The investment industry is increasingly a global business. This is partly due to the needs of multinational corporations to obtain financing in more than one nation. Cross-border investments and acquisitions continue at a rapid pace. The asset management business is becoming larger, more complex and more competitive, while hedge funds and private equity dominate large portions of the industry. This carefully-researched book is a complete investments, securities and asset management market research and business intelligence tool--everything you need to know about the business of investments, including: investment banking, stock brokers, discount brokers, online trading, trends in financial information technologies, asset management, stock ownership by individuals and households, 401(k)s and pension plans, mutual funds, ETFs, ECNs and exchanges. The book includes vital industry statistics; a glossary; industry contacts such as industry associations and government agencies; and our profiles of 400 leading global firms in the investment and asset management business, both public and private. You'll find a complete overview, industry analysis and market research report in one superb, value-priced package.

Don’t spend your time worrying whether you can beat the markets: you don’t need to beat them to be a successful investor. By showing you how to build a simple and rational portfolio and tailor it to your specific needs, Investing Demystified will help you generate superior returns.

With his straightforward and jargon-free advice, Lars Kroijer simplies the often complex world of finance and tells you everything you need to know – and everything that you don’t need to worry about – in order to make the most from your investments.

In Investing Demystified you will:

• Discover the mix of stocks, bonds and cash needed for a top performing portfolio

• Learn why the most broadly diversified and simplest portfolio makes the most sense

• Understand the right level of risk for you and how this affects your investments

• Find out why a low cost approach will yield benefits whilst leaving you with a higher quality portfolio

• Understand the implications of tax and liquidity

They say John Maynard Keynes called gold a 'barbarous relic'. They say there isn't enough gold to support finance and commerce. They say the gold supply can't increase fast enough to support world growth. They're wrong. In The New Case for Gold, James Rickards explains why gold is one of the safest assets for investors in times of political instability and market volatility, and how every investor should look to add gold to his or her portfolio. Drawing on historical case studies, monetary theory and his personal experience as an investor, Rickards argues that gold should be a part of any prudent investor's portfolio. James Rickards is the bestselling author of Currency Wars and The Death of Money. He is a portfolio manager at West Shore Group and an adviser on international economics and financial threats to the Department of Defence and the US intelligence community. He served as facilitator of the first-ever financial war games conducted by the Pentagon.