The Vital Few vs. the Trivial Many : Invest with the Insiders, Not the Masses

Rating:
Summary: Happier Contrarian
Review: George Muzea's book has been incredibly helpful. I read the first printing and was immediately intrigued when he talked about the 80-20 rule and contrarian investing. I've applied a subset of techniques described for insider trading and have been amazed by the results. The new revision is succinct and has deeper explanations of his techniques. I'm looking forward to profitably applying some of his new techniques. This book is a must read for any contrarian investor.

Rating:
Summary: And They Say It Is Impossible To Time The Market
Review: I am a financial advisor. I was taught that no one can time the market. George Muzea is the exception. His book will teach you how to do it, too.

Buy-and-hold and dollar-cost-averaging are winning strategies over the long term for busy people. But if you have time to actively manage your stock, ETF, or mutual fund portfolio, George Muzea's market timing approach is much more profitable.

A bear market will drag down the best of stocks--even those with insider buying. Why ride the market up and down when you could be selling near the top and buying back in at or near the bottom?

Wouldn't you rather be making money from "day 1" when a bull market begins, rather than trying to get even because you rode the bear market down? Why make 30% one year and lose 40% the next year?

George Muzea's book teaches you to recognize when a bull market is transforming into a bear market and vice versa.

Readers are lucky he is willing to share what he has learned over a lifetime rather than keeping it to himself.

If you don't want to lose your posterior in the market, read this book.






Rating:
Summary: This is a must read
Review: I bought George's first edition as well as this one, in my view his book is a must read for any one who want to manage his/her own money. If you follow his advice, you will have a much greater chance to pick a winner. I couldn't tell you how much more confident I have gained from this book. It is day and night. The title of the book said it all.

Rating:
Summary: Smiling all the way to the bank
Review: In the late 1990's, armed with an MBA and a healthy brokerage account, I was the epitome of the trivial masses as described by George Muzea in his book, "The Vital Few vs. The Trivial Many." I'd follow the market bell to bell, perform detailed financial analyses, take advantage of the erstwhile insider tip on CNBC, etc. I was making money, lov'n life and living large. Then came 2000. A couple of margin calls later (I hate those red-fringed envelopes) and before I knew it, it was, "would you like fries with your order..." I was seriously bummed out. The money was one thing, but being so stupid was another.

I had almost given up on the market altogether, when in early 2003, I read the first edition of Mr. Muzea's book. What an epiphany. This concise, well-written book provides the logic, technique and answer to the holy grail of investor questions - when should I buy and when should I sell? Not for individual stocks mind you, but for the overall market. Since then, combining Mr. Muzea's technique with an indexing or EFT trading strategy has been for me, a consistenly profitable low-risk method of making money in the market.

Mr. Muzea also has distributes a weekly report (available through the book's website) using the techniques described in the book. The report reflects the market sentiments in a number of categories that he uses to gauge the market. One such report that I received on March 7, 2003 concluded, "the market is deeply oversold with growing investor and media pessimism, insiders are buying...this is clearly a low risk entry point..." The Dow closed at 7,700 that day, never looked back, and I was smiling all summer.



Rating:
Summary: lessons in identifying favorable risk-reward opportunities
Review: Readers of George Muzea's "The Vital Few vs. The Trivial Many" will benefit from his wisdom as the foremost practitioner of insider-trading analysis and his decades of experience in the stock market, which includes providing advice to a number of highly successful professional investors. Making money in the stock market, year in and year out, is about being disciplined, and capitalizing on market inefficiencies and favorable risk-reward opportunities. Reading "The Vital Few vs. The Trivial Many" is an important step towards understanding and applying these means to successful investing.

Rating:
Summary: Important book for Investors
Review: The ultimate Vital Few strategy: Tax Loss Buys. This strategy alone is worth the time you spend to read this book. Also a perfect match for point and figure chart users. Insider buying or selling can add meaning to point and figure charts and indicators. The author's vast experience with insider activity comes through loud and clear in this book. If you are a serious investor, I think this is a book you must have.