Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Free eBook on Technical Analysis – thanks and clarifications

The free eBook: ‘Technical Analysis – an Introduction’ was launched on the last day of 2011 – after considerable time spent at the planning stage. Some important concepts in technical analysis has been covered in brief, with real-life chart examples.

The idea was to generate curiosity and interest among small investors so that they may get motivated to delve deeper into the subject. There are some excellent and comprehensive books – such as the ones written by Edwards/Magee and Martin Pring – which cover technical analysis in greater detail. (The search box of flipkart.com at the bottom of the page can be used for searching books on investment.)

The response from regular as well as new readers has been quite overwhelming, and everyone deserves special thanks for making my endeavour in producing the eBook worthwhile. Some have already finished reading the eBook and provided suggestions for improvement. Reader involvement is appreciated.

A few of the reader feedbacks received so far made it necessary to post a few clarifications about the purpose of the eBook. The most important one is to demystify the subject of technical analysis.

Technical analysis is not a magic potion that will suddenly turn short-term trading losses into profits overnight. Nor will it identify unknown stocks that will turn a Lakh into a Crore within a short time. But knowing the basics will help investors to take more informed decisions about when to enter and when to exit a stock.

A second point worth mentioning is that the eBook is not going to turn novice investors into expert technical analysts. Becoming an expert requires several years of experience and application – as in any other subject.

A third point is that many technical patterns have specific ‘rules’ associated with them. Remembering the pattern but not the rules can cause serious losses. The human mind seems programmed to see patterns where none may exist. Bigger problems are confusing bottom-reversal and top-reversal patterns, and jumping to conclusions about a pattern before it has fully formed.

Last but not the least, is that it isn’t necessary for similar patterns to behave identically. In a recent post on IFCI Ltd, four ‘rising wedge’ patterns were identified - each behaved a little differently from the other. So, it is not enough to identify a pattern. One has to remain flexible about the outcome of the pattern.

If you haven’t yet received a copy of the free eBook, you can get one by sending an email to:mobugobu@yahoo.com

2 comments:

Jasi said...

I think these need to be in the preface of the book :)

Subhankar said...

You're quite right, Jasi. I realised it after receiving reader feedback.