I want to understand the field of investing myself, but I'm in the awkward position of not knowing who the experts are, or what the successful methodologies are.
Anyone care to offer some pointers?
Emphatic no to Rich Dad Poor Dad. Here's why: http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html
I'm not sure what sort of investing you have in mind - small face-to-face angel participation, or working the treasury bond market. Nor do you say much about the size or timescale of the investments you'd like to make. And I'm in no position to give you expert advice either; all I can say from experience is that nonprofit financial advisers generally seem more helpful with advice about saving rather than investing (eg what sort of IRA and 401k options are available) while wealth management experts either charge a hefty premium for their opinion or function as sales staff for a range of vehicles and funds operated by an employer.
since patience is a key aspect of investment, I think you might as well park your cash for a few months and begin with the basic-but-essential advice offered by the SEC: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/begininvest.htm. This will teach you the fundamentals of how to read a balance sheet or 10-k filing, how to make sense of popular metrics and acronyms and stuff like that. At the same time, take out a subscription to the Economist, Wall Street Journal or Financial Times. there's another newspaper called Investor's Business Daily but I don't rate that very highly. See what insights you can glean on your own for a few months, then buy a few serious-minded books rather than the get-rich-quick variety.
At that point, go talk to some financial advisers, and it will be much easier to assess the quality of their advice without feeling baffled by jargon or bamboozled by a sales pitch. I know, this is kindergarten-level advice from a first-grader - sorry if you've already done all this and are looking for a more technical insight.
I also just looked at public stocks (finance.google.com) and tried to figure out what everything meant (EPS, P/E ratio, ROE [return on equity], etc). Reading articles in the Wall Street Journal also taught me a lot.
1) If you're low risk then stick it in a stable government bond.
2)If you're medium risk stick it in an low-fee index tracker
Most funds under-perform the market. There's no statistically sound way you can differentiate successful funds from lucky funds.
Trying to beat the market is a suckers game. There's no way you can out-analyze an analyst who spends 100 hours/week understanding a sector unless you have inside information or unique expertise. The first is illegal, the second is unlikely.
His way isn't sexy, but it works and makes sense.
Good advice: There is no substitute for investing with your own money. Investment simulators are absolutely to be avoided.
Hard truth: It will take years but investing will teach you much about yourself that you don't know (and some of it will not be flattering but you will eventually come to grips with it.) Knowing yourself will eventually make you a better investor and thinker.
1. Technical analysis - trend following, etc. I personally was unconvinced but some people swear by it.
2. Fundamentals/value investing. Read the intelligent investor and security analysis. Very sound IMO.
3. Arbitrage - read "Beat the Market" by Ed Thorp. Also very sound IMO.
read the wiki; post questions in the advice forum; read some of the suggested books. I think William Bernstein is probably the best of them.