Boucher also offers good material on selecting equities, evaluating other asset classes, and yes, hedge funds. However, the material on hedge funds does not take up a huge amount of space, and at first I wondered why he gave the book the title it has. I have since concluded that the title reflects his overall strategy, which is one of limiting risk by spreading ones' investments among many types of securities and asset classes, both onshore and offshore.
Aside from the above mentioned material, however, Boucher also has a couple of chapters on basic economics which I found to be invaluable background information for traders (like me) without business or economic degrees. His description of the liquidity cycle is brilliant. He explains the economic theory of Austrian alchemy, and shows how that model makes better sense than Keynesian economics. He has also provided data to convince me (a social liberal) that corporate taxes have a negative effect on a nations' citizenry.
This book requires dedication to get through certain sections, but it is well worth it. Its strength is its clear elucidation of trading information and techniques, supported by a foundation of economic theory and historical data, which enables the reader to understand the context in which s/he trades.
however, boucher, for as much as he espouses the austrian economic method, has forgotten that one tenant of that methodology is a total diregard for econometric forecasting. the relationships he defines in this book would have had many people in trouble in the early 2000s because, as the austrians state, what happened (past economic relationships) in the past does not have to happen in the future (these once dependable relationships may break down - with your money on the line). current monetary policy has been ineffective, and therefore, so would any of boucher's systems that rely on monetary indicators. these indicators would have been screaming "buy" the equity markets, while the equity markets themselves would have been screaming "sell us...now!"
that being said, the primary reason not to buy this book is that some of the systems that boucher gives are insightful logically, but dubious in execution. while he may give you a system, he does not give you all you need. the reader assumes that he is giving valid systems, with all pertinent information. but, he leaves certain important points out. for example, on page 138, he says that you should buy stocks when up volume on the NYSE is greater than 77% of total volume and then he gives past buy and sell dates for the strategy. after much testing, i figured out that he is not using total volume on the NYSE, but rather total volume less unchanged volume. in other words, total volume is up volume, down volume and unchanged volume for all shares trading on the NYSE. boucher's "total volume" is just up volume plus down volume. this makes a huge difference.
also, any time he uses 30-year t-bond data, good luck to you trying to figure out what he's actually using. the fed has a constant maturity series that goes back to 1977. boucher can go back to 1943 for this data. hmmmmmm. i'm sure he's using something, but i have no idea what. so, what good is the system if you don't know what he's using as the "30 year treasury yield"? and, through no fault of boucher, the 30-year is not issued any more.
he also relies quite heavily on the dow jones 20 bond index. this series was discontinued. this is not boucher's fault, of course, but just another reason to steer clear of this book.
i will say that i learned quite a bit from this book, however. it was fun to read. my problem simply resides with the somewhat tricky way that some of his systems are given. hey, i don't expect the guy to give away a proprietary system, but if you give a system, step up to the plate and tell the reader you're going to leave out some things (he actually does do this when he relays someone else's strategy). i find his method a bit disingenuous.
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