Play the Percentages

By Steve Maersch

Sick of being broke? You want to acquire wealth? It is easier than you think, but you may have to violate a few standard rules. In his thirty-one-year career as a journalist, the author collected an average annual salary of $24,800. He, nonetheless, became a millionaire by violating some commonly accepted rules: he bought company stock, he shunned annuities, and he collected Social Security as soon as he could. He also did well with other investments. In Play the Percentages, he shares his insights and research with you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984534118

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by STEVE MAERSCH.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2018906870

ISBN:               Hardcover               978-1-9845-3413-2

                         Softcover                  978-1-9845-3412-5

                         eBook                       978-1-9845-3411-8

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without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 07/13/2018

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CONTENTS

Good Guys

Preface

Money, Stress, And Tips

Coin-Tossing

Annuities

Politics And Stocks

Strategies

The Twin Brothers

Social Security

Charity

To my wife, Judy, the best investment I ever made with my life

GOOD GUYS

JOHN C. BOGLE

The first mutual fund I ever bought was in the 1960s when I was in college. It was the Eaton Howard fund. I had wanted to buy one share of Vendo Vending Machine, a hot stock in that day, but the broker talked me out of it and recommended the Eaton Howard fund. The load (commission) on that fund was 7%—common at the time. In fact, some mutual fund commissions were as high as 9%.

John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard funds, changed all that a decade later with his no-load, tiny-fee funds, many of them index funds. Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index Fund is commission-free and has annual operating expenses of 0.04%. That’s one twenty-fifth of 1%!

After the crash of 2008, I decided to change my portfolio and, in the process, read two of Mr. Bogle’s books: Common Sense on Mutual Funds and Bogle on Mutual Funds. Those were the most influential investment books I have ever read. After devouring them, I completely revamped my investment portfolio, reducing the number of mutual funds and switching all of them to Vanguard. All are no-load funds with fees averaging less than one-fifth of 1%.

Mr. Bogle is the best friend the small investor ever had. He has allowed us peons to get into the market without using brokers or salespeople. We can be our own brokers and manage our portfolios from our computers.

If the investment world ever gets around to creating an Investment Hall of Fame, I think John C. Bogle should be the first man in it.

TONY ROBBINS

I have read two of Tony Robbins’s books—MONEY Master the Game and Unshakeable. I got them from the local library and was so impressed by them that I ran out and bought both.

Those are the kinds of books I want on my shelf. Mr. Robbins was the first financial writer I ever read who stressed the importance of charity. (The frontispiece of Unshakeable carries the statement, For those souls who will never settle for less than they can be, do, share, and give. Mr. Robbins rose from hardscrabble poverty to become immensely wealthy—and very generous. His Anthony Robbins Foundation and its matching funds are feeding four million people in fifty-six countries.

And there are lots more. He’s a charitable dynamo. His books are very inspiring.

I also like the way he refers to financial security as freedom. I had never looked at it that way, but that’s exactly the feeling one gets when one achieves financial security. It is wonderful to wake up in the morning and realize that of all the problems you have in your life, money is not one of them. You are free!

My wife and I are not really wealthy, but we, nonetheless, are rich in the sense that we have a lifestyle that we enjoy—and we can afford it.

I highly recommend Mr. Robbins’s books. And if you buy MONEY Master the Game, remember that Tony is donating all the proceeds of the book to charity. (Sorry, Tony, I bought your books used. I’ll make up for that.)

PETER LYNCH

Mr. Lynch was the legendary manager of the Fidelity Magellan fund for thirteen years. I have read Mr.

Lynch’s books Beating the Street and One Up on Wall Street. Both are very well written and quite entertaining.

In One Up on Wall Street, he mentions Thomas Edison’s quote, Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Some people seem to think that great investors are just people who have great timing, live at the right time, or are just lucky.

Mr. Lynch proved that is not true. His mode of investing? He would travel throughout the United States visiting up to two hundred companies a year, and he would read seven hundred annual reports a year. He observed how these companies operated, whether the employees were happy, and whether the products were of high quality. He interviewed CEOs, middle managers, and even grunts, one of whom told him, Any idiot could run this company. Mr. Lynch was impressed and figured he might buy stock in that company because someday an idiot might indeed be running it.

He also checked out motels and hotels where he stayed, and he observed the airlines he used, always looking for investment prospects. He also read