Jon Markman’s new book will focus on the investment thesis that every year markets will fall, at some point, by at least 10%. What if that fall were predictable? Markman has discovered a means
of measuring panic, based on the writings of financial philosopher Henry Clews, that quantifies the level of panic in the markets, allowing an investor to move in or out based on the likelihood
of a bottom. The Unified Theory of Financial Panic will include a scale with which an investor can measure the level of panic in the financial markets, e.g. the S&P 500 and energy or a
particular commodity. Over time, the authors will expand the theory and the scaling to other financial markets, such as real estate. The first quarter of the book will explain first a) where
panics come from; b) how they spread; c) and how they increase intensity over time. I will use historical examples to make the discussion vivid. The second quarter of the book will explain the
new Markman-Kaufman Panic Scale. I will keep the discussion light but authoritative, confining most of the math and physics to the appendix to keep the lay reader involved in the discussion.
The third quarter of the book will provide a concise but colorful and detailed look at the top 10 panics in the past 100 years, and how each would have progressed through the levels of our new
Panic Scale. The quarter of the book will be prescriptive, telling readers the type of stocks that tend to do best coming out of various intensities of panic, with examples.
The book will be bundled with a forthcoming investment newsletter subscription focused on the Panic Scale.
