Two veteran industry insiders are revamping their tome on the mutual fund business. This time they're aiming for a wider audience.

In February Bob Pozen (the former Fidelity and MFS bigwig) and Theresa Hamacher (chief of mutual fund industry operations trade group NICSA) released the second edition of The Fund Industry: How Your Money is Managed. Pozen tells MFWire that, while the first edition (released four years ago) was "more geared towards people working in or serving the industry," the new version, especially the five chapters in the opening "investors' guide to funds," is aimed at "the intelligent investor."

"There are, say, 20,000 people who work in the industry, and there are 20 million households who invest in mutual funds," Pozen says. "We want to expand our audience."

There are "lots of books about picking mutual funds," Pozen adds, but this book is meant to give investors tools and an understanding of the way the mutual fund industry works, "not just some magic formula that always wins."

"We're trying to write something that will last," Pozen says.

The book clocks in at about 500 pages, the same ballpark as the prior edition, and it has a redesigned cover (yellow and white lettering on black, and a black, white, and blue pattern, versus the old version's blue and green lettering on white with a host of green, blue, and yellow arrows). The list price is also lower ($59.99 compared to $75) than last time, and there's a digital edition, too.

In terms of subject matter, there's a new chapter devoted entirely to mutual fund expenses, and another on comparing mutual funds via categories from Lipper and Morningstar. The new edition also includes separate chapters on ETFs and on hedge funds, as well as more coverage on retirement from the individual investor's point of view. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE