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INTRODUCTION
The aim of this book is to provide a systematic introduction to the whole area of savings and investments. It is designed for the average person who will not spend more than a couple of hours a year on money issues.
Most people do not need to go to a broker or their bank manager for investment advice because most people have some reasonably common combination of salary, mortgage, savings and pension. While there are some good advisors, many are incompetent and dishonest. They will be more interested in selling you the product with the highest commission than selling you the product that is best for you. And if they are a Restricted Advisor, they will be able to sell you only the products of certain companies for which they have an agency. If you go for advice directly to a bank or insurance company, they will only be interested in selling you their products.
This book is completely independent and is written in your interest. We get no commission, advertising, sponsorship whatsoever. We recommend a product because it is good - we criticize a product because it is bad or because there is a better product available. We have no loyalty to any company or product, but in general we like products whose charges are low, simple to understand and transparent.
The inspiration for the book is www.askaboutmoney.com. Since November 1999, Askaboutmoney has been providing a unique forum for discussing investments and other consumer finance issues. It's an open forum, so its contributors are a mix of lay people, accountants, actuaries, solicitors, industry insiders and brokers. We are not all agreed on every issue. This book reflects the opinions and biases of Brendan Burgess founder and administrator of Askaboutmoney. Brendan is a Chartered Accountant and a long time campaigner on consumer issues. Where a contributor to Askaboutmoney makes a well reasoned argument against some of the points made by Brendan, it is included in the book in a separate panel, clearly labeled as The Counter View.
LET US
KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE BOOK!
Your compliments, criticisms and corrections are all very welcome. Please
post them in a message in the appropriate forum on Askaboutmoney. If you
do not want to post them in a public forum, feel free to email them to
[email protected].
Sorry, I do not provide answers to questions on financial issues by email.
A HARD
COPY VERSION OF THE BOOK IS NOT AVAILABLE
We have not published a paper version of the book. However, please feel
free to print off a copy of the book for yourself.