Jackass Investing by Michael Dever is a myth busting investment book which I wrote a review about on June 2. After writing my review, I received an email from the publisher who wondered if I had missed some of the book, in particular the Action Section when I read the book. I actually didn’t miss the action section which would be hard to miss because it is everywhere and it simply directs readers to the website for Jackass Investing. I saw no back-tested strategies on specific stocks or ETFs with charts and diagrams, valuations and winning trades.

I would like to mention again that all reviews are personal just as all articles on my site are my opinion. Everyone has different opinions and with Jackass Investing I just didn’t see the value in the book. As I said in my review, if you want to read about 20 investing myths being debunked, then perhaps this book is for you. If you want a book containing strategies, then I didn’t find them in Jackass Investing.

In a nutshell the book is a simple read. It’s easy to follow and can be quickly gobbled up in a few hours which makes it easy to review a second time, which I did because I thought I must have somehow missed the strategies sections. You know, the ones with charts, diagrams, back testing, that sort of thing.

Jackass Investing My Review

In my original review of the book I said “I like an investing book that offers me strategies and concepts that have actual ongoing real examples which I can tweak and play with to determine how suitable they are for my trading style. I am basically looking for a book that will give me ideas on how I can add profit and income to my portfolio.”

In the book Jackass Investing, the author explains: “Many of the myths also have an “Action” associated with them. Each of these Actions is a specific “how to,” often an actual trading strategy, designed to enable you to exploit the trading opportunities that arise from the risky behavior of the people who follow the myth. ”

It is pretty hard to miss the action section in Jackass Investing, but what I was getting at is I am interested in actual real examples which I can pick apart, play around with and learn from. To me that’s what learning how to invest should be about. I am not interested is being directed to a website where I have to register and then review the strategies.

The author goes on to say that his website will contain action strategies which then makes me wonder, why am I buying the book? I mean if the strategies on are the website, wouldn’t I rather go to the website?

When the author says “how to” I expected to see a how to strategy not a statement about how the Action strategy for this myth is at the website. Again why do I need the book? Instead what I found were numerous references to how the action strategy for different myths were on the website. I am sure this will drive traffic to the website and perhaps that’s what the author wants. I don’t have a clue as I just wanted to learn from the book.

Investment Myth Busting 101

There are dozens of investing myths. I could start a class teaching the various investing myths, but what I want in a book is to see back-tested strategies that would help me to pinpoint missed opportunities based on actual examples.

When AIG Stock collapsed wouldn’t it have been nice for investors to have the tools to figure out that it was time to get out long before it plummeted in value? The strategy I use is in my article Early Warnings Tools To Spot A Collapsing Stock helped many of my investor friends do just that.

When stocks began to crash in late 2008 my market timing indicators warned me to put in place a hedge. My choice is the SPY PUT hedge. But that hedge is not for everyone. I am retired so I can watch the stock market if I want to. Others however cannot. Instead when my market timing indicators signalled major crash ahead many of my investor friends bought into the ultra-bear Exchange Traded Funds. I recently wrote an article about Bear ETFs.

When stocks bottomed in the fall of 2008 I remember Warren Buffett exclaiming that he was “buying America”. Well his pockets are a lot deeper than mine. Instead I watched my market timing indicators and they still warned that any bounce had to be suspect and it was not time to get my cash working again. It still looked like more downside might lay ahead. The strategy therefore was to hang onto the established hedge, move into selling puts on great companies but at lower prices while waiting for clear signals.

An investing book that covers these types of back-tested strategies is what gets me excited. Just like a great mystery novel, I open up a new investing book hoping to find new ideas, back-tested strategies and actual trades. I love the “Aha” moment when I see what I was missing in a strategy and how I could merge it into my investing.  I love an investing book that has strategies to cover all kinds of different situations. I didn’t find these in the book, Jackass Investing.

Jackass Investing By Michael Dever

Jackass Investing By Michael Dever is good for debunking 20 investing myths but offers no strategies for profiting from stock investing.

Jackass Investing Book Review Final Word

I didn’t think I was harsh in my original review of Jackass Investing just disappointed. When I buy a book, digital format or otherwise, I expect when there are strategies mentioned, that I get to see them in the book and not have to register on a website. Again just my opinion but at my age I only have so much time left and I would rather spend it reading specific and actual strategies, not be directed continually to a website.

So final word, I have to stand by my original review. Jackass Investing is probably an interesting read for novice investors and those who like to read about myths of investing and why they can be hurt in their investing by believing these 20 myths. I still think overall the introduction is the strongest part of the book. I remain disappointed that the author didn’t spend more of the book on the Action Strategies within the book rather than debunking these 20 myths. But remember, I like strategies, which I think is obvious from my website. I believe successful implementation of winning strategies will consistently provide profit in bull and bear markets and for that reason alone I was disappointed in Jackass Investing.

I also believe that having strategies for any type of market environment or stock event, not only makes a good investor but allows an investor to remain calm and focused when the stock market looks like it is falling to pieces.

The author’s website might be a dynamo. I have no way of knowing. But this is a review of the book and I found no strategies that tweaked my interest in the book Jackass Investing.