When a man makes a deposit in a savings bank or joins a savings and loan association, or takes out a life-insurance pol icy, he pools his money with that of other investors. Thus in fixed-dollar investing, the assembling of capital from many people into one pool, to be invested according to the judg ment of an institution’s management, is a long-established, widespread practice generally taken for granted by investors.

But in buying stocks, although the great majority of buyers are not out-and-out speculators, apparently most of them do harbor a little of a gambler’s viewpoint. Their feeling seems to be: “I want to be my own boss. I enjoy picking my own stocks, and I know how to select them. I am just as smart as the next guy. If I want advice, I can get it easily and cheaply. So what is the sense of my paying somebody else to manage my money?” Admittedly an investment company has little attraction for a man with this viewpoint. But for an in vestor disinterested in building up his own ego and aiming primarily at first-class, long-term results, is an investment company a help? That question this chapter aims to answer. Certified Financial Planner - Read More.