Your 2001 Financial Guide
Different landscape, same challenge

Back in 1974, when we published the first edition of this annual guide, the Nasdaq was a little-known 3-year-old and a teenager named Bill Gates had yet to found you-know-what. The typical doctor under age 60 had more than 65 percent of his investment assets in real estate.

Mutual funds—of which there were hundreds, not thousands—hardly rated a mention in the guide back then, and no wonder: Only 4 to 6 percent of younger-than-60 physicians owned any. In fact, according to our annual Continuing Survey, savings accounts were more appealing to doctors than either bonds or mutual funds, and only the oldest physicians kept as much as 20 percent of their money in stocks.

Times have certainly changed, but one thing that hasn't is our goal: to help you make profitable investments and smart planning decisions. With that in mind, we've convened some of the brightest people in personal finance to give you an overview of how the markets might fare in the year ahead, and which sectors and industries will heat up or cool down. We've also packed this guide with articles on everything from investing in technology and saving on taxes to buying bonds and supercharging your retirement plan.

Although this issue was truly a group effort, I'd especially like to thank the veteran staffers who helped the most to shape it: Financial/Electronic-Publishing Editor Jeff Burger, Senior Editor Diane Weber, and Fact Checker Vicki Brentnall. Special thanks also go to a rookie on our team, Assistant Art Director Christopher Weigand. Chris and his talented colleagues gave this issue its distinctive look.

We all hope you'll agree that the time you spend with the guide is an investment worth making.

 

Dennis Murray. Your 2001 Financial Guide: Different landscape, same challenge. Medical Economics 2000;21:9.