Robbing You Blind: Protecting Your Money from Wall Street's Hidden Costs and Half-Truths : Moneymaking Strategies for Today's Investor

by Dempsey, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780688170349
• ISBN10: 068817034X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-10
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Average investors are harmed every day without realizing it, through commonplace practices at full-service and discount firms alike, as well as Internet investment sites and 401K plans. No longer, promises Mark Dempsey in this compelling book. He exposes these deceitful practices, and teaches investors how to fight back with point-by-point tips and useful warnings. Dempsey reveals that middle-class customers (with personal incomes between $50,000 and $100,000) aren't given access to the same research information and stock-buying tips as their wealthier counterparts, don't have the same opportunities to invest in profitable IPOs, and are regularly encouraged to invest in mutual funds that perform well below the market average. This, despite the fact that they make up two-thirds of the country's investors, and are responsible for the bulk of commissions brokers receive. Not fair, argues Dempsey, and he gives readers the knowledge they need to make the investment world work for them.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Broken Promises: When Wall Street Does Not Keep Its Word
Pitching the American Dream to the Middle Class	p. 3
Rich Man, Poor Man: The Haves and Have-Nots of Wall Street--Whom Does Wall Street Care About?	p. 23
The Power of Information: The Rich See the Light and the Middle Class Is Kept in the Dark	p. 52
Selling the American Dream: What Wall Street Wants You to Buy but Doesn't Want You to Know
Salespeople, Sales Training, and Sales Contests: How Wall Street Does Business	p. 73
Going Undercover: In Search of a Financial Advisor	p. 89
Discount Brokers and Day Traders: Dirty Deeds Done Often and Cheap	p. 115
Mutual Fund Mayhem: Hidden Truths and Hidden Fees	p. 130
Initial Public Offerings: A World of Payoffs, Privileges, and Penalties	p. 151
Retirement, Savings, and Your 401(k)	p. 166
Getting Smart About Wall Street
Asleep on the Job: Regulatory Agencies and Other Industry Watchdogs	p. 185
Settling Disputes Wall Street's Way: High-Powered Lawyers and Sleeping Solomons vs. the Investor	p. 197
Journalists: The Oft-Misinformed Oracles of Delphi	p. 214
Investment Experts: The Pied Pipers of Wall Street	p. 229
What Every Investor Needs to Know: Expert Redefined	p. 240
Acknowledgments	p. 251
Notes	p. 253
Bibliography	p. 261
Index	p. 265
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