Investing Made Simple: Index Fund Investing and ETF Investing Explained in 100 Pages or Less Paperback – January 1, 2009

I've previously read Mike Piper's Accounting Made Simple: Accounting Explained in 100 Pages or Less so I am familiar with both the format and depth of his 100 pages or less series of books. I decided to purchase this title earlier this morning and it took me about 1 1/2 hours to read it in its entirety. I spent a year or two buying Janus funds a decade or so ago and pretty much made all the mistakes this book points out. What this book teaches you is fairly simple: Investing doesn't have to be difficult for the average person. Mike points out the conflict of interest of money magazines, TV programs, and financial firms who steer you to what benefits them the most. I loved the book and got a lot out of it. Sure there are some things I want to know a little more about after reading it but now I feel like I know what to research instead of doing so blindly. Overall, an excellent book and well worth your time and money. I highly recommend it.

If you're starting out on investing, this book is a very-much appreciated start and this is coming from a fellow newbie. I really appreciated the addressing of the facts from fiction on the consumer economics behind the investment sector. The sector that monitors sectors. I believe this book sets the tone of the proper perspective one should have before investing.The book establishes a baseline and inserts itself right in the middle of most americans, investment instruments for wealth and financial advisers. I don't believe any favors were made by writing this book except to be honest with the readers. Having just recently started investing as I approach 40 I've become more of an open airwave antenna picking up all the market news and signals. We have input sensors on 16 hours a day and we need to be cognizant of 'decision triggers'. The author associates the same principles to investing and tactfully shows the alternate view. The polite presentation of the views allow room for the investigative reader to explorer riskier areas (stocks). The tech stocks these days seem to be a lighthouse (not like the light bulb on the cover, but I'm in Tech... can't.. reeezist).The author is a CPA as clearly noted on the cover. That is, the letter designation for passing the much harder Series test. Ok, so I didn't mention the contents of the book. Hey, it's a "100 pages or less" and the man deserves his keep.

Great book for beginners. I buy these to give to people who have given no thought as to how to prepare for their future...and there are a lot of these. I was one of them, and thankfully I woke up in time, so I have made it a point to try to urge young people to give some thought to their financial future. This book is very accessible to someone who "hasn't got a clue." Several people I know began saving and investing as a result of reading the copy I gave them, and it is going to make a world of difference to them when they reach retirement age. So if you are one of the people "without a clue," this is the book for you.

As I write this review every other review for this great little book gives it five stars and that is well deserved.For new investors, or for ANY investor who is not really (and I mean *really*) sure they are on top of things, this book is where to begin. It will show you the big picture and give you a clear view of every important aspect of investing for the long haul.There are other books that go into more detail or that have more rigorous theoretical discussion. Some have very entertaining histories and anecdotes, but most of those swamp the beginner in side issues or details one can't appreciate without the concise overview provided here. There are also many other introductory books, and I have read a few, but this one stands out for its clarity.You actually don't *need* any more than is in this book, but if you start to dig into the resources listed at the end you will probably want to dig deeper and learn more. When I came across this book I had already read most of what it lists in the Resources section and can say it contains a great selection.I read this book after about six months of self-education about investment strategies and can say that it covers all the important aspects in a highly organized way that is easy to follow. After reading this I bought three more copies to give to my (adult) children. I didn't think any of the other books I read would have been of any use to them. Perhaps after they read this one they will follow up on their own.

This is the ONLY book ANY of us needs on investing. If we have over $1000 welcome to Vanguard... if you have less than that and want to invest, well then he has the page in there with EFT's you can buy them from tdameritrade for $10 and just buy and hold.Now all you have to do is figure out how much you want to invest in stocks and bonds, many quizes online to help you with that. Just google "asset alocation" then go out and enjoy life, because this is one area of life that really is simple.Its all a matter of finding low fees and growing with the market (period) doesn't matter if you are type A or B, Tall or short male or female, this should be one of the easiest area of your life. ( I am suggesting that investing is easy, I am not suggesting that the market will do well, of course nobody knows that, but if the stock market does well, with his approach, you will do well without the extra fees most people endure).

Before I buy this book. I did some web searching and I could find almost everything in this book and even more free on web.however, if you don't have time to search web and you absolutely have no idea what index funds and investing are . It is a great book to start but If you already know what index fund is and you know what beta, alpha and R-square mean you will find the book boring and very simplistic.