Essential reading if you are fed up with the paltry interest paid on bank savings accounts or the lackluster performance of your investment advisors. It assumes no prior knowledge of investing It shows how publicly traded shares are created; how the financial markets operate and how they are regulated. It covers equities, bonds, exchange traded funds, hedge funds and mutual funds. How to set up a trading account. It covers fundamental and technical analysis and the importance of allocating assets. It warns of market bubbles and looks at contrarian approaches to investing. It suggests a painless way to get started before committing any real money.