The Smartest Portfolio You'll Ever Own: A Do-It-Yourself Breakthrough Strategy

by Daniel R. Solin

Bestselling author and financial blogger, Dan Solin, provides real do-it-yourself investors the means to create a dynamic-and safe- portfolio that mimics those constructed for some of the major institutional and trust investors in the country. Readers can maintain complete control over their money-and not sacrifice precious points to an advisor or broker. Using a strategy that minimizes volatility and maximizes returns, Solin makes investing according to the principles of the most sophisticated financial models accessible to individuals in a way that has never been possible before. As readers have come to expect from Solin, implementing this plan is as simple as one, two, open an account with a discount broker; determine the appropriate asset allocation using the simple questionnaire in the book or online; input pre-determined ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) and the allocations for the level of the investor's individual risk profile. This is the only book that provides the information and practical guidance that readers need to achieve the very best results with the minimum risk, on their own .

Genres: Finance, Personal Finance, Economics, Business, Nonfiction, Money, Self Help

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Dan Solin is the New York Times bestselling author of the Smartest series of books which include: The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest Portfolio You'll Ever Own The Smartest Money Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest Sales Book You'll Ever Read and Does Your Broker Owe You Money?

His latest book, Ask: How to Relate to Anyone, is based on cutting edge research he did to find out why he wasn't better at sales. What he discovered turned everything he previously believed upside down, increased his conversion rate exponentially and transformed his business and personal relationships.

Dan has taught the lessons in Ask with great success to audiences in North America, Europe and Asia.

Dan blogs regularly for Advisor Perspectives and also has a newsletter distributed to thousands of subscribers.

He graduated from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Visit the website for Ask for more information: askdansolin.com

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main gist of this book is "buy index stocks." I appreciate the angle the author takes, and he provides some very good reasons to support his push for them.

Here is some insight I was hoping for but didn't get though:
1. Portfolio options for those that use some of the other very major online brokers (E*Trade for me for example)
2. How to determine which of the smart portfolios is right for me (personally cannot afford to do the SuperSmart Portfolio because of the minimum balance requirements)
3. Should I just dump my current portfolio and go straight into it or should I make the change gradually (major tax implications and very per-person situational but I wish there was some discussion on it)

These lead to some of my other questions that were left unanswered. I think I now have more questions than I had before with not many more answers. To be fair, I have more questions partly because the book encouraged me to think more about it all. For example:

What type of investor is the ETF portfolio better for? I currently have a fairly decent amount of money in the market, but I'd like to continuously grow that over time. Does that make the ETF portfolio a bad option for me? Should I use Vanguard.com to bypass the transaction fees for Vanguard funds? What percentage of my overall transaction go straight to fees before it's considered too much? I know the lower the better, but the book didn't explain what to look out for and how best to minimize the fees for the portfolios recommended.

All in all I liked the book a lot. I just wish it could have driven down into the details a little more on how best to implement the portfolios over time and which ones are best for what type of investors. The book was well written, which made it a very fast read.

I also appreciate all the source information the author references, so it's clear he's not just supplying his own opinion but something backed by many experts.

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a great book and short read. The entire book is explaining how the system is designed to rack up fees to make brokers a ton of money by selling the lie that they can predict the market. It reminds me of how banks make their money on the backs of ridiculous overdraft fees and other shady dealings. Dan Solin presents some great arguments backed by research about why trying to beat the market is a bad idea. I'm a new investor and definitely learned a few things about index funds and asset location. Best of all, I was able to finish it in one sitting because it's so short and to the point.

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook on and off. I wish I could say I understood it but I did not. All I got out of it was don’t own index funds and don’t listen to advisors who say they know when to sell stocks and get a big percentage. Basically what else I got out of it was don’t have too much in stocks but a little more in bonds depending on your risk-taking and how much you can afford to do that. Maybe I need to to gain some more understanding in investment and portfolios to better understand what the author was getting at in this book but it didn’t seem very helpful to me.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

More practical advice on investing.

[Kelly Sheffield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good place to start.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, nothing earth shattering here, but also nothing horrific. There are better options out there.

[Viral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the simple advice to the point. Easy to read book with practical advice. Must read for everyone who wants to invest in the market.

[Malin Friess · Rating 5 out of 5]

The takeaways in this easy to read 140 page book about your investment portfolio are the following:

1- If you use a broker or advisor who claims to be able to beat the market or who charges a commission based upon the fund he sells (not a an hourly rate)--leave, withdraw your money and close the account

2- Don't own individual stocks--the gain is low and risk very high

3- Determine your asset allocation and invest in diversified INDEX (passively managed funds)--Solin has a good table for age and risk and stock/bond ratio.

4- There is no relationship between how much research you do on a stock and its returns

5- Remember every time you sell a stock--there is somewhat on the other side (likely) smarter who thinks it is a good idea to BUY that stock at your selling price....think about that

6- Single most important decision is to renounce active management. Actively managed mutual funds consistently perform worse that passively managed funds, have higher taxes, and higher fee's (that eat up your return)

5 stars--again reminded by Solin--to go with Vanilla ice-cream when it comes to your retirement portfolio.

[Tom Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this book quite a bit. Its recommendations for portfolio design are aligned with the research I learned in grad school but it goes a step beyond textbooks by recommending specific investment options to achieve the portfolio designs.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will give this one 5 starts too. It's basic, but informative.

[Cherif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read with easy to implement strategies for the diy investor.

[Karla Bledsoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author is full of himself. Nothing new here. Waste of time.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information, as usual. Mostly a repeat from his investment book but goes into a little more detail about types of funds.