The Shortest Investment Book Ever – Review

I just finished James O’Donnell’s book called The Shortest Investment Book Ever: Wall Street Secrets for Making Every Dollar Count. For such a short book, the title is pretty long isn’t it? Well, it is short – about 140 pages and it is smaller in size as well. I think I read it cover to cover in about 4 hours.

I think James hit the nail on the head with this one. He makes it pretty clear that the purpose of this book is to appeal to audiences who haven’t read many and probably won’t read many more investment books. He keeps everything very basic and easy to understand.

401k investing

I think the greatest thing about this book is that he spends the first few chapters walking the reader through the steps of picking funds for your 401k. I know that many people have no idea how to pick funds for their 401k – James addresses this problem beautifully. He mentions each type of funds that you are likely to see in your 401k (or 403b) and explains what they are and what percentage you should ideally be contributing to each. I love keeping things simple and so I loved how he handled this seemingly complex topic. That said I am sure just like Dave Ramsey gets criticized for his simple approach, James may get some similar responses from Financial Advisors.

Mutual Fund companies

I was glad to see that he also suggested Index funds whenever possible and he explained a bit about what really goes on with Mutual Fund companies. Many people don’t understand how Mutual Funds make money and since the water is often very muddied, a lot of customers are okay with not knowing. James explains how they make money and gives some basic guidelines to look for when picking funds.

Other points

• James also explained what an IRA is and touched on the importance of opening one.
• He argued both sides of the Annuity debate, arming the reader with the knowledge he/she needs to decide.
• He also explained why he doesn’t use socially conscious funds basically saying that they are not all they are cracked up to be.
• I love how he finishes the book explaining from his own story that money does not equate to happiness. He tries to drive the point home that there is much more to life than money.

What the book is NOT

The book is called The Shortest Investment Book Ever. So as you would assume it does not go into huge amounts of detail about all of the topics James hits on. If you have read Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor, or if you even know what it is, this book is probably a bit too basic for you.

It also does not talk at all about getting out of debt or getting yourself into a position financially to start investing. The Total Money Makeover is what you need for that.

Who the book is perfect for

I think this book is absolutely perfect for people who don’t know what funds to select for their 401k (or 403b). Seriously, he explains the selection and allocation process simple enough that a five year old could understand. So, if you or someone you know has refused to start their 401k because they don’t know what to do with it – get this book.