Book shows need for concern

Tuesday, 12 October, 1999 - 22:00
Austin Donnelly wrote his first finance book in 1953. He has now written his forty-ninth book on the subject.

He is notable for having advised investors to sell before the October 1987 crash, the 1990-91 property trust debacle and the 1994 share market slump. These three pieces of advice alone make compelling reasons to listen to this man.

Mr Donnelly has been a champion of shareholder rights for a long time, having established the Australian Investors Association in 1992.

He has been described in the press as “the Slim Dusty of the investment world” and “a legend in his own lifetime”.

Mr Donnelly has, through methodical and painstaking analysis and experience, developed what he terms ‘zone systems’ and ‘timing

indicators’ to help him analyse the market.

The detail of how these indicators operate is contained in his latest offering – Sensible Share Investing. In this book, Mr Donnelly cautions investors to remain aware of the risks associated with stock market investment.

He dispels a number of urban myths about the stock market which have proliferated and, in some instances, been perpetuated by financial advisers and stock brokers.

Based on the substantial analysis Mr Donnelly has undertaken, one is led to the conclusion that the Australian sharemarket is overvalued at present and possibly due for a correction.

He draws on many years of experience in accounting and finance.

Mr Donnelly has been called as the expert

witness in a number of court cases, the most notable of these being the Westpac foreign loans cases in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Sensible Share Investing does not pretend to be a book with a huge amount of in-depth research and jargon. It is easily read and provides ample reason for concern about the current state of the market.