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The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need
By Larry Swedroe
Hardcover, 304pp.
ISBN: 0525944354
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, Inc.
Pub. Date: April 1998

There are many books touting themselves as "The Only Book You Will Ever Need!" Unlike many of the others, though, this one actually comes close to living up to the claim. It explains in a very clear manner why investing in index funds is a winning strategy and illustrates how individual investors can set up a long-term investment plan.

The first few chapters are devoted to explaining why active management is "The Loser's Game". The author recounts various attempts–and failures–of financial magazines and individual investors to select superior mutual funds in advance. For investors who still have doubts about the power of index investing, this part of the book is a must read.

"Each year Forbes recommends a "Hall of Fame" list of mutual funds individuals should buy. . . [A] study on this famous list covered the period 1983-1990 and found that a portfolio of the Hall of Fame funds would have returned 10.46 percent, versus 16.43 percent for the S & P 500 Index. This list has come to be known as the Hall of Shame list." (pp. 26-27)