Heads I Win, Tails I Win: Why Smart Investors Fail and How to Tilt the Odds in Your Favor

Jakab, editor of the Wall Street Journal’s “Heard on the Street” column, is concerned about the money being left on the table by blithely ignorant amateur investors; he wrote this book, according to the preface, to help civilians understand what’s happening to their money, and how to fix the situation. In almost no other area of life are people expected to manage something so important with so little information. “With gold watches and a steady, livable pension check becoming a rarity,” Jakab writes, “we’ve been entrusted with our own finances and for the most part failed miserably.” And professionals may not do much better. The “composite fund investor” earned an annualized 2.5% during the 30 years of a study by fund evaluation firm Dalbar—a terrible showing. Jakab’s efforts to acquaint readers with the basic realities of the market and to provide an insider’s view of how to approach money management will be comprehensible to even the most intimidated reader. Energetic and engaging, this is required reading for anyone who’d like to retire ahead of the game. (July)