Economics-and-finance

As a college student, I really wanted to take advantage of the current good market, but I didn't have a clue as to where to start. This book starts off by clearly explaining in layman's terms the in and outs of mutual funds. The author defines common terms and practices, and then he lists the 100 best mutual funds, broken down into specific types of funds, i.e. Aggressive Growth Funds, Balanced Funds, etc. Don't worry that the information in this book will soon be outdated, this book can be used as a long lasting reference. The information in the opening chapters can definitely be used in the future, and even though the performance of the top 100 funds changes from year to year, the companies listed are consistently top contenders. As further proof of my belief in this book; a week ago I knew nothing about investing, this week I made my first calls to several mutual funds to request prospectus'!

In the large market of mutual funds, there is a good chance that you can choose the wrong fund. This book will teach you the ways in which to investigate, buy, and trade mutual funds. I found the information contained about each mutual fund, it's purpose, value, etc. to be in depth and easy to understand. The explanations of statistical data are to the point, and the mutual funds listed as the best are convincing. Williamson explains the do's and don'ts of mutual funds and all of the lingo is explained. Get this book before you buy a fund!

The 2003 edition of The 100 Best Mutual Funds uses data through December 31, 2001.
The book is primarily a collection of two page profiles on each fund. The profiles start with a 5 star ranking system to grade Total Return, Risk Reduction, Management, Current Income and Expense Control. Next the author uses 5 category grades to evaluate up-market performance, down-market performance and predictablility of returns. The grades are excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. I have two problems with these grading systems. First, the categories are too broad, second the author does not specify which time period or periods he used to determine the up and down market performance.
Finally, the two page profiles should be replaced with tables. Tables would make it easier to compare the mutuals funds in each category to one another. Tables would also eliminate the "same words but different numbers" monotony of the text.
I would recommend using Standard & Poor's Net Advantage database if it is available at your local library. If not the American Association of Individual Investors www.aaii.com provides a quarterly mutual fund data table, focusing on low load funds, at a reasonable price. The table can be downloaded into an Excel Worksheet so you can use Excel's filter feature to produce a list of funds with specific criteria.

general information about mutual fund, something you can easily find on the internet.

A mutual fund is essentially held by shareholders and managed
for an investment fee. This book discusses some of the top
mutual funds in the market together with the considerable
returns. Top funds are American Century Global Gold,
Vanguard Health, Longleaf Partners, Clipper and Calamos Growth.
These funds all have a double digit yearly rate of return.
Aggressive growth funds tend to have the maximal capital gains.
These funds can turn downward in a faltering economy so it is
critical to invest coincidentally with an upturn. If you catch
the bottom of a recession and invest, it is possible to
have three to four times your money in just a few years.
Many of these funds have good investment newsletters which
are important to read carefully. The key is to diversify risk
by placing your portfolio in a managed risk mix of investments.
i.e. safe returns, intermediate risk and aggressive funds

I can't understand how a book that claims to offer/judge the best mutual funds in America can include any non-speciality load funds in the group. The author lists many equity funds with large loads and returns that are less than many no load funds he didn't list. Given the fact that there are so many no load funds with outstanding performance it just does not make any sense to include load funds in the book.

This book's title should really read "the 100 best (mostly loaded) mutual funds to own in america". I would not recommend it if you are building your portfolio with no-load mutual funds. Kirk Kazanjian's book would be a good alternative.

The book is kinda of a dump of data and conclusions that the FastTrack people originated years ago. Skip the book and go to the source.

This must have been a very helpful book when it was first published in 1996. It provides a good discussion of the financial issues one faces at retirement...income, risks, investment diversity. It also reviews good mutual fund bets for one retiring. Unfortunately the usefulness of the 1996 fund recommendations has diminished significantly. It's time for an update!

The Dot.com has dot.bombed--and this cipher selection stands as mute testimony to the reality that these two "rang the bell at the top" of the internet bubble by rushing this embarrasing collation into print.

Of their "Top 10" THREE are no longer in business, or are barely able to stay listed on exchanges, and the other 7 are equally ugly.

When Walden wrote his self-aggrandizing review, he stated there would be the potential for a 75% swing DOWN in a stock. HE A) wrote that after the bottom fell out of internet stocks, B) failed to warn that the "upper number" was closer to 98% swing down, not 75%, and C) failed to give eBay its due, a very very successful internet stock "to own."

And they BOTH missed PayPal, the young internet upstart--in business when they wrote this tout, who blew eBay's Billpoint in house payment service plumb off the race track as well.

Those who want to know what to short and when to short should be the only ones to buy Walden's advisory books...he's rung the bell at the top more than once by his cookie cutter, rush to press, just as the "game" is over and the momentum players surge to a new gambit tack. A review of his titles bears out this historic reality.

I agree with Peggy, this book doesn't have much meat even just for surveying the internet stocks landscape. "100 Best Internet Stocks to Own" by Greg Kyle does a much better job in this respect by providing more information on each company's background, major turn points of stock prices in their history, analysis of business challenges as well as opportunities. More informative and more insightful. Put these two books side by side, you'll notice the difference in no time.

Peggy Mannix has completely missed the point (and value) of Walden's latest book, and apparently didn't read his introduction. Yes, many of the stocks have gone down in value due to the correcting marketplace, but the point of the book is to provide guidance for those of us who want to include Internet companies as a part of our portfolios. I found the discussion about the many facets of the Internet marketplace extremely helpful in understanding how the new economy operates. As the title says, these stocks are "for the long run." If you're looking for get rich quick picks, look elsewhere. If you're looking for solid advice about incorporating internet stocks into your portfolio, Walden's book can be of tremendous help.