STA Blog

This Friday, the 21^st July 2017, the latest issue of Investors Chronicle magazine will hit the news stands and I think will be of interest to STA members and their friends.  Part of the Financial Times stable of publications, and going strong for 150 years, the IC is aimed at retail investors who want to learn more in order to take control over their investments.

Writing as ‘The Trader’ I have a weekly column in it and send out a daily email covering 6 major markets our subscribers are likely to be interested in.  But this week, as part of their Book Club series, editor John Hughman asked me to create a list of recommended technical analysis books as so many readers write in asking for suggestions; books that would help beginners get a grip on the subject.

I could have taken a short cut and copied the reading list in the courses section of the STA website www.technicalanalysts.com

https://www.technicalanalysts.com/education/reading-list/

but felt that that was cheating.  Instead I roped in all the Committee and a few other well-known professionals in the field, asking them for a pair of recommendations and a sentence on each as to why these were chosen.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  Not too much to ask.  Turns out it’s rather like herding cats, with endless cajoling and chasing up.  Eventually I got what I wanted and the editor was delighted.  He pointed out what a very wide range of reading material had been chosen, not limited to ‘How To…’ or ‘Books for Dummies’ type stuff.  I had been worried that contributors would tend to opt for the same tried and tested manuals or Bibles, but how wrong I was.  I’m almost sorry I hadn’t demanded three books apiece!

I have been allowed a plug or two for the STA, suggesting one studies for the Diploma rather than merely pick up a textbook.  And as part of the IC marketing policy, if you register on line (free) to the magazine, you are allowed to read a few articles each month online (for free).  Win, win all round!