Product Description
The First Book You Need to Start Investing Wisely
You can make a solid investment decisions for a financially secure future—by investing as little as a dollar a day! The First Book of Investing shows you how to realize your financial potential—no matter how much you know about investing and how much money you have to work with. Inside you'll discover solid, easy-to-understand advice on how you can make the wisest investment decisions fo you and your family. In practical, friendly terms, experienced investment counselor Samuel Case answers all of your financial questions, including:
·How are stocks traded?
·What do brokers do?
·How can I get started in online investing?
·What is an IRA?
·What is a fixed-income investment?
·How does compound interest work?
·And much, much more!
"[An] excellent guide for would-be investors."—Seattle TimesAmazon.com Review
In the revised second edition of The First Book of Investing: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Safely, financial advisor Samuel Case starts with a simple but substantial overview of today's major investment opportunities designed for readers who know absolutely nothing about the various alternatives available. He then guides the former novice through intermediate-level possibilities and higher-risk options with the aim of creating a portfolio that truly matches the investor's expertise and comfort level. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

This really is the first book of investing.
All I can say about this book is WOW!!Because too often when you read material pertaining to investing, it throws so much unfamiliar jargon and concepts at you.Too many sources assume you know the basics about investing.

This book makes no such assumptions.I've learned so much already, and I've only read half the book.

The only drawbacks as far as I can tell: #1-The book spends a lot of time in the beginning going into detail about what to do if you come into an inheritance.Only a few people out there fall into this category, and the author could have cut out a lot of this discussion, since it only pertains to a few.#2-There was nothing mentioned about IRA's, which I think are a popular investment option.It would have been nice if IRA's could have been covered.

Great overview for beginners
This book was great for laying out the basics of investing. Topics covered range from the safe staples like government bonds to risky speculations like futures and included less common investment ideas including rare coins and owning businesses. Each topic is presented simply but thoroughly in a style that isn't too technical and is encouraging towards first-time investors and women. Real-life examples are given for harder-to-understand investment concepts. The math involved is explained fully (though sometimes too thoroughly for those who are not completely math-challenged). As the title states, this book won't give you strategies to get-rich-quick or be able to pick the right stocks. What it will give you is a fairly objective guide to the investing world and the risks and rewards involved in different investment strategies as well as a "Model Portfolio." Not all the sections were applicable to me, but they were good references nonetheless. The only drawbacks I found were a skimpy and slightly out-of-date "Online Investment" section which was basically a click-by-click account of how to use the finance section of AOL (which may be helpful for some but not me), and occasional cheesy humor (which was forgivable). I didn't realize how much I had learned from this book until I found myself explaining to a coworker why her junk bond mutual fund was relatively riskier and more volatile. Overall, the book felt like a trustworthy, objective source for responsible investing.

A Good Place To Start When You Dont Have A Clue
This book is 3 years old now as of this review I write, if it was up to date Id give it 5 stars...it still has LOTS of relevent and important information for today and tomorrow because the fact of the matter is is that the rules will always be the same for SMART and SAFE investing found in this book. There are many excellent resources and websites listed too that really help...if you are fed up living paycheck to paycheck, get going with this and take charge of your life...or would you rather live a life you always complain about that??

A great book for anyone who knows nothing about investing!
If mutual funds, stock options, and equities make your head spin, this book is for you. Case has written a book that is easy to read and understand yet remains information packed. Even after finishing the book, it makes an excellent reference. The first section is a logically organized tutorial into the wide world of investing. What I really like about this book is that it overlooks no investment. As a high school student short on cash, it was refreshing to read about how I can begin investing with as little as $50. The only problem I have with the book is Chapter 12 "Socially Responsible Investing." Case continually uses nuclear power as a market example that is not socially responsible. This is not totally accurate. The reason socially responsible funds don't invest in nuclear power is because often time by investing in nuclear power you also invest in fossil fuel utilities as well. Besdies Case's cynicism in Chapter 12, I loved this book.

A good book to learn the fundamentals
This is a good book for learning the basics of investing.A nice "model portfolio" provided to help the reader understand diversification, risk, etc.However, a "model portfolio" wouldtend to change with the pace of the market. ... Read more

Product Description
For the geek who's an investor, and the investor who's ageek, we present Online Investing Hacks, 100industrial-strength, bleeding edge tips, tools andtechniques for analyzing and managing online portfolios.

Individual investors have become more computer-literate andtechnology-dependent than ever before.Whether you'relooking for suitable investments, studying alternatives, ormanaging your portfolios, you need data.The Internet canbe a goldmine of financial data and research, but today'sonline investors also use spreadsheets, databases, andfinancial applications to select, study and manageinvestments.If your proficiency has grown to the pointwhere you crave industrial-strength tips and tools toturbo-charge your efforts, this is the book for you.

Online Investing Hacks covers:
Screening Investments
Collecting Data
Fundamental Analysis
Technical Analysis
Executing Trades
Investing in Mutual Funds
Portfolio Management
Updating Stock Data
Financial Planning

Other books for managing online investing are either out ofdate, are for beginners and don't go beyond the most basicadvice, or are so dull and boring they squeeze that last bitof fun out of the topic.Online Investing Hacks is for thecustomer who wants to know the latest techniques, to gobeyond the basics, who gets jazzed by cool online tools andservices, and who actually wants to have a bit of fun whiletrying to strike it rich (or at least not lose their shirt). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

good information sources
This book is clearly written and user friendly. Biafore gives links to information sources, making it easy for the reader to get more information on each of the hacks. These links alone are worth the price of the book.

Good book, useful tools, beginner thru expert
I've been trading for over twenty years, including a period as a floor trader on the Chicago Board of Trade.Even with that experience there are tips and tricks in this book I found useful to the point where I employ them daily. To be complete as a reviewer I will say there is a lot of pretty basic stuff from my point of view, but still well worth reviewing since some of it I had forgotten.

Well written, easy reading, well organized

This book can pay for itself very quickly...
Online Investing Hacks by Bonnie Biafore (O'Reilly) is one of those books that can pay for itself in short order, as well as over and over.

Chapter list:Screening Investments; Hacking Excel for Financial Analysis; Collecting Financial Data; Analyzing Company Fundamentals; Technical Analysis; Executing Trades; Investing in Mutual Funds; Managing Your Portfolio; Financial Planning; Index

I worked at Enron from 1998 through 2001, and spent plenty of time during that dot.com era following my stock portfolio.I watched my Enron stock value go from incredible value to a point where it cost more to sell the stock than it was worth.I won a few bets (face it, that's what they were) on a few dot.coms and lost many more.What could have been an incredible nest egg, isn't.This book would have been a lifesaver if I had read and paid attention to it a few years ago.Biafore shows you how you can analyze and invest wisely using a variety of tools available to everyone.

If you're an Excel user, you'll find it an invaluable tool for analysis.She'll show you how you can use it to create financial charts (#13), calculate compound annual rates of growth (#26), and use rational values to buy and sell wisely (#36).#39 - Spot Hanky Panky with Cash Flow Analysis (using Enron as an example) would have literally saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars had I known about it.Even if you don't care about the investing tips, the hack on downloading data via Excel web queries (#7) was something I didn't know how to do (or that you could even do it!).The book has a little something for everyone.

As with all Hacks titles, you probably won't be interested in every single item.Some may not be applicable to your situation or may be too complex for what you care to handle.But all it would take is one hack to work out and change your investing for this book to pay huge dividends.If you do your own investing, you owe it to yourself to get this book.

Excellent Reference/Resource
Online Investing Hacks is an excellent introduction to the world of investment. Though the title does contain the word 'Online', I would say that the general information the book provides on investing is not limited to the online realm.

Overall, I was very happy with the book, and found it incredibly useful. Though I do have several investments (401K, some stock, mutual funds etc) I would hardly consider myself an authority on the subject. This book provided very detailed explanations and tips on various forms of investment, from CD's to Index funds, and everything in between. While the experienced investor might not glean much from reading this book, anyone just getting started will find it an excellent reference, and resource.

The format of the book is similar to the other books in the 100 * Hacks series published by O'Reilly. There are exactly 100 hacks, or topics, which are spread across 9 chapters. Each one is an individual entity and can be read and understood without reliance on any of the other hacks.

One minor annoyance I had with the book is that it is geared toward those of you who, for some reason or another, run Microsoft's Windows OS, or have access to Microsoft Excel. Luckily, of the Excel examples that I played with, Open Office's Calc program handled them with minimal tweaking.

I can easily recommend this book to anyone who wants to invest, but is unsure of what to invest in, or needs some tips on making the most of preexisting investments. Those of you who enjoy research and building your own stats and graphs will also find parts of this book rather intriguing, as it covers data acquisition and manipulation with Excel in great detail. It will make an excellent addition to my reference shelf, and I have a feeling it will be well thumbed through in a very short time.

Excellent resource for all investors
It seems like everyone is involved in investing in some form or another.While I always felt like I should be investing too, it was never clear to me how to begin this process.After all, it's my money.How can I be sure I'm investing in something that will provide some sort of reasonable return?This book is an excellent resource in answering some of those questions and putting the new investor on the right track.

This book is written in the same format as the other "hacks" series by O'Reilly.This format is very easy to read, and the format makes it very easy to find answers.Rather then having to read the book from cover to cover, the reader can pick out topics they are dealing with, read the answer, and move on.Since many of the people interesting in a book of this nature will likely have little time, the book's format works to its advantage.

The book begins with some basic introduction to the stock market and tips for selecting appropriate stocks or mutual funds.The whole middle section of the book deals with data analysis.The author discusses how to understand a company's balance sheet (e.g. what that P/E ratio means), how to spot companies in financial trouble, how to pick a good stock, and even how to trade.There is also a good discussion on minimizing the effect of taxes on your little return on investment.

The author even goes further and gets into a discussion on financial planning.In addition to discussing debt reduction, the author also talks about IRA plans and different strategies for saving for your child's education expenses.I think my favorite part of this book was the discussion on different education savings plans.The author discusses the ins and outs (as well as tax consequences) of each of the plans, and provides some examples illustrating the fact that it's better to start saving earlier than later.

This is an excellent book, not just for its investing advice, but also for its sound financial planning.This is a great book for anyone who is interested in increasing their wealth, saving for a rainy day, or simply saving for future financial goals.


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Product Description
Walks the would-be do-it-yourself investor through the steps involved in buying your piece of the stock market. ... Read more

Product Description
The growth of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in recent years alongside an unprecedented access to investment resources by any individual with a computer has led to a major boost in the market for many of these funds. According to recently released numbers for the 2007 fiscal year, as reported in the Chicago Tribune, there are currently more than $608 billion in assets within ETFs, with almost $400 billion of that in domestically traded assets an increase of almost 40 percent in one year. This book will provide for you a complete guide to both understanding how to invest in Exchange Traded Funds and to earn the highest possible rates of return without risking your financial future. You will learn why the ETF has become the next major addition to essentially every casual trader s portfolio, offering a viable alternative to high-fee mutual funds and Wall Street infused stock trading. You will discover the multiple ways in which you can build the stock equity side of your portfolio, through large and small growth, sector investing, international investing, and with specialized stock ETFs. In addition to standard forms of ETFs, you will learn the various forms of Bond ETFs, Real Estate Investment Trading ETFs, and Commodity ETFs for gold, silver, and other precious metals. Also, you will discover why you should include a mixture of non-ETF investments in your portfolio to remain diversified at all times. A special section detailing a sample ETF portfolio and how yours should be organized will help you understand the format and building structure for ETF investments. The keys to buying and holding successfully, a stark change from normal investment strategies, will help you learn what ETFs do differently, while the listing of rule exceptions make it easy to recognize when you will have even more options than you originally expected. Through countless hours of interviews with financial professionals and newly independent traders like yourself, you will learn exactly how ETFs are being used today to revolutionize the world of personal finance, including retirement funding, education savings, and portfolio diversification. A list of commonly asked questions will ensure that every possible question you currently have is taken care of and the top ten mistakes that every new investor makes when starting with ETFs will help keep you from increasing your risk. You will be shown the entire corral of trading options at your disposal, both online and offline, and how Internet trading can help to increase your returns even further. The vital task of risk management is touched on repeatedly within each chapter, while trading profiles help you understand which investments have been most successful in recent years. For anyone getting ready to start trading in the highly lucrative ETF market, this book is a must have tool. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds
Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs can be an extremely complicated subject to just dive into. Similar to splashing within an unmarked pool, you never know when you'll hit the bottom. The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds will act as your water wings until you're ready to become that Olympic diver, remember this is the same pool that Donald Trump swims in(ugh).

Your ultimate goal within the stock market is to invest the lowest while getting this highest return, but with the unpredictability and diversity of the global market, this is becoming increasingly harder. There are literally thousands of guides in this universe that are geared towards this enormous branch that hangs off the tree of investment, but I find this particular guide to be the most efficient. 338 pages of pure information in its most complete form that covers everything from how managing ETFs to the creation of ETFs. Martha Maeda is a well spoken economist that can be your ticket to a wealthier you. 5 stars.

Your First Resource in Understanding ETFs
Exchange traded funds ("ETFs") now enjoy increasing popularity in investment circles.If you are not a sophisticated investor, however, you may be intimidated by the notion of investing in an ETF.If so, Martha Maeda's "The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds: How to Enjoy High Rates of Return - Safely" is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to fully understand how and why ETFs should fit into a personal investment strategy.

"Investing in Exchange Traded Funds" considers the history of ETFs, from their origin in Amsterdam in the late 18th century to the present, and offers a comprehensive examination of the recent laws and events that have thrust ETFs into public consciousness in the past decade.Ms. Maeda does an excellent job of abstracting the very complex history of the ETF and the even more complex economic theories underlying ETFs to present a cohesive and relatively understandable guide for investors who want to pursue the security and growth that ETFs offer.

Although Ms. Maeda's book makes ETFs much more accessible to casual investors, "Investing in Exchange Traded Funds" is not ideal for novice market participants who do not have a basic understanding of fundamental investment concepts.Accordingly, Investors who are taking their first steps into the stock market should consider a more basic examination of investment markets, such as "The Complete Guide to Online Investing: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply" by Michelle Hooper before they jump into "Investing Exchange Traded Funds."

Anyone who is dissatisfied with their investment portfolio, or who wants to experience better returns on their current investments, should be aware of ETFs and how they might contribute to the growth of their portfolio.Martha Maeda's "The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds: How to Enjoy High Rates of Return - Safely" offers an excellent guide for those investors who are ready to consider ETFs.After reading Investing in Exchange Traded Funds, even investors who are new to the concept of ETFs will be well prepared to discuss ETFs with their investment advisors, and to make better informed decisions about their investments.

Overcome Investment Anxiety
Have you ever wished you were brave enough to start investing your money in something that could earn you real returns? If you're looking for a safer alternative to playing risky stock market games with your life savings, pick up a copy of "The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds." Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are investment vehicles that make it possible for one person to own a share of a range of stocks, instead of investing in just a few individual companies. Since these modifications of the mutual fund are cheap to buy and own, have instant liquidity, and delay taxes, ETFs can be good vehicles for investing for retirement, investing for education, fleshing out a portfolio, or tax loss harvesting. According to the author, ETFs have grown more than 20 percent per year for over 15 years.

In simple and easy-to-understand language, "The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds" explains what you need to know to begin investing with confidence. Some of the historical analysis at the beginning is a bit dry, but the vast majority of the information in this book will be helpful for those who are new to the world of investing. Pay close attention in particular to Chapter 20, with its list of frequently asked questions, common beginner investment mistakes, and sample portfolios.

In case you're thinking the book this book is nothing but an advertisement for ETFs, the author does spend a fair amount of time describing situations in which this investment vehicle is not the best choice. And, while it includes a list of ETF providers, the book does not appear to endorse one particular fund over the other. So, while this shouldn't be your sole source of financial information, it appears to be a fairly objective analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of investing in ETFs.

How to earn the highest rates without risking too much
Learn how to earn high rates of return safely in a fine guide to ETFs - Exchange Traded Funds. There are huge assets in these funds, offering an increase of nearly 40 percent in a year on investment. This book offers a basic understanding of these types of funds and how to earn the highest rates without risking too much. Any library strong in stock market investing will find this a fine niche acquisition.

Interesting Book
Maeda's guide to exchange traded funds presents a compelling argument for ETFs as an alternative to other corporate investment strategies like mutual funds.The work reads like a chapter to chapter reference manual detailing the history of ETFs, their advantages, composition, and how individual funds line up with the market indexes they track.Though the author is a strong proponent of exchange traded funds, she maintains a level of thoroughness and impartiality that makes her work a valuable resource for evaluating ETFs as an investment strategy.
The book contains a wealth of information relevant to investors already familiar with corporate investment strategies.The opening chapters detail exactly what an ETF is and how they can often provide a more attractive investment than mutual funds due to lower costs and less room for human error.In fact, much of the first few chapters is dedicated to how ETFs provide a a more satisfying investment because they follow market norms more accurately than other types of mutual funds.Maeda goes to great lengths to point out the major advantages that would attract the interest of seasoned investors, namely lower tax liabilities, lower costs for trading shares, and much higher transparency than more traditional mutual funds can offer.Her analysis is both thorough and compelling enough to assuage the reservations of many discerning readers who will likely find ETFs a beneficial addition to their portfolios.
With the level of detail provided by Maeda's work, it would be understandable to assume that it would be too inaccessible for beginning investors simply looking to explore their options.Thankfully, this is not the case.Each chapter is laid out simply and easily so that a reader can review what information is relevant to them and move on.The author also provides comprehensive charts of the most critical information for easy reference.In fact it was often these charts that helped solidify the more extensive explanations contained earlier in the chapters, and would likely provide an excellent quick reference for novices and advanced investors alike.These provisions make The Complete Guide to Exchange Traded Funds a wonderful book to pick up and grow with as your investment strategy becomes more complex. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

Stop buying stocks!

An investing strategy that works

when buying individual stocks doesn’t

• Why buying stocks is an even worse strategy than you thought
• How to cut costs and risks, earn solid returns, and sleep at night
• By top Reuters financial journalist David Gaffen, founder of The Wall Street Journal’s MarketBeat

Millions of people have sacrificed their futures to disastrous stock performance. But you don’t have to “suck it up” and accept massive losses. Never Buy Another Stock Again offers you a common-sense approach to investing that helps you earn solid returns with less cost, less risk, and less fear.

Top financial journalist David Gaffen identifies portfolio components and asset classes that make sense when individual stocks don’t…shows how to avoid trendy new investments that are just as bad as stocks…helps you use cash wisely, carefully profit from ETFs and index funds, and offset the risks of any stocks you choose to keep.

Want to build wealth that won’t be washed away by the next stock price collapse? Never Buy Another Stock Again!

Product Description
The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing: Morningstar's Guide to Building Wealth and Winning in the Market [Paperback]Pat Dorsey(Author)Joe Mansueto (Foreword) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fast Read Investing is a Fast Learning Experience
I found this book to be extremely helpful in explaining (in simple easy-to-understand terms) the basics of stocks, mutual funds and bonds.To get someone up to speed quickly this is the book for you!A lot of valuable information is packed into this inexpensive little book. ... Read more

Product Description
While penny stock investing offers the potential of what I call life changing returns on your investment, this high upside potential comes at a price. That price is volatility, and to protect yourself, you must be armed with information about how to research your trades, manage your money, and exit a trade correctly.

In "The Insider's Guide To Penny Stock Trading" you will learn the 9 trade secrets essential to your success in this market, as well as how to avoid stocks prone to dilution, reverse mergers, reverse splits, and pump and dump schemes.

Read everything you can on the subject of penny stock investing before diving into a trade, and know what you are getting into before you click the buy button. The trade secrets in this book can help you in your quest to make money in the penny stock market.

"The Insider's Guide To Penny Stock Trading" is approximately 17,000 words in length, or about 70 pages of standard text.
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Product Description
Written in response to the stock market crash of the 1970's-and completely updated for today's equally volatile market-this bestselling classic reveals Robert Lichello's revolutionary AIM formula for earning profits in stocks and mutual funds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (71)

Using AIM in 2010
AIM requires volatility but it also requires that you don't pick a stock that drops dead and stays there.

Leveraged ETF's are the magic bullet. You can get 3xthe volatility of the SP500 or Emerging Markets or many other sectors. You can get 2x the volatility in a silver or gold leveraged ETF

The result is many trades in a year, you need about a 25% swing in order to generate a trade and you can get this. The trick is how often do you calculate-- Lichello did it once a quarter or once a month, but with these funds you might want to do it twice a month or even weekly because the moves can be quick and extreme.

To me its a great system; you get an amplified market performance but have lots of cash on the side for your buys and sells and the cash gives you the courage to hang in there in the scary times and AIM keeps you from selling out too early in a rally and missing a big move up--most of your ETF you still have even as it zooms up.

Review of Core Position Trading and How to make a Million
I'm always trying to build a better portfolio.Last year I heard that Jim Cramer (CNBC's Mad Money host) was preaching the virtues of trading around a "Core Position."

I wanted to know more about, "Core Position," trading and Googled it. The many citations led me to buy Robert Lichellos' 1977 book, How to make a Million in the Stock Market.

Lichello is an interesting author and provides us with a narrative of how stock investing was accomplished in the 1970's. So, it's a history book. But, it's also a book about a new trading system. In his book Lichello outlines his "AIM" method of buying low and selling high. It's basically a risk management method to be applied to your portfolio. In the book, Robert's new "AIM" system is loving and methodically described by the author.Robert says that using this system can make you a million in the stock market. Well that may be oversell. Authors are good at overstatement.

Still, is a fact that Jim Cramer uses this system in managing the profit and loss mitigation in his portfolio. Yes, he has modified the system to work his own way, but the basis of his system has its origins' in Robert Lichellos' work.

I see Robert Lichello as an original thinker and ahead of his time.I appreciate the effort Robert took to build and test his system. I recommend this book.

This is really a rolling stock strategy book
If you can foresee that the stocks that you are going to use this method for are going to move sideways for as long as you want to own them then this method will work for you. But then the author should have titled this book something like "How to make $1,000,000 automatically using rolling stocks".

The author recommends using quality stocks for half of your portfolio and volatile stocks for the rest (page 122).

Do not follow this strategy for a general index fund, like the Dow. I backtested the method using the Dow from 10/1928 to 4/2009 using monthly checks, as the author recommends. Using the improved 80-20 AIM-Hi method, the strategy only achieved 24% (21% for 50-50 the original 50-50 method) of the results of a buy-and-hold strategy for that same period.

I ran a test using the 50-50 original method for the 10-year Dow period that the author points to starting on page 106 (he used the NYSE) and had a gain of 21% for the whole period. The gain was 7% using the 20-80 method. You have to remember, though, that the market moved sideways that whole period.

If you could combine this method with a stock price break-out method then you would probably do pretty well.

Invest a little, get a lot
I started seriously investing back in 1985.I found a computer program called, "My Way" which looked like it would work well.It did, but there was no feed-back in the system.So I invested [.....] in this little book by Robert Lichello.God bless you Robert Lichello. You have made my family millionaires, Plus.The plus is that now when the market tanks, we understand how to profit from the confusion. Robert, your writing style is corny, but your thinking is pretty darn close to brilliant.I would strongly encourage anyone serious about investing to read this book and then say a prayer for Robert's soul.He left the world a priceless gift before he left this world.

A Must Read for everyone interested in protecting their investments
When I first heard of this book, I thought it might just be another one of those overly hyped books. When I started to read it, within a few pages I realized this book contained some very valuable information. The more I read, the more impressed I was with the information that the author provided. The book provides a glimpse into what you need to do to become aware of your own investments. Sometimes it may come as a shock, which helps as that will provide the impetus to do something about your money. The author has a truly unique approach to how to buy and sell. It us not your usual method, but a very interesting and different methodology. One cannot help but be thankful for having purchased and/or read this book. This is, in my opinion a very important book for anyone and everyone investing their money in the stock markets and mutual funds. You will be glad you got this gem. ... Read more

Product Description
The secrets of building and managing a successful stock portfolio involve joining the resources of this valuable stock selection program with a home computer. This proprietary system combines the most powerful and effective aspects of value and momentum investing to create a model that has produced returns almost twice that of the S&P 500 over the last 10 years. This system incorporates and describes the key characteristics that are common in companies at the point when their stock undergoes a major surge. This book provides the foundation for individuals to develop a personalized long-term plan and utilize portfolio and money management skills to vastly increase investment success. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not worth the time or money.
I bought this based on reviews... and frankly, it's terrible. I watched Kimmel on CNBC after buying it, and if I had seen him first, I wouldn't have bothered. There are hundreds of better books on this topic... Kimmel is constantly pushing buy buy buy... probably because he gets commissions from his customers whether they make or lose money. Awful awful advice.

Not worth your time
I recommend not buying this book.I did on the stength of some good reviews on this web site and some good words by Trader Vic.The essence of the book is to use stock screens to look for good stocks, and then use technical analysis to decide when to buy.It's a reasonable premise.In the first edition the two model portfolios returned about +25% and +90% in about a year. That's pretty impressive but occurred at the top of the stock market.In the second edition, two new model portfolios were created.I checked the prices and about a year later, you would have lost almost 100% in each portfolio.I'm sure the author is honest and sincere.However, his methods do not work. In the first edition, he was simply lucky.

Magnet Investing gets it right
Magnet Investing is a refreshing approach to investing which provides a methodology for investing rather than the typical hype found in many investment books. The approach is easy to follow and there are many examples for the reader to learn stock selection, as well as buy and sell signals. The approach strikes the right balance between technical analysis and common sense. I found the book to be useful, well written and would highly recommend it.

Magnet Investing 2nd edition-great book
I decided to buy Magnet Investing after seeing Mr. Kimmel on several CNBC and CNN segments. This guy knows his stuff and his book reflects it. He has a trademarked stock selection process, and the stocks it picked in the first edition of his book returned 90% in 12 months. This book is filled with information for all levels of investors and provides lots of tables that give a historical perspective of the stock market. Although I felt I didn't need it, the book has several chapters for beginners on how to plan and manage a portfolio and then covers information for more advanced investors including asset allocation and when to buy and sell. Then he turns to the Magnet Stock Selection Process and shows the reader how to use your computer to set up searches using specific criteria for selecting stocks. Finally there is a chapter on tax efficiency and recommended reading and internet sites. The book is loaded with great charts and tables. It's one of the best investment books I've read...and I've seen most of them!

A "must" for every investor's library
Wow-this book really simplifies the stock selection process. I'm an experienced investor who has lost money in pure momentum stocks. I see this guy on CNBC and Bloomberg quite a bit and he seems to know his stuff. Iagree with Standard & Poor's great endorsement "Magnet Investingprovides an insightful look into the stock selection process. It will be agreat boost to professional investors, as well as ones that only dabble instocks." The first several chapters teach investors how to develop adisciplined approach to the market and then describes a new trademarkedsystem that selects stocks based on a well defined set of criteria,combining value and momentum. If you have a PC, you can access this programthrough Telescan or set it up with another screening service. Then, withthe click of your mouse, you can pick a pool of stocks that have thepotential to be great performers. The system has averaged a 30% return peryear over the past ten years. The trial CD from Telescan is an added bonus.I think the author's system is one of the best I've seen. ... Read more

Product Description
The author illustrates a revolutionary formula for intuitively outwitting the stock market. He couples age-old oracles of prediction with the very best Wall Street has to offer, using numerology, tarot, the pendulum and astrology to gain wealth.' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Very disappointed
Don't waste your money like I did. I was expecting something completely different.It is tarot, astrology, numerology, divination, magic and feng-shui techniques and 3 chaptors on stock market information.I would have given it 1 star except I don't like the word "hate" so 2 stars is dislike.

It would be great for a joke!

10 Years ahead of it's time.
Spirituality is a way of life to the people of my new home here in Thailand. They've been channeling the powers of Buddhism and the supernatural for many centuries, and I find it entertaining that magickalthinking -- with the help of Mr. Goodwin's book -- is only now gettingaround to infiltrating heartland America. Why is this resource such ashocking revelation? That using the psychic powers of the mind, body, andspirit can be used to create wealth via the stock market? Seemed obvious tome. And I was quite pleased that someone finally sat down and put it intowords.

I'm a veteran player in the market. I've been doing it for morethan 6-years now, and it is now my exclusive source of income. I only buystocks at certain times of the year, and I found the information in thisbook was right on the money. I recommend that anyone whom invests in themarkets read it, and, anyone who is considering jumping into the market,sit down and read it too.

Holy Cow!
Reading a book on investing doesn't sound like the most exciting way to spend an afternoon.I bought this book because I wanted to invest some money I've just come across but didn't want to enter that evil world of brokers and end up losing everything.This book was PERFECT because itexplains the fundamentals of investing which beginners like myself need,yet it also goes into very deep and interesting places about psychicabilities that I think even veteran investors and brokers will find useful. And above that, it is even ENTERTAINING!Goodwin's commentary on New YorkCity and the stories he tells are very funny and enlightening.

Whimsical
I wonder if the SEC and NASD know about this book? I sure hope not. Because it's to good to be true.

Gag gift? Hardly.
I wanted to hate this guy, and his book, but I just can't. My girl friend bought it for me as a gift, and I laughed at her. I thought it was just a joke. I said to her, "What the hell is this?" And there it sat onmy desk unopened for about a week before a broker friend asked me the samedamn question," What the hell is this," he said. "I don'tknow" I replied, "but by the way we're getting slammed in themarket this month, I think we should both go read it." And then Istarted reading it first for a laugh and it reminded me of that MichaelLewis book, Liars Poker. Funny stuff. A lot of the Stock market coverage inthis book I found a little elementary, but the psychic stuff is pretty deepand interesting. And who could argue with results? I like what he had tosay about intuition being so critical in the investment game. Very true. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is an excellent resource if you havelittle or no investment or technological background, but want to learn how to make money in Internet and Internet-related stocks. It explains the whole "" phenomenon and will teach you how to watch traditional blue-chip companies for optimum investment opportunities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Lambs Being Led to the Slaughter
Taking people with little investment experience and little technology knowledge and teaching them a little about investing in Internet stocks is inappropriate at best.That's like entering elderly people who move slowly into the running of the bulls in Pamplona.People are going to get hurt.Avoid this subject, and this book.

Here are some of the observations the author makes."Investing in Internet stocks makes good sense.""With information, intelligence, and patience, you will be successfully investing in Internet stocks.""Investors willing to step out just a little on the risk side may find the rewards outstanding."Well, since the book came out, owning any of the Internet stocks has only led to losing a lot of money.

Why then did a rate the book at 2 stars rather than 1?Well, it does have some cautions in it."Don't put your life savings into Internet stocks . . . ."Amen!You are encouraged to buy quality companies, hold the stocks, keep your expenses low, use mutual funds, watrch your risk (based on your stomach acid levels and sleepless nights), diversify, and have fun.Well, you would have been out of Internet stocks before the book came out if you followed that advice literally.

Many Internet companies are going out of business as they run out of cash.To the book's credit, this risk is finally pointed out briefly on pages 183 and 184.

Naturally, if many stocks were going to fall 50-99%, this was a great time to sell the stocks short.This is first mentioned briefly as an opportunity on page 147.But brand new investors should not be selling short in volatile categories.

Here's my advice.Buy a lottery ticket instead.You have the same chance of making money, and because the unit cost is smaller, you will lose less money.

Stick to things you know where the odds are in your favor.Read Common Sense About Mutual Funds by John Bogle instead if you want a useful perspective on how new investors can make money. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Misleading Title
With relatively little knowledge about the industry and practice, I thought I was picking-up a 101 book on investing.Instead, I read through 3 chapters of what seemed to be a quick refresher course for the seasoned investor.For all the novices considering this book, look elsewhere for a true beginner's guide. ... Read more

Product Description
(From the Introduction) The idea of investing in small, rapidly growing companies has enormous appeal because it can be so rewarding. Almost everyone has heard stories about investors who have made small fortunes buying stock in great companies when they were still very small and not yet well known, and most of their growth as well as stock appreciation was still ahead of them. But this is a difficult and risky style of investing; many small companies falter and never produce the kind of growth that is expected of them. This book is written for investors who would like to be more active in the emerging growth sector of the stock market but are wary of the risks and feel they have to know more about this style of investing to be comfortable with it. It will lead you through every aspect of the investment process, along the way developing quidelines to help you realize the high returns that are possible with emerging growth stocks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

So good I couldn't put it down
I read this book in two or three days because I literally could not put it down.It was evident the author has a lot of insight into microcaps and successful strategies for investing in them. A good investment book willprovide atleast one or two pearls of wisdom, this book provides many suchpearls and it is easily worth many times the book's price ... Read more

Product Description
Written by professional equities trader, Jeff Cooper, this best-selling manual teaches traders how to day-trade and short-term trade the best moving stocks. Jeff's strategies identify daily the ideal stocks to trade and point out the exact entry and protective exit point. Most trades risk 1 point or less and last from a few hours to a few days.

Among the strategies taught are:

* Stepping In Front Of Size -- You will be taught how to identify when a large institution is desperately attempting to buy or sell a large block of stock. You will then be taught how to step in front of this institution before the stock explodes or implodes. This strategy leads to gains from 1/4 point to 4 points within minutes.
* 1-2-3-4s -- Rapidly moving stocks tend to pause for a few days before they explode again. You will be taught the three day set-up that consistently triggers 4-15 point gains within days!
* Expansion Breakouts --Most breakouts are false! You will learn the one breakout pattern that consistently leads to further gains. This pattern alone is worth the price of the manual!
* Creating The Daily Hit List -- You cannot make money in stocks that are not moving! You will learn the powerful method that identifies which stocks to trade on a daily basis. You will be taught how to recognize which stocks are rapidly moving and which set-ups to use to trade them. This knowledge assures you of being in the correct stocks everyday.
* Also, you will learn how to trade market explosions (Boomers), how to trade secondary offerings, how to trade Slingshots, and you will learn a number of other profitable strategies that will make you a superior trader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Useless as it does not deal with exits and money mgmt
As reviewer "Pedro Suarez" points out, the author does not provide exit strategies! This is just insane. How can one enter a trading position using a mechanical strategy, then just pick the exit (you have to exit the trade at some point, don't you?) "based on ... instincts" and "experience alone" (chap. 17 of the book)!This shows something is fishy about the guy's entry strategies.Maybe another reviewer is right in saying these are nothing but plain-word descriptions of Japanese candlesticks (of which I know little).Also, there's no money management rules.You can't write a trading book that comes anything close to being useful without talking about exits and money management, period.

Hmmmm...
I want to say this is an interesting book...but all it taught me was how much time some people have to spend researching stocks to find good moves, thats why i switched to learning how to trade emini futures....and no PDT law either!! bada bing bada boom!For the high price and fairly empty pages...i dunno.Its pretty straightforward with the moves he looks for...just didnt do anything or me.Seems like a book for those who are already cosistent traders and want more ideas....zzzz

STUDY, STUDY AND MORE STUDY
Obviously, this books is now several years old, but it has not lost its effect on my thinking and trading, especially since Jeff uses funny methaphores for his setups.Maybe one can recognize several by different names, but nevertheless, his names stick in my mind. Personal favorite: 1-2-3 pullbacks plus one day. To re-emphasize the setups, I would suggest to subscribe to his swing/day trading service (at least in the beginning).Well worth the initial investment.

People have compared this book to Streetsmarts a lot, which I find negative and not correct (except for Larry Connors original involvement as a publisher).

All in all, I would call Hit and Run definately a classic to own.

Good!
the beautifulst book that I have never read, simple and operating sin that is outside production
Jeff thanks

Results are bad
I do not recommend this book. I went ahead and bought the book and read it. He claims it's the "trader's bible". He does provide ENTRY strategies as well as stops for these entries. He however, spends very little time saying anything useful about money management which is a very important aspect of any trading system. If this was not bad enough and you are smart enough to make your own money management scheme using his entries, you really can not do it, because he DOES NOT provide exit strategies! That is correct, he says it himself that his exits are completely discretionary (page 137). In any event, I went ahead and programmed all but two of this entry strategies (2 of them could not be done since they would require tick data and secondaries info to test them which I did not have - nor was I about to invest getting this data to test his strategies after seeing the bad results I got with the other entry strategies). Since he did not provide exit strategies, I tested several variations with each: exiting the next day at the open, exiting 2, 3, 4, 5 days after the signal. I also tested exiting randomly within the next 1 to 10 days. I did this testing to see if his entry strategies had any merit by themselves. I will not get into describing in detail the results for each. However I will say that NON of his entry strategies are worth investing in, because they make very little money if any at all. Those that did make some money made it when traded over MANY MANY trades (tested over 1500 stocks and averaged 4 trades a day). However, the statistical advantage was so little for winners that by the time you put some commission charge and some slippage (all his entries are stop based) you will definitively reduce the value of your account. Most likely you will just be feeding your brokerage house in the best case. In summary, the entry strategies I tested have no real trading benefit, he provides no money management scheme nor trade exit scheme - so it is not a trading system or strategy. He is really only selling useless entry signals. ... Using a absolute point value seems very "beginner" to me. If this guy is a professional trader and makes money, he is not using these entry signals unless his discretionary exit criteria makes up for his useless entries. I find that his entries are as useful as just entering randomly into the market place. Maybe his business is selling this expensive book to patsies such as myself. I hope you do not become the next one. ... Read more

Product Description
Before this book, sector investing was practiced almost exclusively by financial professionals. Now, individual investors can get the lowdown on this powerful strategy with a new edition of the only annual guide to sector investing. Combining how-to knowledge with a wealth of unique data, this book is perfect for geginners in sector investing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

corner stoneof sector investing
Not so much synthetic, would deserve a revised and extended revision, worth buying if you can afford it (quite expensive for a used book) but clearer than intermarket analysis by Murphy

Save your money
This book was referenced in John J. Murphy's Intermarket Analysis: Profiting from Global Market Relationships (Wiley Trading).I saw that the Stovall book was out of print and was priced as used for around $150.For that price I figured it must be a densely packed trove of investment wisdom and ordered it.It turns out that it has fifteen or twenty pages of general information about sector rotation and the rest of the book is out-dated information on the sectors themselves (circa 1996). I guess the book was supposed to be a regularly updated reference.It was originally priced at under $20 dollars and that is about what it would be worth IF the information were up to date.Anyway, Murphy's book (which is very helpful) has the essential information on sector rotation.So, save your money. ... Read more

Product Description

Profit from Your Unique Advantages as a Small Investor--Speed and Flexibility!

“The book you are holding is, hands-down, one of the most original and insightful books I have ever read when it comes to teaching you, the individual investor, not only why you have the ability to beat the Whales of Wall Street, but also how you can do it.”

--from the foreword by James J. Cramer, CNBC’s Mad Money and TheStreet.com

“Even investors who concentrate on fundamentals can benefit from Jim DePorre’s Shark approach to investing. At the very least they will know why, for a time, they can get the facts right but the stock wrong.”

--Herb Greenberg, senior columnist, MarketWatch.com

“There are very few traders who have RevShark’s intuitive feel for the market. I especially appreciate Rev’s unique ability to recognize and utilize the distinct advantages of being a smaller, individual investor versus the less agile large institutions.”

--Barry Ritholtz, Chief Investment Officer, Ritholtz Capital Partners

As an individual investor, you can swim circles around the “whales” of Wall Street…by investing like a shark! In this book, James “RevShark” DePorre reveals how to maximize your powerful and unique advantages as a small investor: speed and flexibility. You’ll develop a completely new way of looking at the stock market, learn when to attack, how to move aggressively, how to stay flexible…and when to swim away in the face of danger. You’ll learn why “buy and hold” is today’s riskiest strategy…and exactly what to do instead. In short, you’ll learn the same disciplined investment techniques that helped DePorre build a tiny nest egg into a huge fortune and transformed his life.

If you read TheStreet.com, RealMoney.com, or SharkInvesting.com, you already know DePorre and his inspiring personal story of how he lost his hearing, career, and marriage…turned to online investing out of desperation…and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Now, in this fast-paced, insightful, and entertaining book, DePorre shows how you can do it, too.

How to invest like a shark…

• Stay in motion, trolling for your “next meal”
  Stalk your prey patiently, relentlessly, and without emotion
• Move fast when there’s blood in the water
  Know when to strike
• Know when to swim away
  Sell when you sense danger
• Feed on the frenzied crowd
  Profit from others’ fear, despair, stupidity, and greed
• Use all your unique advantages and strengths
  Leverage small caps, technical analysis, and the tremendous power of cash
• Invest with the shark’s attitude
  Be active, adaptive--and control your own destiny

Customer Reviews (39)

100's of better books - Don't waste your time.
There is absolutely no practical information in this book. I usually make lots of notes when reading educational books. With this one I barely made one page - and my writing is BIG.

Deporre fails to give "How-to" information. I really wish I had something good to say, but I hoenestly feel I have just wasted several hours that could have been more productive. There are many good stock market books to choose from - this is not one of them.

a biased sales pitch for his website
As someone who has seen good results from the long term "buy and hold" approach AND the short term swing trading approach, this book has absolutely NOTHING to offer me.Some will suggest that it is good for new investors, but the obvious sales pitch for his website and biased approach leads me to discourage the new investors also. I borrowed a copy from the library, but even for free I found my time with it to be waste. Oh - The story about a deaf guy with no job?It would make a nice Reader's Digest story, but not a whole book.

There is absolutely NO how-to information in this book.If Toni Turner's 'Beginners's Guide to Day Trading' could be considered 'Day Trading 101', then this book would have to be considered the high school survey class! Of course the term used is "Shark Investing", not 'day trading', but many consider day trading to include any trades that are 3 weeks or less, so I see this as a book that tries to sell us on the advantages of day trading. No matter what terminology is used, the trouble is that the author does not consider the downside (that many just can't survive that way) and that the long term strategy does continue to work and work well for many.The book just isn't objective about your choices.

In case you have not heard, there is a website call [...], and it is mentioned many times in this book. Since there is absolutely no how-to information in the book, the reader is left with the obvious choice of action - go check out the website for more info.Of course, that is how the author will make more money from you. What a coincidence that the title of the book just happend to be the same as the name of website.

And Jim Cramer writes the foreward?I can't think of a much bigger strike AGAINST the book!Cramer so thouroghly discredited himself with terrible predictions about the banking industry failures that CNBC had to pull his show off the air temporarily.But Cramer is a friend of DePorre's and has to write the foreward? I don't get it.

The charts in this book just suck.It's not the content, but the readability. Some poor fool didn't consider what color charts would look like when printed in a black and white and the results are an unreadable disaster! The backgrounds are all light gray, and the text is a medium gray: the lack of contrast (as you can guess) has to be seen to be believed, but somebody just didn't care and let it go to print that way. Obviously, this book is NOT the result of publishing like shark!

Experienced traders would find nothing new
This book is two things - a short story on how the author found his way into stock trading after being hearing impaired. That story is enough to fill up, 3 pages. Its a nice one. But unlike the subtitle the publisher tries to impress upon you, this book has very little to do with "being deaf and having no job". It is all about "Trading Like A Shark" with ideas and strategies suggesting things like:

1) Buy high, sell higher
2) Cut losses short, let winners run
3) When in doubt, sell and move on.
4) Protect your capital.

etc. etc. etc. etc.

To the inexperienced trader, if you never heard any of the above, go and get this book and read it. Be aware that there is no mention of the exact steps the author uses to find his stocks and trade which may be leave you disappointed.

Well Written, But Shallow Overview Of Trend Trading
James DePorre's personal story of financial and personal tragedy is very compelling and I'm very tempted to recommend the book on that basis alone - but not quite.

"Invest Like A Shark" is probably at its most effective arguing two points: 1)against the traditional buy-and-hold approach to investing as sold by the financial media, propped up by the industry. 2) for the critical and decisive influence of human emotion in the behavior of market participants.

Unfortunately, it's less effective making the case for trend trading by sticking to a rather shallow exposition with a little too much "visit my website for more" thrown in. If you're convinced by the author's arguments I'd recommend digging a bit deeper elsewhere into the details of trend following and technical analysis before deciding on a strategy.

The author of "Invest Like a Shark" writes in a direct, straightforward, and very readable style - and there's something to be said for that, regardless of subject matter or genre.

Enjoyable and easy read, but lacks substance.
How to Invest Like a Shark opens up the world of unconventional stock market trading for the beginning investors because the standard approach doesn't work for them. Here James DePorre gives his philosophy backed by Ten Commandments of shark investing and explains how to do it the right way, making a lot of money while minimizing losses as much as possible. Most of the pages, the author is very reassuring and encouraging and understands the mindset of the beginning investors because he was once there before. There is a good deal of information that leans more towards to finely tuned strategy based investing than the basic explanation of stock market fundamentals. He takes a philosophic approach that by doing it radically different from the norms of Wall Street which will bring results, that is, follow the whale and look for feeding frenzies and eliminate the buy-and-hold method. I really enjoyed the book and finished it in a day because How to Invest Like a Shark is very interesting and informative, but the problem is that there is not much of substance within the pages. He'll say something important, but there is a hollow feel to it when reading the words. However, what he is saying makes good sense. And since I am a beginning investor, I've learned a lot of important lessons from the book and am grateful. All in all, How to Invest Like a Shark is a great book but could use a bit more. ... Read more

Product Description

Target the Super Stocks that deliver huge returns

One of the most successful investing books ever published, Super Stocks showed investors how to use innovative techniques and fundamental analysis for valuing stocks and predicting future profit margins.

You'll gain valuable insight into Fisher's original thinkin for valuing stocks and predicting future profit margins. A pioneer in the use of the Price Sales Ratio-a powerful analytical tool-Fisher regales readers with instructive tales of the businesses he invested in and profited from.

Super Stocks gives a historical perspective on how Fisher successfully researched companies and stocks—who he saw and what he asked—to get a better read on profitable returns.

“As rich in investment war stories as it is in knowledge.”-The Motley Fool

Customer Reviews (7)

Book Review from the Aleph Blog
When I review books, I don't just review new books.I try to share with my readers the books that have helped me become a better thinker on investments.Fortunately, in this case, the 1984 book Super Stocks was reprinted in 2007.Perhaps that validates my opinion that this is a valuable book.

Ken Fisher focuses on the concept of Price to Sales [P/S] ratios as a means of analyzing cheapness in companies.Cheapness, yes, but predicated on the concept that a new product, process improvements, or better management will make more profits from the sales, or improve sales volumes and perhaps profit margins.

Though the examples are from the early 80s, the writing is clear enough that one can get the idea of how it might apply today.You would get the same feeling from Ben Graham's classic The Intelligent Investor, where the examples were from the 50s and 60s, but the truths are timeless.

Why choose this book to review now?Profit margins are artificially high, and will come down somewhat from here, even if they remain above average.How can we find cheap stocks when profit margins are so high?Use P/S, or Price-to-Book [P/B].

My own investing looks at a wide number of valuation figures, but across an economic cycle, I give more or less weight to each variable.When things are bad, I give more weight to P/S and P/B.During the recovery, I emphasize P/E on a forward basis.When the bull market is in full swing, I let industry selection dominate, which gives me more market sensitivity. As another example, I play up EV/EBITDA when buyouts are becoming common, and drop it as a criterion when buyouts are not being funded.

So, unlike Peter Lynch, paying attention to the macroeconomic environment can positively affect your performance, if you do it intelligently.

Super Stocks is very consistent with my eight rules, particularly the rules:

* Stick with higher quality companies for a given industry.
* Purchase companies appropriately sized to serve their market niches.
* Analyze the use of cash flow by management, to avoid companies that invest or buy back their stock when it dilutes value, and purchase those that enhance value through intelligent buybacks and investment.

Fisher spends a decent amount of time on balance sheets, market share, competitive advantage, and use of cash flow for future investment.Though I don't endorse everything in the book, like his price-to-research ratios, there are a lot of good concepts for the average investor to consider, and benefit from.

Always a good decision
Buying, reading, studying and implementing Mr. Fisher's work is always a pleasant and profitable experience. Excellent!

One of the 20 all time best
This book is one of the 20 all time best critical works on investment. The idea of a company selling at a multiple of it's annual sales and how to incorporate that priinciple into your investment strategy is significant. I can never evaluate the auto group without thinking of this text and Fisher's analysis of the historically correct price per sales ratio for the group. I almost bought Ford several weeks ago and just this morning saw the Wall Street Journal article in which Ford sited "unforseen headwinds" for the company. Thank you Kenneth Fisher once again.

One of the top-5 stock books I've read:
I strongly recommend this book for your consumption: this book is extremely valuable for both its investing intelligence and its unique nature. No other book that I know of provides such a complete, and reasonable evaluation of revenue analysis, value opportunities via temporary profit margin squeezes, and screening for these opportunities via Price-to-Sales Ratios (PSRs.)

The heart of the book is that many investor's extreme focus on short-term bottom-line (P/E and earnings growth percentage movements) results can create extremely undervalued purchasing points in a great company with a temporary problem (determining this 'temporary' part is where his discussions about qualitative and margin anaylsis comes in.) Because revenue percentage movements tend to be both much more stable than earning percentage movements, and much less appreciated, PSR scanning may be the beginning of the most accurate type of mid-/long-term undervalued selection. (A good free scanner that has PSRs can be found here: http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/finder/customstocks.asp)

Even if you reject the PSR method, this book's focus on profit margins and revenues can help you focus on what goes into the companies earning's movements. Not all earning growths are the same: you need both revenue growth for sustained earnings growth (you can only cut so much for so long,) and you need a healthy profit margin so that you can finance this revenue growth without large dept or share dilution. I would recommend being skeptical of a company that has growing sales but a sustained falling profit margin, I would be even more skeptical of earnings growth that isn't closely followed by revenue growth (almost disregarding it if it was a profit margin squeeze.) I think balance is key in this area.

The book also has good qualitative insights, has good appendixes, and is fairily concise to boot.

Some on this review page have objected to this book by claiming the author is arrogant. Nothing stood out to me in this book, however in "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings" by his father Phil Fisher (probably the best qualitative fundamentals book by the way) he wrote in the preface about how his greater success comes from being a harder worker, being more driven, etc that was tasteless in my opinion (especially since Phil was then on his deathbed and it had a bit of a 'tribute' nature to it.) He's not that bad for what it's worth; I was surprised at how modest he seemed when he explained about how he turned a company around (when asked by the board he was on to act as a temporary CEO): he stuck to the point the appendix was making (i.e. that market research is much more important than expensive product R&D.) Anyhow, you're buying access to the author's ideas, not his friendship.

When part of me is secretly happy that this book seems to be out of print, my greed should be your hint. The Fisher's know what they're talking about, and Ken presents un-rehashed information.

Focuses on PSR as a valuation tool
I was first introduced to Fisher's concept of Super Stocks about 10 years ago.The idea behind the concept is buying stocks with a low Price-to-Sales Ratio (PSR), typically 1.0 or less.Simply having a low PSR is not sufficient to be a Super Stock.The valuation tool is combined with fundamental analysis (e.g. growth, margin analysis, balance sheet analysis, etc.) of companies to identify stocks with favorable characteristics that will make them Super Stocks.Fisher also introduces a complementery tool Price-to-Research Ratio (PRR) which is a measure of the company's reinvestment rate into growth.

Fisher spends a lot of time discussing how to make money off the "Glitch".Basically, he believes that many Super Stocks are stocks that have been hit by a "Glitch".A "Glitch" is a temporary setback experienced by a company that makes the out of favor (e.g. product life cycle delay, revenue short-fall, etc.)This attitude is indicative of his value-orientation in investing.In other words, his fundamental analysis may find a great stock, but he will wait for a pull-back from a "Glitch" to a more appropriate PSR before investing.

Overall, the concept of PSR is not so different from other valuation measures for "low-priced" stocks such as Price-to-Earnings or Price-to-Book.However, it doesn't hurt to have another tool in the kit.

On a more interesting side-note, Wall Street analysts have definitely not read this book.It is amusing to note that analysts in the hey-day of the Internet boom touted stocks with PSRs in excess of 10x.A careful fundamental analysis would have resulted in concluding that the growth, margins, and balance sheets of these companies did not justify such high valuations.Nothing in the business models indicated superior performance on any dimension.Even if a business model was found to be superior, prudence would have dictated waiting for a "Glitch". ... Read more