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Point and Figure Charting: The Essential Application for Forecasting and Tracking Market Prices

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"Everyone who's involved in financial markets must understand Point and Figure charting in order to get the full picture, whatever your view of technical analysis". - Jim Rogers, author of Hot Commodities and Investment Biker

"An invaluable road map for managing risk in the markets. Tom's methodology has given us the discipline and confidence to look around corners for our clients for almost twenty years." - James A. Parish, President and COO, Morgan Keegan & Co., Private Client Group

"Tom Dorsey continues to be one of the foremost authorities on Point and Figure charting. His relative strength analyses are essential for investors and traders alike. Furthermore, I always want to know what his NYSE Bullish Percent Indicators is "saying." - Lawrence G. McMillan, President, McMillan Analysis Corp., www.optionstrategist.com

"Tom Dorsey has done it again... he has taken his 30-plus years of unending devotion, talents, and insights in technical analysis and applied them to Exchange Traded Funds. He begins with the history of ETFs, explains how different they are from mutual funds, and then applies his expertise in Point and Figure charting to help traders and investors time their purchases and sales." - Ralph J. Acampora, CMT, Director of Technical research, Knight Capital

"Reading Tom Dorsey's Point & Figure Charting is the like procuring a road map before you begin a journey. It's a comprehensive look at how to succeed in the markets. This book is not only essential but easy to follow for everyone." - Paulo Pinto, CEO, Dif Broker

"Point and Figure Charting has become a valuable part of my daily trading routine. As an investment professional, it makes perfect sense to use Tom's methods in conjunction with fundamental analysis." - Damion Carufe, Investment Professional

400 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 1995

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About the author

Thomas J. Dorsey

11 books1 follower

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
33 reviews4 followers
November 24, 2019
Point & Figure Charting by Thomas J. Dorsey is a worthwhile read if you want to view market activity through a different technical lens than a typical price vs. volume stock chart.

Point & figure charting is a technical analysis tool in which time is not a consideration. These charts look different from any stock price chart that you typically see. Charles Dow is given the recognition for the creation of this charting methodology so this is not new. The essential feature of a point & figure chart is that, by definition, stock price activity is the only consideration – and that is supposed to be real representation of supply and demand. Dorsey repeats in the book that stock price activity is the result of supply and demand, not earnings performance. He cites the many well-performing companies whose stock prices plummeted in 2008 as “proof” that stock price depends on whether or not there are more buyers than sellers or more sellers than buyers.

Besides highlighting a different method for charting stock price activity, the other major point of Dorsey’s book is his advice to track and understand relative strength. Relative strength does not predict what happens next but it does allow the trader to understand what has happened. Then the trader can react.

Another point made by Dorsey is his recommendation to view indexes via an equal weight perspective, not just a market capitalization perspective which is the composition of a “typical” stock index fund. A market capitalization view allows very large companies like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, and other behemoths to influence the index when an equal weight perspective gives a much broader view of the breadth of the current market. He frequently cites market cap perspective to equal weight perspective as the difference between the composition of the US House of Representatives (ie, population-weighted) vs. the US Senate (equal weighting by state). Using an equal-weighted index when combined with relative strength and point and figure charting allows an objective look at current market/sector/etc. conditions.

Read this book for a different point of view of market assessment and trade entries/exits.
170 reviews
January 1, 2010
This is the ultimate book about the financial markets. Whether you are a professional in the business like I am or you do it yourself, the techinal methodology and analysis of the Dorsey Wright & Associates is superior to any fundamental approach available.

This book brings alive in easy to understand prose how to properly chart a stock, mutual fund or ETF and how to know when supply or demand is in control in the market. That simple revelation would be a huge improvement over the advice you garner from TV or the print media.

All private investors should read this book and decide whether or not they will attempt to implement themselves or hire a professional who has been trained by this company. Following this investment philosophy would have meant that your accounts would be up to the tune of 50% since October 2007. In fact, you would have only been in equities 1 day in the disaster of 2009.

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27 reviews4 followers
February 17, 2008
Probably one of the easiest reads I've read on investing. So from the pure reading aspect I'd recommend it. However the truth will be in putting it into action so that I have yet to analyze!
Profile Image for Breaux.
150 reviews
July 13, 2009
Good information on a very basic type of technical anlaysis for stock and etf traders.
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