The Great Mutual Fund Trap: An Investment Recovery Plan

by Gregory Arthur Baer

Convinced that your star mutual fund manager will help you beat the market? Eager to hear the latest stock picking advice on CNBC? FORGET ABOUT IT! The Great Mutual Fund Trap shows that the average mutual fund consistently underperforms the market, and that strategies for picking above-average funds -- everything from past performance to expert rankings -- are useless. Picking individual stocks on the advice of brokers and analysts works no better. The only sure things are the fees and commissions you’ll pay.

Fortunately, the news is not all bad. Investors willing to ignore the constant drumbeat of “trade frequently,” “trust the experts,” and “beat the market” now have the opportunity to do better. Using new investing products investors can earn higher returns with lower risks.

Drawing on their years of Wall Street, Treasury and Federal Reserve experience, Gary Gensler and Gregory Baer offer a fresh and realistic look at how money is managed in America. From new indexing strategies to risk-managed stock selection, The Great Mutual Fund Trap offers investors an escape from high costs and immunity from seductive marketing messages.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2002

Reviews

[Iami Menotu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book for individuals

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning what Wall Street doesn't want you to know: the key to maximizing your investments is to avoid fees by any means necessary! Mutual funds collect fees without their owners realizing the tremendous loss that many years will bring forth. One should avoid: transaction costs, commissions, taxes, & high turnover of portfolio holdings. Index funds & ETFs look to be best!

Index funds & ETFs usually have the lowest expense ratios; therefore, that means you are paying much less per year to own those holdings.

I went from knowing NOTHING about investing, to knowing the most important guideline: avoid fees, fees, & more fees as much as possible!

I will be sharing this book with friends that are willing to know the underbelly of the beast that is Wall Street, which will hopefully give them confidence to turn their investments around for the best possible outcome.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes into good detail but doesn't get overly technical thus making it easy to read and follow along. Some of the referenced websites are no longer around and the book itself was released after the dot-com bubble but well before the 2008 recession so some of the information may be a little dated, but the overall theme is as timely as ever.