www.Money-and-Investing.com

 
Hi, I’m Jay Baxter, the author of the Odd Lot Blog. Sadly, no, “Odd Lot” isn’t a real person, but I love the name. It’s based on the Odd Lot Theory, a theory that I make fun of at every opportunity and that every self-directed individual investor strives to overcome whether they realize it or not.  

Investopedia defines the Odd Lot Theory as a “technical analysis theory based on the assumption that the small individual investor is always wrong. Therefore, if odd lot sales are up (meaning small investors are selling stock) it is probably a good time to buy.”  Basically, this theory assumes that those of us who manage our own portfolios are bad investors. I refuse to believe that, there are plenty of us that outperform most professional money managers and the market consistently.  Since it was proposed, this theory has been disproven, but it did help me realize that there are a lot of people out there that need investing and financial guidance and don’t really know where to turn.

Don’t let Odd’s name fool you, I cover personal finance AND investing, this blog is not biased toward one or the other.  I know that most bloggers choose to focus on one topic but when it comes to personal finance and investing, I think you have to cover both. Saying you only want to learn about one and not the other is like saying you want wisdom but not common sense, it just doesn’t work that way. 

Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way next, because anyone receiving personal finance and investing advice has the right to know whether or not the person giving that advice is qualified to do so. For the most part, I think professional and educational designations are meaningless in the real world, but for those readers that feel that they’re important, then yes, I’m “qualified”.  I received an undergraduate degree in finance and accounting from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and later received an MBA from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. I’m also a registered investment adviser with over 10 years of financial budgeting/forecasting, statistical analysis and data modeling experience.  I’m the author of most of the educational material you will read on this blog and at Money-and-Investing.com, as well as the editor of the Fund Street and ETF Global Investor newsletters.  

Phew, that last paragraph was a boring mouthful, wasn’t it? Honestly, pedigree doesn’t mean much when you consider that 4 out of 5 professional money managers fail to beat the market. Wouldn’t you rather hear something real?  The qualification that I am the most proud of is that I’m passionate about investing and wealth building and I greatly enjoy passing that knowledge on to others and receiving their knowledge in return. I’m not a selfless individual, there’s nothing noble about this blog, teaching people makes me feel good about myself and I fully expect readers to return the favor by sharing their own knowledge via comments, emails and feedback.

What this blog is about.  I want to convince as many people as I can reach that they can master their own finances and an investing strategy with a little guidance, discipline and hard work. I launched The Odd Lot Blog and Money-and-Investing.com in 2007 to educate investors, provide a steady stream of new and fun personal finance articles, and encourage people to take the scary leap to a self-directed portfolio.  Why do I feel this is so important? Because no one will ever care as much as you do about your money or your future and also because I believe that anyone can master the basic principles of wealth building as long as they have sufficient desire, courage and discipline.   

I’m a math geek so I have to throw in at least one statistic or I won’t feel this “about me” page contains sufficient nerdiness.  Many people will tell you that you have to have money to make money but that is absolutely untrue. There are currently over 2 million American millionaires and the vast majority of them are first generation.  That means that there are many people in this country that started with nothing but are wealthy today.  Trust me when I promise you that, whether you’re nearly wealthy, starting with nothing, or currently in debt, you can do this. The basic principles of personal finance and investing (which my pseudonym, Odd, will spend a lot of time writing about and discussing) work the same for anyone that applies them, regardless of age, income, or background.  

Beginners… If you’re a beginner with a question, please never hesitate to ask. I monitor the comments on this blog myself to make sure that they stay positive and constructive. You will never have to worry about ridicule or condescension, we are all here to learn and we applaud beginners for getting started.

Experienced Readers… If you are one of my more experienced readers, please share your thoughts and wisdom in the comments sections.  The community will be much stronger if our more knowledgeable readers add additional information to my posts, answer beginner personal finance and investing  questions, and correct my inevitable errors. Your input is welcome and greatly appreciated, we will all benefit from your experience.  

Good luck to you on your wealth building journey and thank you for reading. 

Sincerely,

Founder, Money-and-Investing.com, Inc.