The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read: The Simple, Stress-Free Way to Reach Your Investment Goals

I don't think I've ever read a simpler book on investing. I think I finished it in two hours or less, and though it obviously lacks a lot of detail, I can't say there's anything really important that was left out. Solin spends a lot of time describing investment traps to avoid, such as active management and other, high-cost strategies. Then he spends a very few pages describing a very simple way to construct a diversified, low-cost portfolio of mutual funds. He suggests specific allocations in just a handful of specific funds in specific fund families for specific types of investors. Literally, all you have to do is pick which kind of investor you are and then just follow the allocations Solin suggests. Rebalance once or twice a year, and you're set. Even my sister could do it in 30 minutes or less per year. It may be hard for people to believe that such a simple strategy could work, but decades of research show that a simple, low-cost, diversified portfolio outperforms the vast majority of actively managed funds, and with relatively little risk. The advice to "Keep it simple, stupid!" was never so appropriate. I highly recommend this book.

Dan Solin is right on the money. There is no academic evidence proofing active managers can outperform a globally diversified portfolio of index or passively managed mutual funds. His book is well written and easy to follow. He provides clear examples of model portfolios and shows you how to implement it. I couldn't put it down as soon as I started.

I enjoyed this book so much I am giving it to two of my clients. I am an estate planning attorney. In that capacity, I, unfortunately, witness far too many victims of the hyperactive brokers and "financial advisors" described by Mr. Solin. Mr. Solin's book is not an academic treatise, but is academically sound and well researched. He is able to explain complicated concepts and theories in a manner understandable and, importantly, enjoyable no matter the level of sophistication of the reader. This is a well written book with solid advice. I recommend it highly. Kendall W. Maddox, JD, LL.M(Taxation), CFP

My husband and I followed the plan in this book and I can say that it is everything it says it is. It is simple. It took us less than an hour to decide on our asset allocation (I went to the author's website [...] and took the questionnaire on line.) We are opening accounts directly with Fidelity after contacting their customer service people who were excellent in responding to the few questions we had. We don't worry about the news. We don't worry about the collapse of another major company or industry. We feel really good about having a "global" portfolio and about understanding (finally) and managing our risk.

Financial crime crusader, Dan Solin, carefully calibrates his cannon loaded with facts and logic and then lights the fuse. Kaboom! Like a meteor rushing through the cavernous corridors of Wall Street, this book decimates the traditional Wall Street "beat the market" investment strategies. Solin demonstrates that most of those brokerage houses were were built by the ill-gotten gains of hyperactive investment managers and brokers. Investors will learn to stop the madness of trying to beat the market and capture the superior returns of a simple buy, hold and rebalanced portfolio of index funds that is risk-appropriate for them. As ground breaking authors before him, like Adam Smith, Ludwig von Mises, Frederick von Hayek, Milton Friedman, Burton Malkiel, Charles Ellis, and John Bogle, Dan Solin illustrates that markets work best for society when they are allowed to be free (not managed) and index funds empowers investors to capture those profitable market forces of capitalism, not fight them or try to outsmart them like active investors have eternally tried to do. The failure of their costly and futile hyperactive trading strategies are finally getting wide spread exposure due to the simplicity of Solin's book and his passion for justice to all investors. Solin shows that stock picking, market timing, and manager selection are all a complete waste of money and time, detracting from market returns, not enhancing them. You will see that traditional Wall Street is more skilled at wealth extraction than they are at wealth enhancement. Yes, your hyperactive broker and advisor owe you money and an apology for not capturing market rates of returns that will be needed to enhance your retirement. In the best 90 minutes you will ever spend on an investment book, you will become smarter than all professional investment managers who are still stuck in rut of active investing. Break the destructive cycle of trying to beat the market and position your portfolio to capture the superior returns of the market. That giant sucking sound will be newly minted "smartest investors" who just finished Solin's book and have the confidence and intelligence to move their money into portfolios of index funds. Mark T. Hebner, author of Index Funds: The 12-Step Program for Active Investors