Investment Training

[INTJ10]

Hi, a recent thread concerning financial adviser fees brought a question to mind. I apologize in advance if this has already been addressed.

What kind of investment training would you recommend for someone who wants to manage their investments themselves instead of using a financial adviser?

I am not retired yet but getting there. My wife and I have a couple of million in 401K/IRA and tax accounts to manage. I have an MBA and I am pretty comfortable with spreadsheets. I am currently using an adviser for my IRA and it is 1% fee.

Thanks in advance.

[W2R]

What I did was to read a half dozen or so books from the Bogleheads' list:

Investment Books

This worked quite well for me. YMMV

[LOL!]

Training? All one needs is the knowledge of +, -, *, and / then you are good to go.

For more help, you may wish to read some of the books on the Bogleheads reading list. I would recommend books by Larry Swedroe. He also has a number of short YouTube videos.

This stuff is not hard to understand, but may be emotionally difficult to implement which no training other than experience can give you.

[Chuckanut]

Read.


All About Index Funds
Richard A. Ferri

All the Devils Are Here
Bethany McLean, Joe Nocera

Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk
by Roger C. Gibson

Bogle on Mutual funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
by John C. Bogle

Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation
by Edward Chancellor

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
by Charles Mackay

The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
Willaim J. Bernstein

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R What I did was to read a half dozen or so books from the Bogleheads' list: Investment Books This worked quite well for me. YMMV

+1. There is no better reading list IMO. The Four Pillars of Investing is almost exactly how I invest. But every one of the books on the list is among the best in category.

You can do this, the mechanics aren't that difficult. And when you really understand how it all works, the mental discipline gets much easier too. Once you have both, you are on your way!

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! This stuff is not hard to understand, but may be emotionally difficult to implement which no training other than experience can give you.

Agreed!

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack You can do this, the mechanics aren't that difficult. And when you really understand how it all works, the mental discipline gets much easier too. Once you have both, you are on your way!

So true. And, conversely, if you don't understand how it works you're easy prey for every high-commissioned broker, advisor, and fund-pedlar out there, and every bit of "next hot sector" financial pornography.

A knock on the door yesterday turned out to be a Raymond James "advisor" going house-to-house looking for marks customers. I don't live in a ritzy neighborhood, and have never seen these guys before. I guess they are getting more desperate.

[brewer12345]

If you want to do it proper, order all the textbooks required for CFA level 1.

[clifp]

I'd also recommend reading forum like this and Bogleheads and some of the Motley fool forums are also pretty good.

Make sure you ask a lot of questions.

[columbus]

Even low cost/free trading sites like scottrade have learning centers. Morningstar is a popular site with good info

[KiraC]

I've been going through the Investools training (fundamentals, technical analysis, and options) and it has helped me replace more than my old take home pay since I left my job.

Recommend the book Trading for a Living to understand the psychological aspect of investing.

[target2019]

I use Morningstar forums quite a bit. And I usually have a finance-theme book nearby. For example, I just finished "The Ivy Portfolio."

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiraC Recommend the book Trading for a Living to understand the psychological aspect of investing.

Trading is most definitely NOT the same thing as investing.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiraC I've been going through the Investools training (fundamentals, technical analysis, and options) and it has helped me replace more than my old take home pay since I left my job. Recommend the book Trading for a Living to understand the psychological aspect of investing.

KiraC: Good luck to you. I would suggest that you keep your resume up to date and maintain contact with those in your field. . .just in case.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem A knock on the door yesterday turned out to be a Raymond James "advisor" going house-to-house looking for marks customers. I don't live in a ritzy neighborhood, and have never seen these guys before. I guess they are getting more desperate.

Doesn't one of those brokerages require their brokers to knock on something like 1000 neighborhood doors to introduce themselves before the grand opening of their branch office?

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiraC Recommend the book Trading for a Living to understand the psychological aspect of investing.

I read Gary Smith's "How I Trade For A Living" to understand that I didn't want to live my life that way...

[misanman]

I've considered taking the CFP prep courses offered by a local university. There are six that they offer: Principles of Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Income Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Investment Planning and Insurance Planning. I think they meet every other week for 2-3 hours and last one quarter.