Product Description

In today's volatile market, jittery nerves are the norm when it comes to investing. But with these keep-it-simple, easy-to-understand, proven strategies that--best of all--take very little time or energy to maintain, readers can relax. Dr. Farrell has distilled the most successful plans--from the Couch Potato to the Coffee House to the No-Brainer approach--so that even inexperienced investors can chart their financial future with confidence.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #128126 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Popular CBS Marketwatch columnist Farrell provides a thoroughly enjoyable and straightforward look at what he sees as "the future of investing"-"simple lazy portfolios that'll work for anyone and are easy to understand." He provides three different model portfolios based on one simple formula: "rock-solid, easy-to-understand asset allocation using no-load index funds." Farrell is a huge proponent of no-load funds such as the Vanguard 500 Index, which tracks the Standard & Poor 500 listing of America's largest companies, and the Vanguard Total Bond Market Fund Index, which matches the performance of the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index. Farrell persuasively argues that the strong long-term performance of these funds, even during hard market times-along with the strong performance of other Vanguard index funds such as those for large-cap and small-cap value-proves that "the only rational strategy" for the vast majority of America's 94 million mutual fund investors is "a simple buy 'n' hold strategy" that diversifies portfolio assets across multiple categories of assets. Packed with clear examples of how regular people can easily handle their own investments, Farrell's guide also takes on other sacred cows, such as Wall Street's belief that brokers know more than you do, and provides an exciting and illuminating section on no-load stocks, or DRIPs, which he calls "Wall Street's best-kept secret."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
DR. PAUL B. FARRELL lives in Arroyo Grande, California

Customer Reviews

I wish every beginning investor would read this book
I've been a serious investor for more than 30 years and have read much more than my share of investment books and articles. This is one of the more interesting ones I've read lately.

In general I am opposed to the idea that lazy investing can produce great results. If that were really true, we'd all be billionaires. However, no investor can succeed by adopting a strategy that's too complex to understand and implement. What many investors need is not rocket-science strategies that could shoot for the moon, but low-cost solutions that will keep them from going too far astray while avoiding massive losses. Dr. Paul Farrell has done a good job of describing lots of solutions like that.

My interest in investing was sparked when I was a teenager, by a book that described many fascinating concepts and ways that people can put their money to work making more money. It was all new to me, and I was instantly hooked ... and remain so today.

The book I read is hopelessly out of date. But "The Lazy Person's Guide to Investing" is a book that I would love to put into the hands of a potential investor or a young investor or an older investor who's just getting started. This would open such a person's eyes to a ton of possibilities and resources.

I don't think Farrell's book describes the ultimate solutions that will be best for people who have substantial savings. But it's not written for them. This book is written for a wide audience of people who are wisely wary of trusting Wall Street and the financial media - and who want some straight answers from somebody who's not out to pick their pockets.

For that audience, this book is right on target.

The 'Keep it Simple Stupid' Method for Lazy People
Over the last two years I have researched various books and magazines for investment opportunities. Some of the articles from quite popular magazines (e.g. Kiplinger's and Money) were way on the far side of the investment world. Several books I had investigated were, to put it mildly, a waste of time and money. This is not the case with this book.

As far as personal finance books are concerned, this has been one of the best I have ever read. The advice is easy to read and comprehend. The content is simple, direct, and not filled with all the jargon and hype that can give the average 'lazy' investor a major headache. Having already invested in several 401k ventures, and tracking several stock options over the years, as well as delving into several other investment opportunities, I can truly say that Farrell is right on target, and the research he has done in this book is good advice. In fact, I plan to put it into practice within the next two months from the date this review was written.

The plan is easy, it involves only two investments (how's that for diversity) in two strong funds, and a little bit of tweaking each year. This is all I will say about the main gist of the book. I do not want to give away the details because you really need to read the book to understand the plan to its fullest extent. Farrell details how you can put this plan into practice in a very easy step by step procedure.

The above, however, is not the only thing Farrell discusses in this book. He details the benefits of 410ks, what certain things mean in the trading world (e.g. S&P 500, Bull Market, Bear Market, Blue Chips, tax benefits in certain investments, etc.), how to invest without paying brokers, and much more. Therefore, when it comes to investing, if you are as green as the fairways for a professional golf tournament, then you will gain a much better understanding of the investment world. However, if you are a seasoned investor, you will learn just as much since, as Farrell says, you were probably taught to do certain things that can cause major pitfalls in your investing (i.e. the Wall Street way). Thus, this book is great for the beginner and the expert and I highly recommend it.

Outstanding book for investment novices
If you are a novice looking for a book that will help you to better understand what it means to invest and save for the future, then this book is for you. If you are looking for something that is more in depth about stock trading, then look elsewhere.

This book provides excellent advice for long-term investors who are either looking for someplace to invest while they learn how to design their own portfolio or who really want to put their money in the market and leave it alone for the long term. It is easy to read and gives readers confidence to go out and enter the market for the first time or to adjust current investments based on long-term goals.