The Only Three Questions That Count

Investing by Knowing What Others Don't

By: Kenneth L. Fisher, Jennifer Chou, Lara Hoffmans

Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt

Ken Fisher questions authority. He challenges the conventional wisdom of investing, overturns glib theories with hard facts, and blows up complacent beliefs about money and markets. But the authority he challenges most of all is his own - because challenging yourself, Fisher says, is the key to successful investing.

In today's competitive market environment, the best way to achieve investment success is by knowing something that others don't. But many of us, amateurs and professionals alike, believe we don't or can't know what others don't, so we continue to make market bets based on "conventional wisdom".

Here Fisher debunks the conventional market myths that many of our investment decisions are based upon, and reveals a precise methodology that will allow you to know what others don't. The methodology, which has helped Fisher achieve success throughout his long financial career, is as easy as asking three simple questions. The first will help listeners see things the way they really are. The second will help them see things that other investors often miss. And the third will help them understand their relationship with today's markets. While the questions aren't what one might expect, as they have nothing to do with the market's P/E ratio or interest rate forecasts. They will help listeners make better investment decisions by identifying what they can know, unique to them, that others do not. Most importantly, they'll learn how to use the questions to improve investment performance.

Filled with in-depth insights, expert advice, and engaging anecdotes, The Only Three Questions That Count provides listeners with a dynamic strategy and set of tools that will give them a distinct edge over other investors.

©2007 Kenneth L. Fisher (P)2007 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Investors will find this brilliant book an eye-opening, capital-gains producing experience." (Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes, Inc., and editor-in-chief of Forbes)
"A provocative book for aggressive investors from one of the investment world's most original thinkers." (Charles R. Schwab, founder, chairman, and CEO, The Charles Schwab Corporation)

A great approach to being right more than wrong in the market

I really enjoyed the approach and built in humor used by the author. The book provides many examples to help you begin to ask these three questions about your own hypotheses.

Extraordinary

This is an exceptional audiobook. Packed with information, ideas, and insights, it is at once an easy listen, and one of the most challenging books you will ever find. You won't find any "free answers" inside, but you will find "three questions" and a career's-worth of experience.

Deliberately Trying to be A Cult Book

This book seems to try to cultivate the street smart image. It's unedited (at least by the classical definition of editing; although I suspect that the editor may have worked hard to make it look unedited), its narcissism is slightly uncool (but much less over-the-top than many recent books written in this style), and it employees a bit of political incorrectness to boost it's "tell it like it is" image. In this regard it's sort of like George Soros's early books, which did in fact become cult hits. In a similar vain this book worked for me.

I would restate his thesis as if everyone expects something about the market, then you know it's not going to happen, because the expectation is already priced into the market. But that doesn't mean that the opposite will happen either. He's worked hard on systematizing this insight. He actually conducts formal focus groups among investors in order to predict what will not happen.

Some of his spotted trends are a little bazaar. But I think his point is that a trend need not be deep to be valuable, it jest needs to not be in use by the market. In this regard the slightly bazaar trends are more likely to be profitable than the respectable ones. And even the best trend is at most temporary.

IMHO, most people would do a better job of managing their 401Ks if the read this book.

A Precise Plan for Financial Success!

After listening to this audio book, you will no longer ever take any conventional investment advice as a given, and you and your portfolio will be better off. In today's market environment, the best way to achieve investment success is by knowing something others don't know. Fisher will help you see things the way they really are, see things that other investors often miss, and understand your relationship with today's markets. You will learn that in addition to challenging authority, you must also challenge yourself. Fisher reveals a precise plan on the keys to successful investing and does it with wit and verve, in a breezy and provocative style that makes you want to hear more. Whatever your investing philosophy is, "The Only Three Questions That Count" will enrich your thinking and improve your performance. This audio book is great!

Low Value

Although the foreword to the book is good reminder that you have to do something differently from everyone else to outperform the market as a whole, the remainder of the book is useless for figuring out how to do this. Not recommended at all.

Not very useful content

I listen to the first 8 hours of the book and found that he repeated himself way too many times, which to me is why the book is so long, continuing to say, among other things, how I shouldn't believe what most of the financial analysts say or the media says about the economy and securities but that advice hasn't really helped me at all. I am not an expert in financials and stocks by any means, but I feel that I'm fairly savvy, even still I found that much of the time he talked over my head...I feel that listening to the second half of the book would be a waste of my time...if you are a more knowledgeable about the more technical side of financials, you might get more out of it, but I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Disappointed

I found the 3 questions perhaps philosophically provocative at times, but not practical guides. Unlike his father, Ken seems largely focused on relative performance and predicting market directions. His grandstanding and political biases became very tiresome and I suspect they dull his edge as an investor. After listening to this book, I can't help but suspect that Fisher is more skilled at marketing himself than at investing. Either way, however, I didn't find much in this volume that helps me be a better investor. Hopefully other listeners will profit more.

The Only Three Questions That Count

While the book is easy listening, it does not have a lot of meat for a specific action plan to expand your portfolio.

Doesn't Work For Me

Any additional comments?

Compared to "The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New", Fisher's book doesn't work for me at all! Maybe this is just my personal preference. After reading Siegel's book, I felt like I had logical, practical data and research methods to work with on how to invest in stocks. Fisher was too ambiguous for me.