This book provides a critical assessment of the development of the Stewardship Code 2020, which sets out principles regarding the role of institutional investors in corporate governance. It discusses how the regulatory framework for stewardship evolved before and after the financial crisis, and how that evolution resulted in the 2020 Code. It then critiques the Code from a practical and academic perspective, as well as evaluating the wider regulatory framework; in particular, the position of the FRC (ARGA). The book concludes by offering insight into different pathways that the evolution of stewardship may continue to take. Stewardship Codes modelled on the U.K.'s original 2010 version have been introduced in numerous markets and as such the book will be relevant for an international audience of academics, regulators and policymakers in financial regulation, investment regulation and financial services.

A proven approach to trading success based on the best commodity trading advisors

Profiting from long-term trends is the most common path to success for traders. The challenge is recognizing the emergence of a trend and determining where to enter and exit the market. "The Trend Following Bible" shows individual traders and investors how to profit from this approach by trading like today's top commodity trading advisors.

In this book, author Andrew Abraham stresses the importance of a disciplined, consistent methodology, with stringent risk controls, that allows you to catch big trends, while limiting losses on unprofitable trades. By trading in this manner, he shows you how to successfully achieve market-beating returns over the long term and multiple your trading capital along the way.Reveals exactly how top commodity trading advisors operate and how individuals can incorporate these methods into their everyday trading endeavorsAddresses key issues like position sizing and risk control, which are critical to trading success, but often underemphasized in other trading literatureHighlights how to effectively execute the trading strategies outlined

Engaging and accessible, "The Trend Following Bible" will put you in a better position to profit as you make more informed trading decisions.

A number of dramatic changes are currently reshaping infrastructure, a sector that investors and asset managers have traditionally considered to be a safe harbor in the field of alternative investments. Understanding the future of infrastructure is indispensable to guaranteeing a sustainable future for our planet and the welfare of the world's population, and enhancing our knowledge of this asset class is one important step we can take toward reaching this crucial goal. This book collects a series of contributions by a group of Bocconi University researchers under the Antin IP Associate Professorship in Infrastructure Finance, which cover the key megatrends that are expected to reshape the way we think about infrastructure, and the implications for infrastructure investors and asset managers. Its goal is to improve and disseminate the culture of infrastructure among academics, professionals and policymakers. The main focus is on Europe and the European Union, and specifically on three key sectors: power and energy, transportation infrastructure, and telecoms / ICT.

This book analyzes the verification of empirical asset pricing models when returns of securities are projected onto a set of presumed (or observed) factors. Particular emphasis is placed on the verification of essential factors and features for asset returns through model search approaches, in which non-diversifiability and statistical inferences are considered. The discussion reemphasizes the necessity of maintaining a dichotomy between the nondiversifiable pricing kernels and the individual components of stock returns when empirical asset pricing models are of interest. In particular, the model search approach (with this dichotomy emphasized) for empirical model selection of asset pricing is applied to discover the pricing kernels of asset returns.

This book presents new approaches to fixed income modeling and portfolio management techniques. Taking into account the latest mathematical and econometric developments in finance, it analyzes the hedging securities and structured instruments that are offered by banks, since recent research in the field of fixed incomes and financial markets has raised awareness for changes in market risk management strategies. The book offers a valuable resource for all researchers and practitioners interested in the theory behind fixed income instruments, and in their applications in financial portfolio management.

This book is an advanced text on the theory of forward and futures markets which aims at providing readers with a comprehensive knowledge of how prices are established and evolve in time, what optimal strategies one can expect the participants to follow, whether they pertain to arbitrage, speculation or hedging, what characterizes such markets and what major theoretical and practical differences distinguish futures from forward contracts. It should be of interest to students (MBAs majoring in finance with quantitative skills and PhDs in finance and financial economics), academics (both theoreticians and empiricists), practitioners, and regulators. Standard textbooks dealing with forward and futures markets generally focus on the description of the contracts, institutional details, and the effective (as opposed to theoretically optimal) use of these instruments by practitioners. The theoretical analysis is often reduced to the (undoubtedly important) cash-and-carry relationship and the computation of the simple, static, minimum variance hedge ratio. This book proposes an alternative approach of these markets from the perspective of dynamic asset allocation and asset pricing theory within an inter-temporal framework that is in line with what has been done many years ago for options markets.

Mergers & acquisitions are an essential instrument of strategic corporate management for companies of all sizes. The success of an M&A project highly depends on an optimal transaction preparation, fast execution and the experience of all parties involved. Due to numerous endogenous and exogenous influences, no two M&A transactions are alike at the detailed level. This book is designed as a practical M&A guide for students and professionals alike. In addition to dealing with important basics of mergers & acquisitions, the focus is on a structured and in-depth examination of the individual process steps of a typical company sale. At various points in this book, specific differences between a company sale of medium-sized companies (mid-caps) and large companies (large-caps) are discussed in detail.

Foundations of Investment Management: Mastering Financial Markets, Asset Classes, and Investment Strategies shows how to navigate today's world of complex financial instruments, investment opportunities, and devastating pitfalls. This reader-friendly guide details stocks, bonds, and alternative investments, who invests in these asset classes, how, and why. It uses real-world examples in addition to citing the latest academic research. Additionally, seven industry experts have co-authored select chapters to greatly expand the depth and utility of this book for the reader. This unique guide is perfect for financial analysts, portfolio managers, client-facing representatives, product specialists, and anybody early in their finance career who wishes to understand how clients, products, and investors relate and interact. Foundations of Investment Management provides a complete overview of the investment management industry; defines key terms and participants; identifies investment vehicles, strategies, and asset classes; and analyzes each strategy focusing on its relative utility and potential inclusion in a well-diversified portfolio. Despite the subject mater's complexity, each topic is distilled in a way that is highly relatable and intuitive, ensuring the reader knows how to better manage their investments or interact with clients. Lastly, every chapter closes with a summary and investment implications to maximize the information presented. Key Features: Defines various fund structures, discusses the growth of the mutual fund industry, explains the benefits and disadvantages of comingled vehicles and details other investment options including fund of funds, annuities, and separately managed accounts Presents detailed descriptions of different institutional investors; elaborates on their investment considerations, objectives, and reaction functions; and concludes with implications for an institutions propensity to respond similarly to market developments Supplies tools and techniques to construct and optimize a fixed income portfolio Reviews the history of the Bank of England and U.S. Federal Reserve and describes central bank objectives, tools, and reaction functions Illustrates the difference between investing and speculating by introducing different valuation methods and approaches to developing an investment thesis Examines the growth of high frequency trading and identifies rebalancing strategies Identifies different stock investment approaches as well as introduces several equity valuation methods Describes mean variance optimization and conviction-based portfolio construction approaches Reviews bond basics including bond income, interest rate sensitivity, and sources of risk such as credit and liquidity Examines the history of real assets, defines each real asset, details the drivers of their return, and explains how an investor may gain exposure to each asset through the utilization of financial instruments or investment vehicles Presents the theory behind and history of factors and factor investing from both an academic and practitioner perspective. Presents the development of our understanding of behavioral biases, explains how these biases impact investment decisions, and provides tips and techniques to avoid their pitfalls

This up-to-date and revised third edition offers a clear and comprehensive overview of the main principles, institutions and procedures related to foreign direct investment and the resolution of disputes. Suitable for both upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate courses on international investment protection, the book is firmly grounded within the wider public international law context. Key Features of the third edition: Incorporates extracts from and analysis of key recent decisions, including David Aven et al v. Costa Rica, Greentech Energy Systems et al v. Italy and Venezuela v. OI European Group Coverage is brought up to date with new discussion of revised investment treaty texts and new court system proposals Balanced and neutral engagement with both normative standards and critiques of the system encourages students to draw their own conclusions Provides concise descriptions of the legal principles followed by extracts from both classic and contemporary cases to enhance understanding of core concepts Contains detailed discussion notes and all new 'Questions to an Expert' to enable further classroom discussion and facilitate critical reflection on complex topics. The concise nature of the book and accessible writing style make this an ideal text for non-specialists and for single semester courses on international investment protection.

This book offers an updated primer on the valuation of digital intangibles, a trending class of immaterial assets. Startups like successful unicorns, as well as consolidated firms desperately working to re-engineer their business models, are now trying to go digital and to reap higher returns by exploiting new intangibles. This book is innovative in its design and concept since it tackles a frontier topic with an original methodology, combining academic rigor with practical insights. Evaluation issues are increasingly based on an analytical comprehension of augmented business models and virtual function analysis, nurtured by real-time big data. The impact of digitalization on scalable business models is the main competitive advantage factor of the BigTechs and other Unicorns, representing a target for startups and the reengineering of traditional firms. The transition from the Internet to the metaverse represents the last frontier, showing how 3D virtual and augmented reality impacts social networking. The second edition of this book updates the contents of the first edition while comprehensively introduces these innovative topics--such as the metaverse, cloud storage, multi-sided digital platforms, ESG-compliance, and value co-creation patterns of digitized stakeholders--and demonstrates how best practices can be applied to specific asset appraisals, making it of interest to researchers, students, and practitioners alike.

Latin America has been a complex laboratory for the development of international investment law. While some governments and non-state actors have remained true to the Latin American tradition of resistance towards the international investment law regime, other governments and actors have sought to accommodate said regime in the region. Consequently, a profusion of theories and doctrines, too often embedded in clashing narratives, has emerged. In Latin America, the practice of international investment law is the vivid amalgamation of the practice of governments sometimes resisting and sometimes welcoming mainstream approaches; the practice of lawyers assisting foreign investors from outside and within the region; and the practice of civil society, indigenous peoples and other actors in their struggle for human rights and sustainable development. Latin America and international investment law describes the complex roles that governments have played vis-a-vis foreign investors and investments; the refreshing but clashing forces that international organizations, corporations, civil society, and indigenous peoples have brought to the field; and the contribution that Latin America has made to the development of the theory and practice of international investment law, notably in fields in which the Latin American experience has been traumatic: human rights and sustainable development. Latin American scholars have been contributing to the theory of international investment law for over a century; resting on the shoulders of true giants, this volume aims at pushing this contribution a little further. -- .

Measure market sentiment and predict market trends.

Contrary opinion is the opposite opinion of the sentiment held by the majority. If eighty percent of traders are bearish then a bullish view would be a contrary opinion. As developer of the Bullish Consensus, R. Earl Hadady has fine-tuned sentiment, measuring the opinion of a specific majority, to a calculable figure. Traders can now develop a winning trading plan around the Bullish Consensus and buy or sell as warranted by its numbers.

Examines in-depth the workings of the futures markets and how market sentiment affects those markets.
* Demonstrates that the trend of the market is actually a reflection of the trend of market sentiment

Earl Hadady (Glendora, CA) is the author of the first edition of Contrary Opinion: How to Use it for Profit in Trading Commodity Futures. Mr. Hadady is a renowned expert in contrary opinion.

Extending Financial Inclusion in Africa unveils the genesis and transformation of Africa's financial sector and its ability to provide finance for all. Contributors of the Book traverse the whole spectrum of African financial systems, examining their depth and breadth and empirically evaluating their appropriateness and effectiveness to achieve inclusive financial services.

Priceless investment wisdom from two timeless classics

Can you imagine tulips trading at a higher price than gold? That's just what happened in 1634 as Tulipmania swept across Holland. Nearly a century later, stock prices in England soared as a bold proposal to pay off the national debt caused a fleet of bubble companies to form in its wake. But what happened when the bubbles burst? Did these famous incidents simply demonstrate the potential for market volatility, or did they reflect outbreaks of mass hysteria? Charles Mackay brought his own unique perspective to this, and a number of other remarkable episodes, when the legendary Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds first appeared in 1841.

The Dutch East India Company was the hot stock to watch in the early days of the Amsterdam stock exchange. But the price action became hard to unravel once speculation and treacherous deceit came into play. Market manipulation, it seems, was a factor even at the dawn of modern exchange trading. Joseph de la Vega's 1688 Confusión de Confusiones offered a firsthand account of seventeenth-century market complexities that rings remarkably true even today.

Exploring the sometimes humorous, sometimes devastating impact of crowd behavior and trading trickery on the financial markets, this book brilliantly combines two all-time investment classics. Financial analyst and author Martin S. Fridson is your guide, and the result is an insightful new volume that is a quirky, entertaining, and thoroughly intriguing journey back through time.

From the investment strategies of Bernard Baruch, to Japanese land prices, junk bonds, and the collapse of Baring Securities, the far-reaching influence of Mackay's and de la Vega's revered works remains potent and truly timeless. By juxtaposing Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Confusión de Confusiones, this unique book points up the interesting contrast in their respective conclusions. Mackay believed that "periodic outbreaks of mass hysteria" led to volatile market activity, while de la Vega saw "cunning behind the market's convulsions." Both interpretations are worth examining for their fascinating commentaries on market movement and investment psychology. Viewed from within the context of events of our own time, these classics are must reading for all those seeking a greater understanding of the stock exchange's frequently erratic behavior.

"The market never ceases to befuddle and beguile. These two venerable works are fixtures on the short lists for most valuable books on the securities markets, and investors continue to cherish them." —From the Introduction by Martin S. Fridson Managing Director, Merrill Lynch & Co. Author of Investment Illusions

Exploring the sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating impact of crowd behavior and trading trickery on the financial markets, this book brilliantly combines two all-time investment classics. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Confusión de Confusiones take us from Tulipmania in 1634—when tulips actually traded at a higher price than gold—to the South Sea "bubble" of 1720, and beyond. Securities analyst and author Martin Fridson guides you on a quirky, entertaining, and intriguing journey back through time.

Chosen by the Financial Times as Two of the Ten Best Books Ever Written on Investment

Critical Praise . . .

"This is the most important book ever written about crowd psychology and, by extension, about financial markets. A serious student of the markets and even anyone interested in the extremes of human behavior should read this book!" —Ron Insana, CNBC

"In combining 'Extraordinary' with 'Confusion,' the result is not extraordinary confusion. Instead, with clarity, the book sears into modern investor minds the dangers of following the crowd." —Greg Heberlein, The Seattle Times

"Once upon a time, there was an emperor with no clothes. For the longest time no one noticed. As you will read in this marvelous book, there have been many naked emperors since. There will doubtless be many more." —Andrew Tobias, Author of Managing Your Money

"You will see between its staid lines (written in ye olde English and as ponderable as Buddha's navel) that, despite what the media says, nothing really important has changed in the financial markets in centuries." —Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes

The only guide focusing entirely on practical approaches to pricing and hedging derivatives One valuable lesson of the financial crisis was that derivatives and risk practitioners don't really understand the products they're dealing with. Written by a practitioner for practitioners, this book delivers the kind of knowledge and skills traders and finance professionals need to fully understand derivatives and price and hedge them effectively. Most derivatives books are written by academics and are long on theory and short on the day-to-day realities of derivatives trading. Of the few practical guides available, very few of those cover pricing and hedging two critical topics for traders. What matters to practitioners is what happens on the trading floor information only seasoned practitioners such as authors Marroni and Perdomo can impart. * Lays out proven derivatives pricing and hedging strategies and techniques for equities, FX, fixed income and commodities, as well as multi-assets and cross-assets * Provides expert guidance on the development of structured products, supplemented with a range of practical examples * Packed with real-life examples covering everything from option payout with delta hedging, to Monte Carlo procedures to common structured products payoffs * The Companion Website features all of the examples from the book in Excel complete with source code

Does the stock market overreact? Recent capital market turbulences have cast doubt whether the behaviour of stock markets is in line with rational investor behaviour. To which extent stock returns are predictable is the question at the heart of the controversy between the paradigms of rational asset pricing and behavioural finance. This new and revised edition discusses the empirical evidence from both perspectives. Theory and empirical analysis are blended with feedback from security analysts to offer a road towards a deeper understanding of the underlying forces to drive performance in the stock market.

In his book "Irrational Exuberance" Robert Shiller offered an analysis of the US stock market in 2000. The focus of his book was the level of the stock market, which he thought to be overvalued at the time. This monograph offers a complementary analysis of the cross section of stock returns.

For courses in options, futures, and derivatives. To be financially literate in today's market, business students must have a solid understanding of derivatives concepts and instruments and the uses of those instruments in corporations. The Third Edition has an accessible mathematical presentation, and more importantly, helps students gain intuition by linking theories and concepts together with an engaging narrative that emphasizes the core economic principles underlying the pricing and uses of derivatives. The third edition has been updated to include new data and examples throughout.

If the last financial crisis cost you money, you may be wondering whether you should continue investing in the market. After all, you have bills to pay and a job to keep-and you can't spend all your free time crunching numbers.

With the help of an expert, you can control your financial future by making small shifts in what you are already doing. Author Coreen T. Sol, Chartered Financial Analyst, gives you the tools you need to

avoid mistakes that could cost you money;

find good alternative investments;

maximize the benefits of a retirement plan; and

write your own investment policy statement.

This guidebook provides bold-faced terms and a glossary, along with instructions that make understanding the market fun and easy. You'll have to do some homework, but you can start taking simple steps to accomplish your dreams with the guidance in Practically Investing.

This book analyses and discusses bonds and bond portfolios. Different yields and duration measures are investigated for negative and positive interest rates. The transition from a single bond to a bond portfolio leads to the equation for the internal rate of return. Its solution is analysed and compared to different approaches proposed in the financial industry. The impact of different yield scenarios on a model bond portfolio is illustrated. Market and credit risk are introduced as independent sources of risk. Different concepts for assessing credit markets are described. Lastly, an overview of the benchmark industry is offered and an introduction to convertible bonds is given. This second edition also includes a chapter on multi-currency portfolios as well as a discussion on currency hedging. This book is a valuable resource not only for students and researchers but also for professionals in the financial industry.

Using a range of case-studies, this book analyzes corporate governance relationships between several African countries and the international community, providing an ethical assessment of issues surrounding globalization and adherence to external governance mechanisms. Employing a methodological approach, Corporate Governance in Africa critiques occidental perspectives of corporate governance in relation to the needs of separate states, and the contradictions that arise when local cultures are not taken in to consideration. With case studies from Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and The Gambia the book presents a comprehensive view of North, East, West and South Africa with contributions from global experts in the field. The authors critique the transformations deemed necessary for governance procedures in order to facilitate confidence and inward investment for these African states.

The battle of national, state, and local governments to attract investment has been a high priority for decades. For example, US state and local governments give almost $50 billion in location incentives and over $70 billion in total subsidies annually. Developing countries often pay even more for investments despite the fact they are less able to afford to do so. Using case studies from around the world, and at all levels of government, Thomas shows that investment incentives are rarely a good policy, especially for countries lacking education and an infrastructure. Finally, he analyzes the myriad methods of controlling incentives with an emphasis on the EU's comprehensive and largely successful state aid rules, illustrated by an extended case study of Ireland.

Anyone with financial responsibility for a company needs to understand his or her liability, how to protect against wrongdoing, and how to proceed when implicated. Companies are required to file accurate information reports and obey regulations designed to protect the public. In recent years, failure to comply with securities regulations has destroyed several prominent companies and implicated their executives. Securities Law Claims provides a complete and current examination of legal matters in the securities market from the perspective of an issuing company.
This clearly written, issue-spotting guide combines a foundation for understanding securities law concepts with enough detail to begin an action plan at any stage from securities issue to prosecution. It is a must-read for any executive, board member, or trustee.
Covered in this volume:
Shareholder derivative actions
SEC enforcement
Increased responsibility of Boards of Directors under Caremark and Sarbanes-Oxley
State Securities and Blue Sky Laws
Managing company communications before and during litigation, including a discussion of privilege.