About the Author	vii
Preface	ix
Introduction	1
The Four Essential Questions for Investors and The Four Principles of Sensible Investing That Answer Them
Part I: Cause & Effect The 1990s: What Caused the Contraction and What are its Effects on Today's Economic Phase?
Chapters I-IV
I. Over-Expansion	13
II. The Amateur Investor - Pumping Air Into Stock Prices	49
III. Socio-Economics - The Behavior of Investors and Their Money Through Expanding and Contracting Economic Phases	85
IV. The 21st Century of Money The Behavior of Your Investment Selections	107
Part II: Forecasting The 2000s: Forcasting & Designing Your Portfolio
Chapters V-VIII
V. Today's Economic Climate Mathematical-Over-Emotional Strategies	137
VI. Portfolio Design & Asset Allocation	181
VII. Monitoring & Managing Your Portfolio The Stitch-and-Sew Method	217
VIII. The "Tax-Less" Dessert	247
Part III: Expectations The 2010s: Expectations and Your Investor-Advisor Relationship
Chapters IX-XII
IX. The Human Element of Investing - The Socio-Economic Coin of Security and Your Investor-Advisor Relationship	273
X. Anxiety Versus Prosperity - The Greatest Contrast of All	293
XI. The Happiness of a 95 Year Old - Brain Fitness and the Shape of an Economic Phase	315
XII. Having a Life - Your Family Comes First	337
Conclusion and Afterword	353
Glossary	357
Index	365

Excerpts

Introduction to Your 1st Investment Vision

You have to have a vision to fulfill your mission and you have use that vision to change and improve your life!  The Visions Investing financial plan in this book gives you 101 investment visions that teach you how to change your life as an investor by eliminating investment anxieties with solutions that show you how to quadruple your wealth in fifteen years and avoid losses along the way.  This financial plan rewrites economic theory by teaching you that instead of investing based on bulls and bears, trying to pick "hot stocks," inflation-deflation debates or being market dependent, it is better to invest by understanding capitalism and how the economy expands and contracts, because this is what effects the behavior of your money and your investments as they travel through time!  This investment program guides you in becoming the best investor possible with the most suitable plan for accumulating wealth in any climate.

When you have this book in hand, take a look at a copy of your current financial statements and pick out an "area of concern."  Then turn to the table of contents and find which page addresses your issues.  Welcome to the 21st Century of Money.  This is your personal sliver of Wall Street and solutions for all of your investment visions.

Although investing is challenging in the best of times, portfolios that do well in challenging investment climates will fare better over the long haul because when the economy is healthy, investing is a whole lot easier!  But mark my words, the 199s have changed everything and there are many challenges that lie ahead for investors.

If your portfolio has been up since the spring of 2000 when the economy contracted, then your investing supports a sensible investing plan.  If not, you are not alone - but the 1990s have changed the investment landscape and the enormous exposure investors have experienced has created a great demand from investors who need help finding good advise.  The demand for good advice is at an all time high so this book was written to meet that demand!

We come together with a common cause, which is to give and receive the best advice that is available.  To help you understand capitalism and how its expanding and contracting phases affect your money, the book offers itself as a guide that discusses these changing economic climates and provides you with solutions on both sides of the risk-reward investment coin.

Four Essential Questions for Investors

1. WHAT CAUSED THE FINANCIAL CONTRACTION?

2. WHAT IS ITS EFFECT ON TODAY'S ECONOMIC PHASE?

3. WHAT IS THE MOST ACCURATE FORECAST FOR GREAT PORTFOLIO DESIGN?

4. WHAT IS THE EXPECTATION OF YOUR INVESTMENTS WHEN THE ECONOMY MEETS CHALLENGES?

Four Principles of Sensible Investing

Mastering these principles of financial thought will develop your skills about investment topics including money management, business planning, 401Ks, retirement-replacement planning, education, estate planning and lending.

Principle I - The Theory:

Applying a philosophy-over-performance orientation gets your portfolio on track and keeps it growing in challenging investment climates.  Investors who use this philosophy when investing will be ahead of the long run, because when the economy is improving, everyone does better.  You will invest based on the needs of your standard of living and a philosophy, or way of thinking, rather than being dependent on market behavior.  Performance investing looks to the past, while a philosophy-over-performance orientation gives you a clear vision of the future, which allows you to invest with a sense of security, rather than with uncertainty and aggravation.  In turn, you will eliminate financial stress and investment-anxiety in your life and have more time to spend doing the things you enjoy.

Principle II - The Purpose:

Understanding Capitalism and the difference of investing in expanding-versus-contracting economies will teach you about the behavior of your money as it travels through time.  Expanding economic phases are defined by periods of economic growth where major economic indicators such as unemployment, corporate earnings, gross domestic product and consumer confidence are positive or improving.  Contracting economics are economic phases that are resistant to growth.  Income offers a high degree of reliability in contracting economic phases, and investing in both income and equities during the November to April cycles have shown historical consistency, especially in the expanding phases.  Both phases occur as a natural phenomenon of capitalism, so the allocation of your assets must be structured and monitored accordingly with an awareness of the transitions from one phase to the next.  The Visions Investing plan teaches you how to read these phases to more effectively invest your money.

Principle III - The Strategy:

Utilizing mathematical-over-emotional strategies gives investors the ability to make accurate forecasts with strategies to quadruple your wealth and net worth every fifteen years, thus serving as a sensible objective for investors over a realistic timeline.  There are socio-economic factors to consider that are significant in their application and by learning how to control emotional responses and not being market dependent, your expectations will be more realistic.

Principle IV - The Message:

Discovering the importance of good investor-advisor relationships is vital for investors.  Competence, caring and the human element of placing investors' interests first are key to sensible portfolio management.  The 1990s have changed the investment environment from here on in, and due to the damage and exposure investors have experienced, the demand for good advice is at an all-time high.  We are entering a new era for investors and there is more at stake than just money. The Visions Investing plan helps you become a better philanthropist by teaching you to become a better investor along the way.

The Solution

Answering the Four Essential Questions for Investors with Visions Investing's Four Principles of Sensible Investing sends a signal to investors that initiates a sensible and reliable strategy for accurate forecasts and appropriate investment decisions.

As a leader in the finance industry and one who cares about people and their investment efforts, it is my pleasure to encourage investors to seek security by traveling along this road of investment thought.  Now, you too, can change your life and become a better investor by using Visions Investing's Principles of Sensible Investing to answer the Four Essential Questions for Investors about cause, effect, forecasting and expectations.  Finding the vision within you serves as your guide in becoming the best investor possible and overcoming your hurdles along the way.