Book Description

Written in a fun and accessible manner, The Fund Spy offersKinnel’s unique insight as a 14-year Morningstar fund analyst. Hespeaks plainly about the conflicts that can go against investors’interests, explaining how to avoid traps and push out the slicksales pitches facing today’s investors. He also offers several 10lists, which provide quick answers to investors’ most commonquestions (e.g. the Top 10 Funds to Recommend to Relatives, the 10Best Contrarian Managers, the 10 Most Overrated Managers).

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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

If you’re serious about picking the right investments for your portfolio, Fund Spy will put you on the right track.

Nobody is more familiar with mutual funds than author Russel Kinnel, the Director of Mutual Fund Research for Morningstar, Inc. and Editor of Morningstar FundInvestor, a monthly newsletter for individual investors. He has spent over 15 years researching mutual funds and meeting with the people who manage them. Now, with Fund Spy, he offers unparalleled guidance that will sharpen your investing skills and help you find the best funds for your portfolio.

Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, Fund Spy arms you with the information needed to intelligently screen and select a variety of funds. While both effective new strategies and time-tested techniques are outlined throughout this reliable resource, all of the methods here will help you avoid common mistakes and outperform the average investor.

Page by page, Fund Spy puts this process in perspective with detailed discussion of:

How to find managers who invest millions of their own money in their funds

Why fund expenses really matter

Using a fund’s performance to understand its risk and reward profile, as well as its behavior in different types of markets

How to find great fund managers and teams

Combining quantitative data with qualitative research, Kinnel highlights key factors that drive fund performance and writes candidly about the industry’s conflicts of interest that can harm investors.

Don’t settle for high-cost, poorly run funds simply because they fell into your portfolio or someone is touting them. Follow the guidance found in Fund Spy and you’ll quickly discover what it takes to research and buy the right funds. Three months from now, you may not see a difference, but you will see a dramatic difference in five or 10 years, when the power of compounding has substantially grown your portfolio and put more money in your pocket.

From the Back Cover

Many people spend more time researching purchases like cars and computers than they do figuring out how they will invest their money. Although buying a car or computer may be more fun, choosing the right investments can significantly impact your life—whether it be retirement or your kids’ college education.

Picking funds that will outperform their peers over the long haul may take a little time, but in the end, you’ll be better off for it. That’s why Russel Kinnel—Director of Mutual Fund Research for Morningstar, Inc. and Editor of Morningstar FundInvestor—has written Fund Spy. With a straightforward and accessible style, this book offers unparalleled guidance that will sharpen your investing skills and help you find the best funds for your portfolio.

How knowing a fund’s strategy can enable you to properly evaluate performance, adopt reasonable expectations, and build a portfolio of funds that work together

Why you want fund managers who eat their own cooking

The pros and cons of big no-load fund companies and broker-sold fund companies