Wesley Gray: “DIY Financial Advisor” | Talks @Google
Wesley Gray will discuss his book “DIY Financial Advisor“. He believes today’s financial advice is too opaque, which lead him to write his book, aiming to make investing more transparent and evidence based.
Gray is a former Marine Officer (Iraq combat vet), who holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Chicago. He has written three books, and was a finance professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.
DIY Financial Advisor: A Simple Solution to Build and Protect Your Wealth“DIY Financial Advisor “is a synopsis of our research findings developed while serving as a consultant and asset manager for family offices. By way of background, a family office is a company, or group of people, who manage the wealth a family has gained over generations. The term ‘family office’ has an element of cachet, and even mystique, because it is usually associated with the mega-wealthy. However, practically speaking, virtually any family that manages its investments–independent of the size of the investment pool–could be considered a family office. The difference is mainly semantic.
“DIY Financial Advisor “outlines a step-by-step process through which investors can take control of their hard-earned wealth and manage their own family office. Our research indicates that what matters in investing are minimizing psychology traps and managing fees and taxes. These simple concepts apply to all families, not just the ultra-wealthy.
But can–or should–we be managing our own wealth?
Our natural inclination is to succumb to the challenge of portfolio management and let an ‘expert’ deal with the problem. For a variety of reasons we discuss in this book, we should resist the gut reaction to hire experts. We suggest that investors maintain direct control, or at least a thorough understanding, of how their hard-earned wealth is managed. Our book is meant to be an educational journey that slowly builds confidence in one’s own ability to manage a portfolio. We end our book with a potential solution that could be applicable to a wide-variety of investors, from the ultra-high net worth to middle class individuals, all of whom are focused on similar goals of preserving and growing their capital over time.
“DIY Financial Advisor” is a unique resource. This book is the only comprehensive guide to implementing simple quantitative models that can beat the experts. And it comes at the perfect time, as the investment industry is undergoing a significant shift due in part to the use of automated investment strategies that do not require a financial advisor’s involvement. “DIY Financial Advisor” is an essential text that guides you in making your money work for you–not for someone else!
DIY Financial Advisor: A Simple Solution to Build and Protect Your Wealth