I saw this book prominently displayed when I was in Borders this afternoon and couldn't resist having a (long!) flick through it.
It discusses several areas of investing such as shares and property and that these can help make you rich.
The author defines 'rich' as being a $5m a year income, but confesses that his income is below this (about $1m per year). Why is he writing this book at this stage of his career? Because people who have already achieved may have had their big wealth growth spurt some years ago and may have forgotten how they got there. To do it you need to have a killer instinct that some of the older writers may have lost.
I first went to the chapter on banks. This was a tirade of bank bashing, bad service, branch closures, obscene profits etc. Fun reading, but did it serve any purpose in an investment book? If I wanted to read that, I would have grabbed a Green Left Weekly from Swanston St or picked up a 'We should have a State Bank' pamphlet from the Larouchite/CEC group that hangs outside the local Commonwealth.
Oh there is some other stuff about presentation of certain information when applying for a loan, but it's got warnings like 'I did it but don't recommend you do' and 'it may not be technically legal' so this is of dubious value.
The next section of interest was the property chapter. Apart from saying that it's probably a good idea to get a property manager (especially if it's your first IP or you've got over 5 and self-management's a hassle) I didn't find much new there. Not even some pointers on selecting a good property manager.
So I went to the start of the book. There is a comment made that the book contains information not in other investing books. This is attributed to the author knowing stuff others don't. Yet not many pages away he whinges about other uninformed 'get rich quick' gurus with inflated egos. Pot.. Kettle.. Black?
He also has a go at magazines like 'Personal Investor' and the media for talking about the prospects of a property crash. Indeed he seems to belittle anyone who says that inner-city off the plan apartments (for example) might not go up as he would like.
Although if my strategy was based on deposit bonds, off the plan purchases and on-selling to a subsequent purchaser on the same day as your settlement happens, then I'd probably want to ridicule the naysayers as well!
There was some funny terminology which made me think the book wasn't Australian even if it was published here. For instance LTV instead of LVR and some other term for 'property manager'. I was right; the author comes from UK/Ireland, but he should really familiarise himself with the local lingo.
Provided is a list of suggested reading which could well be the best part of the book. Spann, Kiyosaki and DeRoos are amongst those that are mentioned; Somers, Waxman, Renton, Lomas, Wakelin, McKnight and Bell are not. And Donnelly, Ryder or Jenman most certainly aren't either!
It might be just me, but the book reminded me a lot of Henry Kaye. I didn't read the share sections, but if they're anywhere like what I read there about property, they could be downright dangerous, especially in the current market.
Though I'm usually a sucker for investing books, this is one didn't make the grade for me. Thus I didn't buy it, nor am I likely to, even if it hits the bargain shelves in a couple of months.
This is a shame, as overseas investing is (apparently) becoming popular due to our low yields and strong dollar, and the author could well have written a book about UK/Ireland investing for Aussies. Instead he has written something that covers the same ground as a hundred other titles but not done it nearly as well IMHO.
Rgds, Peter
It discusses several areas of investing such as shares and property and that these can help make you rich.
The author defines 'rich' as being a $5m a year income, but confesses that his income is below this (about $1m per year). Why is he writing this book at this stage of his career? Because people who have already achieved may have had their big wealth growth spurt some years ago and may have forgotten how they got there. To do it you need to have a killer instinct that some of the older writers may have lost.
I first went to the chapter on banks. This was a tirade of bank bashing, bad service, branch closures, obscene profits etc. Fun reading, but did it serve any purpose in an investment book? If I wanted to read that, I would have grabbed a Green Left Weekly from Swanston St or picked up a 'We should have a State Bank' pamphlet from the Larouchite/CEC group that hangs outside the local Commonwealth.
Oh there is some other stuff about presentation of certain information when applying for a loan, but it's got warnings like 'I did it but don't recommend you do' and 'it may not be technically legal' so this is of dubious value.
The next section of interest was the property chapter. Apart from saying that it's probably a good idea to get a property manager (especially if it's your first IP or you've got over 5 and self-management's a hassle) I didn't find much new there. Not even some pointers on selecting a good property manager.
So I went to the start of the book. There is a comment made that the book contains information not in other investing books. This is attributed to the author knowing stuff others don't. Yet not many pages away he whinges about other uninformed 'get rich quick' gurus with inflated egos. Pot.. Kettle.. Black?
He also has a go at magazines like 'Personal Investor' and the media for talking about the prospects of a property crash. Indeed he seems to belittle anyone who says that inner-city off the plan apartments (for example) might not go up as he would like.
Although if my strategy was based on deposit bonds, off the plan purchases and on-selling to a subsequent purchaser on the same day as your settlement happens, then I'd probably want to ridicule the naysayers as well!
There was some funny terminology which made me think the book wasn't Australian even if it was published here. For instance LTV instead of LVR and some other term for 'property manager'. I was right; the author comes from UK/Ireland, but he should really familiarise himself with the local lingo.
Provided is a list of suggested reading which could well be the best part of the book. Spann, Kiyosaki and DeRoos are amongst those that are mentioned; Somers, Waxman, Renton, Lomas, Wakelin, McKnight and Bell are not. And Donnelly, Ryder or Jenman most certainly aren't either!
It might be just me, but the book reminded me a lot of Henry Kaye. I didn't read the share sections, but if they're anywhere like what I read there about property, they could be downright dangerous, especially in the current market.
Though I'm usually a sucker for investing books, this is one didn't make the grade for me. Thus I didn't buy it, nor am I likely to, even if it hits the bargain shelves in a couple of months.
This is a shame, as overseas investing is (apparently) becoming popular due to our low yields and strong dollar, and the author could well have written a book about UK/Ireland investing for Aussies. Instead he has written something that covers the same ground as a hundred other titles but not done it nearly as well IMHO.
Rgds, Peter
