In her useful new book, Gillian Tett of The Financial Times writes that the global financial meltdown, which economists estimate could result in total losses from $2 trillion to $4 trillion, was “self-inflicted.”
People wanting basic advice about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement planning, and tax strategies are often frustrated by information overload. Picking the right book seems as daunting as deciding what to do with their savings and investments.
Few families are able to pass along their wealth successfully to the next generation. The barriers to keeping money in the family are much more formidable than the barriers to making money in the first place.
John C Bogle, the man who pioneered cheap, index funds for the masses more than 30 years ago, says rampant greed on Wall Street has been siphoning billions of dollars that would otherwise go to investors.
El-Erian, the co-chief executive of Pimco, the money management firm, wants to explain the current turmoil in the global markets, outline what investors should do to take advantage of the changing landscape, and offer advice to policy makers about how to handle the rapidly changing, and increasingly interrelated, global economy.