HOBOKEN, NJ--(Marketwire - April 28, 2009) - Getting your asset allocation right is the
single most important thing you can do in investing. Now average investors
can learn the secrets of the pros with "
Asset Allocation For Dummies®"
(Wiley, May 2009, $24.99), by financial expert Jerry A. Miccolis and
financial author Dorianne R. Perrucci.
"It has never been more important to get back to basics and structure your
investing on sound fundamentals," says Miccolis.
One of the first in-depth books on asset allocation written specifically
for consumers, "Asset Allocation For Dummies" is a comprehensive guide to
maximizing returns and minimizing risk with a portfolio designed to meet
your goals. In an easy-to-read format, it presents asset allocation as a
scientific, coherent strategy that investors, no matter how experienced,
can absorb and apply to their benefit.
"Working on this book has made it clear to me that the average investor can
easily use these time-tested investment strategies," Perrucci says.
The book covers how and why asset allocation works, and goes through the
process step-by-step: weighing risk and return, developing your investment
strategy, viewing your accounts holistically, determining your asset mix,
rebalancing your portfolio, coordinating your investments with your
long-range financial plan, managing taxes and costs, and measuring results.
Studies show that asset mix accounts for more than 90% of investment
results, with individual security selection and other factors responsible
for less than 10%. Yet most individual investors don't use asset allocation
to their advantage. Many believe that mixing stocks and bonds creates a
well-diversified portfolio. According to Miccolis, it does not -- you need
to add the right amount of other assets, such as commodities, to unlock the
power of asset allocation.
"You want the right mix of assets that typically don't move in sync with
each other."
One of the keys to making this all work is rebalancing, which demands that
you systematically sell some of your winners and buy more of your losers.
That's hard to do, but "Asset Allocation For Dummies" shows how to be
unemotional and disciplined about it.
It also shows how to "locate" your assets -- putting your tax-efficient
investments in your taxable accounts and your tax-inefficient investments
in your tax-deferred accounts -- and employ other tax-wise tactics so that
you keep more of what you've earned.
"Asset Allocation For Dummies" is available through Brinton Eaton Wealth
Advisors' Web site,
www.brintoneaton.com, and wherever books are sold.
About the Authors
Jerry A. Miccolis, CFA®, CFP®, is a widely quoted expert commentator
who has appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and on
CBS Radio and ABC-TV. He is a senior financial advisor and co-owner of
Brinton Eaton (
www.brintoneaton.com), a fee-only investment management, tax
advisory and financial planning firm in Madison, N.J.
Dorianne R. Perrucci (Scotch Plains, N.J.) is a freelance writer and editor
who has been published in The New York Times, Newsweek, and TheStreet.com.
She has worked on seven previous financial books, including "I.O.U.S.A."
(Wiley, 2008) and "The AARP Retirement Survival Guide" (Julie Jason,
Sterling Publishing, August 2009).
"Asset Allocation For Dummies®"
By Jerry A. Miccolis, CFA®, CFP® & Dorianne R. Perrucci
Wiley, 978-0-470-40963-3, May 2009, 360 pages
About For Dummies®
With near universal name recognition, more than 200 million copies printed,
and over 1,400 topics, For Dummies is the world's bestselling reference
series. With loyal customers around the globe, For Dummies enriches
people's lives by making knowledge accessible in a fun and easy way.
Described by the New York Times as "more than a publishing phenomenon, but
a sign of the times," For Dummies span every section of the bookstore,
covering everything from health to history, music to math, sports to
self-help, technology to travel, and more. The For Dummies brand has
expanded into new products and categories with an extensive licensed
product line, including fitness and hobby DVDs, grilling kits, business
software, cleaning products, automotive kits, craft kits, and apparel. For
more information, visit
Dummies.com.
For Dummies is a branded imprint of Wiley.
Contact Information: Contact:
Adrienne Fontaine
201-748-5626
afontain@wiley.com
Henry Stimpson
Stimpson Communications
508-647-0705
Henry@StimpsonCommunications.com