| Preface | 6 |
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| Acknowledgements | 8 |
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| Contents | 11 |
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| List of Figures | 13 |
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| Chapter 1: Understanding the Money Markets | 15 |
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| Chapter 2: Understanding the Fixed Income Markets | 23 |
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| The Argument for Investing in Fixed Income Instruments | 24 |
| Risks in the Bond Markets | 27 |
| Credit Ratings and Issuer Risk | 28 |
| Interest Rate Risk | 31 |
| How Likely Is a Default in the Global Bond Market? | 32 |
| Chapter 3: Understanding Equity Markets | 35 |
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| Time Horizon | 36 |
| Diversification Usually Works in Your Favor When Selecting Equities for Your Investment Portfolio | 36 |
| Price Volatility | 38 |
| Chapter 4: Derivatives and Structured Products | 41 |
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| Using Options in the Money Market Segment of Your Investment Portfolio | 44 |
| Using Options with the Bond or Fixed Income Portion of Your Portfolio | 48 |
| Using Options with the Equity Portion of Your Portfolio | 49 |
| Chapter 5: The Key to Investing Wisely | 52 |
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| Have a Time Horizon | 52 |
| Set Your Own Internal Risk Tolerance Level | 53 |
| Have a Return Expectation | 54 |
| Have a Yardstick for Managing Investment Success | 55 |
| Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket | 57 |
| Chapter 6: Three Useful Concepts to Investing Wisely | 59 |
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| Understanding Systemic Risk vs. Non-systemic Risk | 59 |
| The Concept of Correlation | 60 |
| Understanding the Concept of Standard Deviation | 62 |
| Chapter 7: Building an Investment Portfolio | 65 |
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| Building a Conservative or Income Risk Portfolio | 65 |
| Building a Balanced or Moderate Risk Portfolio | 69 |
| Building an Aggressive or Growth Risk Portfolio | 73 |
| Chapter 8: Understanding International Indices and Exchange Traded Funds | 79 |
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| Understanding ETFs | 83 |
| Chapter 9: Understanding Benchmarking | 88 |
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| Applying the Concept of Benchmarking to Your Investment Process | 90 |
| Benchmark by Type | 91 |
| Benchmark by Geography | 92 |
| Assessing the Usefulness of Benchmarks | 93 |
| Chapter 10: Investing in the Future: The Glass Is Half Full | 95 |
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| Continued Globalization of Investment Choices | 96 |
| Continued Proliferation of Hi-tech Investment Gadgetry that Brings Information to the Individual Investor | 99 |
| Continued Threat of Global Conflicts and New and Different Market Risks | 101 |
| Greater Effort by All Governments to Collect Taxes and Erect Tax Compliance Legislation | 101 |
| Continued Opportunities to Grow One’s Wealth! | 102 |
| Index | 106 |