With this investment book about ETF and mutual funds fees and expenses, you can lower your portfolio investing costs, reduce your portfolio risk exposure, and understand how to invest in stocks and bonds funds directly
This article is about a low cost investing book which is among the most helpful books on personal investing that you can find. Titled Low Cost Mutual Funds and ETFs, this investing book addresses what is the largest challenge that most personal investors face: investment costs that are far too high.
In addition, the low cost investing book provides an easy to understand and clear discussion concerning what really works in individual investment methods. It provides straight forward and extensive information on how to invest money.
With this book it is easy to locate the lowest cost index mutual funds and ETFs. It lists 212 low cost mutual funds in 30 different categories, plus it provides tables with 208 low cost index ETFs in 27 different asset categories. All these top no load mutual funds tables were screened with methods backed by investment research which are explained in this useful investing book. The book’s ETF and mutual fund list tables provide a full spectrum of lowest cost index mutual fund and ETF alternatives for any investor.
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "VeriPlan has been a very flexible home financial planning tool. It took me a few hours on a weekend to understand what VeriPlan could do and to enter our financial data. Our family financial affairs were scattered all over, and we lacked a comprehensive picture of what the future might hold for us. I wanted a clear understanding of our projected lifetime and retirement income, expenses, taxes, debts, real estate, financial assets, college investments, retirement investments, and everything else all together." S. L. in Altadena, CA
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "You have done a great job of including the necessary instructions in VeriPlan, located close to where the modeling is happening. The thing I like about the VeriPlan User Guide is that it adds substantial additional commentary that I personally find very valuable. I was hunting for a capable and reasonably priced financial planning package, and VeriPlan is an awesome tool. The more I play around with it, the more valuable I find it. Your free user guide was what made me decide to get VeriPlan." C. A. in North Royalton, OH
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "One of the stories that VeriPlan tells me is how much of my money could be lost to excessive investment costs. I just switched to some lower cost funds in my 401k. I loved updating VeriPlan with the new cost values just to see the red bar on the Total Assets chart get significantly thinner - quite a shocking difference." M. W. in Tulsa, OK
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I am extremely impressed with the depth of information that VeriPlan asks for and provides. VeriPlan seems much more detailed than one would expect for the very reasonable price. Although I am not a financial professional, I consider myself more financially educated than the most people of my age (62). I find that VeriPlan's depth to be just what we need for our retirement planning. I am glad I purchased it. Thanks." J. W. in Gainsville, FL
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I have been very happy with this software. I will put VeriPlan to work to help optimize our IRA to Roth conversions, while avoiding the IRMAA penalties if we can. We are in an opportunistic window for the next several years. I have been appalled by the lack of professional knowledge available with respect to the tax burden that will fall upon us when RMDs take effect. Most of the information I have found suggests that it isn't a problem. Luckily, this software will be of great benefit to chart our course." J. S. in Louisville, KY
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I am a recently retired engineer, and I created a cash flow Excel spreadsheet for 25 years of retirement. So, I fully appreciate the data and potential variances that must be accounted for. Yet, mine is so very simple compared to VeriPlan. I love VeriPlan's concept of total control over inputs and parameters. Veriplan's objectives are very much like mine, but it has many, many more input and control options, and the price is spot on." L. G. in Southbridge, VA
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I've been using VeriPlan for a few weeks now, and it is everything I was looking for plus a whole lot more of what I didn't even know I needed. By simply switching VeriPlan to a state that does not have a state income tax, I can see how much I could save on traditional IRA distributions in retirement by moving to a state without income taxes. It is a real education in personal finance, and I think just about everyone would benefit from using this tool." T. H. in Silicon Valley CA
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This book on better investing contains over 250 pages and was written and researched by Larry Russell, who is an experienced financial planner and advisor from Pasadena, California who has degrees from MIT, Brandeis, and Stanford.
The problem with investments: Most investors pay far too much in ETF and mutual funds expenses and receive way too little in return for these costs
Charging individual investors high fees for its allegedly better insight, the great majority of the investment industry simply just lives off of the returns and assets of individual investors without adding net value. In brief, you are simply a financial services industry center of profit and revenue.
By overwhelming the market with complex securities products and services which are excessively costly, the investment industry makes the investment process unnecessarily and overly complex. Next, the financial services industry gives self-interested and biased “free advice” on where to invest,, which is the most costly “free advice” investors will receive in their lives. Without looking for less expensive investment products and services, investors are much more likely to be encouraged to buy these outrageously costly investment products and services.

A customer comment from the sidebar: "VeriPlan's financial projection graphics simply lay out what the future might hold for my family. Also, VeriPlan is a very fast and automated financial investment calculator that allows me to change anything and to test alternate investment decisions rapidly. Its integrated documentation explains clearly how it works, and it also includes a wealth of well-researched personal finance and investment information that has been very helpful." T. F. in Muncie, IN
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I do most of my own financial modeling, and I like the way VeriPlan generates “what if” scenarios that I like to compare, such as possibly buying a rental property, selling my house and renting, moving social security retirement age payment timing, and pulling out IRA money after taxes. Plus, I like VeriPlan for its automated projection of detailed investment costs. Thanks for making a great product." K. W. in Naperville, IL
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I am 10 years out from retirement, and I needed to start thinking more seriously about having enough to retire on. I'm following the suggestions of you and others in opting for more hands-on retirement planning. I am also using lower cost index investing. There are too many wealth management companies out there, all ready to charge an arm and leg for what should be straightforward financial planning work." G. B. in Smith Mountain Lake, VA
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "Larry, Hello again! I've continued to work with VeriPlan, and the more I work with it the more I'm amazed at how much it does. It's an incredible decision support tool for my financial planning. Since I have already built a model of my lifetime finances, it is easy to test new ideas as they come to me. Thanks again." M. W. R. in Austin, TX
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I first learned about the zero federal taxes on long term capital gains when under the 25% marginal income tax rate from working with VeriPlan a number of years ago. I’m no longer working but not yet receiving RMD’s or social security so my ordinary income is relatively low. So I’ve been taking full advantage of zero federal capital gains taxes by selling off my high expense ratio mutual funds which have a lot of capital gains built in since I’ve held them a long time and then I reinvest them in index mutual funds which don’t generate as much capital gains distributions. So the education that you and VeriPlan provide has saved me thousands in taxes, not to mention the expenses on high cost mutual funds. Thanks again." M. D. in El Paso, TX
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Unjustifiably costly securities products and services are the real enemy that you face as you are investing money. The more of your assets you allow the financial services industry take, the less you will have in retirement. Save your money. You do not have to participate in this unfair game, when you know how to invest in stocks and bonds funds directly.
With the help of this Low Cost Mutual Funds and ETFs investment book you can quickly control your portfolio investing fees, reduce your portfolio risk, and increase your retained investment returns. Cutting your ETF and mutual funds fees and expenses down to the bone is the most powerful investing strategy you have.
For decades, inexpensive noload index mutual funds and now more recently inexpensive exchange-traded funds have produced superior returns after accounting for risk. After costs and taxes have been accounted for, individual investors just keep more of their portfolio returns. As a bonus, individual investors who purchase inexpensive index funds lower investment risk, spend less effort, avoid pressure sales tactics, endure far less hassle, and save time.
A customer comment from the sidebar: "I am a recently retired engineer, and I created a cash flow Excel spreadsheet for 25 years of retirement. So, I fully appreciate the data and potential variances that must be accounted for. Yet, mine is so very simple compared to VeriPlan. I love VeriPlan's concept of total control over inputs and parameters. Veriplan's objectives are very much like mine, but it has many, many more input and control options, and the price is spot on." L. G. in Southbridge, VA
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "Thanks for developing a great product. I have looked at Money Tree, Money Guide Pro, and some other FP software, and I have used Right Capital (a good product also, but still $100 per month). Yours is just as robust for a much more affordable price. I also extensively use Quicken for my finances, but the planning tool in it is kind of basic, so VeriPlan will complement Quicken very well." E. Z. in San Mateo, CA
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I spent parts of the past several days entering data into the VeriPlan workbook while digesting as much of the methodology as possible. My takeaway is that VeriPlan is an extraordinary tool, especially in its ability to generate projections based on detailed alternate scenarios. During the learning process, I also found it to be a wonderful financial education in its own right." S. N. in Sammamish, WA
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "Previously I used some consumer retirement planners like New Retirement. What they offer is a projection of your financial situation that is wildly generalized. A generalized projection is probably better than having no projection at all and could very well be used for rough, long-term planning. However, for fine grained planning, such a system is wholly inadequate. VeriPlan is vastly superior in comprehensiveness and flexibility." T. D. in Edison, NJ
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I purchased VeriPlan for the Roth conversion features. I enjoy VeriPlan and appreciate the thoroughness of the design and excellent commentary. I now work for (financial company name redacted) since retiring from (computer company name redacted) in a Retirement and Workplace Planning role. The accuracy, conciseness, and utility of the information presented by VeriPlan is great." M. S. in White Plains, NY
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A customer comment from the sidebar: "I've been using VeriPlan for a few weeks now, and it is everything I was looking for plus a whole lot more of what I didn't even know I needed. By simply switching VeriPlan to a state that does not have a state income tax, I can see how much I could save on traditional IRA distributions in retirement by moving to a state without income taxes. It is a real education in personal finance, and I think just about everyone would benefit from using this tool. I am going to tell everyone I know about VeriPlan. Thank you very much for creating it. Your web sites are great, too." T. H. in Silicon Valley CA
Financial Planning and Retirement Software for Home Use
A customer comment from the sidebar: "I thought I would let you know that VeriPlan was the primary decision support tool in my decision to retire early, which was about 4 years ago now. And it has worked out really well. Since then I got married, and we have traveled to 10 countries -- some on mission trips. I had used the lifetime planners in Microsoft Money and Quicken but they were not robust enough to make a major decision with. In retrospect they are toys compared to VeriPlan. So VeriPlan has been a very big help to me. Also, I recently read your Lowest Cost Mutual Funds book, which was great. It brought a few things to my attention that I need to work on." Email update from T. H. in Silicon Valley
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You can invest by yourself directly, and with direct investing you can do it better. All you need is correct information to find the top no load mutual funds and ETFs. For some straight information about better investing and what really works with individual investing, get this mutual funds expenses book.
Information about the no load index funds and ETFs in this investments book

This mutual funds list book includes 212 low cost no load index mutual funds and 208 low cost ETFs in 30 and 27 separate asset classes, respectively. Included noload index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are characterized by having the lowest management fees, no marketing charges, and no sales loads. Also, listed index funds have significantly lower portfolio turnover which is associated with reduced trading expenses.
The listings of the top no load mutual funds and ETFs include:
- US international, and global multi-cap, large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap stock investment funds with low costs including value and growth stock funds
- US, global, and international long-term, intermediate-term, and short-term treasury, government, corporate, municipal, and inflation protected bond investment funds with low costs
- Money funds and real estate funds with low costs
Using this ETF and mutual funds list book, you can choose the lowest cost portfolio which is fully diversified by geography and investment asset class.
Savings with this useful low cost mutual funds and ETFs investor book
Depending upon how big your portfolio is, this modestly priced mutual funds expenses book would save you hundreds even thousands of dollars year after year by helping you know where to do direct investing. If you can reduce your total investment expenses and fees by one percent of your assets annually and you own an investment portfolio of $10,000, your investment savings will be $100 each year. If you have $50,000, you will save $500 per year. With $100,000, you will save $1,000 each year. Since total annual investing fees and costs paid by the average individual investor add up to between 2% and 2 & 1/2% a year, most investors could in reality save two percent annually. Therefore, these annual investment savings on overall expenses and fees savings would even be double each year — year in and year out.
Some people might say: “Sure that is what I might save, but if I pay mutual funds fees and expenses when I am investing money, I will get higher portfolio returns.” Sorry, however financial research clearly will not justify paying more in fees. Here are some typical financial research quotes from this book:
- “Simply put, if you pay higher bond mutual fund fees, then these higher bond management expenses tend just to be a deadweight loss to you.”
- “This leads us to estimate the annual under performance of the broker-sold funds at $4.6 billion dollars.”
- “The inferiority of active investment strategies … across the various countries, when the time horizon increases active strategies are increasingly inferior.”
If you really think that you can get superior portfolio return, when you pay higher expenses rather than lesser costs, well then you really should get and read this valuable how to invest in stocks and bonds funds investing book!
Who is the author?
This direct investing book, by Lawrence Russell was written with his objective and in-depth knowledge of what really works in personal finance and investing strategies. He is a knowledgeable and experienced fee based financial planner in the Pasadena and LA, California area. Larry’s stated goal is “to improve people’s knowledge and improve their ability to manage their own personal financial and investing situations.”
Larry is the publisher of many personal finance articles on the web and the designer and developer of sophisticated home lifetime financial planning software. Across many years, Larry has broad knowledge in finance, economics, investments, taxation, accounting, probability, statistics, software development, and web technologies. For 25 years, Larry contributed as a manager and executive within the computer industry at companies such as Sun Microsystems and HP.
Retiring from the software industry in 2001, he started an in-depth and systematic reading of the academic literature that affected finance and investments for his personal interest. To make this financial research information better available for individual investors, during 2003, he began to write and publish investments and finance academic research summaries on his now oldest retirement investing education web site, The Skilled Investor. From 2003, he has authored and published in excess of 1,000 investing money and other personal finance articles across a half-dozen of his personal finance and investing sites. A portion of this personal finance ebook has been drawn from these web postings, and hyperlinks supplied in this ebook will enable you to find Larry’s investing and personal finance web sites.
Also in 2003, Larry started to design and develop sophisticated and individually customized home lifetime financial plan software. This investments and personal finance software tool, VeriPlan, was designed at the beginning to serve as a personal decision application for advisory customers. In 2006, Larry started to develop an individual user version of VeriPlan that home users could utilize by themselves. This VeriPlan application is now the most automated and highly customizable home life cycle personal financial planning software that is available on the public market for much less than competing investing and personal finance software products.
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