IndexFunds.com Staff

Winning With Index Mutual Funds

You get what you pay for, right?  Well, according to the recent book Winning with Index Mutual Funds, on Wall Street nothing could be further from the truth.  Most investors end up paying too much in fees for too little in performance.  The answer for most investors, of course, is index funds.

The book is actually quite readable--no small feat for a book on index funds.  The authors themselves admit that "indexing is about as glamorous as a box of rocks".  As would be expected, much attention is paid to the advantages of index funds.  Also included is a very good chapter on how to allocate your investments according to your time horizon and risk tolerance.  The back of the book contains some valuable information including a list of index mutual funds (slightly outdated, but that's why you have IndexFunds.com).

The authors have a combined 50 years of investment experience, and it shows.  Noticeably absent from the book is the pie-in-the-sky optimism that so dominates modern thinking towards the stock market and mutual funds.  Both authors have been through true bear markets and their advice is accordingly on the conservative side.  This advice would well serve the vast numbers of investors who have never seen a bear market.

The book would serve well as a good general reference on index funds.  It doesn't have quite the level of detail and information available in other books on the subject, but it should suffice for most index fund investors.

The Authors Jerry Tweddell is a former stockbroker with more than 20 years of experience in both individual and institutional investing.  He is currently an independent registered investment advisor.

Jack Pierce retired recently from Donaldson, Lufkin & Janrette.  He spent more than 30 years as a stockbroker and regional manager at major Wall Street firms.