CHECK IT OUT

If one of your resolutions involves fertilizing a money tree that went

fallow in 2001, the Newport Beach Central Library could be among your

sources for growth in the New Year.

“Do you know how little you need to save and invest to be a

millionaire at age 45 if you’re 25 now?” asks Douglas R. Sease in

“Winning with the Market.” “And what you should do if you are 35, 45, 55

or 65?”

In his primer for novice investors, the Wall Street Journal editor

outlines an approach that can be applied during any stage of life, with

few expenses or time commitments. A first section summarizes why a

balance of stocks, bonds and mutual funds is still the best way to meet

financial goals. A second explains the concept of asset allocation and

concludes with recommendations for specific index fund investments and

locations where Treasury bonds can be purchased directly.

Asset manager Larry Swedroe shares Sease’s confidence in index funds

as the surest way to invest over time. He presents his case in “What Wall

Street Doesn’t Want You to Know,” arguing that no Wall Street guru can

consistently outperform the market and that no investor can outwit the

collective Nasdaq or Dow Jones. There’s helpful guidance for choosing

among different types of diversified funds in this new volume.

If you’re aiming for greater financial autonomy and profits than

mutual funds can provide, you might take your cues from the sassy women

behind “Chicks Laying Nest Eggs.” Ruling the roost is author Karin

Housley, wife of pro hockey player Phil Housley, who describes how “10

skirts beat the pants off Wall Street” in an investment club that

steadily outperformed the S & P 500.

In “The Kitchen Table Investor,” author John Wasik takes a similar

do-it-yourself approach, promising “low-maintenance wealth-building

strategies for working families” in his sensible guide. In language

beginning investors can understand, he details how to maximize 401Ks and

IRAs, commit to a financial planning strategy and select the best mutual

funds.

There are thousands of investment opportunities on the Web, and Byron

Christopher provides leads to many in “Deleteyourbroker.Com: Using the

Internet to Beat the Pros on Wall Street.” Other online sites are listed

in “Dunnan’s Guide to Your Investments 2001,” financial advisor Nancy

Dunnan’s 14th edition of her comprehensive money management sourcebook.

If you’re still keeping money under your mattress, learn why you

should dig it out in “Profiting in Bull or Bear Markets.” In this manual,

George Dagnino (whose newsletter was named one of the past decade’s top

five investment vehicles by Forbes, The New York Times and The Washington

Post) reveals how to take advantage of cyclical rhythms to minimize

losses while achieving superior returns.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Tim Hetherton. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers

by accessing the catalog at o7 https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.

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