Investing without Wall Street: The Five Essentials of Financial Freedom

CHAPTER 5

The Fifth Essential: Choose the Right Financial Media to Follow

I don't think it's possible to be a successful investor without relying heavily on the media. Virtually all investors and most investment professionals use the media as their principal source of investing information.

I am a perfect example of a person who learned his investing craft mostly from the media. I never worked on Wall Street, and, unlike reporters, I seldom interviewed portfolio managers. While I took an undergraduate investing and a corporate finance course in the 1950s, outside of explaining such basics as the differences between common stock, preferred stock, and bonds, that sort of thing, neither course taught me anything that is applicable to my work today.

I don't remember whether these courses even discussed mutual funds. Their greatest benefit was to get me interested in the field. My knowledge of practical economics and behavioral finance also comes from the media.

The only way I know how to do without the media is to turn the job over to a high-priced personal counselor. But even then, you are remiss if you don't learn enough to second-guess your advisor.

Where's the Best Place to Get Financial Advice? A Poll

In February 2010 Money magazine conducted a poll asking, “Where have you gotten the best financial advice?” The results are shown in the following table.

The media	34%
A professional financial advisor	28%
A family member	22%
A friend	16%
Poll was conducted in New York ...