Rule #1: The Simple Strategy for Successful Investing in Only 15 Minutes a Week! | 
 enlarge | Author: Phil Town
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.67
You Save: $6.28 (42%)
New (32) from $8.67
Avg. Customer Rating:  148 reviews
Sales Rank: 3463
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0307336840
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.6
EAN: 9780307336842
ASIN: 0307336840
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
Phil Town is now a very wealthy man, but he wasn't always. In fact, he was living on a salary of $4000 a year when some well-timed advice launched him down a highway of investing self-education that revealed what the true "rules" are and how to make them work in one's favor. Chief among them, of course, is "rule #1": "don't lose money." Other rules are: don't diversify...think like an owner, not an investor ... never, ever be seduced into thinking the market is efficient. Town also believes strongly in "betting on the jockey," putting your faith in managers who've proven their financial mettle. Not only does Town reveal fresh methods for identifying who the truly reliable managers are, but he shows you how to test whether they really have faith in the businesses they're running.
By far, the most controversial of the audiobook's assertions will be that giant 401(k) type mutual funds can't help but regress to the mean, and in the next twenty years, the mean could be very disappointing indeed. There's a very real chance that a 401(k) investor could see his holdings not grow at all in the next few decades. Fortunately, Town's stockpicking techniques are meant to walk investing phobes through the do-it-yourself process, equipping them with the tools they need to make quantum leaps toward financial security.
Rule #1 says something new, and it says it in a way that every listener can understand.
From the Compact Disc edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 143 more reviews...
 VERY repetitive. July 16, 2008
Phil seems like a nice guy and I'm glad he is sharing his investment knowledge because it appears by all accounts rock solid. But this book could have easily been cut in half in terms of number of pages to reduce the number of times he repeats himself. It seems like he mentions the calculators on his website every other page. It's almost as if the book was written so that if you picked it up in the bookstore and opened it to any random section there would be a mention of his website or the term "Rule #1". In addition, he dangles the carrot in front of you forever before getting to the goods. Folks this gets VERY tiring when you just want to get to at least a morsel of pertinent information. This book would get only one star from me had the strategy laid out not been so enlightening. I am not an author and I have never written a negative book review before...
 Rule #1 June 26, 2008
Great book about the strategy of investing. Solid advice written in practical language for the novice; good even for seasoned "I know it all" investors and investment consultants. Common sense to the max!!!
 Save Your Money!!!!! June 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Turns $1000 into $1Million....but does not tell you how he did it. This book to all about timing the market. So much for his "strategy" because it is allready priced into the markets.
Numerous references to Warren Buffet in this book...Warren Buffet would not endorse this book.
The way this guy is a millionaire is by selling this hoax.
Better reading would be: The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing
SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!
A Clear Read May 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I first saw Phil Town on "The Millionaire Inside" on CNBC, which prompted me to pick up his book. I found his book provides clear, step-by-step instructions on how to buy wonderful companies that have personal meaning, and purchasing them for at least a 50% discount, and then watching how they perform in the market. He introduced "tools" to check every day for a couple of minutes, depending on how many companies you purchase, but he advises to start slow with one company until you get familiar with what you are doing. I thought this book was great and has motivated me to find my first company to invest in and start earning those 15% returns.
I'm pretty sure Warren Buffett would approve of this book April 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First off, I was actually embarrassed to pick and read this book given its cheesy marketing. On the surface it looks like a ridiculous infomercial with outrageous claims. For example, the author claims he turned $1000 to 1 million in 5 years. That is approximately a 400% rate of return. Very impressive but I was and still am skeptical. 15 minutes a week is also an exaggeration. He also portrays himself as a guy with average intelligence and drive. I don't believe that and I mean that as a complement to Phil Town. He strikes me as well read, driven, and with above average intelligence. He is also an outstanding teacher.
But getting past the marketing, I am extremely impressed with Town's book. It is very clearly written, engaging, and has sound investment advice. As a Warren Buffett fan, I have tried to copy his investment strategy but no other time have I seen his strategy laid out so clearly for readers to follow. Of course, I believe there are some points that diverge from the Buffet school of investing. For example, I don't believe Buffett would endorse technical analysis as much as Town. Partially this is due to Buffett dealing with enormous sums of money but even if that were not the case, I don't think Buffet would ever talk about tools like stochastics or MACD. I understand Town's rationale for introducing these concepts to individual investors but am still skeptical. Furthermore, his explanation of how these tools work was unsatisfactory. In all fairness, he does admit that he does not want to go into details as to how the tools work.
Phil Town does an outstanding job spoon-feeding his methodology. He definitely deserves praise for that. The book is valuable to the reader especially for a non-professional investor, but if you really step back and try to understand what drives his model, you will find it to be a very simple and perhaps un-elegant model. Basically you look at past growth rates and assume that the company will continue its trajectory (huge assumption). If the growth rates are over 15% (which is rare in a company that has been in business for awhile. Microsoft grew at about 8%) and the current PE ratio is significantly below historical levels (or 2 times growth rates) then you buy the stock. Using this methodology does give the investor a huge margin of safety but good luck finding companies that meet the criteria. If they do fit then you have to find out if there is a good reason why they are trading at such a large discount.
Phil Town does a great job enlightening readers but I think he probably makes most of his money now by giving advice and not by actually investing his own money.
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