MARTIN ZWEIG’S WINNING ON WALL STREET

By: Martin Zweig

One thing can be said about investment books with certainty: There is an abundance of them. If they all disappeared from the face of the earth tomorrow, the number of empty shelves in book stores would be startling. What, then, are the distinguishing features of this book, if any?

Certainly one characteristic is its modesty. This is not to say that Martin Zweig does not have an enormous amount of confidence in his methods (the subtitle of one chapter reads «the only investment model you will ever need»), but he regards as a waste of time the search for a method that will predict the precise peaks and bottoms of the market. There is enough money to be made by spotting the trends early, and he believes he knows the way to do so. Zweig does not claim a one-hundred-percent success rate for his methods, and concedes that other methods have their value. He does believe that his model is good for those not wishing to spend a lot of time analyzing the market or particular stocks.

The method itself is a combination of technical and fundamental analysis– more the former, though, it seems. He lists indicators for such things as monetary climate and market momentum. He also discusses picking specific stocks and even the exotic practice of selling short. Throughout, Zweig is clear without being simplistic, and informal without being chatty. He presents a wealth of data in tabular form to provide evidence for the effectiveness of his methods.

This book is an easy read, and the methods are clear and simple, even if their presentation might be better organized. Zweig is an analyst of some repute, and, for the careful investor, what he has to say should be worth reflecting upon. 

 Disponible en la BAE: HG 6049 .Z84 1994