After reading Investing Demystified: How to Invest Without Speculation and Sleepless Nights, I wanted to summarize the most impactful lessons I’ve found worth applying. This isn’t a how-to on picking the next Tesla, but rather a framework to think clearly about wealth and risk.

🧱 Step 1: Inventory Your Life – Assets, Intangibles, Liabilities

The book emphasizes building a complete picture of your financial world—not just your stock portfolio. That means considering:

Tangible Assets:

  • Investments, pensions, real estate, company stock/options, etc.
  • Even things like your car and inheritance expectations

Intangible Assets:

  • Your education, job prospects, your partner’s earning potential
  • Languages, flexibility to move geographically
  • If you work in finance, be careful not to double up your exposure by also investing heavily in financial markets

Liabilities:

  • Fixed (mortgage, credit cards, loans) and flexible (taxes, future school fees)
  • Ask: Do my liabilities increase or decrease with economic downturns? Ideally, they decrease when times are bad.

This full-life assessment really forced me to think beyond spreadsheets and ETFs. A good reminder: not all wealth is on a balance sheet.

📜 Step 2: Define Your Portfolio Mission Statement

This was a new one for me, and surprisingly powerful.

Write a one-pager about your financial goals and how you expect to react to downturns.

No soaring eagles or motivational posters required.

Just answer:

  • Why am I investing?
  • What mix of equities/bonds matches my timeline?
  • How do I expect to feel when markets drop 30%?

I liked the idea of having this document ready before panic hits. It gives you an emotional anchor in volatile times.

🧪 Step 3: Choosing the Right ETF – Ask the Boring Questions

Kroijer drills into the criteria to pick an ETF—and it’s surprisingly easy to get this wrong if you’re not paying attention:

  • Does it track the right index?
  • Is the TER < 0.3%?
  • Liquidity: Tight spreads and high volume
  • Is it tax efficient in your country?
  • Is the tracking error small?
  • Can you buy/sell it easily and cheaply?

Small things like jurisdiction and currency can make a big difference. Don’t just grab the first “World ETF” you see.

🇩🇰 A Personal Reflection Tool

One quote really hit home:

“I am a Danish citizen living in the UK with taxable income of X…”

Kroijer shows how putting your actual life into a template can help frame the right questions. Try adapting that sentence to your own situation and see what blind spots emerge.

🛡️ Bonus: Safer Than Cash?

Another gem: If you’re uneasy about bank failures (we’ve all seen how fast trust evaporates), consider keeping some wealth in government bonds or money market funds. These securities stay yours, even if your bank collapses.

Final Thought

The book doesn’t glamorize investing. It makes a case for clarity, discipline, and humility. You don’t need to outsmart Wall Street—you just need to avoid playing the wrong game.

Highly recommended read, especially if you want to sleep better and think longer term.

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