New Books Offer Advice For Investors

It’s that time of year when most people stop thinking about spending and start worrying about saving.

Following is a sampling of books that meet a host of different investment needs.

“The Beardstown Ladies’ Stitch-in-Time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg” (Hyperion, 253 pages). Once again the now famous investment group of senior ladies in Beardstown, Ill., are causing a stir among investors.

The group offers home-spun, conservative, balanced financial advice written in an easy style that makes you realize that investing is not rocket science. In this book, they focus on financial planning and savings.

“The Motley Fool Investment Guide: How the Fool Beats Wall Street’s Wise Men and How You Can Too” (Simon & Schuster, 297 pages).

In their book, authors David and Tom Gardner argue that mutual funds are safe, but under-performing. Their own investment strategy is based on buying individual stocks picked from the top Dow performers in a formula they claim would reap a 25 percent annual return with little effort.

“The Hometown Investor: How to Find Investment Treasures in Your Own Backyard” (McGraw Hill, 205 pages). This book was written by Richard J. Maturi, who takes a look at possible investment ideas far from Wall Street. He discusses everything from evaluating municipal bonds to initial public offerings.