Plan Your Prosperity

KEN FISHER is best known for his prestigious "Portfolio Strategy" column in Forbes magazine, where his over 28-year tenure of high-profile calls makes him the fourth longest-running columnist in Forbes's 90-plus-year history. He is the founder, Chairman and CEO of Fisher Investments, an independent global money management firm managing tens of billions for individuals and institutions globally. Fisher is ranked #263 on the 2011 Forbes 400 list of richest Americans and #764 on the 2012 Forbes Global Billionaire list. In 2010, Investment Advisor magazine named him among the 30 most influential individuals of the last three decades. Fisher has authored numerous professional and scholarly articles, including the award-winning "Cognitive Biases in Market Forecasting." He has also published eight previous books, including national bestsellers The Only Three Questions That Count, The Ten Roads to Riches, How to Smell a Rat, Debunkery and Markets Never Forget (But People Do), all published by Wiley. Fisher has been published, interviewed and/or written about in many major American, British and German finance or business periodicals. He has a weekly column in Focus Money, Germany's leading weekly finance and business magazine. LARA HOFFMANS is Vice President of Content at Fisher Investments, managing editor of MarketMinder.com, a regular contributor to Forbes.com and coauthor of the bestsellers, The Only Three Questions That Count, The Ten Roads to Riches, How to Smell a Rat, Debunkery and Markets Never Forget (But People Do).

• Acknowledgments ixChapter 1: What? Me? Retire? 1The Imagined Dichotomy 3Two Goals … and Some Non-Goals 4Definitions and a Pencil 9Start Immediately. Now. Right Away 13Plan Your Prosperity 14Chapter 2: My Goals Are … What? 17Why Is This So Hard? 20Your Investing Goals, Simply 24Potential Pitfall: Capital Preservation and Growth 26Inflation’s Insidious Impact 29Three Percent, Compounded 35Chapter 3: The Secret Code—Asset Allocation or Benchmark? 37Benchmark—A Road Map and Measuring Stick 40Picking a Benchmark 42The Big Decision—Asset Allocation 45Potential Pitfall: Age Doesn’t Equal Asset Allocation 49Benchmark Versus Asset Allocation—What’s the Difference? 50Chapter 4: Time Horizon—Longer Than You Think 59Potential Pitfall: Ignoring Opportunity Cost 62Time Horizon—What Is It? 64Time Horizon and Benchmark 68Chapter 5: What’s in a Return? 73Growth Defi ned 77The Past as a Guide? 81Gordon Moore and Endless Innovation 90Potential Pitfall: Unrealistic Expectations 92Chapter 6: Getting That Cash Flow 97Potential Pitfall—The All High-Dividend Portfolio 100How Much Do You Need? 103Monte Carlo—Not Just a Casino 107Let’s Get Bootstrapping 109Chapter 7: Can I Get There? 117How Much Do You Have? 120A Savings Plan 123Chapter 8: Putting It All Together 131To Benchmark or Not to Benchmark 134State Your Goals 136Know Where You Are 137Picking an Appropriate Benchmark 138Finding Professional Help 140Avoid Being a Fraud Victim 143And You’re Off! 143Appendix A: All Hail the Mighty Dow 145Appendix B: Cash Flow Versus Expenses 155Appendix C: Expense Categories 161Appendix D: Personal Balance Sheet 165Notes 169About the Authors 173Index 175