The Making of a Market Guru

Ken Fisher is founder and CEO of Fisher Investments, an independent money management firm managing over $35 billion (as of Dec. 31/09) for individuals and institutions. And, Fisher has written the monthly "Portfolio Strategy" column for Forbes magazine for the last twenty-five years—since 1984—making him, so far, the fourth longest-running columnist in the magazine’s history. During this time, he’s seen everything from the stock market crash of 1987 and the great bull markets of the 1980s and 1990s to the Tech bubble of 2000 and the global market meltdown of 2008.

Now, with The Making of a Market Guru, you’ll gain an insightful look at Fisher’s prolific career over the years and discover the high-profile market calls he’s made so far in these monthly columns. At times engaging and timely, at others revealing and informative, this book is a sweeping look at a recent and eventful slice of stock market history. You’ll read about what’s changed, but you’ll be more amazed by what hasn’t. And you’ll see investing wisdom that still applies, now and for the foreseeable future, from a quarter-century of Fisher’s concise and witty market wisdom.

Preceding Fisher’s columns for each year are a few pages of commentary—putting them in historic context, pointing out areas that are still salient, and others where Fisher’s perspective has changed over the years—highlighting key points that deserve extra attention.

Chapter by chapter, this book offers practical investment advice from a leading market voice, while:

• Looking at Fisher’s market analysis over the years and providing an industry insider’s view of major, and not-so-major, market events
• Examining how Fisher called three of the last four bear markets
• Showing that what many commonly think impacts markets doesn’t—and some very surprising things that do impact markets that few are aware of.
• And much more

The more things change, the more they stay the same—at least when it comes to investing. And seeing history through the eyes of a market guru can help improve your overall investment endeavors today. If you take the time to read this unique, historic compilation, you’ll be taking your first steps to understanding how to become your own market guru.

Introduction vii

1984—A Not So Orwellian Year 1

1985—A 30% Yawner 13

1986—Global-dy Gook 33

1987—Crash! 55

1988—Ear to the Ground 75

1989—The End is Nigh 99

1990—A Sneaky Bear Market 123

1991—Unbelievable Bull 145

1992—Times, They Were a Changin’ 167

1993—A Taxing Year 185

1994—The Calm Before the Storm 203

1995—List After Bullish List 221

1996—The Nifty Nineties 239

1997—Rational Exuberance 255

1998—Rubles, Corrections, and More Bull 271

1999—IPOs, Y2K, Nasdaq, Oh My! 285

2000—Tech Bubbles Over 301

2001—Bear Market! 319

2002—Triple Bottom Blues 339

2003—Buy on the Cannons 357

2004—If 375

2005—Giving It Time 393

2006—Celebrity Market Indicators 407

2007—Another Broken Record 421

2008—The Unbubble 437

2009—25 Years and Counting 451

Notes 465

Acknowledgments 469

About the Author 471

Index 473

AARON ANDERSON is a Capital Markets Research Analyst who holds BS degrees in geophysics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and applied economics from the University of San Francisco. His first book, Own the World, was published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons. He writes a regular column for MarketMinder.com titled "The Global View." Aaron, his wife, Kim, and daughter, Olivia, reside in Danville, Callifornia.

KEN FISHER HAS had an illustrious career. He is the founder and CEO of Fisher Investments, an independent money management firm managing over $35 billion for individuals and institutions. And, Fisher has written the monthly "Portfolio Strategy" column for Forbes magazine for the last 25 years, making him, so far, the fourth longest-running columnist in the magazine's history. During this time, he's witnessed everything from the stock market crash of 1987 and the great bull markets of the 1980s and 1990s to the Tech bubble of 2000 and the global market meltdown of 2008.

Now, with The Making of a Market Guru, you'll gain insight into Fisher's prolific career and discover the high-profile market calls he's made so far in his monthly columns. Engaging and informative, as well as revealing and timely, this book is a sweeping look at a recent and eventful slice of stock market history. You'll read about what's changed, but you'll be more amazed by what hasn't. And you'll see investing wisdom that still applies, now and for the foreseeable future, from a quarter-century of Fisher's concise and witty market wisdom.

Preceding Fisher's columns for each year are a few pages of commentary, putting them in historic context, pointing out areas that are still salient and others where Fisher's perspective has changed over the years, and highlighting key points deserving extra attention.

Chapter by chapter, this book offers practical investment advice from a leading market voice, while:

• Looking at Fisher's market analysis over the years and providing an industry insider's view of major, and not-so-major, market events
• Examining how Fisher called three of the last four bear markets
• Showing that what many commonly think impacts markets frequently doesn't—and sometimes, what few suspect can have major market implications
• And much more

The more things change, the more they stay the same—at least when it comes to investing. And seeing history through the eyes of a market guru can help improve your overall investment endeavors today. Take the time to read this unique, historical compilation, and you could be taking the first steps to becoming your own market guru.