Technical analysis: Is your future fortune in the charts?

Some investors will tell you that all you need to know about an asset is in the charts. Are they right? Matthew Partridge explains.

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What you see is subjective

When you hear someone on the TV talking about shares, the chances are they will focus on "fundamental" factors, such as past and future earnings, industry prospects, and even the economic outlook. However, others argue that trying to beat the market like this is a fool's errand there are simply too many factors that can affect a share price. Instead, all you need to know about an asset is held in its price chart. This is known as "technical analysis" or "charting".

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri