Convinced that your star mutual fund manager will help you beat the market? Eager to hear the latest stock picking advice on CNBC? Forget about it!

The Great Mutual Fund Trap shows that the average mutual fund consistently underperforms the market, and that strategies for picking above-average funds—everything from past performance to expert rankings—are useless. Picking individual stocks on the advice of brokers and analysts works no better. The only sure things are the fees and commissions you'll pay.

Fortunately, the news is not all bad. Investors willing to ignore the constant drumbeat of "trade frequently," "trust the experts," and "beat the market" now have the opportunity to do better. Using new investing products investors can earn higher returns with lower risks.

Drawing on their years of Wall Street, Treasury and Federal Reserve experience, Gary Gensler and Gregory Baer offer a fresh and realistic look at how money is managed in America. From new indexing strategies to risk-managed stock selection, The Great Mutual Fund Trap offers investors an escape from high costs and immunity from seductive marketing messages.

"A compelling work that takes a hard look at how Americans invest their money, and suggests better options. A serious book by serious people, The Great Mutual Fund Trap also contains practical and humorous illustrations guaranteed to engage any reader."
   LAWRENCE SUMMERS, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY

"The folks at Fidelity are not going to like this book, but anyone who still invests via an actively-managed mutual funds or who buys variable annuities or who favors Social Security privatization should read it."
   ANDREW TOBIAS, AUTHOR OF THE ONLY INVESTMENT GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED

"Mutual funds have brought millions of Americans into the investment markets—and for that alone they deserve much praise. Unfortunately, the returns that many of these investors have received have been less than spectacular. The Great Mutual Fund Trap exposes many of the flaws that drag down fund performance and suggests ways that investors can tune out the noise and focus on meeting their long term goals. The mutual fund industry isn't going to like this book one bit, but its story needs to be heard."
   DON PHILLIPS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MORNINGSTAR, INC.

"In this fascinating book investors will get a new take on how the odds are stacked against them by Wall Street's vested interests. Gary Gensler and Gregory Baer, two of the stars of the Treasury Department during the Clinton years, tell consumers how to avoid the traps and make the markets work for them with less risk."
   ARTHUR LEVITT, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION