A Commonsense Guide to Your 401(k)

by Mary Rowland

Book Overview

A guide to investing in mutual funds features seventy-five dos and don'ts, a list of questions to ask a broker, and a risk assessment quiz.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576600637
• ISBN13: 9781576600634
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press
• Length: 313 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very good overall book on Mutual Funds

Just to provide some context, I recently checked out three books on mutual funds from my library. Of the three, this was by far the easiest to read, most informative, and well focused of the bunch. She does not tell you what fund to pick, but rather some rules for investing. She has a chapter in there for beginners to help understand the building blocks of the funds. If you are beyond that point, just skip over it. She also includes what other strategies big name investors have towards investing (index funds, upside trading, gold, sector funds, etc...) While she does throw in some opinion, it still remains objective for the most part. I want to point out again on how easy this book reads compared with most. This book has enough good stuff in it that I plan on buying it for my personal collection.

Useful tool

I pay my 5% to a professional and FINALLY have a book that helps me grasp the basic concepts and terminology he uses so blythely. It has made our discussions more profitable and less time consuming while lowering my frustration level. I can return to this book over and over as often as necessary until an idea sticks. I find it very useful to review basics when my quarterly reports arrive. The book has allowed me to be more confident in discussions with my professional advisor. The format of this book is perfect for beginners. I read several mutual fund books from the library before selecting this book as the first to own.

The best beginner book on mutual funds I've found.

I checked out many books on mutual funds and investing from the library. This is the one I kept going back to, because its easy-to-read "dos" and "donts" format got right to the point. That might sound too pat, but the advice given within that simple format is right on and consistant with other reliable sources I've checked. There are also more sections beyond the dos & donts for those who want to go further in depth. The advice is basic and sensible - such as what factors to look for in a fund, how to evaluate performance and costs of funds, and recommended further reading. I plan to buy a copy so I don't have to keep going to the library!

Great fundamentals and starting point

This is a great starting point for people who want to know more about investing, and particulary those who want to do it themselves. Rowland packs a lot of useful investing do's and don't, with easy to follow explanations. She stresses the key concepts such as asset and risk allocation, dollar-cost-averaging, and "buy low, sell high" (which, although a cliché, is often ignored). She examines all kind of mutual funds, from stocks, to bonds, to gold, to blend. One drawback is the book is about 3 years old, which hurts the information a little. However, this book can provide investing knowledge that applies any time, whether you believe in the "New Economy" or not.

Information for novice investors and seasoned shareholders.

More than 63 million Americans own mutual funds, but most folks don't really know what they're all about, aside from being the "must" investment of the 90's. This guide will change that. Much of the book is devoted to a series of specific dos and don'ts. There's also a range of asset allocation portfolios for every type of investment "personality," and a primer on how to work with a financial advisor.