Reading Room: There for the Taking

There for the

Taking

Think that Wall Street isonly interested in promotinga system that benefits itselffirst? Ever feel like the odds arestacked against you in theinvesting game? Then James N.Whiddon's book (True Beta Publishers;2004) is right for you. All investors havethe right to benefit from free capitalmarkets, and he insists that Wall Streetautocrats have usurped our rights asinvestors. He claims that there should beno losers and that free capital marketsmake it possible for everyone to win.

Whiddon carefully examines thepopular technique of active managementand explains why these failedmethodologies are well aligned withWall Street's interests, but are misalignedwith the interests of individualphysician-investors. He looks at the tendencyof most investors tochase returns, which, combinedwith their inability totime and pick the market,results in investors buyinghigh and selling low, thusnetting less than half of themarket index returns. Hegives advice on what type of advisor touse and what an advisor should andshould not do when servicing a client.

There for

the Taking

Whiddon criticizes the current marketpractices while also offering time-testedadvice and data that prove that marketreturns are there for the taking. Hedescribes how to properly arrange a portfoliothrough diversification, asset allocation,and investment vehicles. introduces a new way ofinvesting, which has investors' moneyworking for them, not just lining the walletsof Wall Street.