Chinese American investor Pow updates his lively, information-packed guide, originally published in 2014 and now in its fifth edition, to discuss how current global issues, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected sector rotation, a theory of stock market trading patterns. From the outset, Pow demonstrates complete confidence in his 21 strategies in sector rotation, which include market timing (don’t buy stock when the market is plunging, no matter what pundits say) and momentum investing (in his case, buying five stocks based on momentum metrics and selling them within a month). Throughout the book, he earnestly attempts to convince readers that his financial methods beat those of every other financial guru.

After asking readers to evaluate their own comfort and skill with investing, Pow helpfully provides a chart advising which chapters a beginner, intermediate, or expert investor should read and which they can skip. But though he makes a valiant attempt at keeping explanations simple, Pow often drifts into complicated topics and assumes the reader already has a working knowledge of them (“If it is vastly overbought (RSI(14) > 70) and the volume is low, it could mean that there are no buyers for the ETF”). The pages are confusingly peppered with random photographs as well as more useful charts.

Pow’s advice is worth considering, but there are a number of distracting errors peppered throughout the book. Preempting critique, Pow notes the difficulty of writing in a second language, suggesting that anyone who has a problem with his English should try writing in Chinese. He has a point, but readers already struggling to understand these investing concepts may find the writing style presents an additional barrier to adopting Pow's techniques. This work is best suited for readers with a strong grasp of advanced investing concepts who can most thoroughly comprehend and evaluate its claims.

Takeaway: This information-packed guide to sector rotation investing will give seasoned investors some intriguing new tips.

Great for fans of Timothy J. McIntosh’s The Sector Strategist, John J. Murphy’s Trading with Intermarket Analysis.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: C
Illustrations: C
Editing: C
Marketing copy: C