No comments about Standard & Poor's Stock & Bond Guide, 2003 Edition.

No comments about Keys to Investing in Municipal Bonds (Barron's Business Keys).

No comments about 2008 Tax Facts on Investments: Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Real Estate, Oil & Gas, Puts, Calls, Futures, Gold, Savings Deposits (Tax Facts 2) (Tax Facts 2).

5 comments about Forbes Guide to the Markets: Becoming a Savvy Investor.

1. Thanks--this is an incredibly well written and clear guide. Based on some of Groz' theories, I sold two stocks last week and moved the money into two others I already owned. The market has been good since then, but the two I sold have gone down and the two I kept have gone up. Great book.



2. This is a pretty good book...it seems to me it covers ground a little too fast, and dosen't give enough examples. If you are a quick learner, this is a good book for you. To me, after I got to the part on Mutual Funds I started getting bored....I just wish it was a little more fun to read...but again, A good book to read and learn about the stock market.



3. After reading many books on investing, this is the first I've found that offers keen insights to beginners and advanced investors. I would have no problem recommending this book to any of my Wall Street friends--or to my parents.



4. Groz's book is just the kind of investment book that has been needed to fill the gap between market kitch and high-brow professional narrative. It leaves the reader feeling well informed but piques her curiousity -- and prepares her for an even deeper understanding of the markets and investing. It is clear that this was Groz's intention. A great book for journeyman investors seeking to negotiate markets and market-speak on a daily basis.



5. This was my first book on investing, three years ago. It starts with the assumption that you know nothing, but it treats you like an educated, intelligent person. The pace goes quickly, and by the end of the book you know everything you need to know to be an intelligent investor.
   I have recommended this book to several friends who wanted a good investing primer.

No comments about Finanzas Personales Para Dummies.

No comments about Kiplinger's Guide to Investing Success: Making Money Today in Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, and the Real Estate (Kiplinger's Personal Finance).

5 comments about How the Bond Market Works.

1. I found the book disappointing and I question its reliability.

   The following quote is taken directly from page 58 of "How the Bond Market Works", by Robert Zipf:

   "However, the Tennessee Valley Authority frequently borrows money from the public. Its securities are not guaranteed by the United States Government, and are not generally exempt from state income taxes.

   The following quote is taken directly from the "Tax Matters" section of bond offering circulars issued by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

   "A U.S. beneficial owner is subject to federal income taxation on income on a Bond. The Act, however, provides that bonds issued by TVA are exempt both as to principal and interest from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by any state or local taxing authority except estate, inheritance and gift taxes."

   (If you care to check it out for yourself, Tennessee Valley Authority offering circulars dating back to 1989 are available online, in PDF format, at the TVA web site.)




2. I found this book to be very helpful in understaning this topic. I would recommend it to people new to the industry as a good starting point to learn about the bond market.



3. As a person studying for the Series 7 examination, this document was extremely helpful in understanding the test preparation material. Other people may say there are errors in the document, well, if that is true, then the test-prep books, and the test itself is wrong.

   This is a good book people. It can tell you lots of things. Its only downside is that it needs more numerical examples and more mathematical examples to show the concepts behind yield to mature data.




4. If you've read any number of books on investing, you know they can be tedious. But this book is relatively crisp and to the point. When the details of a subject are beyond the scope of a 200 page read, the book says so. If you are doing anything related to bond investing (even programming!) you should get started with this book.



5. I found this to be a very good starting point for researching different types of bonds. It does cover in good detail about how the Bonds are brought to the market, the commission structure involved, also touches upon the documentation standard followed for indentures and bond insurances.
   
   I found the coverage of Mortgage backed securities pretty good! Found interesting coverage on how to structure CMOs, how different tranches and different types of bonds (e.g. non-sticky Jump Z Bonds) could be created based on the payments received on the mortgage pools.
   
   All in all I found this book pretty good, definitely worth the money (especially when borrowed from the library) and time. I would not treat it as a reference for taxation information, also while on the topic of taxation, the Munis deserved a more extensive coverage.

5 comments about Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor.

1. I thought that this was a very thorough book on mutual funds. Bogle brings to light many things that I wouldn't have known. The only problem is it requires good concentration to get through parts of this book as it can be a bit dry at times. Very good source of information overall. I would recommend it for someone to have as a reference.



2. One of the best books about mutual funds in the market even though it is over a decade old.



3. If you're going to read one book on investing and one book only, this is the one! Really, you won't need any other - it's that complete and that good. Not everybody can invest in index funds, but you can and you very probably won't get a better result any other way.



4. "There are intelligent ways to go about investing and less intelligent ways." So says John Bogle, one of the most influential money managers of the last 50 years.
   
   Bogle was one of the leaders in making index mutual funds available to ordinary investors. Bogle's index funds, and others that followed his example, helped turn very, very ordinary investors into very, very rich investors. This book essentially explains why Bogle's investment philosophy succeeds so well.
   
   The book concentrates on the three basic types of mutual funds: stock, bond, and money market funds; describes the three important characteristics that all investments have: risk, return, and cost; explains why different categories of assets -- stocks versus bonds, for example -- have different risk and return characteristics; and shows how to construct an intelligent, balanced portfolio that will help you meet your investment goals.
   
   One of the keys to Bogle's strategy is the idea that, while investors don't have direct control over risk or return, they do have direct control over cost; and by choosing low-cost funds (index funds are very low cost!), investors can dramatically improve their results. One of the other keys to Bogle's strategy is the efficient market theory, which, among other things, supplies an important part of the theoretical justification for relying on passively managed index funds. Those aren't fun, sexy concepts, and Bogle's methodical discussions don't do much to make them more entertaining. On the other hand, they will help you make money if you understand and apply them, and making money through investing is both fun and sexy!
   
   This book is over ten years old now, so it doesn't have much to say about exchange-traded funds, sector funds, or some other, recent developments in financial management, but the basic principles it describes can easily be applied to those new-fangled inventions too.
   
   This is one of the best books I've ever read about investing.



5. Great price $01. plus shipping! This is a timeless classic for all mutual fund investors.

No comments about So, What's Your Point? : How to persuasively make your point, increase credibility, overcome objections, avoid misunderstandings and minimize arguments in your professional and personal communication.

2 comments about The Small Investor: A Beginners Guide to Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds.

1. The Small Investor is an excellent book to read if you are looking for a complete and basic introduction to the subject of investing. I found the chapters on Professional Help and Selecting Mutual Funds to be particularly helpful. A feature that Jim Gard included that I really appreciate is the "Recommended Further Reading" that is at the end of each chapter. It gives you a place to go to examine the subject in more detail than would be appropriate in a "Primer." This book is ideal for anyone just entering the world of investments. Financial Planners and Money Managers should consider giving a copy of this book to each of their new clients. Jim Hagen



2. The down-to-earth approach of this book ensures that it is more dense than other guides for beginners. Gets you from knowing absolutely nothing to a level at which you can start reading about technical analysis, read financial papers, annual and quarterly reports. Good 'further reading' tips. Good coverage of bonds. Options and futures are discarded as being equivalent to gambling. Parts about the risks of investing, how to spread the investment, and the role of brokers is a little boring, but this really is a good starter.