The Random Walk Guide to Investing

Contents: 

Part One: The Basics: Fire your investment adviser • Focus on four investment categories • Cash • Bonds • Common Stock • Real Estate • Understand the Risk/Return relationship • Part Two: The Rules: Start saving now, not later: Time is money • Returns throughout U.S. History • The Miracle of Compound Interest • The Million-Dollar Difference • Keep a steady course: The only sure road to wealth is regular savings Savvy Saving Tips • Strategies for Catching Up • Retirement Planning • The Millionaire Next Door • Don’t be caught Empty-Handed: Insurance and Cash Reserves • Establishing a Cash Reserve • Money-Market Mutual Funds • Bank Certificates of Deposits • Internet Banks • Treasury Bills • Tax-Exempt Money-Market Funds • Buying Insurance • Variable Annuities • Stiff the Tax Collector • Individual Retirement Accounts • Roth IRAs • Pension Plans • Priorities in Saving for Retirement • A Caveat • Possible New Tax-Favored Vehicles • Tax-Free Savings Strategies for education • The Best Tax Strategy of All • Match your asset mix to your investment personality: How to allocate your assets • A Reminder: Risk and Return Again • Your Time Horizon • Your Capacity for Risk • Your Temperament • Rebalancing, or keeping an Even Temperature • Never forget that diversity reduces adversity • The Benefits of Diversification • An Investment Horror Story • The Potential Crises in Some 401(k) Plans • How Much Diversification is Enough? • Do you need to diversify Internationally? • Diversification also means buying other assets classes • Diversification over time • Pay yourself, not the piper • Pay off al Credit Card bills • Look out for manual Fund Expenses • Cost matters for all financial products • Don’t get wrapped up • Bow to the wisdom of the market • Why the market is smarter than you • Being smarter doesn’t always mean being smart • Timing isn’t everything • Why do most professionals get C's? • But Don’t some active managers beat the Market every year • Managers who deserve an A • Back proven winner: Model portfolios of index funds • The Index advantage • But not all Index Funds are alike • Exchange Traded Fundsh Indexing works for bonds, Real Estate, and Other Asset Classes • What Index and what funds should be chosen? • A Life-Cycle guide to Asset Allocation • Don’t be your own worst enemy: Avoid stupid investor tricks • Overconfidence • Herding • Illusion control • Loss Aversion • Other psychological pitfalls • Ignoring Costs • Getting entranced by new issues • Part Three: Taking stock: An investment scorecard • Questions frequently asked about Indexing • A Summing up. 

About the Author: 

Burton G. Malkiel is the Chemical Bank Chairman's Professor of Economics at Princeton University and the author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street.