The Roaring 2000s Investor: Strategies for the Life You Want

In The Roaring 2000s, America's favorite optimist, Harry S. Dent Jr., makes the case that demographics drive all economic activity and that, thanks to the current baby boom, we're set for one whale of a good time over the next 10 years. In The Roaring 2000s Investor, Dent shows how to cash in on this boom, then prepare for the worst when the downturn finally hits in the latter part of the decade. Dent believes that the best investment opportunities exist in the stock market--specifically technology, financial services, health care, and leisure stocks. But watch out after 2008, because that's when he thinks the bottom falls out. For these tough times, Dent recommends a shift away from stocks to out-of-favor investments such as bonds and commercial real estate.

In addition to investment information, Dent includes a good dose of living advice. He counsels not to be the millionaire next-door, counting change in a darkened living room while the greatest economic boom in history roars past. He writes, "Life should be interesting; investment and financial plan should be boring." Dent's prescription: Understand what drives the economy, then get a financial advisor and learn to enjoy life. Other subjects he touches on include asset allocation, international investing, and tax planning. Some might find Dent's reliance on demographics as an economic barometer a bit too simplistic. But for others, The Roaring 2000s Investor just might be the perfect framework for building an investment strategy into the next millennium. --Harry C. Edwards