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b'With\\xa0Spencer Jakab, writer and editor of the Wall Street Journal column, \\u201cHeard on the Street\\u201d, Author of Heads I Win, Tails I Win

Spencer Jakab, writer and editor of the Wall Street Journal column, \\u201cHeard on the Street,\\u201d has heard it all. All the hype, all the advice, all the dos and the donts swirling around the media from every point of view, bombarding the confused investor from all angles, and every source about as reliable as flipping a coin.
In fact, that is exactly the premise of Spencer\\u2019s new book, Heads I Win, Tails I Win, a valuable read for the novice and the experienced investor alike because we\\u2019re all vulnerable to the latest and loudest horn blower out there. Spencer thinks that most financial advice is \\u201cbasically useless and a little bit of it is worse than useless in the sense that you are being led down a primrose path.\\u201d\\xa0 His somewhat unorthodox advice, which he says can be summed up in about eight bullet points, is essentially to be cheap and lazy, and that entails a bit of passivity and deaf ears.
The average investor, he says, typically performs well below the market average as a result of zigging where he or she should have zagged, poor timing, over-reacting to news such as Brexit, and getting seduced by the latest financial fad. The antidote, Spencer says, is to be as lazy and as passive as possible in the face of these temptations, to stick to a plan, and to tell yourself: "I\'m going to rebalance on this date; I\'m going to have this allocation; I\'m not going to let this scary headline or this hot new trend derail me from that."
The other half of Spencer\\u2019s advice is to be cheap, to pay as little as possible, not more than one-tenth of a percentage point for a bond or stock fund. In times of low returns, such as now, that alone can save you money and double your nest egg.
The influence of the media is ubiquitous and seductive. And scary financial rants and doomsday prophecies that create a collective adrenalin rush garner the best TV ratings, something that never happens when everything hums along nicely.\\xa0 Spencer advises taking the grain of salt approach and sticking to your plan.
Acknowledging, however, that we often are no match for the force of current trends and headlines, a professional fee-only advisor can be the neutralizing voice of reason\\u2014especially during an anxious time such as we experienced with Brexit or back in 2008 with the Lehman collapse\\u2014that can prevent a costly misstep.
So while Spencer cautions investors to remain lazy and cheap, he concedes that for most of us \\u201chaving counsel and having counsel where their interests and your interests are aligned is a very smart thing.\\u201d\\xa0
Full of interesting anecdotes Heads I Win, Tails I Win is a concise and entertaining investment guide that aims to keep you on the sane and, ultimately, successful path to financial wealth.
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Steve Pomeranz: Spencer Jakab writes for and edits the \\u201cHeard on the Street\\u201d column for the Wall Street Journal and was a top rated stock analyst covering emerging markets at Credit Suisse.\\xa0 His new book, Heads I Win, Tails I Win, is a very good book for the novice and the experienced investor alike, so let\'s meet him and find out what he has to say.\\xa0 Welcome to the show, Spencer.'