HIGH-RISK, HIGH-REWARD INVESTING: An Expert Guide to Twenty-five Growth Fields

by Colleen Sullivan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 17, 1982

This slim catalogue of hazardous, typically illiquid financial commitments--from penny stocks through thoroughbred horseflesh--has little to offer beyond curiosity value. In reviewing offbeat opportunities (also, oil/gas drilling ventures, commodities, real-estate partnerships, collectibles, and more), Sullivan includes assessments of risk levels (Caution, Danger, Red Flag, in ascending order), a range of minimum antes, listings of information sources, and a reading on the types of individuals (e.g., Nathan Detroits, Cautious Calvins, High Fliers) who might consider participation. Her coverage, though not inaccurate per se, accentuates the positive to the extent that drawbacks get lost in the shuffle. She leads off her section on options, for instance, with a yarn about the 1981 killings made in Kennecott calls when Standard Oil of Ohio made a surprise takeover bid at a premium price; nowhere does she note, however, that the fast-money market in these wasting assets is a minus-sum game--for every $100 that comes in, only $87 or so goes out, owing to transaction costs. Altogether, her reviews are longer on obvious, generalized conclusions than on real insights. (Would-be speculators in rare books, for example, are counseled to concentrate on sets rather than on single volumes; also important, though, are availability, condition, and demand.) Novices could be misled simply by Sullivan's uncritical enthusiasms--while the informed are ahead of her already.

Pub Date: June 17, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1982

Categories: NONFICTION