A Wall Street insider draws back the curtain on how financial firms take advantage of individual investors--and delivers the information and insights you need to turn the tables Nationwide brokerage firms have perfected the secrets for how to legally fool the rest of us into giving them our hard-earned money. Written by a renowned leader and financial reform advocate who has seen every trick in the book firsthand, Outsmart the Money Magicians reveals how biased the financial system often is, and helps you see through the illusions, understand exactly what is happening with your money, and make investing and tax decisions accordingly. You'll learn everything there is to know about how often Wall Street and the IRS rely on hard-to-see deceptions that encourage the public to behave a certain way, including: Encouraging people to save a fixed amount each month in an illusion called Pay Yourself First Hiding the profits created by dividends and rebalancing, to motivate people to sell investments worth keeping Leveraging fear of the higher "tax bracket" to incentivize us to spend more money on government-approved deductions Giving every member of their salesforce the same "advisor" title even though they often have very different offerings like mortgages, insurance, and credit cards.  Forcing advisors to use their customers like products whenever they change firms Refusing to commit in writing to a service model regular people can understand and appreciate Outsmart the Money Magicians provides clear, easy-to-understand action steps to protect your portfolio and maximize your wealth-building efforts. Readers will learn the 14 Questions to Ask a Financial Planner and access templates for the kinds of reports Wall Street should be providing. With an example of the kinds of notes you should get after meeting your advisor and specific charts about how to look at your profit, this book gives experts and beginners alike an inside view to how Wall Street should improve. At a time of heightened confusion, anxiety, and mistrust of our financial institutions, Outsmart the Money Magicians provides anyone who is concerned about their personal finances with invaluable insider insights and practices for avoiding the most common financial traps created by the IRS and Wall Street. The book arms you with the information you need to see your money, your advisors, and your investment firms with full clarity, so you can make the best possible decisions when it comes to building your portfolio.