THE WOMAN STOCKBROKER'S INVESTMENT GUIDE FOR WOMEN

by Barbara with Gretchen Morgenstern Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1982

Simplistic and patronizing (and unnecessary). ""Finding bargains in stocks, believe it or not, is akin to comparison-shopping for groceries,"" Shearson/American Express VP Lee burbles at one point; at another, she advises: ""The only way to 'return' a stock is to sell it."" Judith Briles' The Woman's Guide to Financial Savvy (1981), by contrast, is tough-minded, authoritative, and inclusive. Lee begins with a conventional call for an inventory of personal resources and the establishment of financial goals; then, unorthodoxly, she puts the obligatory glossary of financial/economic terms in Chapter II, rather than in an appendix where readers expect to find it. Next comes a slapdash examination of the stock market (citing only the 30-issue Dow-Jones Industrial Average as a measure of market movement--and not such broader gauges as the Value Line Composite, S & P 500, and the NYSE's own index). Also covered, cursorily, are non-equity commitments. Along with some pieties about how clients can develop productive working relationships with their brokers, Lee predictably lauds full-service (as opposed to discount) houses and the advantages of a discretionary account for busy folk. More useful is her review of new-account applications, customer agreements, and other standard forms. In listing investment-intelligence sources, however, Lee omits two of the most useful, Barron's and Financial (while including some--The New York Times, Fortune--not specifically edited for investors). A handful of case studies apart, little in the text relates it to the real investment world; nor is note taken of the impact of economic forces. More a sales pitch than a guide--and distinctly outpointed by Briles, and others.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harmony/Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1982

Categories: NONFICTION