From the editor

By Tony Featherstone, editor

Two themes run through the January ASX Investor Update. The first is some outlook commentary for 2013, with Implemented Portfolio's Jon Reilly, the chartist Regina Meani, and RBS Morgans' Ken Howard providing strong contributions on markets, shares and the property sector.

The second theme, 'Getting Started in the Sharemarket', is for new investors or those thinking about buying shares or other listed securities for the first time. Interest in ASX online courses and other ASX investor education products usually peaks over summer when people have more downtime, so we hope the Getting Started feature is well timed for those who want to learn about investing.

It is always pleasing to provide extra information for beginners in ASX Investor Update. With more than 180,000 subscribers, the newsletter must appeal to a wide audience, from first-time to active investors, and traders. Providing sufficient entry-level material each month can be challenging, because such information tends to repeat itself after a while and as subscribers become more knowledgeable they seek stories about investment ideas.

That is why we spend considerable time each month linking ASX Investor Update stories to ASX resources, including online courses, website information, the ASX glossary of sharemarket terms, and other background information that can help beginners. Our recent reader survey suggested subscribers believe this newsletter is sufficiently jargon-free, but that is something we never take for granted.

This month's Getting Started section has some excellent introductory stories. Tony Hunter, head of ASX Investor Education, outlines the considerable free ASX resources available to investors, from various online courses to the ever-popular ASX Sharemarket Games, and the new ASX Investment Talks series, which has proved popular with investors since its launch this year.

The Barefoot Blueprint's Michael Kemp outlines the first four things investors should look at when analysing a company using fundamental analysis (reading balance sheet, company announcements etc). They are the company's financial health, its enduring competitive advantage, performance and valuation. Michael's story is especially useful for investors who get confused by myriad financial metrics available and the many different investment approaches espoused by experts.

Robert Brain, national director of the Australian Technical Analysts Association, provides a similar analysis using charting and trading techniques. Robert's commonsense piece suits all investors, not just those who study patterns in share price charts. He suggests investors be open to fresh ideas, read timeless investing books, embrace key investing principles, understand charting basics, and consider joining investor groups to learn from others.

I finish the Getting Started section with a summary of the best ASX Investor Update stories in 2012 for new investors. Some of them may contain outdated share price information, or refer to past market events, but their educational insights are enduring, and I urge you to make good use of the ASX Investor Update library of stories over the past year. Access them through the 'Past Editions' link at the bottom of the newsletter.

I hope you enjoy our first issue of ASX Investor Update for 2013. We have plans to update the newsletter this year based on the reader survey, and will keep you abreast of any changes in coming months. As always, do not act on any ideas or themes in the newsletter without doing further research of your own, or consulting your financial adviser.

About the author

Tony Featherstone is consulting editor of ASX Investor Update.