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Myth
Johnny Long is back and better than ever as he takes on the most challenging crisis to hit the financial-services industry in decades. in Myth, we have a harrowing tale involving a retired couple in dire distress. Their income has been decimated, the result of depending on fixed income over years of declining interest rates. Their options are few and their future bleak. How will they survive?
- GenresFinance
221 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 1, 2014
I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
When the Bernie Madoff scandal broke in the news, I wondered how someone could get away for so long with a Ponzi scheme without anyone catching on to what he was up to. The answer seemed to be that when people are realizing gains on their investments, they don't question why they're getting richer. They just accept it as their due. But then came the realization that people who trusted Bernie Madoff with their retirement funds and many other sources of revenue were completely wiped out. THEN people wanted answers, and it wasn't much of a stretch to say they wanted Madoff's head on a silver platter. That's when I wondered if all those investors bore no responsibility at all for what happened to their money. All was peachy when they increased their nest eggs, but now that all was in jeopardy and people lost every cent they'd saved, NOW they wanted blood. Enter David Mallach, author of Myth, a wonderfully informative book in the form of a story about one such couple who wanted to invest their money into vehicles that would support them financially during their retirement years.
The story begins with Henry and Norma Thompson who have brought a case against their financial advisor, Valerie Brown. Along with their respective attorneys, the Thompsons and Ms Brown are in an arbitration meeting that will decide what is to be done about the $400,000 they lost since handing over management of their money to Brown. There are 3 members on the panel deciding the outcome of this case. The Thompson's attorney, Lucien Marat, believes he has built a rock solid case against both Valerie Brown, and also against her employer, American National Finance. He believes he can recover all the money lost for the Thompsons as well as hefty punitive damages. The rest of the book details how Marat prepared to do that.
This could have been the kind of book that makes people's eyes glaze over as they explain they don't understand how the investment business works. I've heard others say that they just can't process the information; it's all too complicated for anyone not directly tied to the investment process. Obviously none of those people tried reading David Mallach because not only can he explain what we need to know in terms easy to follow, but he provides examples of his points especially concerning what people should be looking for and what they can expect to get from financial advisors. The Thompson's case is not an unusual one, and it appears that Valerie Brown did serve them as well as she was able. But it wasn't good enough to keep the Thompsons from losing a substantial amount of money. Money that did not have to be lost if the correct strategy had been used in planning the future of the investments the Thompsons intended on making. I was fascinated with this story because of the way in which it was written and because Mallach himself has worked in this field and has a tried and true record to back up what he says.
I highly recommend Myth to anyone interested in how financial planning should work. It also is a well written, easy to understand look at the investment culture and how it does or does not operate to serve its clients best interests. For that reason, I think this novel is not only a good read; it's an important book as well.
When the Bernie Madoff scandal broke in the news, I wondered how someone could get away for so long with a Ponzi scheme without anyone catching on to what he was up to. The answer seemed to be that when people are realizing gains on their investments, they don't question why they're getting richer. They just accept it as their due. But then came the realization that people who trusted Bernie Madoff with their retirement funds and many other sources of revenue were completely wiped out. THEN people wanted answers, and it wasn't much of a stretch to say they wanted Madoff's head on a silver platter. That's when I wondered if all those investors bore no responsibility at all for what happened to their money. All was peachy when they increased their nest eggs, but now that all was in jeopardy and people lost every cent they'd saved, NOW they wanted blood. Enter David Mallach, author of Myth, a wonderfully informative book in the form of a story about one such couple who wanted to invest their money into vehicles that would support them financially during their retirement years.
The story begins with Henry and Norma Thompson who have brought a case against their financial advisor, Valerie Brown. Along with their respective attorneys, the Thompsons and Ms Brown are in an arbitration meeting that will decide what is to be done about the $400,000 they lost since handing over management of their money to Brown. There are 3 members on the panel deciding the outcome of this case. The Thompson's attorney, Lucien Marat, believes he has built a rock solid case against both Valerie Brown, and also against her employer, American National Finance. He believes he can recover all the money lost for the Thompsons as well as hefty punitive damages. The rest of the book details how Marat prepared to do that.
This could have been the kind of book that makes people's eyes glaze over as they explain they don't understand how the investment business works. I've heard others say that they just can't process the information; it's all too complicated for anyone not directly tied to the investment process. Obviously none of those people tried reading David Mallach because not only can he explain what we need to know in terms easy to follow, but he provides examples of his points especially concerning what people should be looking for and what they can expect to get from financial advisors. The Thompson's case is not an unusual one, and it appears that Valerie Brown did serve them as well as she was able. But it wasn't good enough to keep the Thompsons from losing a substantial amount of money. Money that did not have to be lost if the correct strategy had been used in planning the future of the investments the Thompsons intended on making. I was fascinated with this story because of the way in which it was written and because Mallach himself has worked in this field and has a tried and true record to back up what he says.
I highly recommend Myth to anyone interested in how financial planning should work. It also is a well written, easy to understand look at the investment culture and how it does or does not operate to serve its clients best interests. For that reason, I think this novel is not only a good read; it's an important book as well.
January 6, 2015
David Mallach's fourth story involving investing guru, Johnny Long, is an obvious step forward in regards to his skill as a storyteller and writer. Yes there is still room left for improvement, but I feel ashamed to judge; I am not a published author like he is.
The theme of this book, and the investing strategy it describes, covers a very important public misperception of the safety of bonds in generating income for retirement.
I would recommend this book to retirees and investors.
The theme of this book, and the investing strategy it describes, covers a very important public misperception of the safety of bonds in generating income for retirement.
I would recommend this book to retirees and investors.
April 3, 2014
I chose this book because of its by-line ‘A Wall Street Novel’. I imagined it to be something akin to the Wall Street movies, highlighting the corruption and arrogance of the financial world. After reading only about 15% (I read on a Kindle, so don’t go by page numbers any more) I was really unsure as to whether I wanted to go on. Until then it all seemed a little more like a text-book than a work of fiction. It had some mixed reviews on Goodreads, ranging from one to five-star ratings. Not one to give up on what might turn out to be a gem of a story, I persevered.
The pace picked up substantially, the courtroom battles were electrifying. I could feel myself being drawn into the story and wanting – no needing – to see how it finished. Even the detailed descriptions of financial products and strategies were well explained. (Certainly very informative and I’ll admit that I learned a thing or two about investment planning too)
Some of the descriptions of the characters were lost on me (not being from the US) but nonetheless the principal characters were larger than life. At times they were a touch exaggerated, maybe even stereotypical on occasions. I read the rest of the book over a weekend, but the ending fell a little flat. All of that drama beforehand seemed to fizzle out. When the outcome of the case was delivered, what followed tended to be somewhat ‘preachy’ and once again it felt like a review of the lessons learned earlier.
I’m glad I finished the book because there were some great scenes, wonderful dialogue and plenty of tension and drama. The story is great in the middle, but the beginning and ending did not match up. All in all it was an interesting and educational read. If the world of finance is your thing, then it’s worth reading – but don’t expect a movie spectacular.
The pace picked up substantially, the courtroom battles were electrifying. I could feel myself being drawn into the story and wanting – no needing – to see how it finished. Even the detailed descriptions of financial products and strategies were well explained. (Certainly very informative and I’ll admit that I learned a thing or two about investment planning too)
Some of the descriptions of the characters were lost on me (not being from the US) but nonetheless the principal characters were larger than life. At times they were a touch exaggerated, maybe even stereotypical on occasions. I read the rest of the book over a weekend, but the ending fell a little flat. All of that drama beforehand seemed to fizzle out. When the outcome of the case was delivered, what followed tended to be somewhat ‘preachy’ and once again it felt like a review of the lessons learned earlier.
I’m glad I finished the book because there were some great scenes, wonderful dialogue and plenty of tension and drama. The story is great in the middle, but the beginning and ending did not match up. All in all it was an interesting and educational read. If the world of finance is your thing, then it’s worth reading – but don’t expect a movie spectacular.
March 13, 2014
** Originally written for Book Bliss book blog. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased and honest review**
Review:3 stars
General: I found this book to be extremely interesting and entertaining, but maybe not for the right reasons. I'll explain and you can decide.
I grabbed this book without reading the synopsis - I like to do that a lot and for this one it kind of backfired. This book has some fantastic bones to it. The material in question is very heavy and possibly confusing to no need. But David made it easy to understand and at no point was I bored to tears reading the explanations of things. I found it to truly be the heart of the book and would recommend this whole heartedly to anyone curious about the financial institution or who love the books that teach you things.
However for me, I found the plot a little fanciful and yet, hard to hold my attention. The writing was wonderful, the storyline was just not for me. The research and world building for the law and finance side were top notch, I do wish some more had gone into the characters because they felt a little 2d for me still.
Review:3 stars
General: I found this book to be extremely interesting and entertaining, but maybe not for the right reasons. I'll explain and you can decide.
I grabbed this book without reading the synopsis - I like to do that a lot and for this one it kind of backfired. This book has some fantastic bones to it. The material in question is very heavy and possibly confusing to no need. But David made it easy to understand and at no point was I bored to tears reading the explanations of things. I found it to truly be the heart of the book and would recommend this whole heartedly to anyone curious about the financial institution or who love the books that teach you things.
However for me, I found the plot a little fanciful and yet, hard to hold my attention. The writing was wonderful, the storyline was just not for me. The research and world building for the law and finance side were top notch, I do wish some more had gone into the characters because they felt a little 2d for me still.
February 14, 2014
Advanced Reading Copy from NetGalley
I learned a lot from this book but can't honestly say that I understood everything laid out. The financial world is still a land of mystery to me. I liked the writing style but was a bit disappointed in the "preachy" ending. I will most likely read more of Mr. Mallach's work so I can learn more about this odd place called financial services.
I learned a lot from this book but can't honestly say that I understood everything laid out. The financial world is still a land of mystery to me. I liked the writing style but was a bit disappointed in the "preachy" ending. I will most likely read more of Mr. Mallach's work so I can learn more about this odd place called financial services.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews