The Individual Investor Revolution: Seize Your New Powers of Investing & Make More Money in the Market

With the explosion of new technologies in the investment world, Wall Street's playing field has been leveled at last. Now individual investors have almost the same opportunities as the investment elite. Through a home computer or telephone, anyone can enjoy full access to tools once available only to Wall Street professionals: high-level research, fast trades, and entry to global markets. In short, the individual investor is in the perfect position to seize investment opportunities and the high returns that can transform a life. Even those who don't have much savings or a large investment budget can play the game, and win. All that you need is a little known-how and a battle plan. This book can give readers both. From first time investors with small investment budgets to anyone with a 401 (k) plan to web surfers to practiced individual investors looking to improve their returns, best-selling author Charles Carlson has the answers.

Charles B. Carlson strongly believes that anyone can become a blue-chip stock investor: you can do it with $50 a month, little or no money up front, no fees, and--best of all--no broker. In his book, The Individual Investor Revolution, Carlson writes that this is the best way to participate in today's stock market.

For those who need an introduction, Carlson is a noted pied piper of "dividend reinvestment plans" or DRIPs--programs that invite you to buy stock directly from companies, without a broker. About 1,100 companies offer stock via optional monthly cash payments and reinvesting of dividends. Better yet, 400 of these--including Disney, Exxon, IBM, and Compaq--will sell you the first share without a broker. The increasing popularity of investing "drip by drip" is one sign of the extraordinary clout that small investors are wielding on Wall Street these days, Carlson says. The Internet also is changing the face of investing by providing online trading and easy access to high-level information and research, he writes. With DRIPs, 401(k) retirement plans, no-load mutual funds, and Roth IRAs, people are getting all the tools they need to build wealth over time. "You have the ability to change your financial future, as well as the financial futures of your children and your grandchildren," writes Carlson, who publishes investment newsletters and comanages a mutual fund.

Carlson's fans will enjoy this book's "ultimate individual-investor portfolios," featuring his best picks for mutual funds, individual stocks, and mini-profiles of 60 top companies. The book also includes a valuable directory with performance histories of nearly 200 companies offering direct purchase of stock. The Individual Investor Revolution is excellent for readers who want an all-inclusive guide to DRIPs. It's also a great primer for people starting out in the stock market. --Dan Ring