Financial GURUS

We're nearing the end of RRSP season, and as I walk through the hallowed halls of CHAPTERS (one of my favorite stores) the piles of this years Investment Guru advice call out to everyone passing by.

In 20+ years of being licensed and working in the financial industry I've across exactly ONE "financial guru" that hasn't said something really stupid that cost people lots of money - and I suspect that's because he teaches FINANCIAL PLANNING concepts rather than which stock is the best, or which direction the market is going. That one person is DAVE RAMSEY - and if you get the chance, I strongly recommend taking his course (or take it on-line!) It's cheap, and if you follow what he teaches it'll literally be worth MILLIONS to you over your lifetime.

There are others I've found interesting - and some with some very valuable advice. Here, then, are my favorites.

Benjamin Graham: Wrote the two single best investing books ever, SECURITY ANALYSIS and THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR. Security Analysis has become the "bible" of value investing. But Graham's biggest claim to fame? Warren Buffet is his protege.

Warren Buffet: I don't know what more needs to be said here. His writings found within the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Reports are legendary. I've found some of the best inspiration on investing in those reports.

Thomas Stanley: A demographer, and one who has done some amazing research. He's written two books, both of which are on my recommended reading list. The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind.

Terry Ritchie: Not very well known, but an expert on Canada/US tax planning and retirement issues. His three books, The Canadian Snowbird in America, The American in Canada and The Canadian in America are must-reads for those who are thinking of living "across borders" in either country.

Dave Ramsey: Check-out his website, www.daveramsey.com and LEARN!

Now, having listed some of the gurus I've found valuable - it wouldn't be complete without listing some of the ones that I've found of little to no value - though at times definitely entertaining. Eric Tyson (one of my inspirations for this post) has written on a number of these "anti-gurus".

Robert Kiyosaki: Author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. His original book is a good read, and a good motivator. His education game "CASHFLOW" is EXCELLENT, but you've got to get past the obvious bias towards real estate. As an investment advisor he's terrible. The examples are too numerous to get into here, and there's whole articles written on how bad he is. Eric Tyson's article can be found here. Marketplace did a story on Robert Kiyosaki here.

Darren Weeks: FRAUD! His company, "Fast Track to Cashflow" is advertised as a "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" way of thinking company. He'll "educate" you and help you to become rich ala RD/PD - the truth is he markets tax shelters that will cost you big bucks. CRA has successfully gone after a number of these, and you're best to keep your distance.

Suzy Orman: AGH! She's marketed herself as the saviour of women's finances. Eric Tyson goes into a fair bit of detail here.

Killing time with The Dragon's

I don't get much time to just sit around and watch TV, but when I do my favorite show is Dragon's Den. Why? It's a brutally simple way of looking at a business - what's it's cashflow and how am I going to make money!

I missed watching it last week, but fortunately CBC airs the previous weeks episode on it's web site. I sat down and watched it tonight - and what caught my eye? A Board Game called Day Trader.

No, it didn't catch my eye because it has the potential to make gobs of money. It purports to be an education-related game that teaches people about the markets. From what I saw - it doesn't. The Dragon's never touched on it, at least not that was broadcast, but I'm sure a big part of it was that it actually perpetuates the myth of investing.

The idea that "the markets" and investing is no different than a game of chance goes to the heart of why so many people are unable to make money investing. Successful investing is about finding companies that have real earnings and are going to pay those earning to their shareholders.

In the words of Jerry MaGuire's Rod Tidwell... SHOW ME THE MONEY!

The model is simple: A company makes REVENUES - from those revenues it pays it's expenses. After expenses are paid, there's PROFIT - a company can choose to pay some of those profits to it's shareholders (Dividends) or re-invest it back in the company to INCREASE it's profits.

What I want to see is HOW a company makes it's revenues, how it controls it's expenses, and what it's profits are! Then, I want to know if management is going to pay me those profits, or if they think they can make me more money by putting it back in the company. Warren Buffet has NEVER paid a dividend, but has been able to consistently re-invest profits to make me MORE MONEY!

Question...

Okay, waiting for so long to post again is a little slack on my part.

Question of the day: How would you prefer to invest - the same way someone with TEN THOUSAND dollars, or the same way as someone with TEN MILLION dollars?