Investing Intelligently

2005-02-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

Michael C. Thomsett

Recent books - order from Amazon.com

2005-02-27T21:48:00.000-08:00

Publisher contacts:

Amacom Books
http://www.amanet.org/books/
Centerline Media
http://www.centerlinemedia.com/
Financial Times/Prentice Hall
http://isbndb.com/d/publisher/financial_times_prentice_hall.html
John Wiley & Sons
http://wiley.com/

book list

2005-02-25T21:48:00.000-08:00

Insightful quotes from the author's career

From the author's son, Eric (at age 10):

"Dad, how many words have you written?"
Answer: "I'm not sure, probably millions."
"But how many have you used twice?"

From an attendee at a speech given by the author:

"If you've written so many books, how come I've never heard of you?"
Answer: "To tell you the truth, the only kind of 'fame' that interests me is to have my name well known in the royalties departments of many publishers."

From the author's first writing-career boss:

"I don't think you're cut out for writing. You simply don't have the ability you would need."
Answer: "Why do you say that?"
"You're meant to be an accountant. Leave the writing to the writers." (ouch.)

From one of the author's publishers (upon receiving a rather large final manuscript):

"Michael, you are grammatically promiscuous."
Answer: "What does that mean?"
"By that, I mean, you'll conjugate with any verb."

My list of published books:

INVESTMENTS (23 books)

23 - 2007 Getting Started in Swing Trading Wiley
22 - 2006 Getting Started in Fundamental Analysis Wiley
21 - 2006 Annual Reports 101 Amacom
20 - 2005 Options Trading for the Conservative Investor Financial Times
19 - 2004 LEAPS for Smart Investing Marketplace Books
18 - 2004 Stock Profits Financial Times
17 - 2003 Asset Allocation Essentials Marketplace Books
16 - 2003 Support and Resistance Simplified Marketplace Books
15 - 2003 Reading Between the Lies (ghost written) Dearborn
14 - 2002 J. K. Lasser's Buy, Sell or Hold Wiley
13 - 2001 J. K. Lasser's Real Estate Investing Wiley
12 - 2001 Just the Financial Facts Dearborn
11 - 2000 Mastering Online Investing Dearborn
10 - 1999 Mastering Technical Analysis Dearborn
9 - 1998 Mastering Fundamental Analysis Dearborn
8 - 1996 Starting and Running a Profitable Investment Club (ghost written) Times Business
7 - 1991 Tax-Deferred Investing Wiley
6 - 1990 Getting Started in Bonds Wiley
5 - 1989 Insurance Dictionary Illustrated McFarland
4 - 1986 Investment and Securities Dictionary McFarland
3 - 1989 The Mathematics of Investing Wiley
2 - 1989 Investor Factline Wiley
1 - 1989 Getting Started in Options Wiley

REAL ESTATE AND MONEY MANAGEMENT (13 books)

13 - 2007 Getting Started in Property Flipping Wiley
12 - 2005 Real Estate Investor's Pocket Calculator Amacom
11 - 2005 Getting Started in Rental Income Wiley
10 - 2005 Real Estate Market Valuation and Analysis Wiley
9 - 2004 Landlords Financial Tool Kit Amacom
8 - 1992 Your Home Mortgage Wiley
7 - 1990 How to Get Out of Debt Dow Jones-Irwin
6 - 1989 Save Money on Your Home Mortgage Wiley
5 - 1988 Real Estate Dictionary McFarland
4 - 1988 The Complete Guide to Selling Your Home Dow Jones-Irwin
3 - 1988 How to Profit from Real Estate (ghost-written) Longman
2 - 1987 How to Buy A House, Condo or Co-Op Consumer Reports
1 - 1987 Homeowner's Money Management Rodale Press

BUSINESS (29 books)

29 - 2004 Getting Started in Six Sigma Wiley
28 - 2004 NIMBYism: Navigating the Politics of Local Land Use CenterLine Media
27 - 2004 Accounting Basics for Builders Builder Books
26 - 2000 Getting Financing and Developing Land Craftsman
25 - 1996 The American Management Association Style Guide Amacom
9 - 1994 Getting Started in Real Estate Investing Wiley
24 - 1991 Little Black Book of Business Etiquette Amacom
23 - 1991 Little Black Book of Business Words Amacom
22 - 1991 NumberWise Amacom
21 - 1990 The Expansion Trap Amacom
20 - 1990 Little Black Book of Business Statistics Amacom
19 - 1990 Little Black Book of Project Management Amacom
18 - 1990 Winning Numbers Amacom
17 - 1990 Raising Money for Growing Companies Dow Jones-Irwin
16 - 1990 Mastering the Art of Management NIBM
15 - 1989 Little Black Book of Business Meetings Amacom
14 - 1989 Bookkeeping for Builders Craftsman
13 - 1989 Little Black Book of Business Speaking Amacom
12 - 1988 Contractor's Growth and Profit Guide Craftsman
11 - 1988 Little Black Book of Business Reports Amacom
10 - 1988 Little Black Book of Business Letters Amacom
9 - 1988 Little Black Book of Business Math Amacom
8 - 1988 Little Black Book of Budgets and Forecasts Amacom
7 - 1986 Guide to Business Plans NASS
6 - 1986 Successful Sales Letters and Literature NASS
5 - 1985 Computers: The Builder's New Tool Craftsman
4 - 1983 Contractor's Year-Round Tax Guide Craftsman
3 - 1981 Builder's Office Manual Craftsman
2 - 1980 Fundamentals of Bookkeeping and Accounting Bermont
1 - 1978 Builder's Guide to Accounting Craftsman

Options - complex or not?

2004-09-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

GETTING STARTED IN OPTIONS -- 5th Edition
Author: Michael C. Thomsett
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2003
Trade paperback, 358 pages

From the author:

Option investing is thought to be extremely complex and risky. This book is not complex; it also proves that some forms of option investing are quite conservative, in spite of the usual high-risk rap.
It is important for everyone to know all about risk before investing in any product. Options can be very complicated and risky, but they can also be very low-risk and consistently high-yielding. In this book I have attempted to explain options for "real people" and not for high-level traders or for academics.
The book is currently in its 5th edition and a 6th edition will be published in 2005. To date, the book has sold over 200,000 copies and I think this is so because it is written with practical uses in mind. I like to define terms as they come up. I also use a lot of graphs, examples, and "Smart Investor Tip" sidebars. This makes the book easier to use and highly visual.

Contents:

Introduction - An Investment with Many Faces
Chapter 1 - Calls and Puts
Chapter 2 - Opening, Closing and Tracking the Option
Chapter 3 - Buying Calls
Chapter 4 - Buying Puts
Chapter 5 - Selling Calls
Chapter 6 - Choosing the Right Stock
Chapter 7 - strategies in Volatile Markets
Chapter 8 - Selling Puts
Chapter 9 - Combined Techniques
Chapter 10 - Choosing Your Own Strategy
Glossary
Index

My writing philosophy: Keep it simple, provide examples, define terms, and most of all, respect the reader.
-- Michael C. Thomsett, author

Other options books worth buying:

A very helpful book

2004-09-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

STOCK PROFITS: GETTING TO THE CORE
Author: Michael C. Thomsett
Publisher: Financial Times / Prentice Hall
$24.95
hardcover, 258 pages

From the cover:

The author has taken fundamental investing further to determine the true earnings of a company. This takes time and thorough analysis, but it's worth every second of time spent digging further into the financials.
--- Kenneth S. Janke, Chairman, NAIC (National association of Investors Corporation)

The author says:

Are financial statements accurate? Can you rely on the information provided in the audited statement?

No.

The accepted rules of reporting are called GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). These rules are so vague and generalized that companies and their auditors can take a lot of leeway in how they manipulate and report profits. For example, most companies exclude millions of dollars in employee stock options, but include estimated future earnings on profit sharing programs; income from capital gains, the sale of divisions, and many other big-ticket items. The result: The earnings per share are distorted, often by a lot.

To make a valid and accurate comparison between companies, you need to make certain "core earnings adjustments," which alter reported results so that only the core earnings -- earnings from the primary business operation -- remain. This book shows anyone, even those without an accounting background, how to read footnotes and other sections of the annual report, and how to make the needed adjustments.

Contents:

Preface
Part I -- The Techniques
Chapter 1 - Core Earnings calculations: A Revised Approach
Chapter 2 - Trend Discovery: Finding the Elements of Emerging Change
Chapter 3 - Trend Interpretation: Deciding What It Means
Chapter 4 - Confirmation: A Powerful Analytical Tool
Chapter 5 - Fundamental Volatility
Part II -- The Tools
Chapter 6 - Investigation: Verifying the Financials
Chapter 7 - The Core Earnings Workbook: Finding the Numbers
Chapter 8 - The Trend Workbook: Breaking the Code
Chapter 9 - Looking Ahead: The Core Roadmap
Index

Other recommended books on related topics: