The Big Investment Lie

Table Of Contents

Preface
Introduction: Excuse Me, Is This the “Real” World?

Part I: How Much You Pay
1. The Beardstown Ladies versus the Professionals
2. The Extraordinarily High Cost of Investment Advice
3. The Outer Limits: Hedge Fund Fees
4. Taxes Down the Drain
5. Why Do We Give Golden Crumbs to Rich People?

Part II: How Little You Get
6. Why Investment Professionals Can’t Predict Markets
7. The Abject Failure of Professional Advisors and Managers
8. The Market Can Turn on a Dime
9. The Claims of Money Managers: “Smoking Our Brand Prevents Cancer”
10. Idle, Greedy Hands and Too Much Data Do the Devil’s Work
11. The Simple Rules of Nobel Prize Winners
12. There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
13. Investment Genius or the Thousandth Coin?

Part III: How You Are Sold
14. Effective Pitches to Sell the Big Lie
15. How Investors Delude Themselves
16. How Hedge Funds Operate and Are Sold
17. How Consultants and Money Managers Sell to Institutional Investors
18. Derivatives: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
19. The Modern Slippery Slope of Business Ethics
Conclusion: The Ten New Commandments for Smart Investing
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
About the Author