Mary Farrell's Beyond the Basics: How to Invest Your Money, Now That You Know a Thing or Two - Hardcover

Farrell, Mary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684868113 ISBN 13: 9780684868110

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2000

Synopsis

Offers investment advice on everything from mutual funds and fixed-income investments to retirement and estate planning, with an emphasis on a thematic, long term approach

About this title

Review:

Although it may sometimes seem that there are more investment books than investment opportunities, it's still unusual to find one written for those who possess more than a passing knowledge of fiscal matters but without graduate degrees in finance. Anyone who fits this description should now take heed, however, because Mary Farrell's Beyond the Basics fills this void quite nicely. The respected financial advisor--and regular guest on television's Wall $treet Week--offers solid advice for readers who know "a thing or two" about money matters but want to learn more.

It opens with a lengthy recap of the basics needed to form a sophisticated investment strategy and concludes with discussions on investing for children and rethinking retirement. But it is the middle of this guide that really sets it apart: Farrell fully explains the development of a diversified portfolio that matches financial needs with acceptable risk. She begins with securities, suggesting that choices meeting individual criteria should come from growth stocks (where potential will increase with "low inflation, slow growth and moderate interest rates") that represent large-cap companies (offering exposure to critical markets) and embrace one of two major economic trends (the aging of baby boomers or technology). She also addresses bonds, describing how to "play a neutral market" and utilize "laddering" to flatten interest rate volatility, as well as mutual funds, which can be incorporated to balance portfolios or tap "off the beaten track" opportunities. --Howard Rothman

About the Author:

Mary Farrell is an investment strategist, managing director, and member of the Investment Policy Committee of PaineWebber, Inc., one of the nation's leading securities firms. Ms. Farrell brings more than twenty-eight years of experience as an investment analyst to her frequent seminars across the country, and she is frequently quoted in leading business publications and seen on national television networks as a prominent stock-market expert. A regular panelist and a designated guest host of Wall $treet Week With Louis Rukeyser, she is also a trustee of New York University and serves on the Board of Overseers of its Stern School of Business. Ms. Farrell is married and has homes in Manhattan and Connecticut.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0684868113
• ISBN 13: 9780684868110
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288