WEALTH WITHOUT RISK: How to Develop a Personal Fortune Without Going Out on a Limb

Sound, safety-first financial counsel from an ambitious businessman who made and lost a couple of fortunes before he learned how to hold on to money and make it work for him. Keeping the hype that mars many similar first-person manuals to a merciful minimum, Givens offers uncommonly sensible recommendations for maximizing returns while keeping hazards within acceptable limits. His well-organized text features a wealth of smart-money tips on borrowing, using credit to best advantage, providing for college-tuition bills, reducing tax obligations, and related topics. Also covered in penny-saved fashion are the ins and outs of home refinancing, ensuring adequate insurance protection, and retirement planning. While the author's by-the-numbers approach to consequential decisions like switching assets among mutual funds may foreclose the possibility of market killings, his typically mechanistic advisories will almost surely keep do-it-yourself money managers out of harm's way. In this context, Givens identifies and analyzes low-profile investment opportunities with superior risk/reward characteristics. His preferences range from no-load mutual funds through self-directed annuities, IRA/Keogh accounts, and discounted mortgages. With no extravagant promises, a get-rich-slowly guide that's very good of its kind--and up to date.