Skip to main content

Engines That Move Markets

Hardback

Synopsis

Find the most lucrative markets of the future by looking to the past

Some of the biggest technological innovations in the world have followed similar market and social patterns – scepticism is replaced by enthusiasm; venture capital is supplied; many companies are started and their stocks rise. But as the technology is developed and financial reality sets in, companies disappear, stocks collapse, and naive investors lose money.

Through exhaustive research, Alasdair Nairn captures this pattern and examines the impact that some of the greatest technological inventions of the past 200 years have had on financial markets and investors' fortunes. Each chapter explores a different technological innovation, and provides valuable insights on how to apply these lessons to appraise the 'new technology' companies of the future.

Some of the key historical episodes examined include:

- electric light and its commercial exploitation
- the railway boom in Britain and the United States
- the development of the automobile industry
- the discovery and early development of crude oil
- the rise of the PC
- the wireless world
- the Internet and dotcom bubble.

Don't be left behind when the next technological innovation revolutionises the market. With Engines That Move Markets you'll learn how to recognise the familiar patterns unfolding in today's economy so you can profit from these market-shaping events.

Details

23 April 2018
570 pages
9780857195999
Imprint: Harriman House

About the author

Dr Alasdair (Sandy) Nairn, author of How AI Will Move Markets, has been a professional investor in global equities for over 40 years. He currently manages the Global Opportunities Trust, a UK listed investment trust with Goodhart Partners. He is also the author of Engines That Moved Markets, an acclaimed historical analysis of past technological advances, from the railways to the Internet, as well as two other published books on investment themes. He is an early-stage investor personally in a number of different companies, including AI and signal processing ventures, and is currently the Chairman of Malted AI. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde and in 2020 was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Reviews

This book has much wisdom, and much that could be learned by investors or companies plannning to back new technologies.Financial Times
An outstanding book - a must read for all serious investors and for anyone interested in technology. A meticulously researched, scholarly, yet very readable and often amusing account of how technology has changed our lives and the world we live in over the last 200 years. The focus is on the returns from investing in technology, the pitfalls, and the timeless lessons.Professor Paul Marsh, Emeritus Professor of Finance at London Business School and coauthor of the Triumph of the Optimists and The Global Investment Returns Yearbook
An intriguing study of the psychology and market dynamics underlying technology-based stock market manias.Barry Riley, Financial Times
Engines That Move Markets is an insightful study into the history of technology and the lessons it has taught us. This book reveals in detail how technology has changed our economy, our markets, our society and the world we live in. Sandy Nairn has combined his talents as a scholar, analyst and investor to guide us through the past and help us understand where the future has yet to lead us.Thomas L. Hansberger, CFA, president and CEO, Hansberger Global Investors, Inc.

Media enquiries

If you'd like to get in touch with the author for interview or comment, or you'd like a review copy of this book, please contact us at pr@harriman-house.com or call +44 (0)1730 233870.

Rights

For information on available rights, please contact rights@harriman-house.com

Bulk purchases

We offer discounts for bulk purchases. Please contact specialsales@harriman-house.com for a quote.