The Great Mutual Fund Trap: An Investment Recovery Plan

by Gregory Baer and Gary Gensler

Book Overview

Two veterans of Wall Street, the Treasury Department, and Federal Reserve reveal how the mutual fund and brokerage industries are costing individuals billions of dollars a year, and provide readers... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767910729
• ISBN13: 9780767910729
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Read It and Don't Weep

The Great Mutual Fund Trap explains how you avoid wasting remarkable amounts of time and money in a futile search for the mutual fund or money manger that is going to beat the market. It does the job in clear English but without oversimplifying. The chapters explaining efficient markets and capital asset pricing models are especially good at showing the relevance of these arcane theories to the average investor.This book should also be recommended reading for anyone who serves on the board of a non-profit institution with an endowment.

Three chapters are worth the book

Even if you disagree with the premise, there are three chapters that are worth the cost of the book:2. Lead Us Not Into Temptation "The message of "trust the experts / trade frequently / beat the market" saturates the airwaves and fills the newsstands."6. The Ankle Weights on Running an Actively Managed Fund "...all these costs stand between you and the market-beating performance you crave."13. Why We Draw to Inside Straights and Invest Poorly. "Human psychology plays a big part in explaining why."I not sure about ETFs. And the book is wordy in sections. But those three chapters are worth the book."Finance, n. The art or science of managing revenues and resources for the best advantage of the manager." -Ambrose Bierce

A Must Read for All Investors

As an experienced investor and already a true believer in indexing and low cost investing, and having read books by Bernstein, Boogle, and others, I expected to learn little from this book. Wrong! This book by two of Rubin's boys (Clinton Treasury UnderSecretaries) is the best treatment I have ever seen about how the financal industry bleeds the average investor. Pithy and witty with lots of new insights and information, this is an excellent book. The book is worth buying just for the chapter on the huge costs that would be incurred by a privatized Social Security.

Great Advice

I was really concerned about the huge losses I have seen in my kids' college funds and my retirement funds. I have everything in stock -- I figured I am young enough to wait things out. I also think I know a good stock when I see one. Boy, did I learn alot from this book, and I am SO glad I bought it. It is easy to read and understand, and is quite funny too. I knew I needed to spread my eggs into more baskets, but this book showed me where I should move my money, that picking individual stocks is very risky, and how to avoid huge investment fees. The examples (such as why fund managers are like bookies) really help you visualize how much money you are throwing away, and are quite amusing!

Extremely informative.

I am a single mother of three who is watching my children's college funds plummet. I was in shock when I read this book and realized how much money I have lost because the fund manager has churned my stocks and cost me alot of money (especially in my situation) in taxes and fees. I am an artist who has little understanding of where to invest, but this book is written in a way that I understand. I realize one of my biggest mistakes was putting too much money into the stock market. With this book I think I can salvage what I have left and invest my money better for my kids' college educations.