A GUIDE ON HOW TO BEGIN BUILDING

SUSTAINABLE LONG-TERM WEALTH

THROUGH INVESTING

FINANCIAL UNIVERSITY
 Table Of Contents

Chapter 1: Where It All Starts

Chapter 2: Investing: What's The Point?
Chapter 3: How Much Is Enough?
Chapter 4: Investing In Stocks
Chapter 5: Asset Allocation
Chapter 6: How Much Risk Should I Take?
Chapter 7: Mutual Funds vs ETFs
Chapter 8: Using The Right Accounts
Chapter 9: Major Mistakes To Avoid
Chapter 10: Putting It All Together
 Chapter 1: Where It All Starts
Whether you realize it or not, there is a reason you
decided to download this book.

The “general” reason is probably something along the

lines of wanting to learn more about how investing
works or to further your knowledge about how to
properly manage your money.

Those are great reasons...but there’s probably a

deeper, more “real” reason. The reasons I just listed
are logical.

As people, we do make decisions based on logic

(sometimes), but we really make decisions based on
a deeper desire, fear, or maybe even curiosity.

You might be the first person in your family to start

building wealth through the stock market (like
myself).

You may have recently started a family and all of a

sudden came to the realization that it’s time to start
taking your finances much more seriously.

1
Maybe you dream of building enough wealth to
become financially independent. Or, maybe you’re
the type of person that wants to build and pass down
generational wealth.

You could also currently have some anxiety about

the markets. You’ve seen it drop before and have
heard stories of people that have lost their life’s
savings.

You might be the type of person that has really tried

investing in the past but struggled to achieve
consistent success for one reason or another and
you’re on the verge of giving up.

You may have friends, colleagues, or coworkers who

have had some success in investing and you’re
feeling “left out”.

Or you might just feel completely overwhelmed- you

know that you’re earning an income and should be
doing something with it, but don’t know where to
start.

2
Maybe all of these apply to you. Or, maybe, your
“deeper” reason has nothing to do with any of those
things.

My point is, whether you’re brand new to investing or

not, you have a deeper desire to learn more about
how to build wealth responsibly.

As you go through this book and your financial

journey in general, I encourage you to really tap into
that deeper “why”.

The goal of this book is to provide you with an

introduction to how investing works as a vehicle to
help you build long term wealth, in the context of
your individual financial goals and that deeper “why”.

It’s one thing to consume social media content about

the stock market. It’s another thing to truly
understand investing and actually apply the
knowledge in a manner that helps you make
meaningful financial progress.

That is also my goal with Financial University.

3
As you go through this book, keep in mind that the
world (including the financial world) will always be
changing.

Many of the concepts that you learn here may still be

around 5-10 years from now. Some of them may look
a little bit different in the future.

However, many of the core principles you’ll learn in

this book are timeless in nature as it relates to real,
sustainable long term wealth creation.

Nothing that is covered in this material will get you

rich quick. If that’s what you’re looking for, I want to
save your time and ask you to delete this book from
your laptop, phone, tablet, etc and move onto
something else.

After reading this book, you’ll have a solid,

introductory understanding of investing and what it
takes to become a successful, responsible investor.

I’m confident that you’ll walk away with some real

value that you can apply now and throughout your
investing journey.

4
Everyone that is successful financially tends to share
the following characteristics:

They have clearly defined financial goals, ranked

by priority and timeline
They are disciplined with their cash flow and
always pay themselves first
They don’t let their emotions sabotage them
They have a clear “why” behind their investing
They can clearly explain their investing strategy
and how they arrived at it
They play the long game and see time as their ally
They understand how taxes work, along with how
to use the tax code to their advantage
They understand the importance of financial
literacy
They know investing in themselves is just as
important as investing in stock s

We won’t cover all of these in detail in this book, but

you’ll definitely get a solid head start and know what
you need to do to start building wealth responsibly.

Let’s begin.

5
Chapter 2: Investing: What's the point?
This may seem like a rhetorical question. In reality, it’s
a very important one.

After all, why go through the trouble of putting your

hard earned money at risk in the market? Why is it
important to be disciplined enough with our cash
flow so we can have enough left over to build assets?

Isn’t the answer to this question simply “to make

money”?

The answer is “yes and no”. The point of investing is

to build wealth. However, there is much more to it
than just that.

One of the most important concepts you can learn

throughout your financial journey is to view investing
as a vehicle to build wealth in order to meet your
future financial goals.

You should view the markets and the different asset

classes as different pieces to the puzzle that you
have to put together in order to build a strategy that
ensures the highest possible chance of success.

6
The key is focusing on what is relevant to you and
only you. This means focusing on your individual
goals, financial circumstances, and preferences.

Our goal with Financial University and everything I do

with my social media is to help you learn how to think
about investing, wealth creation, and your finances in
the context of what helps you attain your own goals.

Of course, all of this is much easier said than done

and it requires sacrifice, education, strategy, and
most importantly, time.

Investing is not the only way to build wealth.

However, it’s one of the most practical ways that
virtually anyone can go about doing so.

Whether you’re employed, self-employed, or both, as

long as you have an income, you can invest. As long
as you can invest, you can build wealth.

If you’ve been investing for years now, or if you

haven’t gotten started yet, I highly recommend that
you take some time to get clear on what it is that
you’re looking to accomplish with investing.

7
In other words, get clear on what your financial goals
are and how your current portfolio strategy helps
you get there.

Your portfolio strategy should match the following:

Your tolerance for risk

Your need for growth/preservation of
capital/income/etc
Your capacity for risk (how much risk you can
afford to take)
Your desire or willingness to actively keep up with
the markets
Your desire or willigness to manage your own
portfolio

If you can honestly and confidently say that your

current strategy is in line with those variables, you’re
on the right track.

The reason why it’s so important to have clearly

defined goals is because they provide you with
context.

Context is king, especially in an uncertain world (like

investing).

8
Having clearly defined goals allows you to arrive at
answers to important questions like:

“Is this dip in the stock market an opportunity for

me?”
“How much risk should I be taking?”
“How does this stock or fund fit into my overall
portfolio strategy?”
“Does this headline on the news really affect me?”
“How much should I be putting away every
month?”
“What types of returns will I need to achieve
these goals?”
“What types of investment accounts make the
most sense?”
And much, much more

The truth is, you don’t have to have an ultra high IQ

to be successful at investing.

You just have to: know what you’re doing, have a

clearly defined target that you’re aiming for, and do
everything you can to increase your odds of hitting
the target.

9
Of course, investing requires money.

It takes money to make money (the good news is it

doesn't have to come all at once).

But, the point of investing is not simply to make

money.

The point of investing is to use your money to make

more money so you can meet the future financial
goals that matter to you.

There's a big difference there.

That concept will take you much further than you

realize throughout the ups and downs of your
investing journey.

10
 Chapter 3: How much is enough?
There are a number of variables that go into a
successful investing strategy. One of the most
important is the amount of money you put to work
over time.

There are a number of ways that you can go about

funding your investment account(s). The most
common are:

Investing Lump Sums all at once

Dollar cost averaging (investing a set amount of
money over time)

You can be successful doing either. Each has their

unique pros and cons. The main thing is that you
have to invest money in order to build the necessary
wealth to meet your future financial goals. Again, it
takes money to make money.

Most people don’t have a large amount of money to

invest all at once. That’s okay. Dollar cost averaging
can be a very practical way to start building a rock
solid portfolio.

11
The simplest answer to the question “How much
money should I invest?” is “the more the merrier”.

However, the best way to answer this question is to

get a rough idea of how much money you’ll need in
the future in order to successfully meet your financial
goals. Just like your dream home or car has a “price
tag”, your future financial goals do as well.

Your job as an investor is to figure out what your

future goals will cost you. Luckily, there are a handful
of different calculators and tools available to you in
today’s world that allow you to start figuring this out.

The number one financial goal that most people tend

to invest for is retirement.

“Retirement” has really turned into a much broader

phrase over the years. Assuming this is one of your
primary goals, it’s up to you to decide what
“retirement” looks like for you.

This is a great opportunity to remind you that your

financial goals should be tailored to your own tastes
and desires.

12
What “retirement” may look like for someone else
may not be the exact same for you. That’s okay.

You may really enjoy the line of work that you do and
see yourself in it until your 60s or later. That’s
perfectly fine. You may want to pursue the FI/RE
(Financial Independence/Retire Early) movement and
semi-retire, while also taking on projects for income
and/or leisure.

The main thing is that you have a clearly defined

target that you’re not only aiming for, but consistently
taking steps to reach.

In the context of retirement and planning for other

goals, there are several factors you have to consider
in order to arrive at “your number” or your goal’s
“price tag”.

Here are a few:

Inflation
Taxes
Market Returns
Your Portfolio’s Returns
Time
Your Income

13
All of these are considered “variables” because they
are subject to change.

In a perfect world, we would know exactly what taxes

will look like 10 years from now, we would know
exactly what the stock market would grow by, we
would know exactly what inflation would be around
and more.

Of course, we do not live in a perfect world. We have

to make educated guesses and work off of what we
know in order to “back into” the amount we should
be investing over time to maximize our odds of
successfully meeting our future financial needs.

If you don’t know exactly what your desired financial

future looks like, that’s okay. Some people will start
where they currently are and work from there.

For example, let’s assume you currently live off of

$60,000 annually pre-tax.

You could assume that you’d like to live off of the

same amount 15 or 20 years from now from your
portfolio. (Again, this is simply for illustrative
purposes).

14
Remember, you should plan for longevity. It’s not
enough to live off of your portfolio for one or two
years. You want to make sure your portfolio will last.

In Financial University, we walk you through an

example using the website Bankrate’s retirement
planning calculator.

Here is a screenshot of the Bankrate Retirement

planning calculator that we walk you through within
Financial University.

The assumptions can be tweaked according to your

financial situation and goals.

15
Remember, none of this is “set in stone” but it’s much
better than blindly guessing.

You can use these variables to get an idea of what is

achievable from a “retirement” perspective.

This is just one example. You can find other free

retirement planning calculators on the internet as
well.

16
As you can see, using these inputs does not result in
a successful outcome. The report will provide you
with actionable steps you can take or adjustments
you can make to the analysis in order to increase the
odds of success.

17
Their planning calculator even provides you with a
“cash flow summary” that shows you how your wealth
builds over time and how long it lasts once you start
making withdrawals from your portfolio. This is what
the prior table is highlighting.

You also can use planning tools offered by robo-

advisors like Betterment to get an idea of how large
your portfolio will need to be in the future to be able
to provide you with the income that you need, for as
long as you want.

In my experience, it’s best to plan on the

conservative side. This means assuming average or
even less than average market returns, higher
inflation, etc.

“Plan for the worst and hope for the best” is actually
a solid strategy when it comes to financial planning.

The last thing you want to do is to put together an

unreasonably optimistic investing plan that doesn't
give you any "room for error".

Keep this in mind as you go about creating your own

investing plan.

18
Retirement doesn’t have to be the only goal you
develop an investment strategy around.

Other common financial goals that people invest for

include, but are not limited to:
Future large purchases
Investing for children
Education planning
Legacy planning (what people refer to as
‘generational wealth’)
& More

Don’t let any of this overwhelm you.

Start with one major, meaningful, clearly defined goal

and work from there.

As your life and priorities change, your investing and

financial plan can as well.

The point of this exercise is to give you an idea of the

type of portfolio you will ultimately need, how much
you’ll need to invest and the types of returns you’ll
need to achieve over time to help you achieve
success, whatever that means to you.

19
How often you put money to work in the market is up
to you.

If you’re paid bi-weekly, you can invest every time you

get paid.

You can also invest a certain amount on a monthly

basis.

Again, the main thing is that you’re putting money to

work consistently.

If you find that the amount of money you need to

invest over time is higher than what your current
budget allows for, don’t let that stop you from getting
started.

If anything, use that as motivation to work to

strengthen your cash flow over time until you’re able
to “afford” that amount, or even more.

We all have to start somewhere. The main thing is

that we get started and we ultimately know what it
takes to get to where we want to go.

20
 Chapter 4: investing in stocks
Unless you come from a finance background, the
stock market probably isn’t the most comfortable, or
enjoyable subject for you to discuss. It doesn’t have
to be that way, though.

In fact, understanding the basics of how the stock

market works can quite literally change the direction
of your financial picture. The stock market can serve
as a vehicle for increasing your net worth, and
reaching your future financial goals.

While learning any new subject may be

disheartening, it is well worth investing some time
and energy into becoming financially literate.

This chapter will provide you with an entry-level guide

to how stocks work, their benefits, risks, and how you
can invest in them.

Simply put, stocks represent ownership in a publicly

traded corporation. “Publicly traded” means you can
openly buy or sell shares of the stock on an
exchange like the NYSE or NASDAQ.

21
The prices of stocks tend to fluctuate due to supply
and demand- like anything else that has an open
market. As a stock becomes more desirable in the
marketplace, the more likely it is that you’ll see its
price rise, and vice-versa.

Every day news about companies and economies

comes out. That news affects how investors feel
about different investments, which in turn, affects the
market value of a stock.

There are a number of ways of classifying stocks like:

Size
Sector
Style

The size of a company refers to its market

capitalization. This is just a fancy term for the “market
value” of the company.

The term may sound complex, but the idea is very

simple.

Market cap can be determined by multiplying the

number of shares outstanding by the stock’s current
market value.

22
For example: if a company has 1,000,000 shares of
stock outstanding and its stock is currently trading at
$100, that company would have a market cap of
$100,000,000.

Sector refers to the area of the economy that the

company belongs to.

The basic sectors can be classified as:

Financials
Utilities
Consumer Discretionary
Consumer Staples
Energy
Healthcare
Industrials
Technology
Telecom
Materials
Real Estate

Each sector is unique and carries its own strengths,

weaknesses, and opportunities.

"Style" tends to refer to whether a stock can be

classified as a "growth" or "value" investment.

23
Growth stocks are companies that have seen an
increase in their market value due to the
expectations of future growth prospects. This may be
due to technological advances, Research and
Development, etc.

The classic example of growth stocks are aggressively

growing tech companies. Growth stocks usually do
not pay dividends because the company reinvests
most, if not all, its profits back into the business
model in order to keep growing.

Value stocks tend to be more mature companies that

do not trade at elevated levels like their growth
counterparts. These companies are considered
“value stocks” because they tend to have higher book
values than market values.

In other words, the firm’s real balance sheet gives

them a net worth that is larger than what their stock
price reflects.

Many “blue chip” companies, that aren’t growing as

aggressively, like Netflix, but pay steady dividends,
can be classified as value companies.

24
Stocks can provide you with many benefits in your
portfolio. The main advantage tends to be growth.
While they are the riskiest of the three primary asset
classes (stocks, bonds, cash), they also have
historically outperformed their counterparts. This is
why stocks are looked at as attractive vehicles for
creating wealth.

The reason why is because when you own a fraction

of a company, you get to participate in the growth of
that company as well. The Board of Directors for
firms are there to ensure that the company is
operating in a way that best rewards its
shareholders. Companies are always in constant
competition with one another (and themselves) in
order to increase their shareholders’ equity.

Because of their long-term growth potential, stocks

tend to serve as a great hedge against inflation,
which eats away at your purchasing power over time.
A dollar today is worth less in 5 years. It’s worth much
less in 20 years. Stocks can serve as a hedge against
this.

Stocks can also provide investors with income. Some

companies reward their shareholders by paying
dividends.

25
Dividends are essentially a return of capital, back to
the shareholders, which originates from the
company’s net earnings. This is why more mature
companies, and industries with steady cash flows
(utilities, telecom, financials, etc) tend to pay out
dividends.

Dividends can play a major role in the overall return

of an investment portfolio; especially in down
markets.

Stocks are also considered liquid. This means that

you can convert shares to cash very easily by selling
them in the stock market to other investors. This can
serve as a big advantage over other illiquid asset
classes, like real estate.

While their growth prospects may be very attractive,

stocks can also be very risky. The main reason is
because you have no guarantees when it comes to
your investment. Some investments, like bonds, are a
contract to pay you back, sometimes with interest.
Stocks do not provide you with that luxury.

If a company goes bankrupt, there is no guarantee

that you’ll get your initial investment back.

26
Stocks can be very volatile, especially during periods
of economic instability. During the worst part of the
Great Recession, the market was down about 40%.
To put that into perspective, if you had $100,000
invested entirely in the S&P 500, your portfolio
would’ve been worth about $60,000.

You can do all of the research in the world about a

specific stock, but all it can take is one piece of bad
news to show you how volatile stocks can be. Just
take a peek at CNBC on any given day to see how a
piece of bad news has caused a stock to lose 10% of
its value in the matter of a couple of hours.

Considering the risks and potential rewards, it’s

natural to wonder how much exposure you should
have to the stock market.

Everyone’s circumstances are different. Everyone has

a different level of risk tolerance and different
financial goals that they are focused on.

When creating your asset allocation, you should

always consider what is relevant to your situation
before anything else

27
That said, the primary variable in the equation is
time.

Generally speaking, the more time you have on your

side, the more aggressive you can afford to be with
your investment mix. This is because you have time
to recover from serious drops in the market. In fact, if
you have the long-term in mind, those drops can
serve as fantastic entry points to purchase stocks at
steep discounts. A real example of this comes from
the year after the 40% drop in the S&P 500, where
stocks rebounded, returning 37.2%. Since then,
stocks have continued to have a historic run.

No matter how much exposure you have to stocks in

your portfolio, it is always important to know what
you own and why you own it. This means
understanding the risks inherent with the stocks you
own and the role they play in your portfolio.

Buying and selling stocks in today’s world is much

easier than it was a couple of decades ago. As long
as you’re 18 you can open an investment account
just about anywhere. If you are under 18, you can
have a parent or guardian assist you in opening a
custodial account.

28
There are plenty of options available in the
marketplace. It is worth taking some time to do your
research on the different providers to make sure you
are comfortable with what is available to you.
Different platforms provide different levels of
services, tools, resources, customer service, etc.

When selecting an investment account, go with the

account that will help you best meet your goal. For
example, if you’re looking to invest for the long haul,
and are comfortable with investing for when you are
older in life, retirement accounts like 401Ks or IRAs
may be a great fit.

If you don’t want to be subject to early withdrawal

penalties or contribution limits, a regular taxable
(brokerage) account will do the trick.

Give some careful consideration to what account you

go with, as it can make a big difference, along with
your investment selection.

If you don’t want to be in charge of your own

investment selection, you can always consider
working with a robo-advisor, or traditional financial
advisor or planner.

29
You essentially have three ways of getting access to
stocks when you open up your investment account:
Mutual Funds
ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)
Individual Stocks

Each option has its pros and cons. You can be

successful using one, or all three of these options.
The same rules apply: know what you own, and why
you own it.

While the stock market may get painted in some

interesting lights at times, if you can look at it
objectively; as a tool, it can provide you with the
ability to grow your net worth by an incredible
margin over the long run. As long as capitalism
continues to provide incentive for competition,
companies will continue to stretch to add as much
value as much to their shareholders as possible.

While the prospects of becoming wealthy through

the stock market may be exciting, it’s also important
to understand the risks involved with the stock
market. You should be very mindful of your risk
tolerance; and take risks responsibly. The risks
involved with investing are very real; and are often
underestimated.

30
That being said, it’s a great time to be an everyday
investor.

Technology has removed barriers to entry that used

to make it very difficult to access the market unless
you worked directly with a stock broker.

There are plenty of brokerage solutions available in

today’s world.

Do your due diligence and go with what meets your

needs best.

On your journey as an investor, you should make an

effort to continue to learn as much as you can in
order to be an intelligent and educated investor.

You don’t have to be Howard Marks or Charlie

Munger to be successful.

You just have to be committed to learning, and very

clear on what you are trying to accomplish

31
 Chapter 5: asset Allocation
Asset allocation is where the rubber meets the road
with your investing; it will determine how much risk
you are exposed to, and will also be a large
determinant of your returns (positive or negative).

This chapter will take a deep dive into what asset

allocation is, why it is important, and what you should
consider when you are managing your own asset
allocation, or having an advisor/robo-advisor do it for
you.

Simply put, asset allocation can be explained by how

you position your portfolio among the different asset
classes.

The most common way of visualizing asset allocation

is via a pie graph showing the respective percentages
of your portfolio that are dedicated to equities, fixed
income, cash and alternatives (if applicable).

Here is an example of different portfolios ranging

from conservative to aggressive asset allocations
(Source: Fidelity).

32
Your asset allocation can range from ultra-aggressive
(primarily stocks) to ultra-conservative (primarily
bonds and cash).

Generally speaking, it is wise to dedicate most of your

time and energy to putting together an asset
allocation that is suitable for you as an investor.

The main premise behind asset allocation is the idea

of spreading out your risk among different asset
classes.

So, in theory, if a part of the market, or a specific asset

class is underperforming, your entire portfolio won’t
feel as large of a hit.

33
What Asset Allocation Is Right For Me?

This is a great opportunity to remind you that every

single investor is unique. Why? Because every single
investor has different circumstances, goals,
preferences and needs.

Whether you’re constructing your own allocation or

you’re getting help from an advisor, here are some
things you want to keep in mind:

RISK TOLERANCE:

Risk is one of the most important areas of investing

that you can study.

Every single investor has their own level of risk

tolerance.

There is no “right” or “wrong” answer here.

Only you can truly know your level of comfort with

risk.

When deciding on an allocation, this may be a great

place to start.

34
GOALS:

Goals should always be driving the conversation in

your finances.

That principle carries over to your investing as well.

One of the primary functions of a financial advisor is

to create a plan that puts their client in the best
position to be successful in meeting their financial
goals.

The advisor may do this through modeling and

analyses (like a Monte Carlo). In either case, the
“best” asset allocation is the one that puts the client
in a position to meet their goals while taking on the
least amount of risk possible.

TIME HORIZON:

Time is another crucial element in the investing

equation.

As a general rule, the more time you have until you’ll

be relying on your invested dollars, the more risk you
can afford to take.

35
This is why it makes sense to have an aggressive
allocation when you’re young. As you get older, or
closer to your goal, it makes sense to begin paring
back the risk you expose yourself to.

INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES:

In today’s world, thematic investing is much more

prevalent than ever.

As such, there are more and more options available

to investors that are passionate about certain
themes (like sustainability, religion, etc).

If you are working with an advisor, you can have a

conversation with him or her to see what options are
on the table for your mix that are in line with your
ethical stance.

If you’re creating your own investment allocation, the

burden of the due diligence is on you.

If you’re not comfortable with creating your own

asset allocation, that is okay. There are plenty of
options on the table.

36
The advent of technology has brought robo-advisors
the forefront of the investment management
conversation. As such, investors now have to ask
themselves: “Do I want to work with a human, or am I
comfortable with a ‘robo-advisor’?”

Again, there is no right or wrong answer here.

However, there are some important points to note.

The benefit of working with a human financial advisor

is just that; you’re working with a human. You’ll be
partnering up with someone that you can have
personal conversations with regarding your finances
and investing.

Because you’re getting a more individualized level of

service, your costs may be higher than a robo-
advisor.

If you aren’t picky about having a single point of

contact, or a human quarterbacking your
investments, then a robo-advisor may make sense.
As mentioned, this alternative is usually cheaper than
working with a full service, traditional financial
advisor.

37
If you go the advisor route, it’s wise that you are
comfortable and familiar with the platform. You
should do your due diligence and understand the
process and philosophy behind the investment
selection, rebalancing, fees and anything else that is
important to you.

In conclusion, asset allocation is arguably the most

important element of an investor’s investment
planning. It dictates how much risk you are exposed
to, and is the primary determinant of your returns.

As an educated investor, you should strive to always

make sure your asset allocation is suitable and in line
with your investment objectives, as well as personal
circumstances and preferences.

While there are many schools of thought when it

comes to the subject, there is still no “one size fits all”
solution when it comes to how you position your
assets. Technology has made it possible for anyone
to become an investor today. Leverage the tools and
knowledge that are at your disposal. If you’re not
comfortable with creating and tending to your own
mix, there are plenty of options available in the
marketplace depending on your style and needs.

38
Chapter 6: How Much Risk Should I take?
When it comes to investing, risk is arguably the most
important variable to consider. That’s for a couple of
reasons:

You will not be successful long-term without taking

on risk unless you already have a large enough
portfolio that will cover your current and/or future
financial needs

Seeing your account balance balance drop with

swings in the market can be very difficult to handle
emotionally, especially if you’re not honest about
your risk tolerance

Too much risk at the wrong stage of your investing

career can be devastating to your financial plan.

Because risk plays such a large role in your investing,

it’s important to be educated on:

The amount of risk each asset class carries

Your Personal Risk Tolerance
Your Risk Capacity (Different than Risk Tolerance)

39
Let’s start with the “sexiest” of the traditional asset
(investment) classes, equities (stocks).

Generally speaking, equities tend to carry the highest

level of risk compared to bonds and cash. The
primary reason for this is the fact that there is no
underlying guarantee that you will get your original
investment (principal) back when you sell your
position.

In the worst case scenario- company bankruptcy-

common stock shareholders are among the last
group of people to get paid back, if at all.

A major law in finance is risk versus return. The

market tends to reward responsible risk.

While risk doesn’t exactly equal return, over the long-

haul you are likely to see higher returns in riskier
asset classes than safer ones.

There are a lot of different ways to evaluate the risks

that a stock may be exposed to. For the sake of
simplicity, let’s cover a fundamental topic: company
size.

40
Generally speaking, the larger the company is in size,
the better it will hold up in a serious economic
downturn compared to smaller companies.

This is because larger companies tend to have

stronger balance sheets that can allow them to get
through recessions, as opposed to smaller
companies like tech startups.

It’s no surprise to see that many of the “plain-Jane”

blue chip stocks like Coca-Cola held up fairly well
throughout the previous economic downturn.

Value companies are not going to provide you with

the most lucrative returns in terms of capital gains,
but they can be great holdings when things get ugly,
as they will.

Let’s move on to the next asset class: fixed income,

or bonds.

For what it’s worth, bonds tend to be considered less

risky than stocks because they promise you some
sort of return on your money.

41
As a reminder, a bond is an “IOU” investment. You
loan your money to a company, country, etc. The
bond issuer promises to pay you back at an agreed
upon date in the future. Most bonds will pay you a
fixed interest rate that is a percentage of the par
value (the amount you’ll get when the bond’s term
ends).

Again, there are dozens of ways to classify the risk of

a bond, but we’ll stick with interest rate risk for the
time being.

As you may know, bond prices and their yields have

an inverse relationship. As Interest rates go up,
existing bond prices go down, and vice-versa.

Time is an important element for gauging interest

rate risk.

Generally speaking, the longer the term of the bond,

the more risky it is. That’s because interest rates can
move more over time, compared to a short-term
bond. Because of this, investors tend to demand a
higher rate of return (interest) on longer term bonds
in order to be compensated for the risk.

42
Lastly, we’ll cover cash.

Cash is considered the least risky of the three

traditional asset classes. It is designed to be a vehicle
where you can park your assets and have them
maintain their value without being subject to too
much market fluctuation.

Again, because of the law of risk vs. return, you will

hardly experience any growth in your cash accounts.
With short-term interest rates still well-below
historically averages, that only makes the point more
critical to understand.

There is a hidden risk when it comes to cash:

inflation risk. That is the risk of losing purchasing
power over time if you keep too much of your
investable net worth in cash.

The US economy averages about a 2% annual

inflation rate. For example, if you have $1 today, next
year it will only be worth about $0.98 in terms of
purchasing power.

This is why it’s typically not advisable for younger

investors to have too much of their investable net
worth tied up in cash.

43
Let’s move onto another critical element of the risk
equation: your risk tolerance.

This is simply defined as the amount of risk you are

comfortable with taking in your investments. In other
words, this measures how well you handle volatility
and drops in the market.

Risk tolerance can be a tricky subject because it is

hard to quantify. There are plenty of great online
questionnaires that can give you an idea of where
you stand when it comes to your tolerance for risk,
but the only way to really know your level of comfort
with risk is to experience volatility first-hand.

Risk is very, very real in investing. Ignoring your risk

tolerance is arguably the worst decision you can
make as you go about your investing career. If you’re
working with a financial advisor, make sure you are
having real, honest conversations about the level of
risk you can stomach.

Studies show that human beings tend to

overestimate their risk appetite. The worst time to
decide that you’ve bitten off more than you can chew
is when markets take a serious hit.

44
Your capacity for risk is how much risk you can
actually afford to take statistically.

As a general rule, the more time you have on your

side, the more likely you are to recover from serious
market downturns, recessions, etc. This is good news
for younger investors, and not-so good news for
investors that are getting closer to relying on their
invested dollars. Bad markets in the beginning of
retirement can be fatal for a financial plan. This is a
concept referred to as “sequence of returns” risk.

There are a couple of different ways that you can

measure your risk capacity, but one of the most
widely-accepted is the Monte Carlo analysis.

This is a simulation that many advisors use to gauge

how successful a client will be in meeting their
investment objectives given a wide range of market
return scenarios, all ranging from poor to fantastic.

When constructing your own asset allocation, always

bear in mind the fact that your risk capacity is a
variable that should not be overlooked.

45
To wrap up, all of the topics discussed in this chapter
will provide you with a solid framework to answer the
question: “How much risk should I be taking?”.

Always educate yourself on risk. It’s arguably the

most important subject in finance and investing.
Familiarize yourself with the different asset classes
and the risks that are associated with them.

Be honest with yourself about your risk-tolerance.

Even if you’re not new to investing, consider the fact

that the last 10 years have been rather tame as it
relates to volatility.

Be proactive and do your best to accurately gauge

your tolerance for risk before volatility strikes.

Lastly, understand and capitalize on your capacity for

risk. If you’re younger, you can statistically afford to
take on more risk as you’re ramping up your net
worth.

If you’re older, that may not be the case.

46
 Chapter 7: Mutual Funds vs ETFs
As an investor, you are tasked with understanding
the different investment vehicles available in order
for you to be able to make well-informed decisions.

Each asset class and investment type has its pros

and cons. Knowing those pros and cons is what helps
you navigate the investment world with confidence.

When it comes to funds, there are two primary

investment vehicles that investors tend to flock to:
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
Mutual Funds

While the two have a lot of similarities, they also have

noticeable differences. It is ideal to know the key
differences versus getting caught up in the granular
details.

After reading this chapter, you will have a clear

understanding of the mechanics behind ETFs and
Mutual Funds, along with some of their key
differences.

47
What is an ETF?

An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a fund that you

can purchase on an exchange which tends to mirror
the performance of a particular sector, asset class,
country, etc.

While there are a handful of “active” ETFs, the

majority of ETFs are passive in nature. “Passive”
means that the fund is designed to provide you with
the same performance as the underlying
investment(s) owned by the fund.

For example, SPY is a well-known ETF that tracks the

performance of the S&P 500. Because SPY owns the
same stocks in the S&P 500 index, in equal
proportion to the index, you will experience the
same level of gains and losses as the index. In other
words, if the S&P 500 is up 10% and you’ve held SPY
over the same time period, you should expect that
position to be up 10% as well.

ETFs are very popular because the majority of them

are cheap to own and trade just like stocks.

48
For example, consider VOO, which is Vanguard’s S&P
500 ETF. VOO has an expense ratio of 0.03%, or 3
basis points. That is very, very cheap for a fund of any
kind. Why is it so cheap? Vanguard is not trying to
provide you with “alpha”, or excess returns, with this
fund. The only objective is to provide you with the
exact same performance as the S&P 500. If the fund
mirrors the returns of the index perfectly, it is doing
its job. Because less “work” goes into mirroring an
index, the fund is offered at a very inexpensive cost.

When you are looking to trade an ETF, you have to be

mindful of the bid and ask spread. As a reminder,
that is how investments are quoted when they are
listed on an exchange and can be traded through a
broker. The spread is the difference between the ask
(the lowest price that you can purchase an
investment at) and the bid (the highest price that you
can sell the investment for). For example, if an ETF is
quoted at $55.05 bid/$55.10 ask, the spread would
be $0.05.

Depending on how “liquid” the fund is, the spread

may vary. Funds that are more actively traded than
others tend to have thinner spreads than funds that
are less actively traded.

49
Like stocks, ETFs can be shorted. There are also
derivatives available for ETFs, unlike mutual funds.

ETFs are traded on the secondary market, meaning

that they are traded between investors. When you
sell your shares of an ETF, another investor is buying
them, not the fund company.

ETFs also do not have investment minimums. In

some cases, you can even purchase fractional shares
of an ETF if your broker allows for it.

Unlike mutual funds, ETFs do not offer “breakpoints”,

or discounts for purchasing shares in bulk. In other
words, what you get is what you pay for.

ETFs pay out dividends if the underlying investments

do, but the funds do not pay out capital gains
distributions. If the ETF is passive in nature, there is
not a whole lot of trading that is done by the fund
manager. As such, there are no capital gains to
redistribute to shareholders.

This tends to be an important consideration for

investors that are seeking to construct a tax-efficient
portfolio of brokerage assets.

50
What is a Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund is very similar to an ETF in that it is

offered and managed by an investment company,
however, there are some notable differences.

First, let’s describe what a mutual fund is.

A mutual fund is a fund that is offered by an

investment company, which manages the fund.

Mutual funds are managed by a team of

professionals, according to a specific strategy. For
example, the DODIX fund offered by Dodge and Cox
is a mutual fund that is designed to preserve
principal while providing investors with income via
fixed income securities and cash equivalents.

As a shareholder of the fund, you directly participate

in the performance of the fund, depending on how
well (or poorly) the mutual fund is managed.

Mutual funds can be active or passive, like ETFs.

However, most mutual funds are known for being
active in nature.

51
This means the management team is actively looking
to provide shareholders of the fund with excess
returns (alpha) compared to a specific benchmark,
like a sector. Because extra “work” goes into running
an active mutual fund, these funds tend to come with
higher internal expenses.

Mutual funds are also required to pay out “capital

gains distributions” to its shareholders. This means
that shareholders receive proceeds from the trades
made by the fund manager, and have to pay capital
gains tax on those proceeds. Again, if you are tax-
sensitive, you may want to consider owning mutual
funds in a tax-deferred account, like an IRA to avoid
current taxation of these distributions.

The process behind trading mutual fund shares also

can vary, compared to ETFs.

The first thing to consider is whether the fund is

closed-ended or open-ended.

Open-ended funds only trade at the close of the

trading day. The fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV) is
calculated at that point. Your shares will trade at the
Net Asset Value at the end of the day if the fund is
open-ended.
52
When trading an open-ended fund, you will buy
shares directly from the mutual fund company and
sell them back directly to the company as well. The
process of selling your shares to the fund company is
referred to as “redemption”. Because you are dealing
directly with the fund company, there is no bid/ask
spread when purchasing or redeeming open-ended
fund shares.

Notice how this is different from ETFs, which tend to

trade on the secondary market.

There are also closed-ended mutual funds, which

trade on the secondary market and are not
necessarily traded at the fund’s NAV.

Mutual funds also tend to carry “sales loads”. These

are commissions that are paid by the investor when
purchasing shares of a mutual fund. Depending on
the “share class”.

A shares tend to carry an “up front” load. B shares

have a “back-end” load. C shares have a “level” load,
with a smaller back-end load at times. It is wise to
research these commissions prior to purchasing or
selling mutual fund shares.

53
Similarities

Here are the most notable similarities between ETFs

and Mutual Funds:

Instant Diversification
You don’t own a single company (just be mindful
of industry concentration)
Convenience
You don’t have to purchase every single security
held by the fund
Professionally managed
All fund management is handled by the fund
company
Access
You will get direct access to the asset class,
sector, economy that the fund invests in
Income
If the underlying investments owned by the
mutual fund or ETF pay out a dividend or interest,
you will receive that income in your portfolio

54
Differences

The key differences between mutual funds and ETFs

are as follows:

Costs
ETFs do not come with sales loads. You only pay
internal expenses and brokerage commissions if
applicable.

Mutual Funds tend to carry sales loads, management

expenses and 10b5-1 expenses as well.

The Spread
Remember, the spread only applies to investments
traded on an exchange (ETFs and closed-end mutual
funds).

Open-end funds are bought and redeemed directly

from the fund company.

Discounts
Only mutual funds offer “breakpoints” or discounts
for purchasing a certain amount of shares in bulk.

55
Exchanges
Only mutual funds allow you to “exchange” shares of
funds between fund families offered by the same
fund company.

Management
While there are actively managed ETFs and passively
managed mutual funds (index funds), ETFs tend to be
more passive than mutual funds.

Investment Minimums
ETFs do not require an initial minimum investment.
Some brokers allow you to purchase fractional
shares

Most mutual funds require a minimum investment

(although it may be as low as $1).

Capital Gains Distributions

Mutual funds are required to pay out capital gains
distributions so the fund itself is not taxed on the
sale of investments.

ETFs do not pay out capital gains distributions.

56
Conclusion

Whether you own strictly ETFs, Mutual funds, or a

combination of the two, you can still be successful as
an investor, as long as you have a clearly defined
strategy that you stick to consistently.

Remember, each investment vehicle has pros and

cons. There is no one investment vehicle that is
always going to be superior than another. While
active mutual funds have been criticized for their
inability to outperform their benchmarks, there are
still funds out there that perform very waell. While
ETFs are known for being cheap, there are still funds
out there that are unnecessarily expensive.

Always do your due diligence to understand the

costs and risk associated with any investment you
add to your portfolio. Also bear in mind your financial
goals and personal circumstances.

57
Chapter 8: Choosing The right accounts
One of the most overlooked parts of any investment
strategy is the type of account you put cash to work
in.

The term “account structure” refers to the mix of

investment accounts that you use as a part of your
overall financial plan.

There are a handful of different types of investment

accounts available to you, depending on where you
live. Each account has its unique pros, cons and
optimal use case.

Many people make the mistake of focusing solely on

choosing their investments, while giving little to no
thought to the vehicles that will house their
investments.

Why does account structure matter?

Proper account structure assures that you are using

the most appropriate vehicles to build wealth in a
tax-efficient manner that makes the most sense for
your individual financial goals and tax picture.

58
Notice how it’s not just your asset allocation
(investment mix) that should match your financial
goals, but your account structure as well.

What do I mean by matching your account(s) with

your goal(s)?

Here’s an example.

Assume your goal is to build wealth for age 59.5 or

after. You’re also concerned that tax rates will be
much higher in the future.

A Roth IRA or Roth 401k would make a lot of sense to

use in that instance because Roth accounts are
designed to be used at or after age 59.5. They also
feature tax-free withdrawals as long as you wait until
age 59.5 or later to withdraw funds from them. (Note:
the Roth account has to also be open for at least 5
years for you to qualify for the tax-free withdrawals).
As mentioned earlier, all investment accounts have
their own pros and cons.

One drawback to a retirement account (like a Roth

IRA) is you may owe a 10% penalty on amounts
withdrawn from them prior to age 59.5.

59
Because of this, if you have a financial goal that
you’re investing for and you anticipate needing the
funds prior to age 59.5, a retirement account may
not be the best fit.

In this instance, taxable brokerage accounts provide

the most flexibility. There is no contribution limit
associated with them (unlike retirement accounts).

There are also no early withdrawal penalties

associated with taxable accounts, meaning you can
withdraw funds from them at any point in time
without penalty (also unlike retirement accounts).

The only caveat is that you’ll owe capital gains tax on

realized net capital gains and ordinary income tax on
dividends and interest earned within a taxable
account.

As you can see, there is “give and take” with all types
of investment accounts.

Aside from retirement and taxable accounts, there

are other vehicles you can use to invest for specific
goals, like education or building wealth for minors.

60
Let’s say you have a minor (or minors) in your life that
you’d like to start investing for so they have a solid
head start in life financially once they become adults.

A custodial account like a UGMA or UTMA may make

sense.

There are even accounts that you can use to invest

for medical expenses. These are called Health
Savings Accounts (HSAs). The list goes on.

Considering the tax rules of the accounts you’re

using is just as important.

Like I alluded to earlier, retirement accounts cannot

be used before age 59.5, or you’ll likely face a 10% on
a portion of all of the funds you withdraw from them.

As a rule of thumb, any time the government

provides you with a unique tax benefit (tax-deferred
growth, tax-free withdrawals, etc) there is probably
some sort of restriction or limitation associated with
the vehicle featuring the unique tax benefit.

61
Here are some important questions to ask yourself
when analyzing all of the different investment
account options available to you:

“What account is designed specifically for my

goal?
“What are the tax rules associated with the
account(s) I’m thinking about using?”
“Is the money ‘locked up’ for a certain period of
time?”
“Do I have flexibility with what I can invest in
within the account?”
“Are there contribution limits associated with the
account?”
“Does the account have unlimited creditor
protection?”
“What are the opportunity costs involved with
using another type of account over this one?”
“Can I own the account jointly with someone
else?”

There are plenty more questions you can ask, many

of which we guide you through within Financial
University. However, that should give you a good
head start.

62
Having a solid mix of different types of investment
accounts can actually help you hedge the risk of
changes in tax law. This is known as “tax
diversification”.

Currently, tax rates are sitting at or near historical

lows. There are concerns that they can only go up
from here.

If all of your hard-earned assets are located within an

account that is subject to ordinary income taxation
when you withdraw funds from it, you could be
putting yourself at risk of having to pay taxes at a
higher rate in the future.

Taxes, like inflation, are often not accounted for

enough in an individual’s financial plan. Taxes are
among the biggest drainers of wealth in today’s
world. We want you to start thinking proactively.

A properly structured mix of investment accounts

can also help you develop an efficient withdrawal
strategy down the road once you’re ready to start
“living off of your portfolio”.

63
In an ideal world, your withdrawal strategy would
look something like this:

Draw from taxable accounts first

Then draw from tax-deferred accounts
Lastly, draw from tax-free accounts

You can also come up with a strategy to withdraw

funds from all of your accounts to mitigate how
much you pay in taxes every year you make the
withdrawals.

This requires careful planning and a deep

understanding of how portfolio taxes work, which we
also teach within Financial University.

At the end of the day, you should be able to clearly

explain why you’re using the different investment
accounts that you own and how each account plays a
role in your overall financial plan.

As long as you know why you’re funding the specific

accounts you own, you can explain the tax rules
associated with them and you have a clear reason
behind the investment strategy you’re using in each
account, you’re likely heading in a good direction.

64
 Chapter 9: Major mistakes to avoid
Our goal within Financial University is to equip you
with the proper knowledge and context to help you
make intelligent, informed decisions around your
money so that you can avoid critical mistakes that
can potentially set you back years.

A lot of people think that investing is simply “picking

the best stocks and hoping for the best”.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Successful investing is crafting a personalized

strategy that is tailored to your individual needs and
goals, while navigating different market environments
and avoiding critical mistakes.

That last part is what often gets overlooked.

Why do people make mistakes in investing? If you

think about it, why do people make mistakes in
anything?

65
A large part of it comes down to lack of proper
education. I do not blame people for this one. The
school system does an abysmal job of preparing
people for the real world, including managing money
and building wealth.

Without a proper education system in place around

money, it’s natural to turn to social media as a way to
try to fill the financial literacy gap.

As someone that’s highly active on social media, I

appreciate the fact that people can learn about
important life subjects, like money, for free.

However, not everything on social media is valuable.

In fact, a lot of the “financial content” on social media
is more harmful than it is helpful. The content that
tends to go “viral” usually isn’t the most informative
or helpful. It’s usually the content that makes you feel
something.

The feelings I’m referring to are fear and greed.

These two human emotions are what get people to
pay attention. They also get you to comment on and
share social media posts that strike up these
emotions, especially in a niche as emotionally
charged as money.
66
So, without a proper understanding of how money
actually works and through the constant exposure of
content that makes you feel like you’ll either lose all
your money tomorrow or will become a millionaire
overnight if you buy the next hype stock or
cryptocurrency, it’s no wonder so many people are
prone to making devastating mistakes with their
hard-earned money.

The first major mistake that people make when it

comes to investing is not adopting a long-term
mentality.

As we constantly stress within Financial University,

investing and wealth creation are long term games.
The odds are massively stacked against you if you try
to use the markets as a slot machine.

Once you view investing as a method to consistently

acquire assets that compound in value over time so
that you can build the necessary wealth to fulfill your
future financial needs, it really changes the way you
view short term events or opportunities.

When you’re playing the long game, short term

events like drops in the market matter much less in
the grand scheme of things.
67
In fact, if you’re playing the long game, drops in the
market or in a particular stock may actually present
you with an opportunity to buy assets at a cheaper
price.

Everyone always says “buy low, sell high” but it’s very
rare that people actually do that. If you know you
have time on your side, you can invest cash when the
market dips and not lose sleep at night if the market
continues to dip because you know you have time on
your side to recover from the potential losses.

Another common costly mistake investors make is

panic selling.

Risk is a part of investing, especially when you own

risky assets (like stocks). You can play it safe in cash,
but you know that won’t get you anywhere. Risk is
required.

With risk, comes drops in the market. You need to

expect this up front. Even if you’ve been investing for
a couple of years now, it’s important to constantly
remember that stocks don’t “go straight up”. In fact,
they can go down a lot.

68
If your asset allocation (investment mix) is aggressive,
meaning you primarily own stocks over bonds or
cash, you need to understand that is a risky portfolio
strategy. You also need to be prepared for sudden
downturns in the stock market, which will make your
portfolio go from green to red quickly.

One of the worst things you can do in this scenario is

hit the “panic button” and sell. Although it seems like
the natural thing to do, you have to understand that
it’s one of the most harmful things you can do.

By selling your investments in a bear market, you are

locking in steep losses that can take years to recover
from.

You should also know that many of the “best” days in

the stock market actually take place shortly after
some of the “worst” days in the stock market. If you
think about it, it’s probably because “big money” is
seeing the huge dips in price as an opportunity to
buy in cheap.

By going to cash you miss out on those recovery

rallies.

69
Like we highlight in the lesson “Time In The Market vs
Timing The Market”, missing just a few of the best
days in the stock market can have a massive impact
on your long-term portfolio returns.

This means it’s critical that you stay invested in all

markets, good and bad.

Along with panic selling is falling for FOMO (the fear

of missing out).

This mistake goes hand in hand with the social media

pressure I highlighted earlier. When you see random
screenshots on your timeline of someone that is up
10000% on some random investment that they
made, your natural reaction is “I need to buy that
too”.

The truth is, that is one of the worst things you can
do.

First, you don’t know if the screenshot is even real in

the first place.

Second, there is a good chance that the stock, crypto,

etc they’re referring to is part of a “pump and dump”
scheme.
70
Lastly, whenever something shoots straight up in
price, there is usually only one direction it can go
from there- down.

The majority of your investing should not be exciting

or “sexy”. The majority of your investing should be
disciplined, geared towards consistency and your
tolerance for risk.

The biggest risk with FOMO is that you may end up

risking more than you can afford to lose, especially if
you’ve been investing for a couple of years.

The idea of doubling your portfolio in a day, week or

even a couple of hours may be exciting. But, seeing
your hard earned money get cut in half in that period
of time is actually much more painful.

Another mistake that goes along with FOMO is simply

not understanding what you are investing in.

One of the major principles we drill down on with

Financial University is: “Know what you own and why
you own it”.

That phrase was made popular by the legendary

investor, Peter Lynch.
71
When we refer to knowing “what you own”, we mean
understanding the underlying investment. In the case
of a stock, it means understanding the underlying
business, the risks involved with it and so on.

In the context of a fund, it may mean researching

what the fund invests in, how much it costs, the risks
involved with the fund’s holdings and so on.

When we refer to knowing “why you own it”, we mean

clearly knowing the role the investment plays in your
portfolio strategy, which should be tied directly to
your financial goals.

Is the investment a “growth play”? Is it an “income

play”? Are you owning it to get access to a particular
theme, sector or industry? Is the investment meant
to provide you with diversification or lower the risk of
your overall portfolio?

These are all questions that you need to ask yourself

prior to investing in something and throughout the
period of time that you hold it in your portfolio.

72
The mistakes we have covered so far are among the
most dangerous and there are many more you
should be aware of.

Possibly, the largest mistake of them all is “not

knowing what you don’t know”. There is a lot that
goes into your financial and investing success.

The best thing you can do to prepare yourself for the

journey ahead is to arm yourself with as much
knowledge, context and resources as possible so you
can make great decisions throughout the ups and
downs of the investing journey.

Whether you’ve been investing for several years now

or have no experience whatsoever, removing all
doubt and is invaluable My goal with what I do on
social media and within Financial University is to arm
you with this knowledge and understanding so that
you can make your own decisions in the context of
your financial goals and circumstances.

With the subject of education in mind, I want to

briefly discuss what Financial University is, who we
serve and how we can help you on your journey to
building wealth through investing.

73
Chapter 10: Where do we go from here?
At the beginning of this book, we started with figuring
out “why” we actually want to start building wealth.
Throughout this book, we’ve covered several
foundational topics related to investing and wealth
creation that you can apply to your individual
financial picture.

We’ve also provided you with some helpful resources

to help you start putting together the pieces to the
puzzle. Hopefully by now you’ve received enough
value to walk away feeling like reading this book was
a good use of your time.

Naturally, this sets up the following question: “What’s

next?”

If you feel 100% confident that you know enough to

venture on your own and start investing according to
your financial goals, great!

However, if you feel like you still want to take a

deeper dive into learning more about investing and
long term wealth creation, keep reading.

74
I wanted to create something that was structured,
had tons of supportive material and tools. Just as
important, I wanted to create something that also
had a built-in community of like minded individuals.

Free resources, books, Youtube videos, podcasts and

Instagram posts can be extremely valuable; especially
if you’re a beginner.

But, at a certain point there is only so much you can

get out of those types of resources.

Financial University has been able to serve hundreds

of people, like yourself, get on the path to
consistently building wealth through investing
according to their own financial goals.

Financial University was created to fill in the much

needed financial literacy and investment education
gaps that were not properly filled by school.

If you didn’t study finance in school or haven’t

worked in the financial services industry, there is
probably a great chance that you feel like you were
not given even an ounce of the help or resources you
need to know how to make smart decisions with your
hard-earned money.
75
The fact that you didn’t receive the proper financial
education up to this point is completely out of your
control.

However, the tables have turned.

You now have the ability to get the odds on your side
and to start acquiring all of the knowledge you’ve
been craving deep down in order to:

Remove the doubt you may have when it comes

to the markets
Increase your confidence when it comes to your
finances
Start making progress towards your financial
goals
Sleep better at night knowing your money is
working for you
Take pride in knowing you’re on the right track
financially
Feel empowered to make your own investment
decisions
& More

There’s a reason why you’re still reading up to this

point.

76
We opened up this book with the idea of getting an
understanding of your “why” when it comes to
building wealth.

Hopefully you’ve asked yourself some important

questions about that “why” as you’ve gone through
this book.

Now, I’ll ask you to trust the voice inside and to take
just a moment to learn more about Financial
University and how it can truly help you make
significant financial progress not only now, but
throughout your entire financial journey.

We actually have a special offer for you as someone

who cared enough about their financial success to
take the time to read this book.

We’re here to educate you and support you.

We know we can’t help everyone.

Not everyone actually cares enough to take action,

regardless of how much they tell others they want to
make a change.

77
You’re different. You’ve made it this far.

I invite you to visit the following link to learn more

about Financial University and take advantage of a
special offer prepared just for you.

I look forward to continuing to be a great resource

for you now and throughout the rest of your financial
journey.

Thank you.

Visit the following link to continue your financial

education journey!

https://financialuniversity.thrivecart.com/ebook/

78