The Quest for Alpha: The Holy Grail of Investing

This newest book by Mr Swedroe will be one of the all-time classics in the literature on investing!Unlike other excellent books on passive investing by Swedroe, Bogle, Bernstein, Ferri, Ellis, and Malkiel, this book does not tell you how to choose an asset allocation or specific types of funds. Instead he has distilled the several decades of academic research on passive investing [index funds] vs. actively managed funds [market timing, stock picking], and with these facts and clear logic and prose, written what should be the last word on the subject.Buy and read this book! Then, when the market ais zooming, or even more, when the market breaks, take it out and read it again before the Sirens of Wall Street lure you with their next "hot new product".I have always learned many things from reading [and re-reading] Mr Swedroe's books, but I think I enjoyed this one the most [so far], even though I had read many of the source materials [as many as I have been able to find and digest].With many of the heroes of everyday investors [Bogle, Ellis, Malkiel] now in their 80s, we [and they!] can rest assured that their efforts will be continued by the "younger" generation.

Let me repeat what some of my shipmates have already said, Larry Swedroe have done it again. Caveat Emptor, I have read every single book written by Larry Swedroe (written solo, or with members of his team). I follow his "Wise Investing" blog. The Quest for Alpha is easy to read, and easy to follow, but here is a warning, make sure you find a comfortable place to start reading the book because you are not going to let it go for a couple of hours. And here is another warning, if you are looking for a book about beating the markets or how to make an easy buck investing, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a winning strategy (in investing), then order this book today, and if you can not order the book for some reason, then take a walk (walking is good) to your favorite public library and do a quick review (if the book is available). Thanks for reading.p.s. Good job to "Team Amazon" for delivering a copy of this book in record time.

I'm an amature when it comes to investing but am always reading on ways to invest my 401k. I have been interested in index funds for some time and saw an article in a newpaper about this book. I ordered the book in the hopes it wasn't over my head in financial jargon. After reading, I was very satifified. It was something I could understand and it was just what I needed to learn why index funds are what I was looking for. I'm happy to settle for average rather than try and pick the next big winner and maybe getting stuck with the next big loser. I'm currently in the process of a gradual rebalancing with index funds. My wife and I recently retired, so I wanted to keep some money in stock based mutuals and not just bonds but didn't want to gamble anymore than necessary. Results yet to be determined............but the book is great.

This book is well written and what is advocated includes1. Buy index funds or ETFs rather than actively managed funds. This is backed by a lucid explanation along with signficant evidence.2. If you choose to have someone else manage your money, then it should be a fee based manager and not the ordinary broker representative.3. You can manage your own money if you can meet the criteria in Appendix B which includes that you have an interest in doing so, have the discipline, the knowledge base, as well as execute the rules in Appendix A which has 30 rules of investing.The author offers model portfolios which include US stocks, International Stocks, Intermediate duration bonds, and S&P Commodity Index in different proporptions.What worries me about the advice offered in this book, is that the portfolios were tested from 1975-2009. This excludes the 1973-1974 bear market which the author probably would have included if data had been available, Also, going forward we are in an era of enormous sovereign debts with inherent leverage and these portfolios may not work as well. Other asset classes may be needed depending on future economic scenarios and reactions in the financial markets. An example, I would offer would be gold and precious metals which may be useful to put in future portfolios. Gold and precious metals are not at all in the index of the book; even if the author feels that this asset class is a poor idea, I believe his thinking on the topic should have been discussed.The author discusses about the desire to avoid risk once you have acqjuired wealth, however I am not sure his portfolios accomplish to the extent he believes going forward. At the very least, more discussion about future scenarios in view of current circumstances would be in order. Otherwise, I would say that this book is well written.For readers of this review who share my reservations on this book, please see my review of "Investing in the Age of Sovereign Defaults" by Peter Treadway.

I have just finished Mr. Swedroe's newest book. It is a must-read for anyone that has an interest in their own finances, wether as do-it-yourself or with a financial advisor. For years I was content to let others manage my retirement funds. I had no real interest in financial matters... as long as the bottom line kept increasing, I was happy. Boy, did I cost myself money! "The Quest for Alpha" has reinforced the actions I've taken in the past few months and has given me insights into changes I need to make in managing my portfolio into the future. This is probably the best $14.78 I'll spend this year! Another great feature: if you have a question, email the author. Larry will respond promptly... he did for me!Mike S.