Book excerpt: Investors in stocks are faced with two major problems: How to find and interpret the most useful data from company accounts. How to whittle down the list of thousands of public companies into a smaller pool of candidates for further research. In Four Ways to Beat the Market, experienced financial journalist Algy Hall provides the solution to both problems and helps investors in their quest to pick winning shares. The answer lies in stock screens. Over a decade, the four stock screens described here outperformed the market by 242% to 388%. These stock screens are ridiculously powerful – but staggeringly simple. Algy starts with four strategies for equity investing: Quality, Value, Income and Momentum. He shows how to construct four stock screens and use data from company accounts, including common accounting ratios, to filter stocks on the criteria that each of these strategies is looking for. And once the shortlist of screened stocks is produced, Algy explains how to use that shortlist as a basis for further analysis and research, before making an investment. Along the way, Algy also reveals the logical and empirical basis behind Quality, Value, Income and Momentum strategies, to help investors understand why they work and give them the confidence that they will continue to work in the future. Many other hints, tricks and tactics for investors are revealed, to help investors spot the best stocks and avoid the duds. With Algy Hall as your guide, discover the surprising ideas and stories that lie behind these strategies, while building the necessary know-how to improve your investment returns.