In a world filled with bad investments, this guide shows you exactly how to keep your money safe without missing out on great investment opportunities
In Stop Making Stupid Investments: 7 Rules to Avoid the Hype and Build Real Wealth, experienced real estate and finance leader David Leiter delivers a practical, common-sense strategy guide for building wealth through intelligent investing. Leiter explains the 7 rules that helped guide him as he built a large and resilient portfolio over 30 years. He demystifies complicated financial concepts and explores powerful investing techniques in a straightforward way without the usual jargon.
This book is a simple set of easy-to-follow rules for everyday investors who want to effectively manage risk, avoid scams and fraud, and access impressive returns without missing out on great opportunities when they come along. Its filled with timeless principles that apply everywhere, to everyone, in every kind of market. Youll find:
Grounded advice, based on the authors decades-long experience in finance and real estate, on how to spot a bad investment How to use simple, proven investment strategies that are easy to understand to generate consistent returns while limiting your exposure to risk Ways to use contrarian thinking to get ahead of trends and improve the performance of your portfolio
Perfect for everyday investors and working professionals hoping to build a financially secure retirement, Stop Making Stupid Investments is an intuitive, accessible, and insightful manual for everyone who wants to protect and grow their money at the same time.
FOREWORD xi
PREFACE xv
INTRODUCTION xxi
PART I THE GROUNDWORK 1
CHAPTER 1 WORKING ON WALL STREET, AND THE 5 SECRETS (TRUTHS) I LEARNED 3
CHAPTER 2 THE MAGIC MONEY MILL (IS IT A SCAM, OR JUST A BAD INVESTMENT?) 11
CHAPTER 3 THE 5 LEVELS OF INVESTOR 25
PART II THE 7 RULES TO STOP MAKING STUPID INVESTMENTS 39
RULE 1 AVOID BIG LOSSES 41
RULE 2 THINK LIKE A CONTRARIAN 49
RULE 3 DON'T INVEST WITH SOMEONE JUST BECAUSE YOU LIKE THEM 59
RULE 4 DO NOT INVEST IN PRIVATE REAL ESTATE OR PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS THAT DO
NOT HAVE AUDITS AND A SUBSTANTIAL TRACK RECORD OF THE MANAGER 71
RULE 5 THE STOCK IS NOT THE COMPANY, AND THE COMPANY IS NOT THE STOCK
(UNDERSTAND HOW MARKETS WORK) 79
RULE 6 EMOTIONS ARE THE ENEMY OF INVESTING 93
RULE 7 DON'T BUY TRADING "SYSTEMS," PROGRAMS BASED ON TECHNICAL ANALYSIS, OR
"BLACK BOX"-TYPE TRADING "BOTS" 101
BONUS 1 MATH IS THE ENEMY OF BULLSHIT 107
BONUS 2 I'VE GOT 99 PROBLEMS, BUT CRYPTO AIN'T ONE 113
PART III HOW TO PICK YOUR OWN INVESTMENTS (WHICH YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T)
119
CHAPTER 4 DON'T INTERRUPT COMPOUNDING 121
CHAPTER 5 THE THREE TYPES OF VALUE INVESTING 131
CHAPTER 6 THE FRAMEWORK FOR INVESTING (THE 4 STEPS TO MAKING AN INVESTMENT
DECISION) 149
CHAPTER 7 WHEN DID EVERYTHING BECOME ABOUT MONEY? (SOLVING THE FEAR, GREED,
AND ENVY DISEASE) 175
NOTES 195
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 199
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DAVID AND THE ULTIMATE INVESTOR TRAININGS 201
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 207
INDEX 209
DAVID LEITER is an investor and speaker at Tony Robbins Wealth Mastery events, where he has addressed thousands of attendees since May 2023. He began his career on Wall Street at Credit Suisse First Boston in 1996 and later worked as an equity trader. Leiter founded and built an HOA/Condo management company in Brooklyn, growing it to nearly 100 properties, with total properties valued at more than $2 billion before selling to Associa in 2020. Through his company, The Ultimate Investor, David has helped thousands of people learn how to be better investors, spot truly great opportunities, and avoid the hype that typically causes losses.
