The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing

Author : Jason Kelly Edition : Revised Number of Pages : 304 Publisher : Plume List Price : $15.00 Amazon Price : $8.17 Used Price : $8.23

Product Description

Customer reviews

GREAT by .. Justin A. Dorfman ()
The best intro to stock market investing book around. Very easy to understand as well as very well written. Kelly knows how to keep the reader interested! I would highly recommend this book to anyone is getting into investing or thinking about getting into it!

wonderful by .. Bon Bon Mochi ()
a wonderful book that i'm glad i read before beginning to invest. full of very helpful information.

Learn from the masters, but don't assume you can replicate them. by .. LOTONtech (www.lotontech.com)
The book is written well, and contains a good synthesis of the wisdom from investment gurus like Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, and Bill O'Neil. Some people say that there is "nothing original" in this book; but I'd prefer a good round-up of proven techniques from real gurus rather than an unproven brand new "idea".

But I'd like to inject a note a realism. Just because these techniques have worked for some successful investors in the past, it doesn't mean that you will make them work in the future.

It all sounds so simple:

1) The stock market has been the best place to invest historically. [I say: but not over the last 10 years]

2) If you can find a ten-bagger stock you can turn $10,000 into $100,000 in a single investment. Re-invest the $100,000 in another ten-bagger and you have $1,000,000 after two trades! [I say: It's possible; but don't confuse 'possible' with 'probable'.]

3) All you need to do is find a sound company, with great products, with good growth potential, which is currently undervalued for some reason. [I say: determining that a company is undervalued based on its fundamental ratios is not proven beyond doubt by my own recent research.]

When reading any stock market book, even a good one like this, I think that a degree of healthy scepticism is a good thing. Learn from the masters, but don't assume that you can replicate them.

Tony Loton, author --
DON'T LOSE MONEY!: (in the Stock Markets)
Stock Fundamentals On Trial: Do Dividend Yield, P/E and PEG Really Work?

Excellent for beginners and those who wish to remember fundamentals by .. Santos J. Jaimes (Lima, Peru)
I bought this book a couple of years ago, and read it now and then every time I want remember the basics of stock investing. It talks mostly about fundamental investing, and reviews the best investors/writers you can learn from. It is an easy and fast read.

Not worh the money by .. Steven D. Mann ()
This book does not offer much than can be found publicly or is common sense. Look at some of the other higher rated books.

Sensible Stock Investing: How to Pick, Value, and Manage Stocks

Author : David Van Knapp Number of Pages : 316 Release Date : 2008-03-05 Publisher : iUniverse Star List Price : $18.95 Amazon Price : $8.20 Used Price : $8.20

Product Description

Customer reviews

A "sensible" approach, with a tendency to sit on the fence. by .. LOTONtech (www.lotontech.com)
This is a good solid book containing lots of information, and I like the fact that it is empowering people to manage their own investments rather than blindly trusting "the professionals".

Although on the face of it, this book is about picking stocks based on good fundamentals (mainly dividend yield), it does also mention the importance of not blindly "buying and holding" indefinitely based solely on the fundamentals. In my opinion, it does not go quite far enough here, because my own research (not opinion) in Stock Fundamentals On Trial: Do Dividend Yield, P/E and PEG Really Work? shows that determining the onset of a general bull- or bear- trend may be just as important as -- if not more so than -- picking stocks based on their sound fundamentals. As case in point: banks were traditionally good dividend payers until they collapsed in 2007-2008.

In fact, the book doesn't go far enough in any direction and tends to sit on the fence. It might say something like "value investors look for undervalued stocks at low prices, whereas growth investors look for rapidly growing stocks regardless of price"; and then conclude with "..we take a middle view.". This is not a direct quote, but representative of my point.

So as not to sound too negative, I'll stress that I do like this book and the wealth (no pun intended) of information it contains. As author of DON'T LOSE MONEY!: (in the Stock Markets), I like the fact that it has a 'sensible' title rather than one of those misleading "get rich quick" titles; even if I don't agree exactly with the investment approach.

Tony Loton.

Understandable, in-depth and detailed by .. J. Halbach (Murfreesboro, USA)
I have been wanting to get back into stock market investing since my 401k has languished along with the rest of the market for years. I wanted a complete investment "system" that was logical and reflected my views on well-reasoned investment fundamentals.

I found everything I was searching for in this book. There is a fine balance between being technical enough to accurately represent a stock's value and market conditions and readily understandable text. Mr. Van Knapp certainly achieved that for me.

I consider myself a "value" investor at heart and I needed a book that spoke to me on that level. I didn't want rosy predictions of how much money I would make. I'm realistic enough to know I'll make mistakes, but having the information in this book gives me the confidence to know when it's time to buy as well as sell. Mr. Van Knapp also includes two real-world portfolios in the text. These aren't hypothetical portfolios manipulated to illustrate his points. They are real-money ($50k and $40k) investments in actual stocks, with performance information as well as reasoned discussion on his criteria for making his purchases.

I will return to update this review when my portfolio has had time to accurately reflect my own approach, using Mr. Van Knapp's criteria. If you are looking for stock market investment advice, I would highly recommend this book in your library.

Excellent book on stock investing by .. L. Rohrer ()
First, what this book is NOT:

A primer on asset allocation or asset classes other the individual stocks. If you only invest in bonds, cash, and mutual funds, this book is not for you.

What this book is:

A primer on evaluating stocks to consider buying. The author explains what types of companies to look for. The author discusses developing the comapny's story, how a company fits into megatrends, how to determine a dominant company, and how to evaluate the company's financials. He has developed a scoring system that is easy to understand and flexible, so an investor can tweak the system to their own values.

A primer on stock valuation, primarily using valuation ratios. Again, there is an easy to use scoring system.

A primer on managing your portfolio. Several stock types are discussed, including aggresive Type A stocks, momentum stocks, dividend stocks, blue chips, and EFTs. Concentration vs. diversification are discussed including a recommendation for a reasonable number of stocks to own. When to buy and sell, market timing (based on eight easy to find market indicators) and investing strategy are also discussed.

The author has invested in two real money portfolios, one aggresive, the other more conversative and dividend oriented. He discusses his actual results for the two portfolios and lessons learned. The portfolios were started in 2001 and 2002, hardly during a bull market, so the better than the market results are not simply a result of favorable market conditions.

The appendices include several forms recommended by the author: a stock rating form, company story questionnaire, a stock shopping list, a market timing outlook, and portfolio review.

For those who hate books that are basically sales pitches, this book thankfully has little. The author has a web site, but it is only mentioned a few times, and never pushed.

In all, a good stock picking book with an easy to understand system for evaluating potential companies, valuing their stocks, and managing a portfolio.

A system that works by .. John J. Chirikas Jr. (Romeo, Michigan, USA)
As an investor who believes in many of the valuation techniques of Buffett and Peter Lynch, I was constantly trying to find a way to properly grade a stock. Finally, someone tied all the important components together in an easy-to-use scoring system that takes all the emotion out of investing. David Van Knapp has written an understandable and extremely well detailed book that walks you through all the important points necessary to determine 1) If the stock is under or over valued, 2) Is the timing right to purchase it, and 3) When it's time to get out.

Since I began using Mr. Van Knapp's system, my returns have dramatically improved. Using his dividend strategy earlier this year during the exceptional market volatility we experienced, I outperformed the exchanges by 5%.

I would highly recommend this book to seasoned veterans and new investors alike as a staple for your library. Sensible Stock Investing is destined to be included with some of the great works of Graham, Lynch and Siegel.

Relief at Last! by .. William H ()
Out of all the investment books I own, "Sensible Stock Investing" is the only book that has finally brought together an understanding of how, what, why, and when a stock should be considered for purchase. Not just a "stock screen evaluation", like so many books are, but an explanation of how various criteria is brought together and used to give an unbiased and "sensible" direction before making a commitment. This book has allowed me to feel confident, organized, and safer while having an intelligent control of what I analyze and compare. After scrambling in various directions through reading numerous books and newsletters, "Sensible Stock Investing" has provided me with all the tools necessary to establish an orderly and educated direction of investment choices based on knowledgeable, well-built groundwork. It is both exciting and liberating to finally learn how to approach investing based on my own calculated and informative decisions.

Mr. Van Knapp has written a book that allows a person to navigate technical information in a step by step process using an "Easy Rate System". It will allow you to compare a stock against its own strengths and weaknesses, and score it accordingly. The straight forward explanations of the figures used will give the reader an effortless understanding of these fundamentals. Knowing what information to look for and how to utilize it becomes a simple but thorough process.

"Sensible Stock Investing" also includes added information on different stock groupings and their level of volatility, how to evaluate the current condition or trend of the Market, managing your stocks and much more. Through this book, Mr. Van Knapp has succeeded in making the market place an enjoyable and less exasperating environment for everyone. A well earned five stars!

PREFERRED STOCK INVESTING

Author : Doug, K. Le Du Number of Pages : 232 Publisher : Booklocker.com, Inc. List Price : $19.95 Amazon Price : $17.95 Used Price : $18.65

Product Description

After four years of research, Doug K. Le Du, an investment researcher, has answered that question, and has written it down, in plain English for non-experts, in Preferred Stock Investing.

Let's face it. Bank Certificates of Deposit (CDs) and bonds are low-risk, but you just can't make any real money investing in them. By the time you subtract out income taxes and inflation, you're not left with much (if anything).

To offset the loss to income taxes and inflation, we need a simple investment method that earns several times what CDs or bonds pay, but at "CD-like" risk.

Preferred Stock Investing is based on extensive research to identify the highest quality, lowest risk preferred stocks - "CDx3 Preferred Stocks." Only about 10% of the preferred stocks trading on the market today qualify as CDx3 Preferred Stocks.

And look at the results:

* 14.5% is the average effective annual return earned by all CDx3 Preferred Stocks, issued since January 2001, using the investment method described in Preferred Stock Investing - the "CDx3 Income Engine."

* 97.5% is the percentage of CDx3 Preferred Stocks, issued since January 2001, that reached or exceeded their "Target Sell Price" on the exact date that the CDx3 Income Engine said they should (and they are all listed in Preferred Stock Investing).

* 5.6 is the number of times more money that you would have earned by using the CDx3 Income Engine investment method, rather than average bank CDs, since January 2001.

Preferred Stock Investing is great for IRA investors or as a much better alternative to bank Certificates of Deposit or bonds.

Also, through the book's website, readers of Preferred Stock Investing are supported by a wealth of continuously updated resources, including a free monthly newsletter where Doug K. Le Du, author of Preferred Stock Investing, provides all kinds of tips and answers to reader's questions.

Chapter 9 of Preferred Stock Investing shows you all of the actual investment results from every qualifying preferred stock issued since January 2001. As a reader of Preferred Stock Investing, you are entitled to free, ongoing updates to Chapter 9 (the book provides a special email address for you to use). Preferred Stock Investing is never "out of date."

Preferred Stock Investing teaches you what you need to know to be a very successful "CDx3 Investor," and it takes no more of your time than reading a monthly bank statement.

Optionally, there is also a "CDx3 Notification Service" where the service does the work for you, and just emails you whenever there is a buying or selling opportunity - weeks in advance. They do the research and calculations, you make the decisions.

Learn how to earn several times what bank CDs or bonds can make for you, at "CD-like" risk, by reading Preferred Stock Investing.

Customer reviews

PREFERRED STOCK INVESTING by Doug, K. Le Du by .. M. K Yousuf (Michigan)
I have no hesitation in giving this book a 5 Star rating.

This book is an invaluable resource to any active investor. This is an action oriented book and the author has gone to great pains to share his knowledge freely and openly with the readers. He has not assumed anything and his writing style packs a lot of punch, meaning and ensures that the reader remains engaged through all the chapters. The author clearly wishes to help his readers and to ensure that no questions remain unanswered.

For those of us looking to augment our investment portfolio and add meaningful income, Doug leads the reader step by step through the entire process that covers investing in Preferred Stocks.

For readers looking to add to their knowledge or looking to actively begin investing in Preferred stocks, they need go no further than reading through the book and establishing their plan of action based on the education provided by Doug.

This is a must read book for those interested in establishing an investment portfolio in Preferred stocks. Preferred Stock Investing is great for IRA investors or as a much better alternative to bank Certificates of Deposit or bonds. The readers will find a lot here.

a great investing book for anyone interested in preferred stocks by .. NYSE (New York, NY)
This is a great book for many reasons. Personally, I bought it mainly because it discussed preferred stocks (which there tends a great lack of information on). Throughout the book you will learn (in layman terms)what makes preferred stocks tick. The author discusses why companies issue them, why they call them, and when and how they are allowed to do so.

Much to my suprise, once you understand this, you will be stunned to learn the predictable nature of preferred stocks. This is where the author describes his "income engine." Of course, as with any investing strategy, there are risks involved. The author seems to understand this better than anyone. Through a rigorous selection criteria (which he does for you!), he narrows down the hundreds of preferred stocks to ones that have the least risk. Furthermore, to reduce risk -- a key component of the "income engine," the author teaches you about diversifying your portfolio.

This is not a get rich quick trading scheme, which I believe adds to its credibility. This is geared towards investors with a longer term horizon looking to generate some stable, consistent and predictable income. If that fits your profile, buy this book.

Excellent book on a little known area of the investment world by .. David K. Wentzel (Valley Forge, PA)
I picked up Doug Le Du's book to learn about preferred stock investing...an area of the investing world that is not well understood, in my opinion, by the average individual investor. Specifically I was interested in diversifying my investments with instruments that provided income. The usual suspects were bonds and dividend paying stocks. Bonds have little chance for appreciation in my mind and many dividend-oriented mutual funds are heavily invested in financials which have been performing poorly recently.

That leaves preferred stocks (and maybe some other items). I stumbled across Doug's website http://www.preferredstockinvesting.com which is designed to work in tandem with his book and was hooked on how he managed to write about preferreds in an entertaining way. And it was no surprise that the book was similar.

The book is well written in concise, easily digestible chapters perfect for a quick read before bed. He covers not only the esoteric details of the myriad "types" of preferred stocks, but also how to mechanically trade them under various market conditions.

Using his methods I was able to trade profitably quickly. For instance, I was able to research the nuances of a preferred stock of a financial company whose common was under fire for poor performing subprime loans. Based on his research tips using SEC filings I was able to determine what the proceeds of the sale were being used to fund, as well as insuring my dividend was "safe", or cumulative. The yield was also very attractive. The preferred was basically safe while the common was getting its dividend slashed right and left. Since then the financial crisis appears to be abating and the preferred has risen about 15% since then. Not a bad return, and much better than the common.

Will you get rich trading preferreds? Probably not, but there is a place for these instruments in a well-diversified portfolio. If you want to learn quickly and thoroughly what a preferred stock is, what the characteristics of the most investable are, how to do your homework on an issue, and the mechanics of how to trade them...then this book is for you.

Be careful about the risk of preferred stock investing by .. C. Wang ()
This is a good book but reader needs to be careful about the risk
involved in preferred stock investing. Half of the purchases made
by the author in 2006 was not sold yet, and as of Apr 27, these shares
are down on average about 15% in market value. Even if you count the
9-10% in dividends that had been paid, you are probably still 5-6%
underwater. One of the purchases is CFC-B, which went from 25 to 6
at one point only to come back to 14 as of Apr 27. I am not sure
if the average reader would have the stomach to withstand this kind
of draw down. Since many preferred stocks were issued by finance
companies, I suspect purchase made by the author prior to Aug 2007
may suffer even heavier paper losses.

Reader who buy this book with the expectation of getting 12% return
with very little risk and retire needs to be realistic
I have many stock trading systems that returned on avg of 30% for 6-7
years in back testing before Aug 2007 but are down 40% since then.

I would like to see more discussion on the risk of perferred stocks,
how they would perform in bankrupcy and liquidation, etc. Readers
also should not blindly follow rating agency's ratings.

Thorburg mortgage's preferred stocks went public last year with a 10%
coupon, and the price dropped from $25 all the way below $2 and has
come back to over $4 recently. I heard that Pimco's Bill Gross
bought some of those preferred below $2. It would be interesting to
understand how he analyzed the risk of TMA's preferred and made the
call.

Well worth the time and money! by .. C. Smith (Bay Area, CA)
I've purchased three copies of this book: first one for me, and then after I started following the CDx3 method, one for my financial advisor, and one for my Dad. My copy is highlighted and marked with Post-Its because I don't remember everything from one reading and I like referring back from time to time. I set up my preferred stock investing system in a binder that I only need to pull off the shelf once or twice a month. For that small investment of time, I am very pleased with the results from following Doug's approach, so clearly spelled out in the book and made even easier with his subscription service doing all the legwork, so I can invest wisely while still having time for everything else. Contrary to some reviewers' remarks (did they actually read it cover to cover???), it's easy to successfully use the system described in this book without an interest rates crystal ball and even if you want to avoid issuers in certain industries, as part of a balanced investment plan. The book is educational, clear, fun, easy to read, and pays for itself many times over! Go for it!

Stock Investing for Dummies 2nd Ed. CD (For Dummies (Lifestyles Audio))

Format : Abridged, Audiobook Author : Paul Mladjenovic Edition : Abridged 2nd Release Date : 2006-12-26 Publisher : HarperAudio List Price : $14.95 Amazon Price : $4.35 Used Price : $3.80

Product Description

Build your wealth with smart investing—even in a bear market!

With so many choices, investing can be tricky. Stock Investing For Dummies^®, 2nd Edition, makes it simple with proven tactics and time-tested strategies for picking winners. This updated edition gives you resources and insights, and will have you investing with confidence in no time!

Read by Brett Barry

Customer reviews

Investing and Stocks by .. Z. Smith (Denver Co.)
This is a well written book and worth reading for anyone who is just starting to invest. I think the advice given in this book is very good. It will help you develope a plan for making your money grow. READ THIS BOOK!

Wake up call for stock buyers by .. G. Yang (SPRINGFIELD, VA United States)
I listened to the CD everywhere I go. It reinforces me to check for fundamentals before buying stocks. It provides specific instructions on what to look for and not speculate. I had bought stocks in the past and did not know company's financial background. Now I will check my current stocks and see if I made the right choice.

The disadvantage of the CD: The author provided a lot of websites and it would be advantangeous to get the book.

Gene Marcial's 7 Commandments of Stock Investing

Author : Gene G. Marcial Edition : 1 Number of Pages : 224 Publisher : FT Press List Price : $24.99 Amazon Price : $14.94 Used Price : $11.45

Product Description

Marcial reveals why diversification is not an optimal investment strategy-why you need to focus on finding big winners, and how you can-how to profit from panic, and how to lock in your profits when everyone else is -fat and happy.- Along the way, he opens up the secret, mysterious world of corporate and market insiders--showing how to track them down, emulate their approaches, and profit from their lucrative strategies.

• Be prepared to profit from panic
  Plot a clear strategy to seize opportunities during a macro-market panic

• Learn how to -buy the losers-
  Finding tomorrow-s big winners in today-s bargain bin

• Profit from the unknown
  Finding investments that are undervalued because investors don-t understand them

• The -sweet seven-: specific stock picks for the next seven years
  What to buy right now--and hold for the long term

Customer reviews

Utterly Useless Advice by .. Adam Snow ()
If this is the first investment book you read, *some* of the rules/advice might actually be new and insightful. That being said, if this is your first investment book, put it down immediately and find something more useful (Lynch? Graham? Buffett's shareholder letters?).

The rules are so simplistic that they're effectively common sense to all but the most basic investor but then the detailed advice seems to assume you've got the time and ability to spend hours digging deeply into multiple stocks and multiple news sources. Nearly every section instructrs you to read countless business publications and industry publications, go to finance websites, use Google and Yahoo. Seriously?! I paid for a guy to tell me to use a search engine?!.

One favorite:

On investing in foreign countries, Mr. Marcial recommends really understanding the economic system and political climate. Shocking suggestion. And also completely impractical. This book has such a simplistic tone (and very little supporting detail) that it is clearly aimed at casual investors with little time to spend analyzing dozens of companies in detail (as Mr. Marcial repeatedly suggests). And yet its basic advice is do a *lot* of detailed research. If that's your thesis, you could've boiled this book down to a single page (which is true of most business books ... sigh ... scattered anecdotes do not constitute real evidence).

We won't even get into detail about Mr. Marcial's anecdote about a savvy investor who made a killing on AIG stock in 2007 after an investigation into accounting problems (for derivative positions, among other things) blew over. Whoops.

Or the fact that he asserts how actively managed funds often outperform index funds that hold huge chunks of the market (on average, after fees, they don't ... it's a fact ... in fact, it's practically a mathematical certainty).

If you really only have time for very brief reads about investing, try "The Little Book That..." series. A) They're shorter B) they do a better job of substantiating their advice C) they're actually coherent.

If you have a little more time, invest in advice from Lynch/Graham/Buffett.

Whatever you do, do not waste *any* time on this book.

If I could give this book negative stars, I would -- it would be more indicative of the return on investment this book actually provides.

7 Commandments of Stocks by .. Joseph S. Maresca (Bronxville, New York USA)
The first and most important commandment is to buy
what other investors do not want in the short term.
So, buy low and buy cheap. For instance, Ford Motors
sells for under $5. right now. For consumers who believe
that the company will recover, an investment now could
yield considerable benefits as the hybrid cars roll out
in a few years.

Generally, buy at the bottom while others panic.
You'll have the whole upward part of the curve to make profit.

As a rule, choose standout companies that buck the trend
in downward markets. These stocks are out of phase with
the current market. The investments go up while the rest
of the market is tanking. Examples are Petsmart,
Crowdgather, Carmax and many stocks in the commodity areas.

Some investors like to set a target for a stock and sell
when the target profit has been reached. This is a good
short term strategy. Some stocks continue to go up so that
a short term strategy can fail to exploit long term trends.

Insiders buy to make money so watch what top managers buy.
A review of SEC filings could produce some top performers
over the long term. The book gives a number of stocks
for investors to consider over the long term. i.e.
o Apple Computer
o Boeing
o CVS
o Genentech
o Petrobas

A significant market downturn can provide a much bigger
upside or buying opportunity. Another good strategy is to
buy stocks that consistently pay dividends. Take these
dividends and reinvest to grow the portfolio by multiples
over the long term.

This book would be a good acquisition for new or intermediate
level investors.

Very timely by .. LOTONtech (www.lotontech.com)
This book is very timely.

Not only does it make reference to the credit crunch and its knock-on effects on -- for example -- housebuilders' share prices, but it also suggests how you might benefit from the present situation by buying into the distressed companies.

Of course, you need to be careful here -- and the book does tell you to be sure of your research first.

Tony Loton, author DON'T LOSE MONEY! (in the Stock Markets) and Financial Trading Patterns

Timeless 7 commandments! by .. Srinivasa Chanda (Seattle, WA USA)
Gene has distilled his more than 3 decades of experience in the stock market into this wonderful book "7 commandments of stock investing". The advice he offers is practical and when put to use can get great returns for even an average investor. I have been following Gene Marcial's picks on Inside WallStreet column in Businessweek for almost 2 years now and his picks have consistently beaten the S&P500 and DJIA. Whether you are a novice to the stock market or a seasoned pro, the book has absolutely invaluable advice. Read this book and you won't be disappointed.

greg m by .. Greg Macarthur (boston,ma)
Reason to read this book-Gene Marcial's selections of stocks have outperformed both the DJIA and S+P every year for the past 10 years.
GM