Rory Gillen's new book: 3 Steps to Investment Success

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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Askaboutmoney contributor has published a new book

[broken link removed]

There are only three steps to making a success of investing throughout your life time. The first step is to adopt an approach that you can understand and that suits your temperament. This book includes a number of easy-to-follow approaches including a time-tested approach to selecting stocks in markets.

The second step is to understand why the markets are so volatile, and to avoid letting the volatility interrupt your investment plans. The third, and final, step is to have the patience to let compounding work its magic over time.
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Has anyone read it yet? Care to write a review?

Testimonials


3 Steps to Investment Success sets out, in the clearest of language, how to avoid the herd mentality that still dominates the way most people invest. There are no flashy get-rich-quick secrets revealed here, just informed and sensible explanations about the mind-set you need to adopt and the actions you need to take if you want to make money and avoid losses

Jill Kerby
Personal Finance Columnist, Sunday Times (Ireland)



A good guide to successful approaches to stock market investment, highlighting common investing errors and debunking the myths


  • Jim Slater
    Author, The Zulu Principle
A uniquely helpful book with excellent advice for investors, wherever they may live

Jack Schannep
Author, Dow Theory for the 21st Century



A well organised and practical manual for investing. Packed with insights into value and investor psychology, it will appeal to private and professional investors alike. Rory Gillen has a gift for explaining the complex world of investing in clear and simple language

Colin McLean
Managing Director, SVM Asset Management, Edinburgh



An excellent read for someone wishing to take a more pro-active interest in investing and the stock markets

Harry Sheridan


  • Former Finance Director, CRH plc.
 
I aint read it, but I doubt any of those written Testemonials come from anyone who risked and won their fortune investing in stocks.

Is there anything really new and original in these books, its just same ideas re-hashed since Graham and Buffet??
 
JR Rizzo said:
Is there anything really new and original in these books, its just same ideas re-hashed since Graham and Buffet??
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There is nothing wrong with these ideas, it's getting people to follow them over the long run that is the problem. There are not many people who will continue to buy or hold a stock as the price goes down by say 50%!
 
JR Rizzo,

If you take the time to google the individuals who provided testimonials you will find out that not only have they risked serious money but they are among the most successful. Jim Slater is well known and well respected in investment circles in the UK. Colin McLean is former Chairman of the CFA in the UK and manages money for real, everyday. If you haven't heard of Jack Schannap, his version of Dow Theory is, in my view, the best among Dow Theorists - one of the few medium-term market timing indicators I have time for, as the record is strong and unambiguous - and he and his family invest real cash accordingly. Harry Sheridan, and his sons, run a family investment business in Dublin.


Rory Gillen
 
I hope to buy it secondhand, if anyone is finished reading it and want's to sell it on i'm here !
 
I bought the book and am about a third of the way through reading it. So far, I can highly recommend it. It takes a very practical and common sense approach to investing. None of the get rich quick bull. Also, it's good to read a book from an Irish point of view. I am sick and tired of reading about putting my money in ISA's and 401K's and other such advice that does not relate to Ireland. 'Buy and hold' may not be a new idea but as Jim2007 says, it's sticking to it that is tricky.

I am new to investing and have so far only read about a dozen investment books, but so far this is the best one. When I am finished reading it I will post a longer review.
 
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DMcL1971 said:
I am sick and tired of reading about putting my money in ISA's and 401K's and other such advice that does not relate to Ireland.
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Not to belittle Rory Gillen's book or himself, but in case you didn't realise the majority of large investors nowadays don't look at Irish equities. There are only a handful of Irish shares worth placing money in. Unfortunately the investment market in Ireland has more or less disappeared and for which I find the service I receive from the Irish Brokers I use as impeccable. Their analysis is top class and they work with their clients rather than making it a pure commission earning structure.
 
I didn't mean to imply that the book only focussed on Irish equities or the Irish market. In fact the book focuses on diversifying across many geographical areas as well as asset classes. I only meant that many of the American investment books I have read have given advice that is only applicable to American investors. They also only give figures based on the U.S. market whereas Rory gives figures for U.S. and Europe.

Rory's book is well balanced and it is straight forward enough for a novice like myself to understand but also delves deep enough for a more experienced investor.
 
Anyone have a link for a table of contents for this book anywhere. Haven't been able to find anything so far.
 
Their analysis is top class
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Seriously? Do a google for Irish broker analysis of the Irish banks in 2007-2009 period and you'll find they had no clue! The facts speak for themselves.
The only defence one could make is to say the banks weren't telling the whole story to the analysts...but if the hedge funds could dig and find what was going on why couldn't the broker analysts? I have my own views on why but probably shouldn't say here. I can't believe the Irish brokers are still in business.
 
I have now finished reading Rory’s book and can wholeheartedly recommend it. I have been steadily saving for a few years into various deposit accounts but now feel it is time to try and get a better return on my money. I have read several books on investing but have been unsatisfied by them all. They proved irrelevant due to being too US market centred, too complicated or just too plain long winded. Also, many of these books were written back in the 2000’s when everything seemed fine and the idea of a worldwide financial collapse didn’t seem possible.

Rory’s book is extremely well structured. It starts off with the basics of both financial planning and investment. It then explains the various asset classes and the pros and cons of each and the risk and reward for each. It then tells you the different ways you can go about investing in each class. From there it shows you how to mix investments in the various asset classes so as to create a portfolio containing the amount of risk you are comfortable with and what kind of return you are trying to get. At this point you could stop reading if you wanted to, but the next section then goes into much greater depth for those who are interested in value investing in individual stocks rather than funds.

It constantly contains warnings against speculating and taking on too much risk, which is sage advice considering the financial collapse over the last few years. It promotes the idea that slow and steady investment over a medium to long term can produce very good results. This is no, get rich quick scheme, but rather a, slow and steady wins the race, plan.

I intend to read the book again and start following its investment principles.
 
ALBERT* said:
Anyone have a link for a table of contents for this book anywhere. Haven't been able to find anything so far.
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In terms of the the 'Book's' content, the enclosed PDF should assist you. It also has some extracts along with the full testimonials etc. Like anyone who has put in the effort that is required to get a book like this completed, I am as anxious as the next fellow that it sells. Whoops I just noticed that I can't attach an PDF here. I will email you personally.

Rory Gillen
 
My 3 steps to getting investment

1 - Find person with large amount of money...HARD PART!

2 - Promise them you will make more for them with project :D

3 - Take the money ASAP before they are broke like the rest of us.
 
James Rice said:
1 - Find person with large amount of money...HARD PART!

2 - Promise them you will make more for them with project :D

3 - Take the money ASAP before they are broke like the rest of us.
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All said in good spirit no doubt and here are the three steps referred to in the book;

  1. Adopt a plan to investing based on values and diversify (the book shows you several easy-to-follow plans).
  2. Understand why the markets are so volatile and that volatility is not the same as risk, which should assist you to avoid letting volatility interrupt your long-term investment plan.
  3. Have the patience to let compounding work its magic over time.
Hope that adds some clarity.

Rory Gillen
Founder
Gillenmarkets.com
 
In all good bookshops as they say.
There is a link in the first post of this thread to the Gillen Markets website where you can buy it directly. I have also seen it in Hodges Figgis and Dubray books. I bought the Kindle version on Amazon. However some of the graphs are a bit hard to read on the kindle.
 
DMcL1971 said:
In all good bookshops as they say.
There is a link in the first post of this thread to the Gillen Markets website where you can buy it directly. I have also seen it in Hodges Figgis and Dubray books. I bought the Kindle version on Amazon. However some of the graphs are a bit hard to read on the kindle.
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I've already ordered it on Amazon. stg£24 including postage:eek: I decided to buy in sterling despite the huge exchange rate risk I am running. 3-4 days delivery they say.

I can promise in advance that my critique will be negative.:eek: I have no doubt that it will live up to the glowing testimonials on this thread but I am deeply, deeply sceptical of stockmarket investment other than for say 10% of your portfolio. The last 10 years have discredited the cult.

When the shoe shine boy is telling you to buy shares, time to sell. This is what has happened in recent history. For much of the 20th century equities can be seen with hindsight to have been cheap. But that is a function of supply and demand - when demand is limited to a minority of the population there is a good possibility of a cheap price. By the end of 20th century every Tom, Dick, Harry, Mary, Daphne etc. was piling into equities through various forms of highly promoted collective investments as well as through their pensions. Demand had pushed the prices to really silly levels with P/E's not possibly sustainable. Despite the bubble bursting prices and demand are still too high IMHO.

Finally, for the moment, volatility is very, very unsettling. It is very hard to feel sanguine about a 20% fall in the almost religous act of faith that in the long run it will all smooth out.
 
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