This gimmick-free, irreverent, and vastly informative guide shows how to navigate the turbulence on Wall Street and beat the pros at their own game. Skilled at puncturing financial bubbles and other delusions of the Wall Street crowd, Burton G. Malkiel shows why a broad portfolio of stocks selected at random will match the performance of one carefully chosen by experts. Taking a shrewd look at the high-tech boom and its aftermath, Malkiel shows how to maximize gains and minimize losses in this era of electronic brokers, virtual gurus, and flashy investment vehicles. Learn how to analyze the potential returns, not only for stocks and bonds but for the full range of investment opportunities, from money market accounts and real estate investment trusts to insurance, home owning, and tangible assets like gold and collectibles. Decode the rating game for mutual funds and discover the unique advantages of index mutual funds over the wide range of riskier alternatives. And, in a special chapter appearing only in this paperback edition, tackle the tricky terrain of financial derivatives. Year in and year out the best investing guide money can buy, this enhanced edition includes an update of Malkiel's famous "Life-Cycle Guide to Investing." Book jacket.