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COVER DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHY
COVER IMAGE: © ISTOCK / ERHUI1979
Acknowledgments
This book wouldn't have been possible without the generous assistance and support of numerous individuals. So, to all my colleagues past and present, thank you. The knowledge, experience, and expertise you've shared with me can be found throughout this book.
I'm blessed to work for what I believe is the best company in the financial industry and to share my days with an incredible mix of smart and talented coworkers. Every day their combined efforts help thousands of people Ignore the Hype and move toward the life of their dreams. Thank you all for choosing to use your gifts and talents to help people. It's not an exaggeration to say that the world is a better place because of the work you do. I hope this book helps us reach more people, because I truly believe that together we are saving lives. And thank you, Alyssa, for your help with graphics, as well as for getting the manuscript in the right hands.
I'm incredibly grateful for the team at Wiley – it takes a village to produce a book, and this one would be far worse without your efforts. And a special shout-out to Kevin Harreld for believing in this book – I hope your faith in it and in me have been rewarded by the finished product.
Finally, even as a writer I don't have the words to properly say thank you to Kristi, William, and Dylan. This book wouldn't exist without your love and support. I also couldn't have done this without your willingness to sacrifice nights and weekends together while I sat in front of my keyboard. Any success it, or I, has is as much yours as mine.
About the Author
Brian Perry is executive vice president at Pure Financial Advisors. In that role, he uses his extensive background and experience to promote financial education and help individuals meet their financial goals. In his quest to help people live the life they deserve, Brian has published widely, appeared on TV and radio, and spoken at countless seminars, workshops, conferences, and classes. Having spent more than two decades in the financial arena, Brian previously worked as an institutional portfolio manager and as a bond trader for several investment banks. He has an MBA in international business as well as a master's degree in international affairs. He also holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst and is a Certified Financial PlannerTM professional. Brian's previous book, From Piggybank to Portfolio: A Financial Roadmap for New Investors, was published in 2009. He also recently wrote an eBook, Retirement Revamp: Financial Planning in Times of Crisis to help people better understand and navigate the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preface
It's true – the media does promote fake news.
This litany of misleading reports, flashing news headlines, sound bites that fail to capture a speaker's true sentiments, bombastic personalities, half-truths, and outright lies is damaging the very fabric of our society. And I'm not talking about politics. I'm referring, instead, to the financial realm, and the media-driven lack of clarity, coherence, and patience that is ruining the futures of tens of millions of people just like you.
Fortunately, there is a solution. Education provided in a clear-cut and easy-to-understand manner can help you cut through the noise. This education needs to be based on facts, not fiction, and must be based upon evidence, rather than guesswork. This education needs to work for the long haul; theories and concepts that come and go like the seasons' newest fashions are of little use to the average person seeking a path to financial independence. This is particularly true in the information age, where a constant flow of news headlines too often prompts emotional reactions. And it is these emotions, in the end, that effective education needs to account for and overcome, lest individuals succumb to the fear and greed that have always typified peoples' responses to market cycles.
Ignore the Hype: Financial Strategies Beyond the Media-Driven Mayhem is part of the solution. By examining the historical record in order to separate fact from fiction, readers will get a clear sense of what has and has not worked in the past. This book relays the lessons investors can glean from the successful experiences of others, including:
Accept that the game is rigged, but know that you don't have to play, which suggests an alternative to the hedge fund and media-driven mayhem that overwhelms so many individual investors.
Realize that forecasting is just a fancy term for guessing, which examines the abysmal track record of market pundits and proposes a superior solution.
Accept that failing to plan is planning to fail, which provides a method to determine how much money you need to meet your financial goals.
Understand the drivers of investment returns, which identifies the common traits of securities that have produced superior results across time.
Know how you'll be taxed, which discusses steps you can take today to pay less taxes tomorrow.
Avoid the wolf in sheep's clothing, which tells you how to identify a trusted professional and avoid Wall Street's lousy products.
Ultimately, this book is designed to drill home the key point that, by following time-tested principles founded on investor experience and academic research, people just like you can achieve financial success in a manner that doesn't place them on a collision course with hedge fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, and high-frequency traders. Instead, a disciplined investment approach, designed to protect you from emotions, can produce attractive investment returns without engaging in a competition you cannot win. When combined with comprehensive financial planning and cutting-edge tax minimization strategies, such an approach can give virtually anyone the tools required to achieve financial freedom.
– Brian Perry, CFP®, CFA
Introduction
The philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
The century of financial history we have to work with has provided you with a treasure trove of lessons. These lessons tell you what works and, just as importantly, what doesn't work. Both lessons are equally valuable.
In investing, little things make a big difference. And as you'll learn from this book, financial success for most people isn't about that once-in-a-lifetime coup. Instead, the key to financial freedom is to find a disciplined, repeatable process, based upon empirical research and the historical record. Then, you must have the intestinal fortitude to stick with that process through good times and bad.
And therein lies the Great Challenge. In a world of constant change, how do you stay the course? How do you ignore the hype about the next great investment? When times get tough, how do you know if you should hold steady to the path you're on or change and adapt your approach?
The reality is that in attempting to navigate your way toward financial freedom, there are two things you must get right.
First, you must identify and implement an approach that will work for you. Ideally that approach will be based upon empirical research and
