All-inclusive yet jargon-free and easy-to-navigate investment advice.
An encyclopedic financial reference offers tips for the common investor.
Authoritative information about stocks, bonds, and other investments is not necessarily hard to come by. But it is challenging to find in-depth details about virtually every investment vehicle in one place. This third paperback edition is exhaustive, containing current material about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other investments, including life insurance, annuities, unit trusts, and commodities. That is merely the contents of Section I; Section II covers IRAs, 401(k)s, employee stock options, rental real estate, and more, including a review of such areas as gift and estate taxes, living trusts, and wills. There are several aspects of the book that make it valuable, not the least of which is the credentialed author. As an “Enrolled Agent,” a designation licensed directly by the Internal Revenue Service, and someone who has 40 years of experience with tax returns and audits, Chute is uniquely qualified. The 400-plus pages are intelligently organized into two sections (“Investments” and “Life Planning”) and seven parts (“Equities,” “Bonds,” “Mutual Funds,” “Other Investments,” “Financial Planning,” “Death & Taxes,” and “Other Important Financial Considerations”). Just as helpful is the organizational scheme employed for investments; for each type, the author includes a clear, nontechnical description followed by short but illuminating discussions of specific areas: Planning Tips, Taxes, Legal Compliance, Successful Strategies, and Pros and Cons. To these, he adds a section that may represent what sets this book apart from similar reference works: “Horror Stories.” These anecdotes, mostly of a buyer beware nature, are sometimes sad, sometimes amusing, and always engaging. Whether it’s about a “Reckless Internet Trader,” a fraudulent real estate deal, the hidden risks of high-yield mutual funds, or securities fraud, Chute’s tales are cautionary, enlightening, and entertaining. In addition, he provides helpful information, such as bond ratings, and financial examples along the way. The book’s material has been updated to account for the most recent tax act, which went into effect in 2018. While the appendices of stock and bond certificate photographs are only mildly intriguing, a “Glossary of Investment Terms” is quite useful.
All-inclusive yet jargon-free and easy-to-navigate investment advice. (appendices, glossary)Pub Date: June 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73288-553-0
Page Count: 508
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Provides a framework, but could have pushed further.
A business-strategy tome heavy on generalizations.
There is an overabundance of books on business strategy. What tends to differentiate one from another? Truly new insights–which are admittedly hard to come by–or detailed case studies that demonstrate the strategies in action. Unfortunately, Rx for Business: Thinkivity lacks both. While Evans is clearly well-versed in business strategy, she covers little that’s new. Most of the information about strategic planning has been addressed elsewhere and with greater authority. Evans claims “Thinkivity” is “a revolutionary system that has helped top executives at S&P 500 companies turn strategy and long-term goals into tangible financial results for their organizations.” Yet none of these executives are quoted in the book and few companies are referenced. American Express and Hewlett-Packard, the only two firms used as examples, appear very briefly in anecdotal form. It would be generous to refer to them as case studies. The book offers a decent discussion of strategic planning, and the author is skilled at explaining the value of workflow design. Probably the most useful content in terms of innovation is the chapter on “What If” strategy. Here, Evans offers advice for becoming “pilot, navigator, and ground control”–as the business leader explores various “what if” ideas, he or she is guiding efforts, keeping things moving in the right direction and making pieces work together. In this section, Evans includes questions to ask, a sample idea-generation agenda and evaluation methodology for assessing each idea, all of which are helpful. The other useful tools in the book are sample mission statements, process flow diagrams, a strategic-planning worksheet and a sample strategic plan. Such tools are not uncommon in business-strategy books. This book follows Rx for Business: Qualitivity (2006), Evans’ first book about the synergy between quality and productivity. This second book in the series does a reasonably decent job of offering a structured approach to strategic planning, but it doesn’t present anything groundbreaking.
Provides a framework, but could have pushed further.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-595-47820-0
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A think piece about personal choices that unearths more round holes for square pegs.
One of America’s most influential pollsters carves the present into bite-sized pieces in an attempt to reveal future trends.
Penn gained fame as an advisor to Bill Clinton during his 1996 campaign by identifying blocks of constituents like “Soccer Moms” as potential voters. Here, he and co-author Zalesne expand their trend-spotting to identify 75 burgeoning patterns that they argue are both reflecting and changing our modern world. Each chapter examines a discrete subdivision with themes ranging among politics, lifestyle, religion, money, education, etc. These easily digestible nuggets of scrutiny are fairly straightforward and primarily serve as a kind of pie chart of the human race, dividing Earth’s citizens (primarily Americans, although a single chapter is devoted to international issues) into the cliques and tribes to which they subscribe. Among the emerging classes, the authors find “Cougars” (women who pursue younger men), “New Luddites” (technophobes) and “Car-Buying Soccer Moms,” among dozens of other sub-surface dwellers. The book’s generalizations are sound and cleverly written, despite their brevity, and will undoubtedly appeal to marketing analysts and armchair sociologists, as well as fans of Megatrends and Malcolm Gladwell. Yet the book stands on an unbalanced argument. “Microtrends reflects the human drive toward individuality, while conventional wisdom often seeks to drive society towards the lowest common denominator,” Penn writes in a conclusion, explaining why such movements are important. But by dividing and isolating people into popcorn-sized kernels of experience, their innate individuality is lost in many little crowds instead of one big one. Another troubling factor is that few of the book’s observations feel new. How often have superficial features about stay-at-home workers, caffeine addicts or shy millionaires been recycled on the evening news, let alone the Internet and other mediums? Penn tries to spin the gravity of these ripples. “Movements get started by small groups of dedicated, intensely interested people,” he says. But his observation could apply to anything from the Third Reich to MySpace. More cynical readers may feel like a number.
A think piece about personal choices that unearths more round holes for square pegs.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-446-58096-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Twelve
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
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