Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: Five-Star Strategies for Success

I am new to stocks and mutual funds. I just read some basic online tutorials. I have no problems in understanding the concepts in the book. Very well Written. I should have bought this book years back.

The book reads somewhere between a text book and a general description of mutual funds and bonds. I found it to be very informative, well organized and believe I have a much better understanding of how mutual funds work. Also, Crhistine is pretty cute.

This book is clear, concise, and effective. I've read the first four chapters so far, and it has explained everything I've wanted to know about choosing mutual funds. I was absolutely ecstatic when I saw that the chapter on mutual fund management has an overview of the pros and cons of a number of the well-known fund companies. One of the reviewers was complaining that this book relies too heavily on Morningstar research. Well, first of all, Morningstar is one of the premier analysis firms in the industry, and as such they have a wealth of great information. Secondly, I have yet to see a place in the book where they ask you to pay for anything. A good portion of the Morningstar website is free, and the book mentions a Morningstar mutual fund book you can get from public libraries. The reviewer also complains about the Morningstar 5-star rating system. The book explains that the star ratings can be used as a screening tool, and stresses the many other factors that should be considered when evaluating a fund. When used in conjunction with other objective criteria, the star rating is a powerful tool to evaluate past returns and volatility. With all of this in mind, if you are absolutely new to investing, you should become familiar with certain basic investing terms and concepts before reading this book. I highly recommend either The Wall Street Journal's Complete Guide to Personal Finance or The WSJ's Complete Money and Investing Guidebook. For most people, I would say the Guide to Personal Finance would be a good primer.

I was so excited to find this book, after reading the usual junk, the classics, surfing hundreds of websites -- and yes, leaving lots of money on Brokers Conference Room Tables. {If only I knew then, what I know now.} It read fast, pulling so many ideas together in a very readable manner, backed up by authors who eat, sleep and process one of the best market data-sources around. My surprise was that it had elements of an adventure novel, by introducing me to the personalities and investment styles of Fund Managers. Suddenly the market, became real people. Annual Reports become chapters in an ongoing historical novel. Is it oriented to Morningstar? Sure, but that's not a bad thing for a new investor trying to re-gain control of his or her financial future. It makes a good companion, to the online data.

"Morningstar's Guide to Mutual Funds" is the book for any investor, large or small. When my financial adviser would start discussing mutual funds, the NYSE, etc., my eyes would glaze over and my mind would wander. I never could understand the mumbo-jumbo he was throwing at me. Plus he never seemed able to explain why my portfolio kept sliding downward. So, I purchased this book in hopes of understanding more about investing and what I needed to do. This is clearly the book for me, and I am so thankful for such an edifying book about investing that makes it seem so simple.