{"product_id":"9781412216098","title":"The X-Discipline: Financial Independence for the Web-Savvy Investor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen was the last time your broker called to tell you to sell?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the 32-month bear market between March 2000 and March 2003, \"buy and hold\" advice from brokers and financial advisors failed to stem portfolio losses ranging from 40 to 80%. People lost money for one reason: they failed to sell. There's no safe haven where you can buy a stock and forget about it. Have you lost faith in the individuals and institutions that recommended your investments? Are you looking for a better way?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis rare, realistic book offers a, unique, practical alternative depending on others for advice and to the risks, effort, and time involved in managing a stock portfolio yourself. This book is specific - instead of the usual bland list, the author escorts you into the internals of websites with down-to-the-mouseclick procedures for extracting what you need to make clear-cut decisions. He helps you build two essential (but usually omitted) skills for investing: how to critically read the news and control your emotions.\u003cbr\u003eHis disciplined approach to selling works under all economic conditions to protect you against market downturns; yet, the search that yields high-performing low-volatility funds requires only moderately frequent trading and only about one hour a week of your time. The method frees you from the brokers and financial advisors who have not the skills, methods, or incentive to tell you when to sell - and eliminates their exorbitant fees.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith numerous examples and detailed guidance, \u003cb\u003eThe X-Discipline\u003c\/b\u003e shows you how to anticipate market moves by understanding the impact of news events. It helps you resist the temptation to react emotionally when the market gets volatile or turns against you. No longer dependent on others' advice, you can use ultra-discount brokers to trade low cost efficiently-run funds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSynopsis of the Book\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe X-Discipline\u003c\/b\u003e is organized into four Parts that let you to use it in different ways. If you want to sit down and surf your way through the steps, start with Chapter 1 and work through to Chapter 7. Your first session will take two to three hours, during which you will find the dogs in your portfolio and build a list of potential winners. With repetition, running through the five steps will require only a few minutes weekly. Because it focuses on process, Part 1 is light on explanation. Each Part 1 chapter has a Part 2 counterpart that goes into greater detail on the origin and reasoning behind the strategy and on potential problems. You can read Part 2 sequentially or use it as a reference.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you want to learn about \u003cb\u003eThe X-Discipline\u003c\/b\u003e before adopting it, begin with Chapter 8 in Part 2. Part 3 has additional studies and time saving information, and Part 4 gives specific procedures for accessing websites. Updates to Part 4, which will change as websites change, are available on x-discipline.com\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePart 1: Immediate Results!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 1: \u003cu\u003eCharting Basics\u003c\/u\u003e describes the use of charts to identify and measure trends, applying a technique used by experienced traders to identify trend reversals, which are key buy or sell signals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 2\/Step 1: \u003cu\u003eDetermine the Market Stage\u003c\/u\u003e helps you use the trend of the NASDAQ Composite Index to determine the \"Stage\" of the market, which helps you decide how much of your capital to put at risk.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 3\/Step 2a: \u003cu\u003eFinding Mutual and ETF Winners\u003c\/u\u003e introduces fund screeners, for exchange-traded and mutual funds. These online applications produce a list of the best performing funds during the most recent one to three months.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 4\/Step 2b\u0026amp;c: \u003cu\u003eSelecting the Best of the Best\u003c\/u\u003e shows you how to use the relative strength chart application to trade off high performance and low volatility, and how to eliminate mutual funds having undesirable attributes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 5\/Step 3: \u003cu\u003eSell - Before You Buy\u003c\/u\u003e describes planning your exit strategy, detecting failing performance and deciding whether when to sell.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 6\/Step 4: \u003cu\u003eReview the News\u003c\/u\u003e. News moves prices, and more of your decisions will turn out right if you consider real world factors. Chapter 6 shows you how to go online for quick news updates, to employ critical thinking to assess the relevance and influence of what you read, and to create personal \"outlook statement,\" that summarizes where you think markets are headed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 7\/Step 5: \u003cu\u003eTaking Action\u003c\/u\u003e. If you did not have emotions, Chapter 7 would be one sentence: \"Click on sell.\" This chapter helps you deal with the fear that grips you when you actually have to commit to your plan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePart 2: \u003cb\u003eThe X-Discipline\u003c\/b\u003e explained\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 8: \u003cu\u003eThe Case for Disciplined Investing\u003c\/u\u003e presents the strategy of the X-Discipline, reviews market action over the last five years, shows how holding during a major downturn can create a severe loss, and gives an example of how selecting top performing funds at key times can generate high returns.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 9: \u003cu\u003eFunds: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly\u003c\/u\u003e examines the relationship between risk and volatility, presents the case for using no-load mutual and exchange-traded funds as your primary investment vehicle, and provides a different perspective for you as a fund owner: the manager of your investment team. The chapter also explains the complex topic of fund costs and the Morningstar system for categorizing funds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 10: \u003cu\u003eWhy Your Broker Doesn't Call\u003c\/u\u003e describes how brokers operate, deals with the housekeeping necessary before you commit real money, helps you determine how much you have available to invest, and explains how to diversify. It explains tax issues and the types of accounts, the services needed from your broker, and how to avoid broker transaction fees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 11: \u003cu\u003eMeasuring the Market\u003c\/u\u003e explains in detail the significance of long- and short-term trends and shows you how to gauge the mood of the markets to determine the percentage of your assets to put at risk. Sometimes, your best investment is cash.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 12: The Challenges of \u003cu\u003eFund Screening\u003c\/u\u003e is the first of three chapters that cover three phases of qualifying funds as \"buy candidates.\" It gives detailed examples on how to search for funds and guides you in selecting the best screener for your needs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 13: \u003cu\u003eExcluding Volatility\u003c\/u\u003e shows you how to visually identify volatile or weak funds through an example using the relative strength chart application.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 14: \u003cu\u003eThe Pre-Flight Checkup\u003c\/u\u003e discusses key facts to check on any fund before you buy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 15: \u003cu\u003eThe Art of Firing a Portfolio Manager\u003c\/u\u003e revisits selling with a detailed analysis and addresses with examples the interpretation of charts under volatile and non-volatile conditions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 16: \u003cu\u003eNuclear War and Other Negatives\u003c\/u\u003e discusses how to employ critical thinking to use the news to arrive at your own opinion. Without an independent opinion on how to approach the markets, you will tend to follow other people's ideas in place of your own strategy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 17: \u003cu\u003eInvesting is Emotional!\u003c\/u\u003e explains the emotions that affect investors, points out that failure to control them will take you off your plan, and offers suggestions on how to understand them and regain control.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 18: \u003cu\u003eTracking Your Portfolio\u003c\/u\u003e introduces a method to track progress, balance your portfolio, and act on sell signals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 19: \u003cu\u003eBond Funds: An Equity Alternative\u003c\/u\u003e. The recent long-term bear market made the case for investing in bond funds - under the right circumstances. This chapter shows you when to be in bond funds and how to find and evaluate them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePart 3: The Appendices\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix 1: \u003cu\u003eThe Internet Bubble\u003c\/u\u003e is a case study that follows the NASDAQ Composite Index through the bull market run up and the dot-com crash, showing you how the X-Discipli\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Trafford Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47138361278704,"sku":"9781412216098","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781412216098_p0.jpg?v=1763724574","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781412216098","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}