That is the message I got after reading Larry Swedroe’s “Wise Investing Made Simple”. I totally agree with this assessment.

You are not supposed to have fun with a serious thing like investing for your future goals. Also, trying to beat the market is a really futile. All you need to do is have a well diversified portfolio of index funds and leave it.

Author

Larry Swedroe is Principal and Director of Research for Buckingham Asset Management Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor firm in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also Principal of BAM Advisor Services LLC, a service provider to CPA investment advisors across the country. Previously, Larry was Vice-Chairman of Prudential Home Mortgage. He has held positions at Citicorp as Senior Vice-President and Regional Treasurer, responsible for treasury, foreign exchange and

investment banking activities, including risk management strategies. Larry holds an MBA in Finance and Investment from NYU, and a bachelor’s in Finance from Baruch College.

Book Details

* Hardcover: 200 pages

* Publisher: Charter Financial Pub Network (September 1, 2007)

* Language: English

* ISBN-10: 0976657422

* ISBN-13: 978-0976657422

* Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches

* Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces

In a series of stories that are clear and simple yet profound in their meaning, Larry explains how the financial markets really work and how any investor who comes to understand this will be able to make more informed and better investment decisions, no matter how intelligent he/she is.

As the title suggests, Larry takes complicated concepts, and breaks them down into simple to follow stories. He uses scenarios relating to sports strategies and other ordinary life examples to relate the reader to the given financial concept he is explaining. One of my favorites stories was about how bets are placed on sporting events (points, spread, etc.) and how that compares to many of the market transactions. He weaves thru all these concepts with humor as he endeavors to welcome the reader to what he calls “the winning game.” New and experienced investors will enjoy and learn from this book. If you want more depth in any given area, read one of his other books that will tell you more in detail about the broad concepts he presents here.

Also, since this book is written for US readers, Canadians need only make a few minor adjustments to limit foreign exchange exposure and include additional domestic asset classes to end up with comparable portfolios that he recommends.

I would strongly recommend reading this book, if you feel that you are smart enough to beat the stock market by choosing the right stocks at the right time.