It's A Snoozer! By Eggy on Jan 24, 2009 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

I guess you might call me a bit of a "Financial Hobbyist". I manage my own investments, do my own taxes, read Barrons almost every week, etc. Although I think I have a decent understanding of the basic impact of taxes on different types of investments, I thought it would be worth investing some time to get more in depth in the subject of tax planning.

I read one popular book on Tax Efficient Investing but found it to be rather superficial. Then I found multiple references to "Tax Aware Investment Management" - it received good editorial and user reviews which implied that it was an in depth book which was for professional money managers and individual investors.

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This rather expensive ($80 List Price) book should really be viewed as a course. By reading it and taking an on-line test you can receive 4 hours of credit to help meet your Certified Financial Planner (CFP) continuing education requirement.

The book is well written, has many meaningful diagrams and tables. It is fairly well footnoted to reference original research and other sources of information.

The book has a good chapter on the superior tax efficiency of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) over traditional mutual funds. It also has a good section on some alternatives for dealing with concentrated stock positions.

Most of the book is really aimed at professional investment managers rather than individuals. This is particularly true of the section on managing separate accounts, the role of systems, and a couple of chapters on investment practice topics. The nature of subject matter also makes it somewhat less than a thrilling page turner.

This book and course are not recommended for most individuals. It is probably great for professional money managers.