Research Paper on:
Book Review of Burton Gordon Malkiel's A Random Walk Down Wall Street

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Burton Gordon Malkiels "A Random Walk Down Wall Street: Including a Life-Cycle Guide to Personal Investing" is a not-so-random look into  the world of Wall Street Investing. It is, in fact, a classic book in investing. Malkiels philosophy is actually quite simple. He views the active management of  mutual funds too complex and unsure for the individual investor. So too is the management of securities. Instead, Malkiel recommends the purchase of a broad range of index  funds (Willshire 5000 index funds, S&P 500 index funds, etc.), funds which he proclaims have the potential to outperform even professionally managed portfolios. Another touted advantage of index funds is  the avoidance of expense charges and trading costs which are characteristic of other types of Wall Street investments. Malkiel isnt new to the  world of investing. Nor is "A Random Walk Down Wall Street". The book was first published almost thirty years ago and has gone through seven printings. It covers  the pluses and minuses of several forms of investments including money-market accounts, tax-exempt funds, Roth IRAs, and equity REITs. One of Malkiels particularly applicable considerations is the fact that  risk capacities vary for individual investors according to a number of factors. This variation is most pronounced in age and employment. While a younger individual looks to their  employment as their primary income, an older investor typically has less work income and more dependence on their savings and investments. The younger individual can thus offset investment losses  more effectively than can the older individual. The obvious point in this correlation is that investment strategies vary over time according to such factors as age and employment.