's perceptions of a company's value. Their argument is a bit heavy-handed. Equity prices may move unexpectedly in the intermediate term, but over the long run they appear to be positively linked with advances in our economy as measured by our GDP and mirrored in our standard of living. That should give some reassurance to long term investors, but the connection gets no mention here.
The authors make the case for investing in inflation adjusted, government protected I Bonds and TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Indexed Securities also called Treasury Inflation Protected Securities). Focusing on the major goals of saving for retirement and providing for college education costs, Bodie and Clowes show how much an investor needs to save today. If the calculations seem a bit heady, readers are referred to the book's companion web site 'calculator'. At the heart of worry-free investing as defined by the authors is the defense of an individual's future buying power rather than the building of incremental wealth.
Stocks have been widely touted as the only reliable hedge to inflation. However, during the 1970's sustained inflation ravaged stock market returns on an (inflation) adjusted basis. Had TIPS and I Bonds existed, they would have outperformed a diversified basket of stocks. Indeed, most investors today should use TIPS and I Bonds alone, we are boldly told. And all investors should invest at least some of their retirement assets in these two investment tools. Unfortunately for those inclined to follow this last advice, it is not clear if many (or any) company sponsored retirement plans (401(K)'s etc.) offer these products.
The author's focus on inflation at a time when it is barely detectable may seem problematic, but a recovering economy, growing budget deficits, and a weakening dollar carry their own consequences. In the end, Bodie and Clowes overplay their case for I Bonds and TIPS. Not all products and services in the economy adjust in lockstep as do these bonds with Bureau of Labor Statistics measures of inflation. As a consequence a near exclusive reliance on these bonds may prove comforting but ultimately ineffective to reach a desired goal. Still, the understanding and use of these investment tools could prove important in a balanced portfolio in the years ahead. Now is the time to look at the issue.
About this product: The whole world wants to invest in India. But how to do this successfully? Written by two Indian financial experts with a seasoned expert of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, this book tells you the why and how of investing in India. It explains how India's financial markets work, discusses the amazing growth of the Indian economy, identifies growth drivers, uncovers areas of uncertainty and risk. It describes how each market works: private equity and IPOs, bonds, stocks, derivatives, commodities, real estate, currency. The authors include a discussion of capital controls in each section to address the needs of foreign investors. Learn about the the markets, the instruments, the participants, and the institutions governing trading, clearing, and settlement of transactions, as well as the legal and regulatory framework governing financial securities transactions.
--Written by two life-long insiders who can explain India's financial markets to outsiders --Clear and comprehensive coverage of this economic powerhouse --Caters to the needs of foreign investors
About this product: If you had to summarize Fail-Safe Investing in three words, it would probably be these: Embrace the obvious. Look at your job, Browne advises. You get ahead because of your experience, education, and common sense. Your job is the reason you have money to invest in the first place. So the first of Browne's 17 rules is, "Build Your Wealth upon Your Career." Don't jeopardize your career; it's going to take many years of smart investing before your earnings will surpass what you earn at your day job--if they ever do.
The other rules aren't quite as obvious, but equally simple. Browne explains the difference between investing (making a long-term plan and sticking with it) and speculating (betting that you can beat the overall market during a specific period). He shows how life savings are easily lost when you borrow money to invest rather than investing only the money you already have. Browne also suggests a portfolio that he says is the simplest and safest possible for continual, steady returns above inflation: an equal division among stocks, bonds, gold, and cash. That covers an investor in times of prosperity (stocks), inflation (gold), deflation (bonds), and recession (cash). While many investment analysts would undoubtedly gag if you presented them with a portfolio that consisted of a 50 percent investment in gold and cash, Browne nonetheless makes a compelling argument that such an allocation makes it easier to sleep at night. And common sense tells you there are worse things than a good night's sleep. --Lou Schuler
BOOK
