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INTRODUCTION

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“The investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth.”

—Warren Buffett

The literary market is filled with investment books, some good, some bad, most talking about the same old investment strategies. I started my career as an investment broker and then as a vice president at a well-known brokerage firm for many years, which provided me with an up-close-and-personal insider’s view of the operations of the stock market. I read my fair share of those books as an investment professional and as an investor myself. I always felt that the books that were meant for the individual investor were missing much of the underlying information that was critical to actually succeeding in the market.

It was also during this time in my career that I realized that average American Investors are at a disadvantage in calculating their adjusted cost basis for their securities. Investors have always been responsible for reporting their capital gains on the Schedule D correctly, yet they were at a disadvantage by not having access to all of the information needed to properly calculate their cost basis. So in response, I began a software company that markets an automated solution to everyday taxpayers so that they can access the same information the professionals have.

Even though I have been in the brokerage business for some time now, the evolution of the market, the recent financial crisis, and other drastic paradigm shifts inspired me to once again bring the average American Investor on the inside, so I wrote Death of the American Investor.

History can provide us with so much valuable information, but we don’t seem to take advantage of it. Do we just have short memories, or are emotions like greed so strong that they supersede all rational thought and carry us to the brink of disaster, taking all willing parties with us?

Death of the American Investor is also about rebirth. It is about a Phoenix bird rising from the ashes of financial disaster. It is about a world where investors are empowered to take control of their investments and, with technologically advanced tools, make solid, strong, sound decisions that will provide them with prosperous futures.

In this book, we will travel through time and look at the history of the stock market. We will examine the current environment for investors and review the insidious investment scams and Ponzi schemes that have rattled the collective American mindset, not to mention the numerous financial institutional failures. We will take a look at the trend toward a paperless society and investment world and the exciting innovations that lie ahead for investors.

Equally important is an understanding of the elements that make up investments, whether they are stocks, estate planning, retirement, taxes, mutual funds, or bonds. The year 2011 marks the first time cost basis regulations, courtesy of the IRS, will go into effect. There are decisions to be made about all of these things that dramatically impact investors’ outcomes from now on.

And there is the discussion about brokers’ fees. As an investor, if you decide to take more control over your investments, you will want to take these into strong consideration, especially given the conflicts of interest that have surfaced in news reports in the past few years regarding brokerage firms.

Speaking of brokerage firms, we will cover some behind-the-scenes secrets your broker never told you about, lifting the veil of secrecy in the brokerage world. An informed investor is an empowered investor.

What does this all mean? What are you supposed to do about it? Why should you care? It’s your money, that’s why. You don’t have to sit back and be at the mercy of some giant investment firm with a broker who tells you what to do and pushes the buttons for you. There are amazing tools available that are remarkably easy to use and allow you to push the buttons yourself. You control your money and your future, and you don’t have to worry about seeing it go down with the Titanic if and when another financial institution fails.

Controlling your financial destiny and building your wealth—that’s what this book is all about.

—Nico Willis

Author, Death of the American Investor

Death of the American Investor

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