Product Description

Phil Town is now a very wealthy man, but he wasn't always. In fact, he was living on a salary of $4000 a year when some well-timed advice launched him down a highway of investing self-education that revealed what the true "rules" are and how to make them work in one's favor. Chief among them, of course, is "rule #1": "don't lose money." Other rules are: don't diversify...think like an owner, not an investor ... never, ever be seduced into thinking the market is efficient. Town also believes strongly in "betting on the jockey," putting your faith in managers who've proven their financial mettle. Not only does Town reveal fresh methods for identifying who the truly reliable managers are, but he shows you how to test whether they really have faith in the businesses they're running.

By far, the most controversial of the audiobook's assertions will be that giant 401(k) type mutual funds can't help but regress to the mean, and in the next twenty years, the mean could be very disappointing indeed. There's a very real chance that a 401(k) investor could see his holdings not grow at all in the next few decades. Fortunately, Town's stockpicking techniques are meant to walk investing phobes through the do-it-yourself process, equipping them with the tools they need to make quantum leaps toward financial security.

Rule #1 says something new, and it says it in a way that every listener can understand.


From the Compact Disc edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5239 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-28
• Released on: 2007-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. For amateur investors who admire the incredible returns produced by Benjamin Graham–Warren Buffett–style value investing but can't figure out how to replicate these billionaires' methods at home, Town's investment guide is manna from heaven. A former river-rafting guide, Town learned how to calculate such crucial numbers as Return on Investment Capital and Equity Growth Rate from "Wolf," a wealthy rafter whom Town saved from a rapid in 1980. Under Wolf's tutelage, Town learned how to turn $1,000 into $1 million in five years, but the selection of lucrative stocks took weeks of library research. In this engaging and accessible book, Town shows readers how to replicate that sort of exhaustive market research on the Internet—and shorten the research time to just a few hours per stock. Fans of The Intelligent Investor will recognize that Town's Rule #1 formula—"1) Find a wonderful business, 2) Know what it's worth as a business, 3) Buy it at 50 percent off, 4) Repeat until very rich"—is a variation of Benjamin Graham's investment philosophy. (Graham and Buffett are cited heavily throughout the book.) But Town's ability to break down that philosophy into a detailed, step-by-step program that can be understood by any reader with basic math skills is unique. His chummy, reassuring tone ("If you're finding yourself already a bit overwhelmed, take a deep breath") will leave readers feeling empowered and ready to manage their money themselves. (Mar. 21)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
With bulletproof arguments and statistics to back up his advice, Phil Town says you can make money choosing individual stocks that you research, understand, and love instead of letting a money manager squander your money in an under-performing fund. Though his narration is flat, there is excitement in the author's personal story and in this well-crafted lesson. With motivating clarity Town explains how to analyze every conceivable aspect of a publicly traded company--product viability, brand strength, competitive advantages and weaknesses, management, financial soundness, etc. Though his approach is decidedly fundamentalist, Town says it also will help traders--if they do their homework. An energizing lesson to wake up your inner stock-picking genius. T.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
“Town's investment guide is manna from heaven… engaging and accessible… Town’s ability to break down that philosophy into a detailed, step-by-step program that can be understood by any reader with basic math skills is unique… will leave readers feeling empowered and ready to manage their money themselves.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Extraordinarily readable…provides investors with surefire tools to outperform costly advisors. Follow Town’s simple, time-tested precepts, and even unsophisticated investors will leave most mutual fund managers in the dust.” —Arthur Levitt, author of Take on the Street and former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission

“A really smart, homework-driven read that tells you precisely how to do it. Rule #1 may be the clearest and best book out there to get you on the path to riches. This one’s special!” —James J. Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” and Markets Commentator, thestreet.com

“Rule #1 is an investment Bible for our time. In fun, easy-to-understand words, Phil Town tells you how to buy quality stocks at a discount.” —Rich Karlgaard, publisher, Forbes magazine, and author of LIFE 2.0

“For the individual investor, Rule No. 1 should be, ‘Read Rule #1.’ This book debunks a lot of myths in the market and provides pearls of common-sense wisdom…Indeed, Rule #1 rules.” —Gene Marcial, Senior Writer, Business Week

“Rule #1’s common-sense, pragmatic approach is money in the bank.  This step-by-step guide is methodically researched and terrifically accessible … Can you really beat the mutual fund mangers and so-called experts at their own game?  Hell yes!” —Jonathan Hoenig, Portfolio Manager, Capitalistpig Hedge Fund, and regular contributor to Fox News Channel

“Rule #1 is probably one of the most inclusive, no nonsense, fundamental books about investing in the stock market I’ve ever read. This book is a must-read for everyone; from beginner students of the market to super know-it-alls.” —Danielle Hughes, President and CEO, Divine Capital Markets LLC

“A refreshing departure from those boring investing books… If you're tired of being shut out of how exactly the rich guys on Wall Street make money, this important book will teach you how to run with the bulls. It's priceless.” —Elizabeth MacDonald, Senior Editor at Forbes Magazine; regular, “Forbes on Fox”


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Rule #1 finally makes sense of it all
For the first time, i feel like i have the tools to start looking at stocks, individually. I am already well invested in work retirement plans with mutual funds, and am, of course, unhappy wiht the results of the past 8 years. But, with these tools, my son and I are venturing into investing on our own as well. THanks Phil for demystifying the process.

Great Investment Advice and an Easy Read
This is by far one of the best books on personal finance I have read. It's written in a way that everyone can understand. At one point in the book, Phil makes a suggestion that people give this investment advice to their children at 15 years old and let them start to use the Rule #1 investment strategy; I completely agree. I think the principles are easy to understand and provide sound advice. This book teaches two fundamentals that are commonly lost on people when investing in the stock market: (1) Know the value of what you're buying, (2) If you become "financially literate", you will no longer need people to invest for you.

I loved the book and I'm telling everyone about it!

VERY repetitive.
Phil seems like a nice guy and I'm glad he is sharing his investment knowledge because it appears by all accounts rock solid. But this book could have easily been cut in half in terms of number of pages to reduce the number of times he repeats himself. It seems like he mentions the calculators on his website every other page. It's almost as if the book was written so that if you picked it up in the bookstore and opened it to any random section there would be a mention of his website or the term "Rule #1". In addition, he dangles the carrot in front of you forever before getting to the goods. Folks this gets VERY tiring when you just want to get to at least a morsel of pertinent information. This book would get only one star from me had the strategy laid out not been so enlightening. I am not an author and I have never written a negative book review before...