Investing without Wall Street: The Five Essentials of Financial Freedom

Praise for Sheldon Jacobs

"Sheldon Jacobs is a level–headed gentleman who is a cross between Albert Einstein, the Dalai Lama, and Vanguard founder Jack Bogle and who had a solid record editing and publishing The No–Load Fund Investor financial newsletter for over a quarter–century."
MarketWatch

"King of no–loads."
Investor′s Business Daily

"Dean of the no–load fund watchers."
USA Today

"Among financial experts who are able to think with a small investor′s perspective, no one is more level–headed than Sheldon Jacobs."
Bottom Line/Personal

In July of 1993, Sheldon Jacobs was one of five nationally recognized mutual fund advisors chosen by The New York Times for a mutual fund portfolio competition. The portfolio that he selected produced the highest return of all contestants for almost seven years, and the Times quarterly publication of this contest helped him become one of the best–known mutual fund advisorsin America.

Investing without Wall Street shows investors how to achieve the greatest wealth with the least effort. It details the five essentials that even a kid could master and shows that they are all you need to be a successful investor. With this knowledge, the average investor can invest on his or her own and make $252,000 more than a person investing the same way who shares his or her profits with professionals. This book will teach you how.

Preface xi

Introduction: Take a Journey with Me 1

Part I The Five Essentials 9

Chapter 1 The First Essential: Determine the Right Asset Allocation 11

Chapter 2 The Second Essential: Diversify within Asset Classes 19

Chapter 3 The Third Essential: Understand and Control Risk 37

Chapter 4 The Fourth Essential: Keep Your Costs Low 43

Chapter 5 The Fifth Essential: Choose the Right Financial Media to Follow 49

Part II Actions and Strategies to Implement the Essentials 75

Chapter 6 Developing Media Expertise 77

Chapter 7 How to Build Mutual Fund Portfolios for Lifetime Profits 99

Chapter 8 Index Fund Investing: Beyond the S&P 500 113

Chapter 9 How to Survive Bear Markets 121

Chapter 10 The Case for Market Timing 129

Chapter 11 The No–Work Way to a Comfortable Retirement . . . Maybe 145

Chapter 12 Dealing with Professionals 153

Part III Becoming a Well–Rounded Money Maven 173

Chapter 13 For Clearer Thinking 175

Chapter 14 The Psychology of Investing 195

Chapter 15 Integrity, or the Lack of It 211

Chapter 16 Women Aren t Different; They Just Live Longer 225

Chapter 17 Adventures in Collectibles 233

Chapter 18 Vanity Investments 239

Chapter 19 Increasing Your Workplace Income 245

Epilogue: Journey′s End 257

Appendix: Directory of Newsletters with Model Portfolios 261

Glossary 265

Acknowledgments 281

About the Author 283

Index 285

A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.
Jonathan Swift

Sheldon Jacobs is the author of the first ever self–help book on no–load mutual funds, Put Money in Your Pocket. In 1979, he founded the popular investment newsletter The No–Load Fund Investor, which went on to become the number one financial newsletter in America for risk–adjusted performance for a fifteen year period ending in 2006, and for which he is now a contributing editor. Mr. Jacobs is a member of Bottom Line/Personal′s investment advisory panel, was a founding advisor to Charles Schwab′s Financial Advisory Service Board, and has been listed in Who′s Who in America.