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Why So Much in the Financial Services Business is a Mystery……         4
Who the Players are in Financial Services Firms………….….............      5
How the Business is Structured ………………………………………..      6

 Chapter Two

Where the Money Flows …………………………......………….…             9
How Financial Professionals Get Paid …………..………….…               10
The Role of the Broker Dealer ………………………………………...     11
The Role of the Custodian ………..……………………….……..              12

 Learning About 12 Types of Financial Professionals………...…             14
What Estate Planning is Really All About ……...………………...             18
All About Financial Planners …………………………………...…             21
Things to Look for in a Financial Professional……....……………....        27

Should You Manage Your Own Investments?…………………….…       31
The Benefits of Hiring a Professional Financial Advisor………...…….. 35
Why a Little Difference in Return Makes a Big Difference in Your Retirement Income………............................................................................................... 37

Chapter Five

Questions You Should Ask Your Financial Professional ……….…….   39
Things to Think About If You Want to Manage Your Money ……             40

Chapter Six

The Three Ways to Manage Money………………………….…….           42
Asset Allocation ……………………………………………….…………   42
Which Method of Managing Money Works the Best………..……..          49
Market Timing ………………………...……………………….….……….. 51
Security Selection …………………………………………….……….       52
Portfolio Optimization ………………………………....………..…             55
Simplified Example ………..…………..……………………….…..…        58
Why Optimizing Is Not Needed …...................…………….……...             64

Chapter Seven

All About Mutual Funds …………  ……………….…………….…             64
Mutual Fund Turnover and Tax Efficiency ……...…………………….…   72
All About Mutual Fund Share Classes …..…………………….…             74

Chapter Eight

Miscellaneous Investing Information …..………..……………..…            80
The Five Different Investment Risk Tolerance Categories ….…………80
Why You Should Avoid Target Funds, Life Cycle Funds, and ETFs ...  84
Why You Should Avoid "Crap Bonds" (asset backed-securities) .. ...   87
The Current Fad / About Private Money Managers  ….....……………. 89
Why You Shouldn’t Invest Proceeds from Home Refinancing …….…   91
Hedge Fund Tutorial ………………………………..……..………….      95
Dollar Cost Averaging …………………..……....……...…………           97
Why You Should Avoid American Funds ……....……...…………         101
Monte Carlo Software …………...……………....……...…………         108
About Using a Discount Broker to Custody Your Money …..………    115
 
Chapter Nine

About Managing Your 401(k) / 430(b) and Similar Plans……......      121
Sample Asset Allocations for 401(k) Plans ………..………………    132

Chapter Ten

More About the Financial Services Industry………………..…            145
What Life is Like Working for Financial Professionals……....……    145
Why There’s No Jobs in the Financial Services Industry……..…        150
Everything You Need to Know About Being a CFP ………… .           154