The Little Book of Market Myths: How to Profit by Avoiding the Investing Mistakes Everyone Else Makes

The Little Book of Market Myths: How to Profit by Avoiding the Investing Mistakes Everyone Else Makes

Released January 2013
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118445013

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Book description

Exposes the truth about common investing myths and misconceptions and shows you how the truth shall set you free—to reap greater long-term and short-term gains

Everybody knows that a strong dollar equals a strong economy, bonds are safer than stocks, gold is a safe investment and that high PEs signal high risk...right? While such "common-sense" rules of thumb may work for a time as investment strategies, as New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Ken Fisher, vividly demonstrates in this wise, informative, wholly entertaining new book, they'll always let you down in the long run. Ken exposes some of the most common—and deadly—myths investors swear by, and he demonstrates why the rules-of-thumb approach to investing may be robbing you of the kinds returns you hope for.

  • Dubbed by Investment Advisor magazine one of the 30 most influential individuals of the last three decades, Fisher is Chairman, and CEO of a global money management firm with over $32 billion under management

  • Fisher's Forbes column, "Portfolio Strategy," has been an extremely popular fixture in Forbes for more than a quarter century thanks to his many high-profile calls

  • Brings together the best "bunks" by Wall Street's Master Debunker in a fun, easy-to-digest, bite-size format

  • More than just a list of myths, Fisher meticulously explains of why each commonly held belief or strategy is dead wrong and how damaging it can be to your financial health

  • Armed with this book, investors can immediately identify major errors they may be committing and adjust their strategies for greater investing success

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Preface
  6. Chapter One: Bonds Are Safer Than Stocks
    1. Bonds Are Volatile, Too
    2. Stocks Are Less Volatile Than Bonds?
    3. Blame Evolution
    4. Stocks Are Positive Much More Often Than Not
    5. Stocks Are Positive—And Overwhelmingly Beat Bonds
    6. The Stock Evolution
  7. Chapter Two: Asset Allocation Short-Cuts
    1. The Critical Asset Allocation Decision
    2. Getting Time Horizon Right
    3. Inflation’s Insidious Impact
  8. Chapter Three: Volatility and Only Volatility
    1. Oft-Overlooked Interest Rate Risk
    2. Portfolio Risk and Food Risk
    3. When Opportunity Doesn’t Knock
  9. Chapter Four: More Volatile Than Ever
    1. Volatility Goes Up, Too
    2. Volatility Isn’t Predictive
    3. Volatility Is Volatile—And Not Trending Higher
    4. Hug a Speculator
  10. Chapter Five: The Holy Grail—Capital Preservation and Growth
    1. Capital Preservation Requires No Volatility . . .
    2. . . . But Growth Requires Volatility!
  11. Chapter Six: The GDP–Stock Mismatch Crash
    1. GDP Measures Output, Not Economic Health
    2. Shrinking Government Spending Is Good, Not Bad
    3. Too Far, Too Fast?
    4. What Are Stocks?
  12. Chapter Seven: 10% Forever!
    1. Stock Returns Are Superior—And Variable
    2. I See 5% CDs
  13. Chapter Eight: High Dividends for Sure Income
    1. No Guarantees!
    2. Homegrown Dividends
  14. Chapter Nine: The Perma-Superiority of Small-Cap Value
    1. Perma-Love or Heat Chasing?
    2. Capitalism Basics
  15. Chapter Ten: Wait Until You’re Sure
    1. TGH at Work
    2. The V-Bounce
  16. Chapter Eleven: Stop-Losses Stop Losses
    1. The Stop-Loss Mechanics
    2. Stock Prices Aren’t Serially Correlated
    3. Pick a Level, Any Level
  17. Chapter Twelve: High Unemployment Kills Stocks
    1. See It Like a CEO
    2. The Economy Leads, Unemployment Lags
    3. The Stock Market Really Leads
    4. Consumer Spending Is Incredibly Stable
    5. Producers in the Driver’s Seat
  18. Chapter Thirteen: Over-Indebted America
    1. The Government Is a Stupid Spender
    2. Putting Debt in Perspective
    3. Question Everything!
    4. The Real Issue . . . Affordability
    5. Cheaper Debt After the Downgrade
    6. Dependent on the Kindness of Strangers?
    7. Nowhere to Go
  19. Chapter Fourteen: Strong Dollar, Strong Stocks
    1. Weak Dollar, Strong Dollar—Does It Matter?
    2. Think Inside the 4-Box
  20. Chapter Fifteen: Turmoil Troubles Stocks
  21. Chapter Sixteen: News You Can Use
    1. Look the Other Way
    2. A Sentiment Indicator
    3. Interpret It to Use It
    4. Ground Rules for Interpreting Media Profitably
  22. Chapter Seventeen: Too Good to Be True
    1. Separate Decision Maker and Custody
    2. High and Steady . . . and Fake
    3. Super-High . . . and Also Fake
    4. Scams of All Stripes
  23. Acknowledgments
  24. About the Authors

Product information

  • Title: The Little Book of Market Myths: How to Profit by Avoiding the Investing Mistakes Everyone Else Makes
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: January 2013
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118445013