From Booklist
Walden has already compiled guides to The 100 Best Stocks to Own in America (1996) and The 100 Best Mutual Funds to Own in America (1997), as well as the “secrets of America’s best companies” in Marketing Masters (1993). Lists like these have become wildly popular, and it seems that the simple act of enumerating items somehow bestows a greater validity upon them. In this case, Walden summarizes commonly proffered investment advice and formats the essence into a collect…
Buy 100 Ways to Beat the Market at Amazon
Investors have been getting stock-picking ideas from Gene Walden for much of the last decade. His expertise comes from many books and interviews with market geniuses. Walden has his finger on the pulse and it shows here, as he demonstrates how to put together both active and passive portfolios. He shows beginners how to pick your own stocks, and how to function successfully in today’s market.
Overall I liked his book. It had a saying and a tip on each page. The book was too short and easily digestable. I would have given this book a higher rating if the author had gone more in depth on those 100 tips. This book should have been a 900 page book instead of a 230 page book.
As others say elsewhere, a book for beginners. However, I have to say that even beginners are going to be mis-lead because the book states one thing and delivers another. The very 1st chapter states the easiest way to beat the market is the simplest and most passive. Buy index mutual funds. The advice is sound, however, what the author promises is not. The problem is this: In buying a index fund, you will never “beat the market”. The best you will do is mirror the market and with mutual fund expenses, you will “hopefully” be close to market performance. This approach will NEVER be better than the market. It simply can’t. I don’t have an argument with the premise of buying index funds. However, the phrase “beat the market” means to do better than or out-perform it. The author apparently interprets this to mean, trail the market or come close to a tie and you beat the market.
Also in the same section, the author recommends further diversification by purchasing 2 or 3 index funds. Diversify your diversified funds? Redundant and ridiculous. Advice for “…people who don’t know what they are doing.” Warren Buffet
The one good part of this book is that each of the 100 sections starts with a great idea or quote. These I loved. However, of the sections I have read, not a one presents any idea or strategy for “beating the market”.
Don’t get me wrong, from what I have read, there are some good things to be found here. However, when the author fails to truthfully present or support the basic premise of the book, it makes the whole book suspect. Suggest the reader look elsewhere, (Search- ‘Peter Lynch’) and the author get a dictionary to look up the meaning of the words, ‘beat’ and ‘mis-represent’.