Copyright © 2016 by Chris Versace and Lenore Hawkins. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750– 8400, fax (978) 646– 8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748– 6011, fax (201) 748– 6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762– 2974, outside the United States at (317) 572– 3993 or fax (317) 572– 4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available:
ISBN 9781119003946 (Hardcover)
ISBN 9781119004103 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781119004059 (ePub)
Cover Design: Michael J. Freeland
Cover Images: glass © iStock.com/cc-stock; olive © iStock.com/AndrewJohnson
I'd like to dedicate this book to my family and friends that have been so helpful and supportive on my journey, as well as to all the fledgling investors that are just getting started on their investing path.
– Chris
To Marco, Cat, Emmy, Kimberly, Bill, Sara, Tom, Sheila, Jordan, Sharron, Karen, Jaime, and Mom for helping me laugh, maintaining my sanity, and pouring the occasional vino when it was needed most. Not only do you all inspire me to aim higher every day, but your love makes the joys of life all the sweeter and the struggles easier to bear.
– Lenore
A man must defend his home, his wife, his children and his martini.
– Jackie Gleason
Happiness is…finding two olives in your martini when you're hungry.
– Johnny Carson
My focus sharpened as I ascended the steps to the presentation platform. I may have some generous delusions about myself, but I am pretty clear that seeing me trip backside-over-tea-kettle in a skirt and stilettos when trying to mount the all-of-five steps up to the stage where the other panelists were sitting would not exactly give the audience the image of a highly competent woman I'd like to convey.
Hating to be the first to speak, I always try to sit farthest from the moderator in the hope that he or she will get to me later on and give me a chance to come up with something funny or memorable in response to what another panelist has stated with total conviction: my inner–Conference Katniss gets competitive. Damn it, though, some guy with a cocksure grin had taken the spot I covet. I grumbled internally and took the seat next to him. Nonchalant chit-chat ensued, as usual, between the panelists as we waited for the presentation hall to fill. In my Katniss-mind, this lull before the action is akin to that of the Roman gladiators prior to their entrance into the Coliseum. With my usual level of pre–public speaking adrenaline flowing, the reality that the average fitness level of those of us on stage was somewhere around that of The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper was irrelevant.
Finally, the hall was sufficiently full and the moderator asked us to take our seats on stage. He grabbed his microphone and introduced us Investment Gladiators with a Cliff's Notes
