New to investing

bostonerimus

Linton wrote: »

The FTSE World Index dropped by about 50% from the height of the tech boom and about 40% in the 2008/9 crash. A very large fall twice in 17 years so the chances of a 50% decline in the FTSE World Index don't seem that small. . Any reason why VLS100 would have behaved very differently?

Why do you limit your sample to 17 years? 50% declines are rare, 20% "corrections" are not. It's always good to be prepared for the worst case though.

eskbanker

elephantrosie wrote: »

when i was a 26 yo child, i have about 2k of assets.

Great, thanks for the insightful post, which will have helped OP and others hugely in their desire to learn something useful about investing.... What age of child are you now?

schiff

This comes from Monevator today. Not a recommendation from me as I've not read the books, nor intend to, but it seems to be a useful introduction for the new investor:

QUOTE:[[I enjoyed a top floor view over the Thames this week at the book launch for the second edition of Lars Kroiker’s Investing Demystified. It was a pleasure too to meet his family including his young children, one of whom said she hadn’t read her father’s book because it was likely to be “gobbledygook”.

It’s commendable to be so skeptical at such a tender age about people who promise to share the secrets of making money. But Monevator readers who know Lars from his contributions to our website will surely beg to differ.

Indeed many of you have already read the first edition of Investing Demystified. Should you get the second? It’s substantially the same book, but Lars notes:

“Compared to the earlier edition I have downplayed the addition of non-essential elements to the book and moved to the Appendix a number of more tangential points, while keeping the core elements and focus on the rational portfolio unchanged.”

You probably don’t need both editions, then, unless you’re a Kroijer completist (in which case you ought to get his enjoyable hedge fund book, too).

If you’re new, starting with the new edition (which costs £16-ish from Amazon) is the way to go.]]

schiff

eskbanker wrote: »

... What age of child are you now?

You're heading for getting a slap in the face

bostonerimus

schiff wrote: »

This comes from Monevator today. Not a recommendation from me as I've not read the books, nor intend to, but it seems to be a useful introduction for the new investor:

I enjoyed a top floor view over the Thames this week at the book launch for the second edition of Lars Kroiker’s Investing Demystified. It was a pleasure too to meet his family including his young children, one of whom said she hadn’t read her father’s book because it was likely to be “gobbledygook”.

I had a quick look at Krolker's videos and he's a complete Boglehead......very little financial gobbledygook.......I approve.

Linton

bostonerimus wrote: »

Why do you limit your sample to 17 years? 50% declines are rare, 20% "corrections" are not. It's always good to be prepared for the worst case though.

How rare is "rare"?

I cant get any world index data before 2002. If you know of charts of world indices going back much earlier pls could you supply a link.

eskbanker

schiff wrote: »

You're heading for getting a slap in the face

How's the post-Sunderland job hunting going?

Superscrooge

schiff wrote: »

This comes from Monevator today. Not a recommendation from me as I've not read the books, nor intend to, but it seems to be a useful introduction for the new investor:

QUOTE:[[I enjoyed a top floor view over the Thames this week at the book launch for the second edition of Lars Kroiker’s Investing Demystified. It was a pleasure too to meet his family including his young children, one of whom said she hadn’t read her father’s book because it was likely to be “gobbledygook”.

It’s commendable to be so skeptical at such a tender age about people who promise to share the secrets of making money. But Monevator readers who know Lars from his contributions to our website will surely beg to differ.

Indeed many of you have already read the first edition of Investing Demystified. Should you get the second? It’s substantially the same book, but Lars notes:

“Compared to the earlier edition I have downplayed the addition of non-essential elements to the book and moved to the Appendix a number of more tangential points, while keeping the core elements and focus on the rational portfolio unchanged.”

You probably don’t need both editions, then, unless you’re a Kroijer completist (in which case you ought to get his enjoyable hedge fund book, too).

If you’re new, starting with the new edition (which costs £16-ish from Amazon) is the way to go.]]

I've got the original version of 'Investing Demystified'. It's not the easiest read. Very technical in places but definitely includes useful information.

A much easier read is another book recommended by Monevator last year.

'The Behaviour Gap by Carl Richards. Simple Ways to stop doing dumb things with money'

It's a USA book, but still completely relevant to UK investors.
Click on the 'Look Inside' link below to get a sample.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Behaviour-Gap-Simple-Ways-Doing-Things-Money/1591844649

schiff

eskbanker wrote: »

How's the post-Sunderland job hunting going?

It took me a while but I eventually twigged it