In relation to:
The Elements of Investing
Burton G. Malkiel
Charles D. Ellis
http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Investing-Burton-G-Malkiel/dp/0470528494
http://delicious.com/mbgmbg/malkiel0mg
Some tidbits that I found interesting:
* The book has some interesting stats - people taller 6 ft make $5k more than those shorter and the rates on term life insurance have fallen ~50% in the last few years.
* Book describes the first speculative bubble as tulips in Holland in the 1630s.
* The book strongly advocates diversified indexes, including those with foreign stocks. It also plugs bond indexes, particularly those for shorter term bonds, and whole US market indexes.
* The book indicates that apx 2/3 of funds did worse than the market index. Why isn't this 50 pct as one would think this a zero sum game? The answer is fees. Also note that failed funds aren't usually included in the averages.
* The authors advice is unfortunately rather colored by their association with Vanguard. They disclose this but still end up plugging Vanguard funds.
