Page 52 - How To Get Rich

investment. The company went bankrupt two years later. Herschel is now a
wealthy man, and he thanks me every time I see him.
When it comes to picking a financial adviser, rely on your own
judgment based on what you read in reliable publications likeThe Wall

Street Journal, Forbes, BusinessWeek, andFortune. They are usually
terrific, even though, on occasion, they say some negative things about
me. I’m angry atFortune at the moment—and for good reason—but
evenFortune sometimes manages to awake from its stupor to report
something worthwhile. I’m particularly impressed with an editor there
named Geoffrey Colvin, who is also the host ofWall Street Week on PBS
and has written perceptively about corporate restructuring.

TheNew York Post has developed a truly great business section—and
one that is fun to read. Lately,The New York Times’ s coverage of business
has gone right to the top!
If you read these financial publications for a while, you will start to
pick up on the cadence and get a feel for what’s happening in the market,
which funds are the best, and who the best advisers are.

Stay with the winners. Often, you will read about somebody who has
made money quickly and then relies on one of his friends to invest his
fortune. That friend has no track record, and if it weren’t for his
connection to a rich investor, he wouldn’t have any money. Beware of
instant stars in the world of finance. Trust the people who do it again and
again, and who are consistently ranked high by the four best institutional
business media outlets. But trust your own common sense first.

Invest Simply
There are numerous firms that provide comprehensive charts and other
information on the best returns from certain financial advisers and funds.
Study those charts, not over the short term (maybe they just got lucky) but

over a fifteen- or twenty-year period.
Invest with the help of a major firm like Goldman Sachs, Morgan
Stanley, Bear Stearns, or Merrill Lynch. These are your hard-earned
savings at stake. Don’t take unnecessary risks.
Generally there is a reason for success. When you look at legends like
Alan Ace Greenberg and Warren Buffett and marvel at how good they are,
you will likely see that what makes them so successful is the same quality
you should apply to every one of your own investments—common sense.