The Financial Times Guide to Investing: The Definitive Companion to Investment and The Financial Markets

The Financial Times Guide to Investing provides a structured introduction to investment decisions, financial markets, and company analysis. Glen Arnold begins with business ownership, shareholder rights, investment returns, and stock market operations before explaining the practical process of buying and selling shares.

The book’s framework progresses through four parts: investment basics, the investment spectrum, company analysis, and portfolio management. Examples, financial statements, market tables, and financial reporting connect the explanations to practical decisions. Coverage includes pooled funds, bonds, private equity, overseas shares, options, futures, contracts for difference, and warrants.

Company analysis forms a substantial part of the book. Arnold explains financial statements, investment ratios, accounting adjustments, industry competition, and the resources that underpin a firm’s competitive position. His TRRACK system provides a framework for assessing extraordinary business resources, supporting an approach that treats shares as ownership interests in businesses.

The final part addresses share issuance, taxation, takeovers, investor protection, performance measurement, risk, and investment clubs. This second edition, published in 2010, uses a predominantly UK market context, with tax, regulatory, and dealing examples reflecting that period. It is suited to readers building foundational investment knowledge and developing more independent analytical judgment.

✅ What You’ll Learn

• Explain share ownership, shareholder rights, capital structure, and primary and secondary markets.
• Assess compounding, investment income, historical returns, and the relationship between risk and reward.
• Understand brokerage services, dealing mechanisms, settlement, and investment information resources.
• Compare pooled funds, bonds, overseas shares, and private equity investments.
• Distinguish options, futures, spread betting, contracts for difference, and warrants.
• Read profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and accompanying company reports.
• Apply investment ratios and examine accounting choices that influence reported performance.
• Analyze industry competition using the five competitive forces.
• Assess a firm’s competitive resources through Arnold’s TRRACK framework.
• Evaluate portfolio performance, diversification, fees, and investor protection considerations.

💡 Key Benefits

• A coherent learning path from investment terminology to business and portfolio analysis.
• A stronger basis for evaluating companies beyond share price movements.
• Greater awareness of how charges affect the returns investors retain.
• Clearer understanding of the trade-offs between direct investing and professionally managed products.
• A practical reference for interpreting company announcements, financial reports, and market information.

👤 Who This Book Is For

• Beginner to intermediate private investors building knowledge of shares, funds, bonds, and portfolio management.
• Self-directed equity investors developing skills in financial statement analysis and business evaluation.
• Finance and business students connecting investment concepts with market practices and company reporting.
• Investment club members and aspiring members seeking a shared foundation for research, administration, and performance tracking.

📚 Table of Contents

• What is investment?
• The rewards of investment
• Stock markets
• Buying and selling shares
• Pooled investments
• Bonds
• Unusual share investments
• Options
• Futures
• Spread betting, contracts for difference and warrants
• Company accounts
• Key investment ratios and measures
• Tricks of the accounting trade
• Analysing industries
• The competitive position of the firm
• Companies issuing shares
• Taxation and investors
• Mergers and takeovers
• Investor protection
• Measuring performance: indices and risk
• Investment clubs

The Financial Times Guide to Investing: The Definitive Companion to Investment and The Financial Markets By Glen Arnold