How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud

by Kenneth L. Fisher, Lara W. Hoffmans, Lara Hoffmans

Book Overview

A timely guide to uncovering financial fraud

2008 and 2009 will be remembered for bear markets, a global credit crunch, and some of the largest investment scams ever. But these scams are nothing new, they've been repeated throughout history, and there will certainly be more to come. But the good news is fraudsters often follow the same basic playbook. Learn the playbook, and know how to ask the right questions, and financial fraud can be...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047052653X
• ISBN13: 9780470526538
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

This is a well-written, useful book for the average investor

For those reviewers who said this book was "simplistic"-- they were right! This bok is "simple" to UNDERSTAND, that is! Which means you'll read it. And, unlike some of the other dry financial books out there, you'll actually get some useful information that really can prevent you from getting scammed. Remember those old "Fight Back" shows? This book reads like THAT. It's fast paced, funny, and the author has really tried to make the book easy to digest for the average person. I liked it. The ideas are sound, and I think that the main goal of the book was to warn people how NOT get taken by a fraudster. In this respect, the book succeeds admirably. Now, a word of caution. If you are a financial professional, you might find the book a bit simplistic. But I doubt the author was writing for CPAs. This book is for everyone else. There were a few points that I thought the author could have covered a little better, but overall, the book is a fun read, and it's worth the purchase price. Recommended.

***Another gem from Ken Fisher & Lara Hoffmans***

Not only is this another entertaining read, it is important education which all investors should absorb. In today's day and age, you must avoid being naive to the investment industry. Fortunately, Ken is also a well-regarded & ethical wealth manager for high net worth investors like myself, so I don't worry. Thanks Ken for another great read.

an important book for all investors

This book is a great resource for all investors. I learned an incredible amount about financial fraud and the signs I could potentially be getting scammed. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the quality and number of tips there were on avoiding fraud. Some investors may claim they know it all but Fisher really tells the inside story on what to watch out for and common pitfalls investors fall into when searching for a money manager. An entertaining read and beneficial guide that could really save investors a lot of time and money! I enjoyed it and already bought a copy for my mom too!

No Longer Fearful!

Thankfully I've never been duped (knock on wood) out of my hard earned investments and I can only express sympathy to those who have. However, if you asked me to come up with a sure fire way to sniff out individuals with nefarious intentions I could come up with maybe one or two. I believe most people would say the exact same thing. However, Ken Fisher and Lara Hoffmans provide FIVE key traits, which I believe help uncover the entire gamut of possibilities that unscrupulous investment firms design to grift money from honest and hard working investors. This book is invaluable and straightforward. It was incredibly easy to understand and is written in a way that any everyday investor can understand. This book doesn't try and masquerade as anything other than a deeply honest and telling account of the financial scandals that occurred over the last 2 years. Anyone looking to avoid being misled should use this book as a manual for interviewing their next money manager. "How to Smell a Rat", could have been titled "Choosing the Right Investment Manager - Things to Ask and Look For In an Advisor".