Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The current age is one of financial volatility-and the rate at which markets are bottoming out and then rebounding is well above the norm, says market analyst Jubak. In fact, there have been four major volatility crises in 10 years: the Asian currency crisis of 1997, the Russian crisis of 1998, the dotcom bust of 2000, and the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Jubak feels that our understanding of how this phenomenon works is still woefully inadequate. To determine how investors can survive volatility and even make it profitable, the book's first half covers the trends that brought about the current situation and all the reasons why we can expect the same for at least the next decade, touching upon the psychology of volatility and how people cope with it (in a word, poorly). The second half covers investing opportunities created by volatility and ways to improve traditional investment strategies, with the overall goal of avoiding panic. This fascinating study doesn't shy away from the complexity of our current economy, but it's written with the layperson in mind, resulting in an indispensable guide for anyone looking to navigate the storms with an intact portfolio. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Jubak, a well-known financial columnist and editor, currently with JubakPicks.com and formerly MSN Money, asserts here that we have entered into an "age of volatility," in which large swings in the value of financial and other assets will become a common occurrence and thus impact everyday living. The author explains that this volatility will be difficult to assess. Among the forces that Jubak sees as fostering these changes are an easy money supply, the aging world population, Chinese debt, slowing global growth, the use of homes as financial assets, a close correlation between different asset classes, job market anxiety, fluctuating energy supplies, food and water scarcity, and climate change. He offers investment strategies to lessen the unexpectedness, such as hedging and buying stocks with growing dividends. Jubak's well-defined synthesis is comparable to what Thomas L. Friedman did for globalization in The World Is Flat. VERDICT With much of the book devoted to his prognosis for volatility, Jubak's work is recommended to readers interested in a broad economic view with complementary investment advice.-Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Investment guru Jubak (The Jubak Picks: 50 Stocks that Will Rebuild Your Wealth Safeguard Your Future, 2008, etc.) analyzes the growing volatility of both the financial markets and everyday life (jobs, housing, an aging population, climate change, etc.) and offers strategies for profiting in a topsy-turvy world. A former editor at Worth, the author now edits JubakPicks.com, where his portfolio has returned 445 percent since 1997. In this informative, often entertaining book, he details the many ways in which frequent zigzags since 2000 in the financial marketsespecially abrupt changes of acceleration and directionhave combined with events in the housing, job, and retirements markets to increase our expectations about the degree of volatility in everyday life. Heightened volatility is now "embedded" in the stock market, writes Jubak. Furthermore, our aging world brings rising medical costs and requires more pension payments. China alone"the world's fastest-aging society," with an inadequate pension system and underfunded health careposes a global volatility risk. Drawing on his experiences of the last 20 years in the financial market, the research of behavioral economists and neuroscientists, and projections for the immediate future, Jubak describes ways to better understand the scope and direction of rapid changes in key areas and ways to "limit the downside damage and increase the upside potential from this volatility in our portfolios and our lives." He stresses that by determining the distribution of volatility in a given market, it is possible to find a "haven of lower volatility." Besides understanding the underlying forces at work, the author urges readers to resist the impulse to engage in the flight-or-fight response in reacting to dizzying changes. Whether discussing the effects of food and water shortages or the boom-and-bust real estate markets in such diverse enclaves as hipster Williamsburg (Brooklyn) and Boomer Sarasota (Florida), Jubak brightly illuminates the trends shaping our present era. Solid advice for thoughtful investors. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
