Description:
Today's young people are not only interested in money, they're quite knowledgeable about it--which is apparently what happens when you mix computer know-how with full employment and parents who play the market. Most, however, still require some assistance as they begin to build their nest eggs. Janet Bamford's Street Wise: A Guide for Teen Investors fits this bill nicely because it assembles virtually everything these budding financiers need, and presents it in language they understand. Bamford addresses the market's operation, full-service versus discount brokers, taxes, investment clubs and games, and even the possibility of a Wall Street career. Her best advice concerns stocks and mutual funds and is again delivered in a relevant, complete, and thoroughly noncondescending manner. "A stock is to a mutual fund," she writes at one point, in a style familiar to her audience, "as: (a) a can of soda is to a six pack, (b) the Dallas Cowboys are to the NFL, (c) a kitten is to a dog, (d) a flower is to a garden." The answer, by the way, is (d). Bamford also discusses specific kid-friendly investment vehicles, as well as the initial fiscal forays of high-fliers like thestreet.com's James Cramer. --Howard Rothman
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