Call this book A Random Talk About Wall Street. That is both a compliment and a criticism.
It is a compliment because comparing this book to Burton Malkiel’s famous A Random Walk Down Wall Street puts it in a special category. Indeed much of the message is the same in the two books – valuable and sage advice on how to survive and prosper as an individual investor in a financial world filled with many predators and some good guys. Ellis pushes many familiar themes: diversify, buy index funds, trade seldom, take a portfolio view, re-balance to maintain asset allocation, adopt a long-term perspective and ignore short-term market fluctuations, consider inflation and real return bonds, market timing futility, avoid excessive mutual fund fees, take account of how various risks work. Read More…
This book is riddled with sloppy data especially coming from an author who profession is all about numbers. Avoid this book and just invest into index funds for the long term. That is all the advice you need.