Heads I Win, Tails I Win

Whatever your level of expertise, Jakab's Heads I Win, Tails I Win will be entertaining, enlightening, and almost certainly profitable. Let's start with the bad news first- Most investors' results bear very little resemblance to the long-run returns touted in the glossy marketing materials from financial services firms. What's more, most of them have no idea just how massive that difference actually is. But, there's reason for hope-Investing is a winner's game with excellent long-term odds once you stop shooting yourself in the foot. Since leaving his job as a top-rated stock analyst to become an investing columnist, Spencer Jakab has watched his readers-and his family, friends, and colleagues-make the same mistakes again and again. He looks at all the typical advice, from the clearly risky to the seemingly safe, to show you how various strategies are undermining even the savviest investor's returns. The paths that lead to a seven figure nest egg are surprisingly few, but he reveals reliable strategies that can multiply a typical retirement saver's nest egg fourfold or more. Jakab combines wise storytelling with a knack for doing the math on complicated ideas to explain why you shouldn't buy Apple, care about tomorrow's big IPO, or even try to act on the belief that a recession is around the corner. He also explains why you should never trust a World Cup predicting octopus and why you shouldn't invest in companies with an X or Z in their names - information more useful than it sounds, and every bit as fun. Whatever your level of expertise, Jakab's Heads I Win, Tails I Win will be entertaining, enlightening, and almost certainly profitable.

About the Author :
Spencer Jakab writes the Ahead of the Tape column for the Wall Street Journal, where he also writes occasional Page One features. Previously, he had been a columnist at the Financial Times and before that ran Emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa equity research for Credit Suisse.

Review :
“As Pogo used to say, ‘We have met the enemy and he is us.’ In this delightfully written book, full of wonderful anecdotes, Spencer Jakab shows us how to win the investment game by avoiding the stupid choices that even ‘smart’ investors make.”
—BURTON G. MALKIEL, author of A RANDOM WALK DOWN WALL STREET
 
“Treat this like a lengthy dialogue with a kind, funny, and very wise friend who takes you through all the key principles of how not to lose money, and does it in wonderfully simple language without ever getting bogged down in numbers or jargon.”
—JOHN AUTHERS, chief investment columnist at FINANCIAL TIMES
 
“Jakab has written a very clear guide to managing your money in a very clear, witty, and easy-to-read style. This is the book you should read and then give a copy to your kids and friends.”
 —JOHN MAULDIN, chairman of MAULDIN ECONOMICS
 
“Jakab provides readers with a road map of the numerous investing mine fields they’ll encounter on their way to financial independence. By avoiding them, readers can win by not losing. Read it and reap.”
—MEL LINDAUER, author of THE BOGLEHEADS’ GUIDE TO INVESTING and THE BOGLEHEADS’ GUIDE TO RETIREMENT PLANNING
 
“Spencer Jakab has distilled investing down to its most important parts, wonderfully explaining why so many investors go astray and how you can learn from their folly. Spencer’s columns amaze me for their ability to pack a punch in just a few paragraphs, saving readers from unnecessary jargon and fluff. He’s topped himself with this book.”
—MORGAN HOUSEL, columnist at THE MOTLEY FOOL
 
“This engaging and hugely insightful book helps individual investors understand how the markets really work and how they should think about their investments. Jakab takes a seemingly complex topic and makes it accessible to investors of all shapes and sizes.”
—BEN CARLSON, author of A WEALTH OF COMMON SENSE

“Jakab is one of the smartest financial journalists I have come across in my three decades in this business.  He is the rare bird who can combine expert financial knowledge in a package that is consumable by the masses. While he knows his Wall Street alphas and betas backwards and forwards, Heads I Win, Tails I Win is never Greek to those on Main Street.”
—JOHN BUCKINGHAM, publisher, The Prudent Speculator, chief investment officer, AFAM Capital

“The book gives a deep and realistic insight into how investing really works… while most people can’t fix the appliances in their home, they are now required to be part time money managers of their retirement investments through their 401k or IRA plans. Unfortunately, most people woefully lack the financial education to do so. His book makes a dent in that knowledge deficit, at least for those who read it.” 
—SIMON CONSTABLE, Forbes

“Jakab has plenty of sensible advice—especially for the novice, who is unlikely to be able to select securities or even to pick people who have that skill. He laments that people who would never presume to fix their own refrigerator have the burden of managing their money.”
—ROGER LOWENSTEIN, Fortune Magazine

“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.”   
—PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY

"Jakab has crafted a cool-headed guide for those who are of necessity the part-time financial managers of their own retirement accounts… Heads I Win, Tails I Win provides a plain-spoken and accessible starting point for busy part-timers anxious to improve their odds. If you’re one of those people for whom investing is more art than science, this book is for you. Even if you think it’s more science than art, it’s also worth reading, if only to learn how the other half thinks." 
–BARRON'S MAGAZINE

“About once a decade a fun-to-read book comes out with good practical advice for investors. This book is it. It gets across the important points that investors need to know without being dry or dull. It is destined to become an investment classic along the lines of A Random Walk Down Wall Street.”
—JAMES ANGEL, Ph.D., professor of finance, Georgetown University