Ken Weber’s name has a wide reach.
The Great Neck resident gives investment advice to clients all over the country, from teachers to doctors to multimillionaires, through his Lake Success-based firm, Weber Asset Management.
And his recent book, “Dear Investor, What the HELL Are You Doing?” is exposing his investment tips to many others.
Now, he’s bringing those tips to New Hyde Park’s Temple Tikvah — of which he was a founding member — in a Nov. 7 “Lunch and Learn” talk.
“We have retired people and we have working people. We have poor people and we have wealthy people who are members of the congregation,” said Weber, who was Temple Tikvah’s vice president in 2012 and still sits on its board of trustees. “Obviously my book and my talk will be appropriate for any of them.”
Weber was interested in investing at an early age — he started following the stock market when he was 12 years old, he said.
He grew up in Queens and was a member of Temple Israel in Jamaica before it merged with New Hyde Park’s Temple Emanuel to form Temple Tikvah in 2008.
Most Lunch & Learn speakers are Temple Tikvah congregants who can speak on their area of expertise, said Meryl Root, a temple member who organizes the series.
“He’s a very personable guy,” Root said of Weber. “He’s not going to steer us in the wrong direction.”
Published in January, Weber’s book details major mistakes that he’s seen investors make, often without realizing them, in his work as an investment adviser.
For example, he writes, many prioritize short-term investments hoping to make a lot of money quickly. Others put all their funds into a few investments, failing to create a diverse portfolio.
Many of these mistakes, whether conscious or unconscious, are based in emotions, Weber said.
“The two big ones are fear and greed,” he said. “Unless you have a solid understanding of how markets work, you’re either going get greedy at the wrong time or fearful at the wrong time.”
During talks like the one he’ll give Saturday, Weber said, he can see people in the audience have an “‘Aha’ moment’ when realize they’ve made the mistakes he describes.
Weber said he hopes the talk will attract more area residents to his advising firm, which has only a handful of local clients.
But overall, he said, he wants to help people make smarter moves with their money.
“I don’t make my living selling books, but I know I will help people when they read the book,” Weber said.
Weber’s “Lunch & Learn” talk starts at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Temple Tikvah, located at 3315 Hillside Ave. in New Hyde Park.
Admission is $5 for temple members and $10 for non-members. Reserve a seat by sending an email to lifelonglearning@templetikvah.org.
