Making Sense of Markets ― An Investor's Guide to Profiting Amidst the Gloom

In March 2012, the Financial Times carried a front page story headlined 'Years of struggle for a jinxed generation'. It stated that 'For the first time in half a century, young Britons embarking on their careers cannot expect to be any better off than their parents…'

Before and since, there have been numerous analyses highlighting a gloomy future ahead, and with little qualification or equivocation. The prevailing consensus since 2007 has been that the economic world is in a dire state.

But are things really as bad as all that, or is sloppy thinking and excessively negative sentiment masking a more positive outlook?

Making Sense of Markets argues that received wisdom is still far too pessimistic, and that investment opportunities have been missed as a result. It suggests that the great panic of 2008 had its roots in finance, not a flawed global economy, and it tackles some popular concerns – debt, demography, Western decadence for example – head-on, showing succinctly why they have been overdone.

The book will then explain how investors can take advantage of these insights in building a long-term investment portfolio. It pays particular attention to behavioral influences such as the interaction of media and markets. It suggests that the conventional view of investing as a search for an optimal portfolio – as opposed to a satisfactory one – is misplaced. It argues that conventional financial analysis, not investors' living standards, may be the long-term casualty of the latest seizure in capital markets.

The recent gloom is understandable, but mistaken. Our children will likely be better off than we are and long-term investing is still worthwhile. This book provides a new, more positive outlook, and encourages investors to keep an open mind – and to keep investing.

Kevin Gardiner is former Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Europe at Barclays Wealth, where he was involved in the design and implementation of the investment process, taking tactical and strategic views on returns on a portfolio of over 200bn. Prior to joining Barclays, Kevin was Global Head of Equity Strategy at HSBC's investment banking unit in London, which he joined in 2003. He has worked at several other investment banks and the Bank of England in a financial market career covering more than thirty years. In 1994, while working as an economist at Morgan Stanley, he wrote the 'Celtic Tiger' report on the Irish economy.

He is a member of the board of Governors and Chair of the Finance Committee, Atlantic College and Distinguished Guest Lecturer for the Summer MBA programme, run by St Peter's College, Oxford. He is also on the retained speaker programme at the CFA.

Kevin was educated at Glan Ely Comprehensive (Cardiff), and was awarded an LEA scholarship to UWC Atlantic College (Llantwit Major), where he took the International Baccalaureate. He studied economics at the London School of Economics (BSc Econ, first class honours and university prizes) and Cambridge University (MPhil).