Empire of the Fund

The Way We Save Now

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Business, Business & Finance, Finance & Investing, Investments & Securities, Personal Finance
Cover of the book Empire of the Fund by William A. Birdthistle, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William A. Birdthistle ISBN: 9780199398584
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: June 1, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: William A. Birdthistle
ISBN: 9780199398584
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: June 1, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Empire of the Fund is an exposé and examination of the way we save now. With the rise of the 401(k) and demise of the pension, the United States has embarked upon the richest and riskiest experiment in our financial history. Over the next twenty years, nearly eighty million baby boomers will retire at a pace of ten thousand per day. The hypothesis of our experiment is that millions of ordinary, untrained, busy citizens can successfully manage trillions of dollars in a financial system dominated by wealthy, skilled, and powerful financial institutions, many of which have a record of treating individual investors shabbily. The key tools in our 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are mutual funds, which have ballooned to hold more than $16 trillion. But these funds pose dangers to our savings in three ways: through structural vulnerabilities that give money managers the incentive to focus on marketing over investing; through the very human challenges of managing our savings decades into the future; and through the peril of financial professionals behaving badly, to our economic harm. Though Americans often hear of the importance of low fees in fund investing, few are aware of the astonishing panoply of ways that some financial advisers have illegally diverted money out of mutual funds: from abetting hedge funds to trade after the legal deadline, to inflating the assets on which they are paid a percentage, to paying kickbacks for brokers to sell their funds. This book will forewarn and forearm Americans by illustrating the structural flaws, perverse incentives, and litany of scandals that have bedeviled mutual funds. And by setting forth a pair of policy solutions to improve Americans' financial literacy and bargaining power, it will also attempt to safeguard our individual financial destinies and our nation's fiscal strength.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Empire of the Fund is an exposé and examination of the way we save now. With the rise of the 401(k) and demise of the pension, the United States has embarked upon the richest and riskiest experiment in our financial history. Over the next twenty years, nearly eighty million baby boomers will retire at a pace of ten thousand per day. The hypothesis of our experiment is that millions of ordinary, untrained, busy citizens can successfully manage trillions of dollars in a financial system dominated by wealthy, skilled, and powerful financial institutions, many of which have a record of treating individual investors shabbily. The key tools in our 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are mutual funds, which have ballooned to hold more than $16 trillion. But these funds pose dangers to our savings in three ways: through structural vulnerabilities that give money managers the incentive to focus on marketing over investing; through the very human challenges of managing our savings decades into the future; and through the peril of financial professionals behaving badly, to our economic harm. Though Americans often hear of the importance of low fees in fund investing, few are aware of the astonishing panoply of ways that some financial advisers have illegally diverted money out of mutual funds: from abetting hedge funds to trade after the legal deadline, to inflating the assets on which they are paid a percentage, to paying kickbacks for brokers to sell their funds. This book will forewarn and forearm Americans by illustrating the structural flaws, perverse incentives, and litany of scandals that have bedeviled mutual funds. And by setting forth a pair of policy solutions to improve Americans' financial literacy and bargaining power, it will also attempt to safeguard our individual financial destinies and our nation's fiscal strength.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Federalization of Corporate Governance by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book The Mind As a Scientific Object by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Methods in Bioethics by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Board Review by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Language Course Management by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Surfing through Hyperspace by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Progressivism: A Very Short Introduction by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Corporate E-Learning by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Music Across the Senses by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Women in American Music: Grove Music Essentials by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Justice and Health Care by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Prevention and Management of Complications in Bariatric Surgery by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Grand Old Party by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Humanitarian Ethics by William A. Birdthistle
Cover of the book Flawed Convictions by William A. Birdthistle
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy