Best book ideas

[Ombud]

I'm asking this here instead of at YM b/c I want the BEST book possible.

Background: I came into a little $$ and decided to help my kids out. DD is a financial nightmare and probably always will be. Her car was a mess and IMHO not safe. So I bought her a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid yesterday and paid for 6 months of insurance [as well as paying off her previous unpaid / canceled for being unpaid insurance] for a total of 8k. DS is always more responsible. Struggling as he is a 30 something with a 9yo stepdtr and a baby on the way. And now green with envy. So I'm making his Roth pymt today [something he cannot do this year with the new mortgage / step / new baby in July], but he is lost on what to put it in.

What is your best suggestion for a new accountant who is just putting it into mutual funds? I've already suggested SPY or SDY with auto-reinvesting cap gains & dividends as his portfolio anchor but he is at Fidelity and they don't really like ETFs - talked him into DCA into an index fund. I feel he could benefit from a little knowledge - looking for an idea for a resource book that won't go obsolete in 6 months

[ModE98]

There is no perfect book suitable for everyone. Here are some that are supposed to be among the best.....http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/newinvestors/tp/aatp110101.htm

Good luck in finding one that suits your purpose.

[2kids10horses]

Wow, that's a loaded question!

Here's one I like:  "How to Make Money in Stocks", by Wm O'Neil.  O'Neil was the founder and original Editor of Investor's Business Daily.  The book describes the ins and outs of his CANSLIM stock picking methodology.  CANSLIM uses a mixture of fundmental techniques and Technical techniques to pick stocks to buy and when.  It draws heavily on the data published by the IBD.  (At least it did, back when I first read it in the early 1990s.  I don't know if there are newer editions.)  That was before ETFs, so they're not mentioned.  Some discussion about mutual funds is in the book, but it's primary focus is on individual stocks.

A good book for getting the right mental attitude about personal finances is "The Millionaire Next Door", by Stanley.  It's not about the stock market per se, but more about how living within your means, and investing for the long term builds wealth.  It sounds like your daughter needs to read this one.

Technical Ananlysis?  The Bible of TA is "Trading for a Living" by Dr. Alexander Elder.  Dr. Elder was a psychologist, and so he explains how TA explains how the "crowd" of traders is acting.  All the indicators are examined, and their strengths and weaknesses explained. 

The Motley Fool books are entertaining. 

Those should get you started.

And follow the "Long Term Investing" and "Dividend Investing" threads on this Board.

[beergut]

May 17, 2013 11:29:51 GMT -5 Ombud said:

I'm asking this here instead of at YM b/c I want the BEST book possible.

Background: I came into a little $$ and decided to help my kids out. DD is a financial nightmare and probably always will be. Her car was a mess and IMHO not safe. So I bought her a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid yesterday and paid for 6 months of insurance [as well as paying off her previous unpaid / canceled for being unpaid insurance] for a total of 8k. DS is always more responsible. Struggling as he is a 30 something with a 9yo stepdtr and a baby on the way. And now green with envy. So I'm making his Roth pymt today [something he cannot do this year with the new mortgage / step / new baby in July], but he is lost on what to put it in.

What is your best suggestion for a new accountant who is just putting it into mutual funds? I've already suggested SPY or SDY with auto-reinvesting cap gains & dividends as his portfolio anchor but he is at Fidelity and they don't really like ETFs - talked him into DCA into an index fund. I feel he could benefit from a little knowledge - looking for an idea for a resource book that won't go obsolete in 6 months

Fidelity has ETFs available, so not sure what the issue is here? Fees?

 As for a book, A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel is excellent. I wouldn't even buy it, have him check it out of the local library, it is cheaper. It is a terrific book for beginners, and has recently been updated. 

[Ombud]

Fidelity told him its too hard to DCA into ETFs (its not) so he's doing mutual funds. Guess they're both okay, I just prefer ETFs