I meet with clients every week who have been devastated by losses, frustrated by lack of returns and feel anxious by the lack of knowledge they have about their investments. I often tell my clients what good is a great estate plan if you are financially bleeding to death while you are alive? Often these clients feeling victimized have started to make their now investment decisions. Many news articles and television ads today make it sound as if this may be a prudent strategy.

When we meet I tell them that they are trapped in the Investors Dilemma and they need to get basic financial education to protect themselves not only from the army of financial sales people who are pushing product solutions but also to understand their own behavior and not be victimized by their own human decisions that lead into traps of investing and frustration.

I often refer them to one of the best (and easy to read) books on investing. I tell anyone that has money to invest for their estate or retirement planning should add this book to their reading list. They will not regret it.

It was co-authored by Gordon Murray and Daniel Goldie. In less than 100 pages, it clearly tells everyday investors nearly everything they need to know about investing in the stock and bond markets to beat 95% of Wall Streets best money managers.

Murray had a 25-year career on Wall Street that included stints at Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston. His career, like those of many in the investment community, was built around beating the marketswhich many claim to do but few pull off.

Murray retired in 2001. He later met Daniel Goldie, a former professional tennis player and financial adviser, who taught him the virtues of passive investments.

While active investors try to beat the markets, passive investors are content to tie them. The irony, however, is that passive investors over time do better than the vast majority of active investors, due in large part to the excessive fees and taxes faced by people who try in vain to beat the market.

As The New York Times reported in a great article last month called A Dying Bankers Last Instructions,(NY Times article), Murray was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2008. He has ceased treatment and doesnt expect to live past his 61st birthday in March of 2011.

Murray decided to use his last days on earth to write about his new investment epiphany. His friend Goldie co-authored the concise paperback The Investment Answer, which was published in August, 2010.It is easy to read and anyone who invests should read this book.You can click to go to a web site for more information about the book: The Investment Answer.

We appreciate you following us and value your comments and input. Please provide your thoughts by using the comments section on our blog page.

You Can Also Find Us Online:Facebook|Twitter|LinkedIn

Thanks again.

Dennis D. Duffy

Duffy Law Office, PLLC