The Devil's Financial Dictionary

by Jason Zweig

Your Survival Guide to the Hades of Wall StreetThe Devil's Financial Dictionary skewers the plutocrats and bureaucrats who gave us exploding mortgages, freakish risks, and banks too big to fail. And it distills the complexities, absurdities, and pomposities of Wall Street into plain truths and aphorisms anyone can understand. An indispensable survival guide to the hostile wilderness of today's financial markets, The Devil's Financial Dictionary delivers practical insights with a scorpion's sting. It cuts through the fads and fakery of Wall Street and clears a safe path for investors between euphoria and despair. Staying out of financial purgatory has never been this fun.

Genres: Finance, Business, Economics, Nonfiction, Money, Personal Finance, Humor

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

Jason Zweig is an investing and personal finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal.

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good. I was listening to Patrick O'Shaughnessy's podcast interview with Jason Zweig and thought it sounded good. I also like Zweig's columns in the WSJ, so I got the book. I would say that the overarching point of this book is the folly of expecting to beat the market. Whether through individual trading or trying to pick a winning fund manager, the odds are against the average investor beating the market, but the odds are high the fund manager will make money - lots of it over time.

Some of the definitions I enjoyed:
- Potential Conflict of Interest: actual conflict of interest
- Anomaly: an investing strategy that venerates a higher return than the market without obviously higher risk. Soon after results of anomalies are published, they begin to under perform.
-Contrarian: When markets fall apart, investors who call themselves contrarians turn out to be conformists.
-ETF: Incapable of leaving well enough alone, Wall Street has taken the good idea of ETFs and complicated them until many have become a bad idea.

Anyway, I think there are a couple themes. First, humans are more influenced by loss aversion than the possibility of gain. Therefore, individual investors are likely to buy high and sell low. Second, wall street gets rich, but the customers don't necessarily get rich. Therefore, be suspicious of anything you don't understand or that charges high fees.

[Dev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zweig is entertaining, sarcastic and honest and his vast knowledge along with the creative illustrations makes this dictionary a must read for financial professionals - although it should be mandatory for anyone having anything to do with money.

If you want to know why he calls your portfolio manager a sheep or a day trader an idiot or a sophisticated investor an oxymoron; why is it only human to be biased and why the hindsight bias may have nothing to do with the hind protection; why would somebody be stupid enough to call EBITDA bullshit earnings and how 1% fees may be the single most important factor in wealth creation - read this book.

People who work hard to earn money do not work hard to invest it, and instead hand it over to professionals who have a conflict of interest with them. This book gives you a head start on the truth about investing by doing away with complicated terminology and euphemisms used by these professionals all the time on TV and magazines. After reading this once, keep it accessible and use it often.

[Fares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite entertaining and, very often, spot on. However, I imagine that now after the pandemic several “corrections”, the rise of the Reddit crowds, and the hype around crypto, Tesla, and other securities, it very much needs many additions and updates! From the slang lingo of the redditors (aping, to the moon, …) to the crypto HODLers, Diamond hands, etc etc.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful, though cynical, discussion of a wide variety of issues involved in investing one's money with brokers and traders associated with "Wall Street," the American financial industry. The main warnings are to be aware that the real goal of brokers and traders is to maximize their own fees and commisions, and one's financial activity should be calibrated to minimize payment of those commisions and fees by understanding one's investments, buying to hold, trading minimally, and being able to weather the ups and downs of the prices of financial instruments with the eye on the long run increase in value. Framed as a dictionary, with the icy realism of Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary" definitions in mind.
Read as bedtime reading, for which it was ideal, with brief but pithy entries and pointedly cynical examples of the use of the defined terms by self-serving members of the financial industry.
I will remember the author's clear-eyed understanding of the investment industry, and his equally clear-eyed assessment of the silliness, ignorance and herd mentality of the majority of "investors" who, like the brokers and dealers, are more focused on quick turnover profit rather than slow, steady accumulation of wealth. "Wealth, n. A quality existing exclusively in the soul and mind that most investors erroneously believe can be measured best by the amount of money in their bank and brokerage accounts."

[Cashinstinct · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to read alphabatically.

Definitions are funny and true, but I don't see how I could read such book from beginning to end... unsure how I was supposed to read all material of the book.

I could not finish it.

[Kanishka Sirdesai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious book which describes financial lingo through alphabets. A real page turner which made me laugh and smile a lot. Felt sad when I reached the end. Thank you Mr Zweig for enlightening us!

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Devil’s Financial Dictionary by Jason Zweig is a clever and witty take on Wall Street jargon, written in a style that blends humor with cynicism. The short entries make it easy to pick up and read in small chunks, and Zweig’s sharp observations do cut through the nonsense of the financial industry. That said, the book sometimes feels more like a collection of quips than a resource, and the snarky tone can wear thin after a while. Worth a read if you enjoy dry humor and want a satirical perspective on finance, but not essential if you’re looking for deeper insights.

[Leandro Melendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divertidisimo libro.... si es que se le puede llamar así pues en realidad si es un diccionario. Pero cada termino esta definido con tanta certeza, ironía y humor!
Definitivamente mi estilo de libro.
Un plus grandisimo es que como simplemente son términos, es una lectura perfecta para el baño pues no lleva trama ni nada, uno puede entrar, estudiar un par de definiciones y listo.
Obra de arte que recomiendo no solo a gente con interés inversion sino a todo el mundo!

[László Dr. Solti-Tóth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jason Zweig generally speaking is (at least) a highly valuable contributor of the investment (in its true meaning) literature , whose works are always end in my "to read" shelf, however this entartaining dictinoray produced my favourite and most frequently quoted tautology: see DAY TRADER;

and finally somebody explained properly what IPO really is about. :)

I use the quotes of his book to annoy my clients or ease the tension during transactions (depending to the recievers side).

[Tom Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource for anyone who is involved in investing. With smart humor, Jason Zweig explains all the jargon used on Wall Street to relieve the uninformed investor of his money. Anyone who uses a financial advisor needs to read this book before they even sit down to discuss a financial plan.

[Hunter Satterfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun, but informative book. It reads just like a dictionary, but focuses on finance/wealth management concepts. Each definition helps the reader understand the term, but also has a cynical add on which brings humor.

Probably best suited for those that enjoy finance or business books, but recommended for all.

[Monzenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amusing is how I would describe it best. Again I appreciate books that don't overstay their welcome, as well as those who are able to provide their discourse in a small package. This so-called dictionary is both an entertaining narrative and a surprisingly useful reference, so I guess calling it a financial dictionary is not false advertising.

[Thomas Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief but informative. A reflection of the blind leading the blind at Wall Street and in broader finance.

“… predicting the future prices of a financial asset by looking at its past prices, about as reliable as attempting to forecast tomorrow’s weather by studying yesterday’s. “

It will be worthwhile revisiting this book in a decade or so. For now, it’s an inside joke I’m not apart of.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clever and hard hitting takedown of the financial industry. I can’t say I learned anything though some of the entries are hilarious. At 231 pages this is pretty heavy reading and at about a third of the way through you can kind of see where it is going.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many literally laugh out loud moments.

[Amit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smarty pants look at Wall St. and financial markets.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun and entertaining book for someone who knows the financial sector, a lot of sarcasm thrown around and easy to read

[Jonathan Newnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cynical but educational

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this before you invest

Funny and thought provoking. If you like your financial advice with a dose of humor this is your book. Recommended.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than a few well-placed jabs in this one

[Ariayuda · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun to read this book, actually it will be one of my favorite book, it gives me many information that sometimes makes me fooled,

[David O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reminder that much of the financial industry and news is for the benefit of the industry and not the investor. Fun listen if you enjoy sarcasm.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a world with so much financial jargon, this book has a humorous take on what it all means. Hilarious examples that are related to actual events.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

very yummy book…

weird aftertaste tho

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review can be found here:
https://coil.com/p/Miguel_Se7/-Book-R...

[Ana Karen Eng Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es un libro muy interesante obvio más para los fans en el tema de contabilidad y finanzas, pero lo recomiendo a todo el público en general porque si quieres hacer ciertos movimientos financieros en tu vida este libro te da consejos muy útiles para equivocarte lo menos posible. Lleno de humor y buenos ejemplos este libro es muy interesante y lo recomiendo fervientemente.

[kerrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book is very comprehensive, the only problem is I hate all things finance! But if I was interested in finance, this would be my first choice for an introduction into the language surrounding finance.

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jason Zweig's writing style. His relentless cynicism about the financial industry puts it into perspective.

In his attempt to humorously criticize and point out the worst of an industry or profession he leaves no one behind. Being a financial journalist himself he has no shame in describing a financial journalist as "someone who is an expert at moving words about markets around on a page or screen until they sound impressive, regardless of whether they mean anything."

Not only is the book entertaining it serves to clear up the confusion in the way no textbook will. His main idea is the warning to investors to always keep in mind that whoever they choose to deal with is looking after their own interests first.

[Kent Winward · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Devil's Financial Dictionary" by Jason Zweig. Humorous at times, i.e. for the definition of "Idiot" it said, "See Day Trader." Although a dictionary of humor it is also accurate, based in part off of Ambrose Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary" and in part on financial illeteracy, from which much of the humor is derived.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not at the level of Ambrose Bierce (author of the original Devil's Dictionary), but it's still an entertaining read. I find much financial and economic information unfathomable, but I actually learned a fair amount from the bite-sized chunks in this book.