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    First Time Investor: Grow and Protect Your Money
    First Time Investor: Grow and Protect Your Money
    First Time Investor: Grow and Protect Your Money
    Ebook117 pages1 hour

    First Time Investor: Grow and Protect Your Money

    By Paul Merriman

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    About this ebook

    First Time Investor: Grow and Protect Your Money is an essential guide to building and maintaining a successful investment portfolio. You will learn exactly what you need to do to meet your financial goals, and make sound investing decisions for the rest of your life. Whether you are 23 and just landed your first job – or 40 and finally getting serious about investing, this book is for you. By following this advice from one of America's most respected financial educators, you’ll have a high probability of being financially independent when your working years are over.
    Paul Merriman's "How To Invest" series provides concise and timeless information for a secure future and stress-free retirement. Each book addresses specific audiences and investor topics. With almost 50 years of investment experience, Paul is committed to helping people of all ages and incomes make the most of their investments. All profits from the sale of this series are donated to educational non-profit organizations. For more information, visit: www.PaulMerriman.com.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPaul Merriman
    Release dateJul 21, 2012
    ISBN9781476240152
    First Time Investor: Grow and Protect Your Money
    Author

    Paul Merriman

    Paul Merriman brings more than 40 years experience as an educator and financial advisor, and is considered a national authority on personal finance, especially in the areas of mutual funds, buy-and-hold and asset allocation. Now retired, his passion is to educate and empower through his new "How To Invest Series", with current and concise investment information to help readers ensure a secure retirement. All profits from the sale of his books are donated to non-profit educational organizations. Merriman is also author of "Live It Up Without Outliving Your Money!" and "Financial Fitness Forever", written for his Public Broadcasting System special, "Financial Fitness After 50". He is founder and president of Merriman Inc., an investment advisory firm managing over $1.5 billion for more than 2,000 households throughout the U.S.

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      Book preview

      First Time Investor - Paul Merriman

      How To Invest" series

      FIRST-TIME INVESTOR:

      GROW AND PROTECT YOUR MONEY

      Paul A. Merriman

      with Richard Buck

      Published by Regalo LLC at Smashwords

      Copyright © 2012 Paul Merriman and Richard Buck.

      All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

      This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold and otherwise distributed with the understanding that neither the authors nor publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, securities trading or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. – From a Declaration of Principles Jointly Adapted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

      To contact Regalo LLC, please email us at info@paulmerriman.com

      All profits from the sale of this book – and all books in the How To Invest series – are donated to educational non-profit organizations. For more information, visit http://www.PaulMerriman.com

      Cover Design by Anne Clark

      CONTENTS

      ABOUT THE HOW TO INVEST SERIES

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      INTRODUCTION

      What you will learn

      Three reasons the early years are crucial

      Double your income in retirement

      Better than winning the lottery

      The magic of an extra 1% return

      PART 1: THE FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS

      Habits that lead to big returns

      The guarantee that can break young investors

      The biggest mistake young investors make

      Invest like a millionaire

      Mutual funds: the bargain of a lifetime

      How to triple your income in retirement

      Why you can’t trust Wall Street

      Why you shouldn’t trust your friends and neighbors

      The single best source of investment advice

      PART 2: BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR LIFE-LONG RETURNS

      Pay taxes now, later or never

      The guarantee of lower expenses

      How much should you save?

      Stocks vs. bonds: A game changer

      Home sweet home, or make the world your oyster

      How a lifetime vision changes your view of today

      How to turn $5,000 a year into a $10 million bonanza

      PART 3: TAKING SMART RISKS

      The guaranteed loss that could help you get rich

      How much risk should you take? Lower risk and higher returns

      How much will you make on your investments?

      How much should you allocate to stocks and to bonds?

      My formula for the best asset allocation

      When to make changes in your portfolio

      PART 4: SELECTING THE BEST ASSET CLASSES

      What cooking and investing have in common

      Let equities be your engine of growth

      Little things can make a big difference

      Invest where others fear to tread

      The expected returns of the best and worst mutual funds

      The surprising cost of investing in great companies

      The surprising advantage of adding international funds

      Does going for the gold make sense?

      The myths and realities of investing in high tech

      PART 5: UNDERSTANDING MUTUAL FUNDS

      How to select the best and forget about the rest

      Load vs. no load: The final answer

      Passively vs. actively managed funds: The final answer

      Diversification: The only free lunch

      My favorite fund family for first-time investors

      How to pick the best funds at Vanguard and Fidelity

      Pros and cons of ETFs

      Pros and cons of target-date retirement funds

      PART 6: STUFF HAPPENS: EMERGENCIES

      Prepare for the unexpected

      Where to invest emergency funds

      PART 7: NO-NOS: DO NOT DO THESE!

      Shortsighted investors pay a huge penalty

      Don’t invest in insurance products

      The lure and risk of your company stock

      The high risk of borrowing from your 401(k)

      The real cost of investment newsletters

      Just say no to market timing

      Being the market is better than beating the market

      Index Funds: The near-perfect investment

      PART 8: THINK ABOUT TAXES

      Maximizing tax shelters

      Maximizing your 401(k) plan

      My recommendations for your 401(k)

      The remarkable Roth IRA and Roth 401(k)

      Choosing your IRA custodian

      PART 9: FIXED-INCOME ASSET CLASSES

      The time and place for bonds

      The yin and yang of bonds

      Three reasons to own bond funds

      When safety really counts

      Short-term bonds vs. long-term bonds

      Should you own international bonds?

      PART 10: BRING THE RIGHT FRIENDS TO YOUR INVESTMENT PARTY

      Attitude is everything

      Keep the faith about the future of capitalism

      Never give up

      Never lose your cool

      Use your common sense

      Know exactly where you are going

      Greed is not good

      Fear not, want not

      PART 11: WILL YOU BE A SUCCESSFUL INVESTOR?

      APPENDIX

      ABOUT THE AUTHORS

      TO YOUR SUCCESS

      ABOUT THE HOW TO INVEST SERIES

      Paul Merriman's How To Invest series provides concise and timeless information for a secure future and stress-free retirement. Each book addresses a specific audience or investor topic. With almost 50 years of experience as a nationally recognized authority on mutual funds and retirement planning, Paul is committed to helping people of all ages and incomes make the most of their investments, with less risk and more peace of mind. All profits from the sale of this series are donated to educational non-profit organizations.

      The second book in the series will be: 101 Reasons I Don’t Trust Stockbrokers (And You Shouldn’t Either)

      For articles, podcasts, updated fund recommendations and more, visit: www.PaulMerriman.com

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      Over the years I have learned about investing from many wise people (and a few foolish ones as well), and I am forever indebted to them in more ways than I can say.

      I would be negligent if I didn't tell you that you would not have this book in your possession without the patience and wisdom of my wife, Suzanne, and the creative, diligent work of Aysha Griffin and Richard

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