Two different ways of investing in the stock market

WITH the stock market up substantially since the start of the year, and technological innovations continuing to roil the corporate landscape, how should you invest right now?

Two new books offer very different answers, with each taking an unconventional approach.

In the far better one, Money Machine: The Surprisingly Simple Power of Value Investing (Amacom, US$27.95), Gary Smith, a Pomona College economics professor, says you should concentrate on value stocks. In contrast, in The Truth About Your Future: The Money Guide You Need Now, Later and Much Later (Simon & Schuster US$26), Ric Edelman says you need to figure out how to capitalise on trends disrupting how business is typically done.