Income And Wealth From Self-Directed Investing

The book is very conversational -- it reads like he recorded conversations he had with people about the subject, then turned that into a book. And, there are parts that are not applicable for readers in the US -- for example, how to open a brokerage account, or that many US brokerages now charge no fees for stock purchases. But there are some parts that are pure gold -- outlining the difference in methodology and temperament between traders and investors, explaining what are the important risk factors for assessing a company's longevity and what are noise, and the scoring methodology he uses. I'm far from a newbie -- I've been investing for 40 years -- and have read many investment books, but this is the first time I've encountered that perfect mix of easy-to-understand without being over-simplified. I've recommended the book to many of my friends who are interested in getting started with investing. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and the portion of my account devoted to this method of investing has already turned a 5-figure profit in a little over 2 weeks, which is a very good pudding indeed.

I emailed the author TWICE for the “free” software included (ie when you purchase the book) with the appropriate Info. He never bothered or cared to respond.

This book is life changing! Instead of a finite 401K that will average 5% over its lifetime, and eventually drop to zero (when I retire and withdraw funds), I can now build my own portfolio where I live off an average dividend return of 6%...forever!! Best of all, the money will never run out, or be affected by market swings!! On top of that, the book is very simple, yet also detailed in its step-by-step instructions on purchasing and maintaining a portfolio. The steps even include how to login, filter choices etc. And the author sent me a free software program with my purchase, to help me evaluate potential stocks. I feel very lucky to have found this book.

This is definitely a self-published book — it’s missing a proper index. I purchased it because I was interested in the author’s methodology of picking stocks based on his credit rating credentials. There is a lengthy discussion about the benefits of self-directed investing and the pitfalls “professional advice” which is really sales. He walks the reader through the process of opening a self-directed brokerage account using one specific example. Some of the information is inaccurate. For example, you do not necessarily need a chequing account with the associated bank, you do not pay a premium to trade odd blocks. For me, these inaccuracies detract from his credibility. I have received the computer program as promised to purchasers of the book but I have not experimented with it yet. The last few chapters are tables of stock ratings based on this method. From my reading of this book, this may be an ancillary method of vetting stocks for possible purchase.

I did not know anything about investing, nevertheless knowing what and where to go do it.I received the book, read it, applied some of it but got stuck in doing the score calculation. The book refers to a program that does the score calculation automatically. I sent an email to the address giving in the book with no success. I re-sent an e-mail and I still not received the fore-mentioned program. I searched for the "Informus" website and I found the same contact e-mail stated in the book.

I like the simplicity of the long term investment plan. The tax advantages of a dividend fund in Canada are evident and I've learned the hard way not to rely on investment gurus or advisors when it comes to investing my money.

I always knew I needed to invest in dividend stocks to better prepare for the future. Without having any experience buying and selling my own stocks, I am now confident to pick my top 20 dividend stocks.