Ignore the Hype

Book description

Secure your investment gains and supercharge your results with this down-to-earth analysis of investing fundamentals

Via powerful and unique insights, Ignore the Hype: Financial Strategies Beyond the Media-Driven Mayhem teaches readers how to keep their focus squarely on time-tested strategies for meeting their financial goals without getting distracted by a constant barrage of news headlines.

The book takes a common-sense approach to the financial world that’s ideally suited to the everyday investor. It covers topics including:

  • How to avoid competing against hedge funds in a game they’ve rigged
  • What you can do today to avoid taxes tomorrow
  • Wall Street’s Dirty Secret: Forecasting is just guessing
  • Why some of your investments have worse odds than a casino game
  • How the media circus can derail your financial plans
  • Surviving a world where financial advisors don’t have to act in your best interest

Ignore the Hype emphasizes the difference between short-term trading and long-term investing, how to filter the constant onslaught of information coming your way from every angle and separate the valuable content from the noise, and how to build a foundation for investment success based on common sense and academic research.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Author
  4. Preface
  5. Introduction
  6. Part I: Yes, the Game Is Rigged, But You Don't Have to Play
    1. Chapter 1: The Times They Are a-Changin'
      1. There Is a World of Difference Between Speculation and Investing
      2. So, Why Is It So Damn Hard to Ignore the Hype?!
      3. To Play, or Not to Play, That Is the Question
      4. Life at the Speed of Light
      5. Lower Transaction Costs
      6. Self-Directed Investing
      7. High-Frequency Trading
      8. The 24-Hour News Cycle
      9. Globalization
      10. The Rise of the Institutional Investor
      11. The Bottom Line
    2. Chapter 2: Don't Play a Game That's Rigged
      1. The Upward Path of Markets
      2. Asset Class Returns
      3. A Twist in the Plot
      4. Time in the Market versus Timing the Market
      5. Why Are Las Vegas Casinos So Nice?
      6. The True Cost of Sitting on the Sidelines
      7. Does Crisis Equal Opportunity?
    3. Chapter 3: Guess What? A Forecast Is Just a Guess
      1. But Forecasting Is Fun
      2. Economists
      3. Wall Street Analysts
      4. Media Pundits
      5. The Federal Reserve (the Fed)
      6. So, What's the Problem?
      7. The All-Star Team
      8. What Should You Do with Forecasts?
  7. Part II: If You Don't Know Where You're Going, You Probably Won't Get There
    1. Chapter 4: You Must Know What Drives Investment Returns
      1. You Can Beat the Dealer, But Can You Beat the Market?
      2. It's Hard to Stand Above the Crowd in a Room Full of Tall People
      3. So, What's the Solution?
      4. Indexed Products
      5. A Rules-Based Approach
      6. Fundamental Factors for Success
      7. Stock Market Factors
      8. Bond Market Factors
      9. The Bottom Line on Factor Premiums
    2. Chapter 5: You Must Have a Specific Financial Goal
      1. Step One: Determine Your Vision of Retirement
      2. Step Two: Determine How Much You Spend Today
      3. Step Three: Determine When You Want to Retire
      4. Step Four: Determine How Much Income You'll Need in Year One of Retirement
      5. Step Five: Determine Your Sources of Retirement Income
      6. Step Six: Determine How Much You'll Need from Your Savings and Investments
      7. Step Seven: Determine a Sustainable Distribution Rate
      8. Step Eight: Determine How Much Money You Need to Retire
      9. Step Nine: Determine Your Plan to Accumulate the Money You Need to Retire
      10. Putting It All Together with a Step-by-Step Example
      11. Already Retired?
      12. The Bottom Line
    3. Chapter 6: You Must Invest to Meet Your Goal
      1. How Much Money Do You Want to Make?
      2. How Much Money Do You Need to Make?
      3. How Much Risk Should You Take?
      4. Sleeping on a Bed of Money
      5. Adding Some Stocks to the Mix
      6. Portfolio A
      7. Portfolio B
      8. What Portfolio Do You Want?
      9. Still Not Convinced?
      10. Enjoy Your Retirement!
    4. Chapter 7: You Must Practice Smart Diversification
      1. What Is Smart Diversification?
      2. You Don't Want to Be a Pig!
      3. Owning What You Know May Not Be Best
      4. It's a Big World
      5. Sometimes You're Trapped by Your Own Success
      6. Dealing with Concentrated Positions
      7. Smart Diversification Enhances Your Odds of Success
      8. Winning the Lost Decade
    5. Chapter 8: You Must Learn How You'll Be Taxed
      1. But First, the Hype
      2. And Now, the Truth
      3. Income Taxes: A Quick Primer
      4. Are Taxes Going Higher?
      5. Tax Diversification
      6. Do You Know Who Your Partner Is?
      7. As If That's Not Enough …
      8. What's Certain in Life?
  8. Part III: Just Because You're Paranoid Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out to Get You
    1. Chapter 9: How to Avoid the Taxman Without Going to Jail
      1. Building Your Tax-Free Pool of Money
      2. Accelerating the Flow of Funds to Your Tax-free Pool
      3. Building Your Taxable Pool of Money
      4. Do You Want to Keep More of What You Make?
    2. Chapter 10: Sorry, But You're Probably Your Own Worst Enemy
      1. Tales Your Parents Told You
      2. Anchoring
      3. Confirmation Bias
      4. Overconfidence Bias
      5. Herd Behavior
      6. Framing Bias
      7. Hindsight Bias
      8. Self-attribution Bias
      9. Myopic Loss Aversion
    3. Chapter 11: FYI, the Media Doesn't Care If You Make Money
      1. But Then There's the Media …
      2. Did Black Monday Spell Doom for Investors?
      3. What Side of the Aisle Are You On?
      4. Would You Hitch Your Family's Future to the Circus?
    4. Chapter 12: Avoid the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
      1. Does It Pass the Sniff Test?
      2. Who's Got Your Back?
      3. Focus on Minimizing Unnecessary Fees
      4. Is What You're Buying Even an Investment?
      5. Drowning in a Sea of Complexity
      6. Do You Even Know What You're Buying?
      7. But My “Regular” Bonds Are Free from Commissions, Right?
      8. What Are You Using Derivatives For?
      9. Market Voodoo (AKA Technical Analysis)
      10. Let Me “Sell” You an Annuity…
      11. Now, Let Me “Explain” an Annuity…
      12. The Bottom Line
    5. Chapter 13: How to Survive a Bear Attack
      1. Prepare for the Bear
      2. Risk Capacity versus Risk Tolerance
      3. Rebalance to Stay on Course
      4. Buy-and-Hold Investing
      5. Buy-and-Forget Investing
      6. So, What Do You Do When Market Valuations Are Extreme?
      7. Does What Gets Measured Get Improved?
      8. Ready for Some Good News?
      9. A Better Life
  9. Conclusion
  10. Index
  11. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Ignore the Hype
  • Author(s): Brian Perry
  • Release date: September 2020
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119691228