Book Review > A Beginner's Guide to the Australian Share market

A quick review of the contents of this book indicated that it was likely to be a useful addition to a novice share market investor's library.
T he introduction provides an overview of the three main investment options ie fixed interest, property and shares. The book has four sections dealing with, in turn:
. shares and the share market: covering what a share is, how companies grow, types of shares, and how they are traded;
. understanding markets: considers valuing shares, indexes, technical analysis and what drives markets;
. further knowledge: contains information on bonds, derivatives and the managed funds industry; and
. becoming a shareholder: provides information on other areas, including finding information, assessing your risk profile, putting a portfolio together and finding a broker.
On further reading I found that this book would probably be useful to other investors e.g. those who have not been involved in the decision-making process in detail such as those who rely on broker or other recommendations.
The book provides a good basic coverage of the areas listed above and is written in a manner which is easy to read.
There are some minor technical inaccuracies e.g. in relation to recent Corporation's Law changes, but they do not detract from the overall value of the book.
In particular I found the following sections very useful:
- those on fundamental and technical analysis are useful as they provide a means by which investors can make their own decisions;
- the derivatives section was useful as it showed how they can be used in both a speculative and a defensive manner; and
- the information on determining your risk profile, which many investors seem to neglect.
I particularly liked the way the book uses examples to illustrate a point and is easy to follow. In summary this book would be a useful addition to many share market investors' libraries.