About the Author
It’s tough to admit now that she’s a published financial author, but the best lesson Dorianne R. Perrucci ever learned about personal finance started with a mistake. Her first checking account bounced by $0.13, a mystery at the time. (No doubt a penalty for overdrafting her account.)
She never did reclaim those missing pennies, but that taught her an early and valuable lesson about the importance of reading financial fine print. She paid for her first vacation, to the U.S. Virgin Islands, by saving a quarter a week, every week, for eight years of Catholic elementary school, which reinforced a happier lesson: Savers can achieve big financial goals, if they take one step at a time.
She began writing about personal finance in 1998, as a reporter for Jane Bryant Quinn’s Washington Post and Good Housekeeping columns. Since 2001, she has been a freelance writer. She has been published in The New York Times, Newsweek, TheStreet.com and other major media outlets. In 2007, she began collaborating on books as the global financial crisis upended the financial markets.
Dori recently co-authored Asset Allocation For Dummies® (John Wiley & Sons, May 2009) with financial expert Jerry A. Miccolis. The book explains asset allocation, which is choosing, and mixing together, different asset classes to fit an investor’s tolerance for risk and time frame. Until now, only successful institutional investors have used asset allocation to improve their portfolio returns, but the individual investor can benefit, too – if they’re willing to go step by step.
She is a graduate of Marquette University’s School of Journalism and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the New York Financial Writers’ Association and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
News & Events
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to let you know that Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post's personal finance columnist, gave Asset Allocation For Dummies a terrific "thumbs up" in her July 5th Color of Money column. About 120 newspapers around the country syndicate Michelle's column. Better yet, Michelle has selected the book as her pick for the entire month of July, for her book club. Read the review for yourself.
Michelle will be hosting an hourlong webcast on washingtonpost.com with me and my co-author, Jerry Miccolis, on July 30th at 12 noon EST. I hope you can join us!
Thanks!Dori
I worked with Julie, who's a top money manager, on her new book, The AARP Retirement Survival Guide , published in June 2009 by Sterling. Here's what she wrote about Asset Allocation For Dummies:
"I know co-author, Dorianne Perrucci, and this book is a good reflection of her talent in making the complex approachable. Dori and her co-author, Jerry Miccolis, do a nice job not only of describing how asset allocation works, but also of telling readers how to apply these concepts to their own situations.
"Pay particular attention to correlation (Chapter 4) and business cycles (Chapter 15). Rebalancing (Chapter 11) may help the do-it-yourself investor avoid portfolio drift."
Julie is pretty smart, so you may want to follow her advice -- and pick up a copy of her book, especially if you're a Boomer who's wondering how you'll make your income last throughout your retirement.
Amy is a good friend of my brother, John, who squeaked into his fourth decade in 2008. Other than that important fact, she lives in Brooklyn and manages her family's finances. She likes reading financial books, which may surprise those who would expect an artist and photographer not to care about money. Here's an excerpt from her review:
"I was reading Asset Allocation for Dummies on the subway recently and a man leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Well, the current economic drawback has proven that asset allocation doesn't work anymore.
"Actually, it's quite the contrary. Because of the current downturn and ongoing volatility, proper asset allocation is needed more than ever.
"Many people confuse asset allocation with just the stock market and stock picking. The fact is, you have to put your money somewhere, and active and knowledgeable asset allocation is the only way to protect yourself."
JUST PUBLISHED
Asset Allocation
For Dummies
(Paperback - May 18, 2009)
An easy to understand how-to guide to the single most important thing you can do in investing...
NEWS & EVENTS
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Dori and financial expert Jerry Miccolis, co-authors of Asset Allocation For Dummies®, are available to speak to your group or organization about how asset allocation can improve investment portfolios. Call Dori at (908) 322-4304 or send an email to: requests@doriperrucci.com.