The Art of Asset Allocation : Asset Allocation Principles and Investment Strategies for any Market
Author: David M. Darst
List Price: $39.95
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ISBN: 0071379509
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade (25 April, 2003)
Sales Rank: 33,593
Average Customer Rating: 4.43 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Insightful!
Decades of research by scholars and financial practitioners have generally supported the reasonable counsel "don't put all your eggs in one basket." But it is one thing to advise investors to diversify, and another to show them how. Author David M. Darst outlines a systematic approach to parceling out your savings among different investment assets. There's a science to asset allocation, though its principles are not immediately apparent. Darst treats these precepts with admirable thoroughness in a book that is, mostly, accessible to an educated layperson. But brew some strong coffee. Readers lacking a business or finance background may find the theoretical discussion difficult and tedious, particularly given the deliberate style. However this 2003 book follows one of the most dramatic periods in stock market history, the 1990s, when even sophisticated market watchers wondered if the sound financial principles cited here still applied. The ensuing bear market made it clear that the laws of risk and return had not yet been repealed. In this atmosphere, We welcome this solid explanation of risk and return.
Rating: 5 out of 5
genius
I think some of the other reviewers are missing the point of this book. Does he suggest an advisor?, yes. Do you absolutely need an advisor?, no. But if you were sued tomorrow for all that you had, would you crack open the law books and get ready for court or would you hire someone who is a professional. Now I will admit the area of financial advice is laden with salespeople...there are bad doctors, lawyers(that goes without saying...haha), even teachers, and priests....but there are also people who know what they are doing and talking about. I think it would be useful to you to read this book, not trying to become an expert, but rather to serve as your guide to find an expert. This book will teach you the jargon and philosophy of a prudent investor...ask a few questions from the book and quickly you will see who is an advisor and who is a salesperson.
and For those of you on the real estate kick let me remind of three things...1) history is a good teacher, while not perfect history does show more reward for equities than real estate but buy at least one house, 2)things always revert to the mean (if you don't know what this means please buy this book now), 3) this time is NOT different. And yes my house has doubled in the last two years too. Find great investors and learn from them.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Another Asset Allocation Book
There is one amusing fact about this book in particular. It is obvious to the sophisticated investor that the author works for an investment house that has something to sell. No attempt is made to directly sell anything but it definitely is an attempt to show the average investor why he needs someone else to do his asset allocation. Hardly a guide to indexing, the author advocates tactical allocation as well as strategic allocation. The problem with this is that tactical allocation is little more than trend following in the guise of asset allocation. Since the market has been down and many have had their rear ends shot off by the market asset allocation is the byword of the day. More sophisticated asset allocation advocates have long realized that their art hardly appealed to the masses. The addition of the ability to knob twiddle the allocation is an attempt not only to add a little spice to the mixture but to also advocate the need for an advisor. From what I can see the bait is being taken. William Bernstein advocated a little tactical reallocation on occasion in the guise of rebalancing. Rebalancing is great and necessary but trying to optimize the portfolio to catch the next wave is a fool's errand. Darst is somewhere in the middle of this argument. That said, the book contains some useful information. There is a description of the various asset classes and their advantages and disadvantages which is excellent. Those who are looking for an real estate investment handbook will be disappointed however. The calculation of alpha is described and mean variance optimizers are discussed (there is even a little about their limitations). The entire book reads a little like a sales brochure. Complicated graphical and pictoral representations are used to present simple ideas. Some of the statistics is biased towards what you would expect from a financial advisor. Most of this is subtle and may not be deliberate on the part of the author. But it is fascinating to compare this information with that of Bernstein and realize that even if it is unconcious an attempt is being made to create a dependency. Once a salesman always a salesman? Anyhow, this book combined with the Intelligent Asset Allocator and Gibson's Asset Allocation will be all any investor needs to properly allocate their wealth without an advisor if so desired. But anyone who read widely about asset allocation will also realize that no book will tell them how to allocate their assets: it is an art. Mean variance optimizers are mostly useful for educational purposes. Also not all of the asset classes discussed are appropriate for anyone let alone the rich. Just remember the concept of the whale. Similar Products
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The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk
Pioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment
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