Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich by Jason Zweig
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By James East
The above is the premise of Jason Zweig’s Your Money & Your Brain. As the research continues to mount that we are indeed more hardwired like our animal ancestors than we care to admit, it helps to know these hardwired systems in ourselves to more understand our response mechanisms that can and do trigger our emotions and ultimately our actions. To assist in this effort, the book highlights and goes into some detail of the more recognized emotions like Greed, Fear, Regret, and Confidence of which all play on our performance in life, as well, and even more so in optimizing our wealth in the investing process. Since the investment world and markets themselves are full of triggers that fool our brains into taking actions that in the end are not good for wealth optimization, this book will help you understand some of these triggers and hopefully avoid some of the actions they promote.
It was a treat to read this very well written (read as not too technical) on the pitfalls of our decision making and how we sometimes unknowingly do things that are against our own best interests. To illustrate with one of the topics of Confidence, we are hardwired to be confident because if we weren’t we would more often then not be paralyzed to never be able to make a decision. However; when it comes to investments, we are mostly too confident in our own abilities which itself leads to overconfidence. For example, we believe that are own selected lottery ticket has a better chance of winning than someone else’s selected ticket even though all of us know that the odds are the same for everyone. But when asked to give your ticket up for someone else’s, the response is usually — no way. This fact has been tested over and over with the same conclusion that we believe our own cognitive skills or luck is better than someone other than ourselves. In the investment world, the path to ruin is full of disasters where investors were overconfident. Let us just be reminded of the “.com” boom or Long Term Capital Management episode.
Or let’s take another look and topic in the book of Risk. What is your Risk tolerance? This may entirely depend on what your mood was when the question was asked, or what was the last color you saw prior to being asked, or more importantly of how the question was asked. For example, if you were asked that a said portfolio has a 78% chance of meeting you financial goals does this meet your risk tolerance? You may answer in the affirmative, yes, that this is a good risk profile for me. However, if you were told that said portfolio has a 22 out of 100 chance of not meeting your financial goals and you may be eating beans for 10 years, your risk profile may have changed drastically though these are exactly the same. Its all in the framing.
As you move on and educate yourself on the other hardwired triggers like Fear, Regret, Greed, plus others, you should be in better shape to improve your investment results, or at a minimum to at least recognize some of the pitfalls. All in, required reading if you’re a serious investor or have not read some other excellent books on the subject, such as, Mean Markets and Lizard Brains by Terry Burnham, Psychology of Judgment by Scott Plous, or How We Know What Isn’t So by Thomas Gilovich.
Side note: The footnotes and background information are very well documented in the back. However, some of the figures referenced are in the middle of the book. For example, when I read (See Figure 3.1) and could not find it, I thought that they had left it out though it was between Chapters 6 & 7 in a separate section. This did not distract from the book too much as it was probably a technical issue to place all color pictures in one section, but thought it odd of not telling the reader up front.
Though not to leave with a negative feeling, with praise from the likes of Daniel Kahneman, Bill Miller, and David Dreman — it is hard to go too wrong and I believe Jason Zweig has indeed succeeded. So enjoy an educating and fun read 
Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich
Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By K. Johnson
Here are some of the rules that we are pummeled with again:
Cramer’s 25 rules:
RULES:
1. Bulls, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered.
OK, Mr. Gecko.
2. It’s OK to pay the taxes.
Specifics on how to reduce and write them off?
3. Don’t buy all at once.
Dollar Cost Averaging
4. Buy damaged stocks, not damaged companies.
Buy value
5. Diversify to control risk
Diversify, diversity, diversify - if you don’t have a clue what you are investing in.
6. Do your stock homework.
Sounds like a good idea. Or you can pay a venal discount broker.
14. Expect, don’t fear corrections.
Just sell before the tank.
15. Don’t forget bonds.
As set allocation and diversify, diversify, diversify.
23. Beware of Wall Street hype.
Agreed.
“Wall Street is the only place I know where people drive Rolls Royces and give money to people to invest who take the subway to work.” –Warren Buffet.
An important piece of advice for me is to just ‘cut the loser.’ If something has been a dog for a sooooo long, sell it, and move on. How many people just sit and look at a declining chart, and just do nothing? Would you buy it now? If not, then jettison the dog.
Jim Cramer is entertaining. In subject matter such as quarterly reports and balance sheets, his energy, enthusiasm, and eccentricity is needed and welcomed. Otherwise, we might fall asleep. We need a good balance of a hype : substance ratio.
“Confessions of a Street Addict,” was enthralling, and Cramer is one of those “experts,” who has proven himself being a top-end trader and extremely successful hedge fund manager. This said, today is today and his picks for the future in the year 2000 were of companies that have collapsed: they are gone. Don’t even exist.
However, what I like in his latest book here, is that he bucks (a little) the safe, boring, and potentially lethal strategy of “buy and hold” (forever). If a broker or trader is good, they don’t buy and hold, they buy right, sell right, and sit on growth right.
This book is marketed with some “RA-RA” and toward people who want to learn how to calculate a P/E ratio. He does advocate spending one hour a week studying each company that you hold stock in. However, this book is not for those who want to “learn” how to invest or pick stocks and mutual funds better. It’s interesting for those that are interested in the market, even if occasionally, as well as the people in it, and the stories behind it.
Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World
Jim Cramer’s Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By Richard Stoyeck
Forget all the craziness, and loud shrieking voice coming at you. This man is the real thing. He was a hedge fund manager for years, and made BIG MONEY doing it. He simply prefers to cultivate a national image by being in the media. This in no way negates the wealth of fabulous information that he imparts to people on a daily basis. Cramer is a TEACHER too, and that’s what you need to know.
If you listen to him, and then take the time to study what he is saying, it is the same as pursuing an MBA in stock picking. The difference is that in this case, the professor is giving it away for FREE. As you know, very few people ever appreciate that which is given away. If you charge for it, people’s ears will perk up. They will strain to hear what you are saying, but give it away for free, and what happens? They just sit back, and say ENTERTAIN ME.
Cramer is loud, and frankly has gone Hollywood. He probably feels compelled to act in this manner in order to draw a big crowd to his television show. By doing this however, he may be taken less seriously. It probably also ensures however that he will gather a larger and larger audience, although there will be a lot of people watching that can not appreciate the contribution this man is making to improving the stock picking abilities of hundreds of thousands of people.
The truth of the matter is that anyone who is a real stock investor should be paying money to sit in a room with this man, and listen to what he has to say. If you listen to any great thinker for a long enough period of time, something becomes quite evident. People always have to reveal themselves, and reveal the truth in the process. A person can only put on a false front for so long. The façade has to come off, given enough time.
This is why Jim Cramer is so worthwhile, with a great show, and a fabulous book. Cramer is the REAL THING, and don’t you ever doubt it. I run an enormous amount of money, both as the Founder , and the Senior Managing Partner of Rockefeller Capital Partners, LLC. I talk to some of the smartest people in the world. If necessary, I write checks in order to be able to consult with them. I have probably absorbed the contents of over 1000 different books on finance, investments, and money. Cramer’s book is the work of a man who has paid the price in money, stress, and brainpower to learn what he has to teach. I know because I have been there.
When all is said and done, I find Cramer to be an absolute joy to listen to. This book Mad Money is even better than listening to him. In this book whether Cramer intended to or not, you have some pearls of investing wisdom that are individually worth a 100 times the price of this book. Here are several of them:
· A stock is only worth what the big institutions are willing to pay for it (p3).
· You can’t be sure about research from this or that brokerage house. They’ve all been tarnished… for colluding with their clients (p3).
· Tips are for waiters (p23).
· Learn in very precise terms how a company makes its money (p25).
· Nothing is more important than the sector a stock lives in…half of what a stock does is totally dependent on the its sector (p27).
· The actual stock price means nothing without context (p32).
· You can’t make money until you sell (p55)
· If the stock is growing faster than its competitors but has a lower P/E, then it’s a slam-dunk. I’d give it a triple buy - we’re done, next caller. (p69)
· I don’t like inside information, both because it’s illegal, and because it makes you sloppy (p75)
· Almost all analysts have been trained exactly the same way, so they think in lockstep (p75).
· We don’t love stocks -they’re just pieces of paper (p81).
· Whenever a CFO is cautious, I’m cautious. If a CFO is negative, I’m negative. You can take that as gospel (p114).
· It’s these institutions that set prices, because they do most of the buying and selling (p121).
· Resisting the business cycle is futile…. if you buy a secular growth stock when we’re in a cyclical upturn, or a supposedly cyclical stock when we’re in an economic slowdown, you will lose (p121)
· You can’t trust companies that are coming out of a leveraged buyout. The investment banks favor the LBO firms because they do a lot more business with them than with the average investor (p127).
· Latin America is always a trade. If you hold onto Latin American stocks for long enough, your gains will evaporate (p130).
· Not everything is worth betting on. Don’t be afraid to say it’s too hard (p133).
· When a stock is cheap, it’s usually cheap for a reason (p137).
· Past performance is not an indicator of future success…. it’s like black jack; the cards have no memory, especially when shuffled. (p139).
· Never invest on borrowed convictions. Make your own mistakes. You never want to lose money because you borrowed someone else’s convictions (p143).
· Usually people have decent reasons for buying and selling stocks, and you should understand those reasons thoroughly before you try to game the supposed “stupidity” of your fellow investors (p150).
You need to read this book because the biggest problem an investor encounters today in the BATTLE for PROFITS is TOO MUCH NOISE. We have too much information coming at us, and we have to be able to sift through that which is pertinent, and that which is extraneous. It can take a lifetime to develop the ability to do this - many never do, and they pay a dear price for it.
You also have to realize that you will never, ever have all the information you want, prior to making the investment decision to buy or to sell. You will always be dealing with an imperfect decision. What you need to know is, that’s OKAY. If you have 80% of what you need to know, you are going to more than probably be calling it right.
If you are using Cramer’s approach than more than likely, you are a MOMENTUM player. You can make big money very quickly with this approach, and lose it just as quickly. You have to be ahead of the crowd both on the buy side, and sell side to handle this technique correctly. The best I have seen at this approach is Michael Steinberg who founded, and ran Steinberg Partners, the hedge fund for years.
At the time, Steinberg once mentioned to me that he was giving away $50 million a year in commissions to Wall Street. This meant that he was getting everyone’s best idea, and his results showed it. Steinberg was the ultimate momentum player, and he always looked 10 or 15 years older than his age whenever I would run into him. In this business the stress ages you.
As an individual investor, you can do very well in the market. I believe you can blow away professional manager results if you are up to it. It takes time. It takes intensity. It probably takes what Sigmund Freud had in abundance. That was the ability to be BRUTALLY HONEST with yourself as to your strong points, and your weaknesses. Very few are capable of such honesty. Only in Wall Street do so many talk a good game, show poor performance and then make millions for themselves in the process.
Those who have been successful like Cramer are the rare individuals that LOVE THIS BUSINESS. They wake up in the morning, and think about stocks. They go to bed at night, and think about stocks. Whenever they are in conversation, fairly quickly, you can bet that the conversation is going to turn towards stocks. They never stop talking about them. They never grow tired of the subject. That’s what it takes to make a fortune in Wall Street, and I respectfully suggest to you that Jim Cramer is showing you how to do it. Good Luck.
Jim Cramer’s Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By D.Buxman
This book is extremely readable and contains a tremendous amount of helpful information in the areas of personal finance and debt reduction/elimination. Dave Ramsey makes a compelling argument for the elimination of all debt by rather extreme means. He exposes the common myths spread by the credit industry and offers a solution for eliminating debt through something he calls The Debt Snowball. My only complaints center around the fact that he advocates mutual funds as a means to achieving 12% returns over the long run and that he advocates National Guard service as a means of paying for college. I’m not sure that mutual funds can be counted on for 12% in the long run, and National Guard service these days can involve exciting times in far away locations like Iraq, which make the cost/benefit analysis a bit unappealing. However, this isn’t a book about investing and the college financing advice is otherwise quite helpful. I’m sold on the concept of The Total Money Makeover!
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By M. Skousen
Ever since Thorstein Veblen wrote “The Theory of the Leisure Class,” the critics of capitalism (including politicians and Hollywood producers)have delighted in bashing the rich for their “conspicuous consumption,” prospensity to divorce and find trophy wives, engage in white-collar crime, and avoid paying their “fair share” in taxes.
Now along comes the exhaustive work of Professor Tom Stanley, concluding that the millionaire wealthy class is in reality the model citizen! 92% are married and have been with their first wife for an average 28 years; they live well below their means; 40% have paid off their mortgage; few inherited wealth; over 90% are college graduates; most are not in the top of their class, but average “B” or “C” students; they avoid the lottery and gambling, and enjoy spending most of their time with their family or playing a game of golf with friends; 37% are deeply religious people who attend church regularly; integrity in business is their # priority, and they pay most of the income taxes in this country!
It’s great to finally read a book defending the wealthy and the truly successful in this country.
My only gripe: The book has no index!
The Millionaire Mind
Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men - One Message by Robert Kiyosaki & Donald Trump
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By Corinne H. Smith
“Why We Want You to Be Rich” gives Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki (and their co-authors) a chance to hop onto each other’s bandwagons. The two men claim that they collaborated on this book because they are concerned about the demise of the middle class. They see a two-class system in America’s future — the rich and the poor — and they feel obligated to motivate us clueless middles to pull ourselves up to their level. They do this by shooting down over and over what they say has been the standard financial advice for us in the past: get a job, work hard, live below one’s means, save money, invest for the long term in mutual funds, and diversify. They discount our presumed “entitlement mentality” — the one that believes that Social Security, Medicare, and our pensions will take care of us in retirement. We should be investing to win, they say; not saving to avoid loss. And Kiyosaki recommends that we all become Bs or Is — Big-business owners or Investors — instead of Es and Ss, Employees and Small-Business / Self-employed / Specialists. All of these points are easy enough to say and a challenge to actually undertake. But that, of course, is the point. And that’s why a number of middle-class Americans will undoubtedly see this book as an insult to their intelligence and a criticism of their lifestyles.
With the authors’ emphasis on being and becoming rich, you’d think they would start us off with a definition of the concept. Well, you’d be wrong. Kiyosaki finally gets around to it on page 262, where he quotes a Forbes magazine article that states a person is rich if he has a million dollars of income each year. He quotes another source as saying that a poor person is one “who does not have at least $100,000 in cash to invest.” If those figures are to be believed, then we’re probably already living in a two-class system.
The book is written in see-saw fashion: Kiyoskai begins each chapter with his rambling narrative, then Trump adds a shorter post-script expounding more concisely on the topic. There are times when Kiyosaki puts his foot fully into his mouth, as when he uses himself as an illustration of the 90 / 10 rule (10% of the players win 90% of the money). That’s why he didn’t take up golf as a profession, he tells us, because he knew he could never be in the top 10%. What a defeatist attitude from someone who’s supposed to be motivating us! Much later in the book, he has the guts to say: “[I]t amuses me when I meet people who are looking for a job or for a pay raise or wondering how they are going to make a few extra dollars. Obviously, they live in a different world than I do.” (p. 251) Wow, a direct hit on his readers! These kinds of comments, along with the continual Rich Dad / Poor Dad references, make Donald Trump’s portions of the text sound like the voice of wisdom and reason by comparison.
And yet: readers can be motivated by just about anything these days. That’s why self-help books continue to top the bestseller lists. Ignore the insults and the backstepping and the ongoing self-promotion here, and you’ll find a few helpful suggestions to work toward financial independence. The sad truth is, we can’t ALL be rich. (Some of us don’t even WANT to be rich.) And our economy needs Bs, Is, Es, and Ss to work; we can’t all be Bs and Is. Some of us are not cut out for those roles. The world doesn’t need more Donald Trumps and Robert Kiyosakis. Having one of each is plenty.
The text notes several times that the authors (all four?) will be donating a portion of the book profits to charitable and educational organizations that support financial education. Both Trump University and Cashflow Technologies would probably qualify for those funds.
If you’re intrigued by Kiyosaki’s CASHFLOW Quadrant, then you might want to find out more about the standard Myers-Briggs personality test, which divides human behavior into more concise categories. The easiest way to do that is to pick up a copy of the book “Do What You Are” by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger. And for those who feel they need someone successful to offer them financial advice, I recommend spending time with two people willing to do just that: Jim Cramer and Suze Orman. Read their books, watch their shows on CNBC, go see them in person. You may be more empowered by them than by Trump, McIver, Kiyosaki and Lechter and “Why We Want You to Be Rich.”
Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men - One Message
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny by Suze Orman
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By Jay K.
First of all, I like Suze Orman because her previous books have actually helped me go from not much money to a nice nest egg in an amazingly short time. Her advice works. She encourages you to ask yourself and your spouse the right questions–and I was really surprised at the answers sometimes. I even went on to become a financial advisor for others because of the knowledge and experience I gained from Orman’s first book. And, even though I have been a financial advisor, I still bought this book. Why? For one thing, it has current information about laws and changes that will happen as far in the future as 2010. And for another, the large majority of people who came to me for advice were women. Women who had been suddenly divorced or widowed and who didn’t know what to do. That is NOT the time to have to take a crash course in finances. But, that’s usually what it takes.
“Women and Money” is loaded with action steps that anyone can do. This latest book is divided into 8 chapters, including “For Women Only”, “Imagine What’s Possible”, “No Shame, No Blame”, “You Are Not On Sale”, “The 8 Qualities of a Wealthy Woman”, “The Save Yourself Plan”, “The Commitments”, and “Say Your Name”. These chapter titles do not indicate how much real information is given–this is not just an “ideas to get you started” book. Orman gives a month by month description of things for women to do to put themselves in a good financial position. She has boxed information entitled, “I Would Be Thrilled If You…” and then gives specific things to do. She also has an Action Plan for each month of her 5 month plan. And, there is an opportunity to open an account and save for a year, after which you would be given $100 (assuming you follow the plan–which is not hard!) She’s already found a way to make you more money! (The offer is good between the dates of 2/27/07 and 3/31/08)
It’s not that hard to do and it works. It really does. Thank you again, Suzy!
Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J.Stanley & William D. Danko
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By Bruce L. Oliver
The authors started studying how people become wealthy 20 years ago. It is very interesting to to see how the neighbor next-door becomes a millionaire and how that very same person spends his or her time at work, at play and with their family. The authors share the secretes of those millionaires in their book.
The millionaire next-door did not become a millionaire by winning the lottery or on Regis Philbin’s new game show: Millionaire. Most millionaire’s in the United States are people just like you and I except they invest their money on a regular basis and live modest lives. After interviewing over 1000 millionaires, they discovered that the average millionaire makes $131,000 per year but invests up to 15 percent of their income on annual basis. Most millionaires drive regular cars that they bought used for less than $25,000, live-in modest homes, and work in a non-glamour industry. As a matter of fact most millionaires are entrepreneurs that own and operate their own small business.
If you’re interested in making it to the ranks of a millionaire then I believe that this book is for you. It may surprise you to find out that that capability is within your reach. As the authors say, you have to learn how to become a PAW (prodigious accumulator of wealth) rather than a UAW (under accumulator of wealth).
The book certainly makes interesting reading for the curious and the serious. Then, the rest is up to you.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
By Carmen Matthews “Love Books” (San Diego, California)
This is a great book, because it starts with allowing readers to explore their subconscious, childhood money messages that are sabotaging their chance of being wealthy.
The theme is written from the premise of your worthiness thoughts lead to your actions which lead to your circumstances.
“Wealthy.” The meaning of “wealthy” indicates a great deal about who you are.
The wealthy at country clubs talk about a person’s net worth. The middle class at other environments talk about the raise. And the poor talk about making it.
One of the most hilarious parts to this book is the example of what happens when someone says, “Oh! Money is not that important.”
T. Harv Eker’s reaction is to tap the palm of his hand on his forehead as he say’s, “Oh! I get it. You’re broke!”
To do this, without regard for whose around and what the social situation is, would definitely be life altering for the person who says that money is not important. (I actually can’t imagine someone doing this in any situation other than if they are presenting a motivational workshop, where they are in charge.
But, nonetheless, imagining this happening was funny.
Beyond humor, this book compares the rich to the poor with these assertions:
1. Rich people believe “I create my life.” Poor people
believe, “Life happens to me.”
2. Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people
play the money game to not lose.
3. Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people
want to be rich.
4. Rich people think big. Poor people think small.
5. Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus
on obstacles.
6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
Poor people resent rich and successful people.
7. Rich people associate with positive, successful
people. Poor people associate with negative or
unsuccessful people.
8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their
value. Poor people think negatively about selling and
promotion.
9. Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor
people are smaller than their problems.
10. Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are
poor receivers.
11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor
people choose to get paid based on time.
12. Rich people think “both.” Poor people
think “either/or.”
13. Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people
focus on their working income.
14. Rich people manage their money well. Poor people
mismanage their money well.
15. Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor
people work hard for their money.
16. Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear
stop them.
17. Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people
think they already know.
This is a great book because with each assertion T. Harv Eker gives excellent real life scenarios, as well as experiences that he has live through.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2007
Amazon.com
Personal-finance author and lecturer Robert Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective through exposure to a pair of disparate influences: his own highly educated but fiscally unstable father, and the multimillionaire eighth-grade dropout father of his closest friend. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by his “poor dad” (whose weekly paychecks, while respectable, were never quite sufficient to meet family needs) pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his “rich dad” (that “the poor and the middle class work for money,” but “the rich have money work for them”). Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retire at 47. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written with consultant and CPA Sharon L. Lechter, lays out his the philosophy behind his relationship with money. Although Kiyosaki can take a frustratingly long time to make his points, his book nonetheless compellingly advocates for the type of “financial literacy” that’s never taught in schools. Based on the principle that income-generating assets always provide healthier bottom-line results than even the best of traditional jobs, it explains how those assets might be acquired so that the jobs can eventually be shed. –Howard Rothman –This text refers to the Paperback edition.
From AudioFile
Attitude towards risk determines acquisition of wealth, according to Kiyosaki, a financial lecturer and millionaire. Fear of risk keeps you in the house-and-bills “rat trap,” unable to escape. Short fore- and afterwords by the Hawaiian-born Kiyosaki frame a serviceable reading by British actor Hoye. Sounding American, Hoye makes little attempt to add zip to this economics discourse. Reading from a script, his narration is unmemorable, but it successfully conveys the intended monetary advice. The random musical bridges do not correspond to sections or chapters. A.G.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine– Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine –This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.