Bulls, Bears and a Croupier

An experienced Australian fund manager explains how the share market can be a fun and simple place to operate if you take the right approach.

The share market is awash with new opportunities to profit everyday as millions of shares in thousands of companies change hands. Even if half of your decisions go wrong you still have a genuine chance of generating a profit like the pros – it really is the easiest game on earth! Despite all of this the share market has lost its appeal for many people since the onset of the GFC.

In Bulls, Bears and a Croupier Matthew Kidman explains why a new bull market, with the potential to increase stock prices tenfold, is just around the corner and readers need to prise open their wallets.

With more than a decade of experience as a professional fund manager, Kidman deconstructs the share market, explodes the myths and turns traditional thinking on its head to show new and experienced investors alike that the share market can be a lot of fun and you can make a lot of money. You just have to know how!

About the author vii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction xi

Prologue: the croupier's story xvii

Part I The wonderful sharemarket

1 The pitch 3

2 The gun investor 15

3 No training and no idea 25

Part II Building the foundations

4 Who are you? The road to discovery 31

5 Creating your own Wall Street 47

6 The nine rules of success 61

Part III Ready, set, go!

7 Finding stocks that go up 81

8 Primary school numbers 95

9 Margins, ratios and all that jazz 119

10 All companies are different 135

11 The perfect company 153

12 Trophy cabinet to rubbish bin 169

13 Don't fight momentum 183

14 Traps 189

15 The mystery of management 203

Part IV Exploding the myths

16 Skin in the game 219

17 Look for the catalyst not the company 233

18 Old and past it 253

19 Smart money — bad results 259

20 Other myths 267

Part V Are professionals better?

21 Professional versus punter 277

22 Money managers, money makers 297

Part VI When does a bull become a bear?

23 Is this a bull or a bear? 311

24 History has the answers 317

25 Where are we in 2011? 331

26 Get ready to touch the sky 347

Epilogue: our former croupier 363

Final word 365

Index 369

Matthew Kidman worked as a journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald covering media, telecommunications and commercial property. In 1997 he was appointed investment editor of the newspaper, with responsibility for all company coverage. He joined funds management outfit Wilson Asset Management in 1998 and over a 13-year period served as an analyst and portfolio manager. In 2003 he was appointed to the role of chief executive officer of the group. Wilson Asset Management specialises in small capitalisation companies and its flagship fund — WAM Capital — over a 12-year period delivered a return of more than 18 per cent per year, compared with the benchmark 8 per cent of the All Ordinaries index. Matthew is also the co-author of two bestselling books: Masters of the Market and Master CEOs. "What I like about the sharemarket is that you can put a bet on at the start of the race. If your share is going well then you can double your bet. If things are not working out, you remove your bet before the race has ended. It's like you get so many chances to revise your bet before the final outcome is known. you are not locked in from the outset like you are at the horseraces."
—Geoff Wilson, Wilson Asset Management

Australian retail investors have fallen out of love with the sharemarket since the onset of the GFC. In Bulls, Bears and a Croupier, Matthew Kidman explains why the market's current woes will set up investors for the next great bull market. Investors who are willing to prise open their wallets now, rather than waiting until share prices start to skyrocket, will be the greatest beneficiaries of the next golden era investing.

Rich with anecdotes from Kidman's time as a professional fund manager, Bulls, Bears and a Croupier introduces readers to many colorful characters and companies, including a former casino croupier who took a punt on the stockmarket and went from struggle street to millionaire, twice!

By exploding sharemarket myths and setting out some simple rules to follow, Kidman demonstrates to new and experienced investors alike how to play the market and profit from the easiest game on earth.