The Investor's Paradox: The Power of Simplicity in a World of Overwhelming Choice

Investors are in a jam. A troubled global economy unpredictable markets and a bewildering number of investment choices create a dangerous landscape for individual and institutional investors alike. To meet this challenge most of us rely on a portfolio of fund managers to take risk on our behalves. Here investment expert Brian Portnoy delivers a powerful framework for choosing the right ones – and avoiding the losers.. Portnoy reveals that the right answers are found by confronting our own subconscious biases and behavioral quirks. A paradox we all face is the natural desire for more choice in our lives yet the more we have the less satisfied we become – whether were at the grocery store choosing doctors or flipping through hundreds of TV channels. So too with investing where there are literally tens of thousands of funds from which to choose. Hence the investors paradox: We crave abundant investment choices to conquer volatile markets yet with greater flexibility the more overwhelmed and less empowered we become.. Leveraging the fresh insights of behavioral economics Portnoy demystifies the opaque world of elite hedge funds addresses the limits of mass market mutual funds and discards the false dichotomy between traditional and alternative investments. He also explores why hedge funds have recently become such a controversial and disruptive force. Turns out its not the splashy headlines – spectacular trades newly minted billionaires aggressive tactics – but something much more fundamental. The stratospheric rise to prominence and availability of alternative strategies represents a further explosion in the size and complexity of the choice set in a market already saturated with products. It constitutes something we all both crave and detest.. The Investors Paradox lights a path toward simplicity in a world of dangerous markets and overwhelming choice. Written in accessible jargon-free language with a healthy skepticism of todays money management industry it offers not only practical tools for investment success but also a message of empowerment for investors drowning in possibility.