Investment Book Reports

I've been reading a lot lately. So much so that it almost makes riding the always over-crowded streetcars enjoyable.

With my BLOG postings becoming fewer and farther apart, I thought what better idea than to start posting comments or reviews about some of these texts?

In the interest of staying well rounded, I try to alternate between novels and business books, paperbacks and hard covers, magazines and biographies, or whatever may interest me at the time.

However, each new RRSP and Tax season I tend to focus on books with a personal finance or investing theme and have recently completed the following:

1) Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich - by Jim Cramer

I admit it. I am a "Cramerican" at heart... even though our local cable provider saw fit to remove CNBC (and Mad Money along with it) from my so called "Ultimate TV" subscription package.

Jim Cramer may be too brash and abrasive for some - too noisy and outrageous for others - but he's one of the few people who can actually get the "average Joes and Janes" of the world to have fun while thinking about investing or retirement planning.

I mean c'mon, I love ROB TV (now called the Business News Network), but would you really prefer watching some technical (a.k.a. voodoo) analyst tell you that "according to the charts Acme Co. should do well over the next few months" or instead to see Cramer throw a chair across the studio and ring his sound effects buzzer with a big "DON'T BUY, DON'T BUY, DON'T BUY" echoing over the loud speakers?

The answer to that question is really all you need to know about this book. If you like Cramer's style and show, you'll like the book. If you don't, you won't. Simple as that.

It's a light read and probably not as useful as his previous one - Real Money: Sane Investing in a Insane World - but provides a few new tips, an updated and very helpful chart of the typical business cycle, and some insights into what all those crazy sounds and props actually represent on the TV show.

2) The Automatic Millionaire - by David Bach

This was a freebie from a conference that had nothing to do with investing but was sponsored by a big bank that handed out the book to those in attendance.

It seems to get good reviews from others but I can't say I enjoyed or even learned anything from it. Bach's advice is generally good and perhaps he actually was the first to suggest making automatic savings part of your plans, but in my mind this whole book could probably be reduced to a one or two page reference card along with a short story illustrating "how one couple made it work and you can too".

This book might help those who haven't really thought about their savings at all or who actively avoid it because they believe they can't afford to save and pay their bills at the same time. If that's not you, I'd suggest looking elsewhere but since I got it for free I'd say it was worth every penny.

3) The Naked Investor - by John Reynolds

The last of my investment-focused books for the season was something that intrigued me but I never really planned to purchase until I found it on sale at an outlet for $3.99

Reynolds' premise is to start each chapter with a new anecdote about someone who has been mis-served by the Canadian investment industry. (Those considered "naked" in the sense that they have no protection from unscrupulous advisors.) He then goes on to explain the types of things one should look out for to avoid falling into the same traps.

I have to say that it turned out to be an even more interesting read than I expected and provided some useful insights as well - nothing earth shattering but perfect for passing the time on public transit.

And, although each chapter begins with a negative story, he somehow manages to avoid giving in to a complete sense of cynicism by pointing out that we need the infrastructure and support provided by the industry and that there are some good advisors out there. The key is finding one for yourself and avoiding those who may lead you the protagonist role for one of Reynolds' future book chapters.

Next time I'll post some comments about the fun fiction I've read recently but that's all for now. BOO-YAH!