Foolish

How Investors Get Worked Up and Worked Over by the System

By: Gil Baumgarten

Narrated by: Gil Baumgarten

Wall Street brokerage firms won’t be happy about this book. That’s because brokerage firms have built their businesses on profiting in the shadows, and they surely don’t want the lights to come on.

After 25 years on Wall Street and another 10 years as a fee-only fiduciary RIA, Gil Baumgarten knows all the brokerage tactics that make your portfolio inefficient and put you at a disadvantage. He also understands the common, self-destructive tendencies that make every investor vulnerable to brokerage firm schemes.

Fooli$h pulls no punches. This book is your inside look at the complicated brokerage ecosystem and the realities of investor behavior. You’ll discover the staggering differences between brokerage and advisory systems and walk away with actionable advice to help you stay on guard. Most importantly, you’ll take an introspective look at your investing style and learn how to walk away from the Fooli$h routes investors so often take.

©2021 Gil Baumgarten (P)2021 Gil Baumgarten

Excellent book. Learned so much.

Enjoyed it so much I’m purchasing the print version. This reiterated a lot that I already knew, but really drove it home clearly and succinctly, with explanations I hadn’t read before. I did not realize the difference between Vanguard and Fidelity, the former being a nonprofit and the latter being owned by the billionaire Johnson family.

If I wanted an active manager, I would totally go for Baumgarten. Larry Swedroe (another financial whiz who favors passive investing/index funds) recommended this book in a tweet recently. I’m really glad he did. Thank you, Gil!