Description
Book SynopsisA practical and pithy guide to investing to help everyday investors achieve their long-term goals
The 21st century has been beset with three financial market shocks in its first 20 years, the bursting of the Tech Bubble in 2000-2002; the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09; and 2020 COVID-19 crash. Given this backdrop, it is no wonder that investing can appear to be so daunting to individual investors.
As Chairman and CEO of Vanguard, one of the largest and most respected investment management companies in the world, Jack Brennan has spent his career helping people invest their money. In the newly updated More Straight Talk on Investing, he shares with you the lessons he has learned over his over four decades at Vanguard from a variety of market participantsfrom Main Street investors and 401(k) plan holders to veteran portfolio managers at the helm of Vanguard funds and sophisticated investment professionals overseeing top endowments and foundations.
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Table of ContentsPreface ix
Author’s Note xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Part I Master the Basics
A look at the financial facts of life.
1 Successful Investing is Easier Than You Think 3
2 You Gotta Have Trust 17
3 A Map to Success: Hmm, Sounds Like a Plan 29
4 Save More—Without Feeling the Pinch 45
5 Hope for the Best—But Prepare for Something Less 57
Part II Construct a Sensible Portfolio
Investing is like running a marathon, so you’ll want to prepare and train appropriately. Here’s how.
6 Balance and Diversification Help You Sleep at Night 71
7 You Need a Personal Investment Policy Whether You’re Starting with Zillions or Zip 85
8 Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds: The Easy Way to Diversify 99
9 How to Pick a Mutual Fund (and How Not To) 111
10 It’s What You Keep That Counts 137
11 Risk: Give It the Gut Test 155
12 Some Advice on Financial Advice 169
Part III Manage Your Investments With Focus and Discipline
Once you assemble a well-constructed portfolio, you don’t have to spend every waking moment of your life tending to it. In fact, you’ll be better off if you don’t.
13 Buy-and-Hold Really Works 179
14 Time is Everything 189
15 Routine Maintenance for Your Portfolio 197
16 Stupid Math Tricks for Smart Investors 209
Part IV Stay On Course
A look at the things that can cause investors to come unglued.
17 “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” 217
18 Why You May Be Your Own Worst Enemy 227
19 Bear Markets Will Test Your Resolve 237
20 Navigating Distractions to Reach Your Destination 249
21 Is the “Smart Money” Smart? Yes, but. . . 259
22 Regrets? I’ve Had a Few 269
23 Getting to Boca 273
Afterword 281
Postscript 283
Appendix: Industry Terms 291
Index 307
