A Decade of Delusions: From Speculative Contagion to the Great Recession - Hardcover

by Frank K. Martin (Author), John C. Bogle (Foreword by)

The proven strategies rational investors require for success in an irrational market

When the dot-com and real estate bubbles of the 1990s and 2000s burst, few were spared the financial fallout. So, how did an investment advisory firm located in Elkhart, Indiana--one of the cities hit hardest by the economic downturns--not only survive, but also thrive during the highly contagious speculative pandemics. By remaining rational. In A Decade of Delusions: From Speculative Contagion to the Great Recession, Frank Martin founder of Elkhart, Indiana's Martin Capital Management offers a riveting and real-time insider's look at the two bubbles, and reflects on how investors can remain rational even when markets are anything but.

• Outlines strategies the average investor can use to wade through the endless news, information, and investment advice that bombards them
• Describes the epidemic of market speculation that gradually infects feverish investors
• Details how investors can spare themselves the emotional devastation and accompanying paralysis resulting from shocking financial losses

Investors are still reeling from the instability in the market. A Decade of Delusions: From Speculative Contagion to the Great Recession provides the information investors need to achieve safety, liquidity, and yield.

Front Jacket

In the current volatile and irrational financial climate, intelligent investors are looking for sound advice and proven strategies to protect their money and grow it safely.

Drawn from annual reports and other communiques with investors during the most turbulent period of U.S. economic history since the 1930s, A Decade of Delusions: From Speculative Contagion to the Great Recession offers a glimpse into the real-time thought process of a successful investment manager. Incorporating the wisdom of philosophers, psychologists, economists, and financial managers past and present, the book offers thoughtful and thorough essays on how to assess what may lie ahead for investors--and how to best prepare for it.

Accessible and comprehensive, A Decade of Delusions is a true insider's account, accented with the genuine suspense that only the weighty responsibility of real-life money management can provide.

Writing in a colloquial, conversational style, Frank Martin, founder of Martin Capital Management, in Elkhart, Indiana, offers a rare opportunity to peer inside the mind of an investment manager who saw trouble ahead when others could not: the tech stocks bubble and the sub-prime mortgage bust, to name a couple. This is the documented account of how Frank Martin navigated his clients through a torrent of near catastrophes in the "Lost Decade." In the process, he provides invaluable perspective, helping the average investor steer clear of danger in these difficult waters. A practical how-to guide, it is also a comprehensive history of some of the world's most brilliant economic thinkers through the ages. Outlining strategies to remain fiercely independent of the delusional madness that often grips the markets, describing in detail the epidemic speculation that can topple financial systems, and explaining how investors can spare themselves the devastation of major and permanent financial loss, A Decade of Delusions is an essential reference for all those looking to protect and maximize the potential of their investment capital.

Back Jacket

In the current volatile and irrational financial climate, intelligent investors are looking for sound advice and proven strategies to protect their money and grow it safely.

Drawn from annual reports and other communiqués with investors during the most turbulent period of U.S. economic history since the 1930s, A Decade of Delusions: From Speculative Contagion to the Great Recession offers a glimpse into the real-time thought process of a successful investment manager. Incorporating the wisdom of philosophers, psychologists, economists, and financial managers past and present, the book offers thoughtful and thorough essays on how to assess what may lie ahead for investors--and how to best prepare for it.

Accessible and comprehensive, A Decade of Delusions is a true insider's account, accented with the genuine suspense that only the weighty responsibility of real-life money management can provide.

Writing in a colloquial, conversational style, Frank Martin, founder of Martin Capital Management, in Elkhart, Indiana, offers a rare opportunity to peer inside the mind of an investment manager who saw trouble ahead when others could not: the tech stocks bubble and the sub-prime mortgage bust, to name a couple. This is the documented account of how Frank Martin navigated his clients through a torrent of near catastrophes in the "Lost Decade." In the process, he provides invaluable perspective, helping the average investor steer clear of danger in these difficult waters. A practical how-to guide, it is also a comprehensive history of some of the world's most brilliant economic thinkers through the ages. Outlining strategies to remain fiercely independent of the delusional madness that often grips the markets, describing in detail the epidemic speculation that can topple financial systems, and explaining how investors can spare themselves the devastation of major and permanent financial loss, A Decade of Delusions is an essential reference for all those looking to protect and maximize the potential of their investment capital.

Author Biography

FRANK K. MARTIN, CFA, founded Martin Capital Management in 1987 after twenty years of experience in municipal finance and, later, mergers and acquisitions. Martin's post-secondary degrees are from Northwestern University and Indiana University. He resides in northern Indiana with his wife, Marsha. He has three adult children. Additional biographical information can be found at www.mcmadvisors.com.