Prelims

Half Title Page

THE H. KENT BAKER INVESTMENTS SERIES

THE SAVVY INVESTOR’S GUIDE TO AVOIDING PITFALLS, FRAUDS, AND SCAMS

Title Page

THE H. KENT BAKER INVESTMENTS SERIES

THE SAVVY INVESTOR’S GUIDE TO AVOIDING PITFALLS, FRAUDS, AND SCAMS

BY

H. KENT BAKER

American University, USA

JOHN R. NOFSINGER

University of Alaska Anchorage, USA

VESA PUTTONEN

Aalto University, Finland

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2020

Copyright © 2020 Emerald Publishing

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78973-562-8 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78973-559-8 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-78973-561-1 (Epub)

Contents

About the Authors

H. Kent Baker, DBA, PhD, CFA, CMA, is University Professor of Finance in the Kogod School of Business at American University. He is an award-winning author/editor of more than 33 books including as Investor Behavior – The Psychology of Financial Planning and Investing and Investment Traps – Navigating Investor Mistakes and Behavioral Biases. With nearly 300 other publications, Professor Baker is among the top 1% of the most prolific authors in finance.

John R. Nofsinger, PhD, is William H. Seward Endowed Chair in International Finance at the College of Business & Public Policy, University of Alaska Anchorage. He is one of the world’s leading experts in behavioral finance and the author of The Psychology of Investing and another 11 books. Professor Nofsinger is a prolific Scholar who publishes in multiple disciplines. He is also a frequent Speaker on behavioral finance, the biology of finance, and corporate social responsibility.

Vesa Puttonen, PhD, is Professor of Finance at Aalto University School of Business in Helsinki. He has worked as Senior Vice President at the Helsinki Stock Exchange and as Managing Director at Conventum Asset Management (Helsinki). He has published 18 books and more than 30 journal articles on different fields of strategic finance, risk management, behavioral finance, and investing.

Acknowledgments

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

—Maya Angelou

We have seen the pain experienced by investors who have made costly mistakes and have become unsuspecting victims of clever fraudsters and scammers. We felt that we had a story to tell that could help others avoid experiencing similar anguish. That’s why we wrote The Savvy Investor’s Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls, Frauds, and Scams. However, we couldn’t have told our story without the help of many others. We thank our partners at Emerald Publishing for their many contributions, especially Charlotte Maiorana (Senior Editor) and Charlie Wilson (Associate Editor). We also appreciate the research support provided by our respective institutions – the Kogod School of Business at American University, the College of Business & Public Policy at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the Aalto University Business School. Finally, we dedicate this book to our families: Linda and Rory Baker, Anna Nofsinger, and Marika Puttonen.