How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street: Golden Rules Any Investor Can Learn - Paperback

by Allan S. Roth (Author)

Straightforward strategies from a successful young investor

In How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street, you'll follow the story of Kevin Roth, an eight-year-old who was schooled in simple approaches to sound investing by his father, seasoned financial planner Allan Roth, and discover exactly how simple it can be to become a successful investor. Page by page, you'll learn how to create a portfolio with the widest diversification and lowest costs; one that can move up your financial freedom by a decade and dramatically increase your spending rate during retirement. And all this can be accomplished by using some common sense techniques.

Along the way, Kevin and his dad discuss fresh, new approaches to investing, and detail some tried-and-true, but lesser known approaches. They also take the time to debunk the financial myths and legends that many of us accept as true, and show you what it really takes to build long-term wealth with less risk.

• Discusses how to design a portfolio composed of a few basic building blocks that can be "tweaked" to fit your personal needs
• Addresses how you can reengineer your portfolio in order to stop needlessly paying taxes
• Reveals how you can increase returns, regardless of which direction the market goes, by picking the "low-hanging fruit" we all have in our portfolios

With just a little time and a little work, you can become a better investor. With this book as your guide, you'll discover how a simpler approach to today's markets can put you on the path to financial independence.

Front Jacket

Praise for HOW A SECOND GRADER BEATS WALL STREET

Allan Roth's How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street reminds us that the most important investment principles are actually simple truths that we lose sight of as our lives andinvestment approaches grow more complicated.
--Don Phillips, Managing Director, Morningstar, Inc.

Meet Kevin Roth: financial savant, successful money manager, and second grader. Kevin, you see, possesses several unfair advantages over the rest of us: he doesn't read the Wall Street Journal, worry about the economy, or watch James Cramer (well, maybe he does, but only with the sound off). But he solidly understands the principles of investment management. How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street can be consumed almost as quickly and enjoyably as the chocolate milk on Kevin's lunch tray.
--William Bernstein, author of The Four Pillars of Investing and The Investor's Manifesto

One of the greatest gifts any author can bring to their readers is the ability to capture simplicity from complexity and convey the essence in a readable, understandable fashion. Allan Roth does that with How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street. His book will help readers realize that fads and fashion are trumped by the steady, less risky returns that come from rational diversification and a disciplined commitment to it. Everything in Roth's book has special relevance in today's turbulent and treacherous times.
--George G. C. Parker, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Emeritus, Stanford Business School

Don't be put off by thinking the title is too cute. The great lessons of life are simple (but, as Warren Buffett advises, not easy). If you follow these important rules, successful investing is 'child's play.'
--Charles D. Ellis, author of Winning the Loser's Game and coauthor of The Elements of Investing

The 'Second Grader's Starter Portfolio' is one of the eight great 'Lazy Portfolios' we feature and update on Dow Jones/MarketWatch. Why? Because it's a winner, regularly beating the S&P 500. It's perfect for all Americans, young and young-at-heart, who are starting small and want to retire a millionaire someday.
--Paul B. Farrell, JD, PhD, author of The Millionaire Meditation

You can make investing as complicated as you want. Or you can make it simple. The beauty of Kevin Roth's elegantly reasoned approach is not just that it's clearer and easier to execute than most investing advice today. It's also that, in the long run, it's likely to put more money in your pocket.
--Eric Schurenberg, former managing editor, Money magazine

Back Jacket

Praise for HOW A SECOND GRADER BEATS WALL STREET

"Allan Roth's How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street reminds us that the most important investment principles are actually simple truths that we lose sight of as our lives andinvestment approaches grow more complicated."
--Don Phillips, Managing Director, Morningstar, Inc.

"Meet Kevin Roth: financial savant, successful money manager, and second grader. Kevin, you see, possesses several unfair advantages over the rest of us: he doesn't read the Wall Street Journal, worry about the economy, or watch James Cramer (well, maybe he does, but only with the sound off). But he solidly understands the principles of investment management. How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street can be consumed almost as quickly and enjoyably as the chocolate milk on Kevin's lunch tray."
--William Bernstein, author of The Four Pillars of Investing and The Investor's Manifesto

"One of the greatest gifts any author can bring to their readers is the ability to capture simplicity from complexity and convey the essence in a readable, understandable fashion. Allan Roth does that with How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street. His book will help readers realize that fads and fashion are trumped by the steady, less risky returns that come from rational diversification and a disciplined commitment to it. Everything in Roth's book has special relevance in today's turbulent and treacherous times."
--George G. C. Parker, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Emeritus, Stanford Business School

"Don't be put off by thinking the title is too cute. The great lessons of life are simple (but, as Warren Buffett advises, not easy). If you follow these important rules, successful investing is 'child's play.'"
--Charles D. Ellis, author of Winning the Loser's Game and coauthor of The Elements of Investing

"The 'Second Grader's Starter Portfolio' is one of the eight great 'Lazy Portfolios' we feature and update on Dow Jones/MarketWatch. Why? Because it's a winner, regularly beating the S&P 500. It's perfect for all Americans, young and young-at-heart, who are starting small and want to retire a millionaire someday."
--Paul B. Farrell, JD, PhD, author of The Millionaire Meditation

"You can make investing as complicated as you want. Or you can make it simple. The beauty of Kevin Roth's elegantly reasoned approach is not just that it's clearer and easier to execute than most investing advice today. It's also that, in the long run, it's likely to put more money in your pocket."
--Eric Schurenberg, former managing editor, Money magazine

Author Biography

Allan S. Roth is the founder of Wealth Logic, LLC, a boutique financial planning and investment advisory firm that presently advises on $500 million in assets for 100 clients. Roth is an adjunct finance faculty member at Colorado College and teaches behavioral finance at the University of Denver's Graduate Tax Institute. He is an expert in portfolio construction and performance benchmarking.