A truly useful, if less than sexy, resource for the novice investor

HOW TO BUILD A SHARE PORTFOLIO
BY RODNEY HOBSON
Harriman House, £16.99

Phillip Salter

IF you own a handful of UK shares but lack a strategy beyond: ?I like to shop at Tesco, so I bought a few of its shares,? this book will help you build a financial future upon more secure foundations. Written without superfluous information or unwanted stylistic profligacy, these 256 pages will give you the direction and confidence to build a share portfolio.

By limiting itself to UK equities, the scope is manageable. As it is built around case studies, novice investors will find that by the end of the book they have acquired familiarity with the FTSE 100 that they previously lacked. This will make reading finance news more familiar for those lost in a fog of unfamiliarity. The practicality of the historical examples are the real strength of the book, making it easy for readers to dip in and out of the different sections.

The value of this book is inversely correlated with your prior knowledge of UK equities. An expert would and should be put off by the title alone, but for those new to shares, it will prove its worth as an accessible font of knowledge to sip from over the course of their first year of building up a portfolio.