The Investor's Paradox
We're all familiar with "choice overload," whether on a trip to the grocery
store, or while flipping through satellite TV channels. And while it's human to want all
of the options, the surprising truth is that the more choice we have, the less satisfied
we are. And nowhere is this more true - or more dangerous - than in our investments.
Despite the troubled global economy, there are tens of thousands of mutual funds, hedge
funds, exchange-traded funds, and other vehicles waiting to take your money. For help,
individual and institutional investors alike turn to financial managers, though they are
often no better equipped than the average person to assess and manage risk.
In The Investor's Paradox, hedge fund expert Brian Portnoy explains
how to sift through today's diverse investment choices and solve even the most daunting
portfolio problems. Drawing on cutting-edge research in behavioral economics, social
psychology and choice theory, Portnoy lays bare the biases that interfere with good
decision-making, and gives readers a set of basic tools they can use to tell the good from
the bad. Along the way, he demystifies hedge funds, cuts through the labyrinth of the
modern financial supermarket, and debunks popular myths, including the idea that mutual
funds can "beat the market.
Preface: The Trillion Dollar Job No One Talks About
PART I. CONTEXTS 1. Introduction: Picking Winners 2. The Science (and Art) of Being
Wrong 3. Alternative States
PART II. TOOLS 4. Managing Expectations 5. Madoff's Hobgoblins 6. The Devil(s) You Know
7. Touring Lake Wobegon
PART III. EXTENSIONS 8. The Social Network 9. Gorillas in the Mist 10. Mirror, Mirror
11. Conclusion: More
256 pages, Hardcover