INVESTMENT TIMING BY FORMULA PLANS

This is subtitled ""Today's Approach to Investment Programs"" and undoubtedly will appeal to many in that field. But it is definitely not a book for the average layman. The author advocates the ""formula plans"" on which he has previously written in The Formula Plans Guide, and develops his theory further to apply to the needs of large organizations which are not actively in the financial field and might well follow Vassar and Yale in adopting one or another of these plans. He discards forecasting as unsafe and inaccurate; he ""rates"" the few dependable investment counsellors; he feels that, if independent action is preferred, certain rules can be applied, certain proved percentages of rise accepted, with good results. This is a how-to-do-it book of primary interest to people in the field of investment, to financial directors of universities, foundations, etc. and to individuals with a sound basic knowledge of investment problems. In the last analysis, Carpenter concludes that no formula takes the place of judgment, but is a better basis than hit or miss. Some of his presumptions are open to question, but the maintaining of a basic relation between holdings of stocks and bonds is a fairly generally acceptable theory.