A dense but informative introduction to an unfamiliar investment vehicle.
A comprehensive overview of the benefits and drawbacks to an investment strategy.
In this business book, Gomez guides readers through the fundamentals of private mortgage lending and recommends it as less volatile and risky than equity investing for properly educated investors who are interested in actively managing their finances. The book opens with a general overview of liquidity and ways to save and invest money, from checking accounts to equities to annuities. It then moves to an explanation of private mortgage lending—higher-rate loans made by nonbanks to property owners in circumstances for which traditional loans are unavailable or not the best fit—and why investors who are looking for a less volatile option than the stock market may benefit from the relatively high returns and comparatively low risk of private lending. The book goes into detail as it explains how private lending works, including which laws and regulations govern the sector; the mechanics of issuing, servicing, and profiting from a loan; potential areas of concern and reasons for caution; and the corporate ownership structures available to investors, followed by a framework for assessing the potential value of an investment. Appendices provide further information on state-level foreclosure law, sample mortgage-related documents, and an exploration of the relationship between interest rates and bond prices.
The guide is an extremely detailed introduction to a complex topic, and throughout the text, Gomez reminds the reader that private lending is an effective strategy only for those who thoroughly educate themselves on the topic, find a solid mentor (“associating oneself with individuals who possess experience in the field the investor wants to participate in is in itself a risk-mitigating strategy”), and have a competent attorney available for all contracts and transactions, making it clear that the book and its recommendations are more applicable to a self-selected group than a general readership. At the same time, the book does not oversell the possibilities of private mortgage lending and provides tools for assessing the potential returns of the investment, adding to its credibility. While the information is often understandably complicated, Gomez does a good job of using clear, simple language in most places (“A good and safe rule to follow is to lend only on properties the lender would not mind owning, and only in areas in which the lender would not mind living”), making it highly accessible to readers without an advanced understanding of finance and investment. At the same time, Gomez does have a tendency to frequently reference and return to topics like the “unintended consequences” of Dodd-Frank and other regulations and the “artificially” low interest rates currently maintained by the Federal Reserve, which can make the text feel somewhat repetitive. On the whole, though, the amount of information conveyed more than justifies the book’s length, making it a worthwhile tool for readers interested in expanding their investment portfolios in a new direction.
A dense but informative introduction to an unfamiliar investment vehicle.Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-61244-815-2
Page Count: 440
Publisher: Halo Publishing International
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
More uncommonly sensible investment guidance from a master of the game. Drawing on his experience at Fidelity's Magellan Fund, a high- profile vehicle he quit at age 46 in 1990 after a spectacularly successful 13-year tenure as managing director, Lynch (One Up on Wall Street, 1988) makes a strong case for common stocks over bonds, CDs, or other forms of debt. In breezy, anecdotal fashion, the author also encourages individuals to go it alone in the market rather than to bank on money managers whose performance seldom justifies their generous compensation. With the caveat that there's as much art as science to picking issues with upside potential, Lynch commends legwork and observation. ``Spending more time at the mall,'' he argues, invariably is a better way to unearth appreciation candidates than relying on technical, timing, or other costly divining services prized by professionals. The author provides detailed briefings on how he researches industries, special situations, and mutual funds. Particularly instructive are his candid discussions of where he went wrong as well as right in his search for undervalued securities. Throughout the genial text, Lynch offers wry, on-target advisories under the rubric of ``Peter's Principles.'' Commenting on the profits that have accrued to those acquiring shares in enterprises privatized by the British government, he notes: ``Whatever the Queen is selling, buy it.'' In praise of corporate parsimony, the author suggests that, ``all else being equal, invest in the company with the fewest photos in the annual report.'' Another bull's-eye for a consummate pro, with appeal for market veterans and rookies alike. (Charts and tabular material— not seen.)
Pub Date: March 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-671-75915-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1993
Sure to generate debate, and of special interest to adherents of free market capitalism.
A book-length assertion that capitalism’s woes can be traced to government interventionism.
Sharma, an investments manager, financial journalist, and author of The 10 Rules of Successful Nations, The Rise and Fall of Nations, and other books, opens with the case of his native India. The author argues that it should be in a better position in the global marketplace, possessing an entrepreneurial culture and endless human capital. The culprit was “India’s lingering attachment to a state that overpromises and under-delivers,” one that privileged social welfare over infrastructure development. Much the same is true in the U.S., where today “President Joe Biden is promising to fix the crises of capitalism by enlarging a government that never shrank.” Refreshingly, Sharma places just as much blame on Ronald Reagan for the swollen state that introduced distortions into the market. Moreover, “flaws that economists blame on ‘market failures,’ including wealth inequality and inordinate corporate power, often flow more from government excesses.” One distortion is the government’s bloated debt, as it continues to fund itself by borrowing in order to pay for “the perennial deficit.” As any household budget manager would tell you, debt is ultimately unsustainable. Wealth concentration is another outcome of government tinkering that has, whether by design or not, concentrated wealth into the hands of a very small number of people, “a critical symptom of capitalism gone wrong, both inefficient and grossly unfair.” Perhaps surprisingly, Sharma notes that in quasi-socialist economies such as the Scandinavian nations, such interventions are fewer and shallower, while autocratic command economies are doomed to fail. “[T]oday every large developed country is a full-fledged democracy,” he writes, and the more freedom the better—but that freedom, he argues, is undermined by the U.S. government, which has accrued “the widest budget deficit in the developed world.”
Sure to generate debate, and of special interest to adherents of free market capitalism.Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781668008263
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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