Lloyd's Investing Book: A Passive Approach for Busy People (Table of Contents)

Picture Caption: Here is my "table" with its "contents." The table is handmade using surplus two-by-fours and stained plywood shelving. Construction relies on pure wood joinery techniques (i.e., no metal nails or screws). Design enables quick assembly/disassembly (i.e., no tools required) and ease of portability (i.e., table packs flat). Contents consist of my laptop computer with mouse, a spiral-bound notebook and pen, the business section from today's local newspaper, and my ceramic mug resting on a handcrafted triangular saucer.

Over the past 15 months, I have posted to this investment blog various comments on stocks, real estate and miscellaneous topics related to investing. An updated directory of links helps readers navigate their way through my thought-maze.

If I currently had the time, I would systematically cull through all of my prior posts, organize the pieces, fill in the gaps and write a comprehensive overview explaining my core philosophy of investing. An appropriate title for such a work would be Lloyd's Investing Book: A Passive Approach for Busy People. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, this project will have to wait. However, for anyone interested in a preview, I provide below an outline for the table of contents (in draft form):

Preliminaries
Why “book,” not “blog”?
Why “investing,” not “investment”?
Why write about “why,” not “how to”?
Why simplify?

Equity Investing
Why long term, not short term?
Why equities, not bonds?
Why so little allocation to cash?
Why public, not private equity?
Why is liquidity important?

Real Estate
Why stocks, not direct ownership of real estate?
Exception: Why own your own house?
Why not own a vacation home?
Why buy REITs, not your own investment property?

The Investor Role
Why be a passive observer, not an active business participant?
Why focus on the buy-sell decision, not on managing a business?

Efficiency
Why stocks, not mutual funds?
Why avoid fees?
Why low portfolio turnover, not frequent trading?
Why defer taxes?

Focus
Why individual companies, not ETFs?
Why stick to familiar industries?
Why select niche leaders?

Predictability
Why seasoned stock, not IPOs?
Why buy companies with earnings?
Why positive cash flow?
Why low balance sheet leverage?
Why look for persistent revenue and earnings growth?

Upside
Why both safety and hope?
Why own both large and small cap stocks?
Why a concentrated, not highly diversified, portfolio?
Why include technology stocks?
Why seek out international exposure?

Timing
Why look for good relative value?
Why low PEG?
Why stocks, not options and futures?
Why not buy on margin?
Why not go short?

Partners
Why not hire a portfolio manager?
Why not hire an accountant?
Why invest for your own portfolio, not with partners?
Why not leverage other people’s money?
Why strive to be self-sufficient?

Money Management
Why buy a few dividend-paying stocks?
Why save before you spend?
Why aim to be debt-free?
Why set up a living trust?

The Consumer Side
Why buy quality, not necessarily the lowest sticker price?
Why buy high-deductible insurance?
Why drive a used car?

Next Generation
Why encourage your children to buy stock?