Cliff and Claire Huxtable once explained to their daughter, Vanessa, being “rich is where the money works for you”. Sound fabulous? Anyone can put his or her money to work by buying and selling investment funds, and you do not have to be rich to do it. Yet, few people understand the complexities of this financial move. To help you understand, British author John Chatfield-Roberts lays everything out in his 2006 book entitled Fundology: The Secrets of Successful Fund Investing. However, this title (particularly the subtitle) seems quite complicated. Therefore I will break it down for you and talk about the main points of the book after having discussed what qualifies Chatfield--Roberts to write this book.
Chatfield-Roberts studied economy at Durham University and has been professionally managing investment funds for quite some time. Early on he worked with Lazard Asset Management, but in 2001 he moved to Jupiter Fund Management. This UK company manages equity and bond investments for private individuals as well as institutions. There he earned awards for Best Multi-Manager Group three years in a row—in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2010 (four years after the publication of the book) he took over as Chief Investment Officer of the company, and that more than qualifies him to write a book such as this.
After having thoroughly explained what funds are and how they work, the book, published by Harriman House, goes into detail about how to pick and invest in the right funds without using any technical jargon. It includes sections about what the past performance of a fund can tell you and the truth about costs and index funds. The book also discusses why you should consider funds in the first place and goes into selecting a good funds manager—plus other secrets of success.
As the Google book review of Fundology points out: “too many pick the wrong fund in the wrong market at the wrong time - a sure-fire recipe for disappointment.” This is why Chatfield-Roberts also expounds upon commonly made mistakes. Even though Chatfield-Roberts tends to focus more on unit trusts and open ended investment companies in these 166 pages—his specialty prior to his 2010 promotion—the principles he discusses apply to other types of investment funds.
If you are interested in investment funds, you can use the information presented in Fundology. This book uses easy to understand language to explain the many facets of investment funds and how they can make your money work for you, even if you are not rich. And do not worry, the author is qualified to dispense this advice.
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