The World Scientific Handbook of Futures Markets serves as a definitive source for comprehensive and accessible information in futures markets. The emphasis is on the unique characteristics of futures markets that make them worthy of a special volume. In our judgment, futures markets are currently undergoing remarkable changes as trading is shifting from open outcry to electronic and as the traditional functions of hedging and speculation are extended to include futures as an alternative investment vehicle in traditional portfolios. The unique feature of this volume is the selection of five classic papers that lay the foundations of the futures markets and the invitation to the leading academics who do work in the area to write critical surveys in a dozen important topics.

This self-contained book presents the main techniques of quantitative portfolio management and associated statistical methods in a very didactic and structured way, in a minimum number of pages. The concepts of investment portfolios, self-financing portfolios and absence of arbitrage opportunities are extensively used and enable the translation of all the mathematical concepts in an easily interpretable way. All the results, tested with Python programs, are demonstrated rigorously, often using geometric approaches for optimization problems and intrinsic approaches for statistical methods, leading to unusually short and elegant proofs. The statistical methods concern both parametric and non-parametric estimators and, to estimate the factors of a model, principal component analysis is explained. The presented Python code and web scraping techniques also make it possible to test the presented concepts on market data. This book will be useful for teaching Masters students and for professionals in asset management, and will be of interest to academics who want to explore a field in which they are not specialists. The ideal pre-requisites consist of undergraduate probability and statistics and a familiarity with linear algebra and matrix manipulation. Those who want to run the code will have to install Python on their pc, or alternatively can use Google Colab on the cloud. Professionals will need to have a quantitative background, being either portfolio managers or risk managers, or potentially quants wanting to double check their understanding of the subject.

Proof of the "Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing" in its general form by Delbaen and Schachermayer was a milestone in the history of modern mathematical finance and now forms the cornerstone of this book.

Puts into book format a series of major results due mostly to the authors of this book.

Embeds highest-level research results into a treatment amenable to graduate students, with introductory, explanatory background.

Awaited in the quantitative finance community.

How well does it pay to own the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's best-performing stock of the year? Over the 2012-2021 period, the one-year total return ranged from 80% to 743%. This book identifies the quantitative and qualitative traits of stocks that made it to #1 and tells the stories of how they got there. A key indicator, the Fridson-Lee Statistic, makes its debut in these pages. Aiming for the massive upside of the #1 stocks entails substantial risk. It's not something to do with more than a small percentage of your portfolio. But attempting to pick the coming year's top performer can provide an outlet for speculative impulses that might otherwise spoil a prudent, long-term investment plan. And by investigating the statistically determined best candidates for #1, you'll gain important insights into stock selection. The Little Book of Picking Top Stocks explains why conventional equity research provides only limited help in zeroing in on the index's future top performer. Spotting the #1 stock isn't Wall Street analysts' focus, although the information they furnish about companies' competitive strategies is quite helpful. Problematically, investment banks' fundamental stock reports are structured around a valuation metric that was discredited nearly half a century ago--earnings per share. Author Martin Fridson's previous writings on the stock market include the books It Was a Very Good Year and Investment Illusions, as well as articles such as "Ben Graham's Value Approach: Can It Still Work?" He has received the CFA Society of New York's Ben Graham Award and has been named the Financial Management Association International's Financial Executive of the Year. The Green Magazine called his Financial Statement Analysis (co-authored with Fernando Alvarez) "one of the most useful investment books ever."

Invaluable insight into measuring the performance of today's hedge fund manager
More and more institutional funds and high-net-worth assets are finding their way to hedge funds. This book provides the quantitative and qualitative measures and analysis that investment managers, investment advisors, and fund of fund managers need to allocate and monitor their client's assets properly. It addresses important topics such as Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and Post Modern Portfolio Theory (PMPT), choosing managers, watching performance, and researching alternate asset classes. Author Edward Stavetski also includes an appendix showing detailed case studies of hedge funds, and gives readers a road map to monitor their investments.
Edward J. Stavetski (Wayne, PA) is Director of Investment Oversight for Wilmington Family Office, serving ultra high-net-worth families in strategic asset allocation, traditional and alternative investment manager selection, and oversight.

Efficient Methods for Valuing Interest Rate Derivatives provides an overview of the models that can be used for valuing and managing interest rate derivatives. Split into two parts, the first discusses and compares the traditional models, such as spot- and forward-rate models, while the second concentrates on the more recently developed Market models. Unlike most of his competitors, the author's focus is not only on the mathematics: Antoon Pelsser draws on his experience in industry to explore the practical issues, such as the implementation of models, and model selection.Aimed at people with a solid quantitative background, this book will be of particular interest to risk managers, interest rate derivative traders, quantitative researchers, portfolio and fund managers, and students of mathematics and economics, but it will also prove invaluable to anyone looking for a good overview of interest rate derivative modelling.

This book analyses the impact that stabilization clauses have on the development of human rights and gender laws in resource rich nations. Given the fact that stabilization clauses freeze the law for as long as the contract subsists there has been debate on the negative impact stabilization clauses have on the progressive development of human rights in the host State. Firstly, the book examines the mechanisms investors utilise in protecting themselves from host State prerogatives. It then explores the theoretical basis on which stabilization clauses are applied and upheld by arbitral tribunals, and assesses how they can be drafted in a way that protects human rights, particularly in relation to gender discrimination, without forcing the resource rich nations to lose momentum in attracting foreign direct investment. Using Zambia and the Gender Equity and Equality Act of 2015 as a case study, the book explores the compatibility of the legislation with the stabilization clauses contained in the country's Development Agreements. The book will be of interest to practitioners, scholars and students of international investment law, human rights law and contract law.

There are crashes and then there are Crashes. But what turns an ordinary downturn into an era-defining crisis? What makes the difference between an event like the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and a brief bear market? The answer lies in financial exuberance: speculative mania that appears to be making everyone rich, only to end up making everyone much, much worse off. Historian and professional investor Alasdair Nairn predicted both the dotcom and subprime collapses, and in this compelling new book shares the evidence that we are living through such a period of deadly excess right now. Markets appear to be going up and up, but they have got perilously ahead of themselves. Danger lies in every single investable asset class. What some have called the 'Everything Bubble' has inflated to unprecedented proportions. And now the bubble is about to burst. Nairn lays bare the level of danger with unprecedented detail and pieces together the steps that brought us to the precipice. Lastly, he points out options open to those willing to act now to avoid future harm to their wealth. As we near the end of the Everything Bubble, don't be one of those caught out!

This is a much-needed work in the financial literature, and it is the first book ever to analyse the use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) from a theoretical and practical perspective. By the end of 2020, more than 240 SPACs were listed in the US (on NASDAQ or the NYSE), raising a record $83 billion. The SPAC craze has been shaking the US for months, mainly because of its simplicity: a bunch of investors decides to buy shares at a fixed price in a company that initially has no assets. In this way, a SPAC, also known as a "blank check company", is created as an empty shell with lots of money to spend on a corporate shopping spree. Could the trend be here to stay? Are SPACs the new legitimate path to traditional IPO? This book tackles those questions and more. The author provides a thorough analysis of SPACs including their legal framework and how they are used as a risk mitigation tool to structure transactions. The main objectives of the book are focused on finding a working definition for SPACs and theorising on their origins, definition, and evolution; identifying the objectives of financial regulation within the context of the recent financial crisis (2007-2010) and the one that is currently unfolding (Covid-19); and also describing practical examples of SPACs through a comparative study that, for the first time, outlines every major capital market on which SPACs are listed, in order to identify a possible international standard of regulation. The book is relevant to academics as well as policymakers, international financial regulators, corporate finance lawyers as well as to the financial industry tout court.

Principles of Financial Engineering, Third Edition, is a highly acclaimed text on the fast-paced and complex subject of financial engineering. This updated edition describes the "engineering" elements of financial engineering instead of the mathematics underlying it. It shows how to use financial tools to accomplish a goal rather than describing the tools themselves. It lays emphasis on the engineering aspects of derivatives (how to create them) rather than their pricing (how they act) in relation to other instruments, the financial markets, and financial market practices. This volume explains ways to create financial tools and how the tools work together to achieve specific goals. Applications are illustrated using real-world examples. It presents three new chapters on financial engineering in topics ranging from commodity markets to financial engineering applications in hedge fund strategies, correlation swaps, structural models of default, capital structure arbitrage, contingent convertibles, and how to incorporate counterparty risk into derivatives pricing. Poised midway between intuition, actual events, and financial mathematics, this book can be used to solve problems in risk management, taxation, regulation, and above all, pricing. A solutions manual enhances the text by presenting additional cases and solutions to exercises. This latest edition of Principles of Financial Engineering is ideal for financial engineers, quantitative analysts in banks and investment houses, and other financial industry professionals. It is also highly recommended to graduate students in financial engineering and financial mathematics programs.

Addresses FDI from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Very timely - the coronavirus pandemic has reinforced the needs for investment promotion agencies to focus on aftercare. Contains 90+ content boxes (with case study examples from different countries globally). First professional book to focus specifically on the aftercare needed following FDI.

A typical market for a commodity, a service or a financial instrument can be divided into the cash market and the futures market. Futures markets are currencies by the standardization of the futures contracts and their trading in highly organized exchanges. Futures Markets contains in three volumes the most influential articles in this field covering a broad range of topics including market characteristics, speculation, pricing, efficiency, interest rates and insurance and foreign characteristics. Important contributors to the volume include among others: Ronald J. Anderson, Eugene F. Fama, Stephen Figlewski, Paul A. Samuelson, Hans R. Stoll and Holbrook Working. As well as providing an authoritative introduction to accompany the piece, the editor has also written three extensive review articles which survey the field of futures markets. This significant collection presents a compact guide to the subject of Futures Markets and will be an essential companion for students, researchers and practitioners.

The Essentials of Social Finance provides an interesting, accessible overview of this fascinating ecosystem, blending insights from finance and social entrepreneurship. It highlights the key challenges facing social finance, while also showcasing its vast opportunities. Topics covered include microfinance, venture philanthropy, social impact bonds, crowdfunding, and impact measurement. Case studies are peppered throughout, and a balance of US, European, Asian, and Islamic perspectives are included. Each chapter contains learning objectives, discussion questions, and a list of key terms. There is also an appendix explaining key financial concepts for readers without a background in the subject, as well as downloadable PowerPoint slides to accompany each chapter. This will be a valuable text for students of finance, investment, social entrepreneurship, social innovation, and related areas. It will also be useful to researchers, professionals, and policy-makers interested in social finance.

This book provides an extensive and critical assessment of the current regulatory and supervisory framework of investment services in the European Union (EU) and proposes alternative institutional structures. Recent trends in financial services at EU level as well as regulatory and institutional developments at a national level make the focus of this book very timely. The book contributes to the debate by making specific suggestions with regard to the institutional structure and the operational sphere of a central pan-European regulator.

Your guide to investing for a more sustainable world Investing in one's own future has always been a good financial move. But what if you want to ensure that the companies you have a financial interest in are also helping to improve the present and future of all of us--and of the planet? More than ever before, sustainable investors want to be confident that a company's Environmental (net zero emissions target), Social (response to the Covid-19 pandemic), and Governance (no repeats of Enron and WorldCom) policies and actions are positively impacting the global outlook--and to identify ways that their dollar can incentivize business leaders to do even better. The worldwide rise of an Environmental, Socially Responsible, and Governance (ESG) approach to investing shows you're not alone, and the $30+ trillion--and growing--committed in this way says it's already become a transformative global movement. ESG provides a framework for evaluating companies that, unlike unrelated investment strategies, informs and guides sustainable investment. Even if you're a novice investor, ESG For Dummies will allow you to hit this new investing landscape running, providing you with measurable ways to factor ESG into company performance, see how these are reflected in your investment return, and show how you can monitor companies to ensure your money is being put to ethical use. You'll also become familiar with the big names to follow in the ESG world, how they're already effecting positive change, and how you can help. Identify the drivers for each category of ESG Define and measure material ESG factors for investing success Understand principles for building a diversified sustainable portfolio Recognize material ESG factors effect on company performance ESG investing introduces powerful tools to do real and lasting good: this book shows you how to use them to help make everyone's future, including your own, much more secure.

"This book provides a nice blend of concise exposition of the theory of stochastic processes, and in particular Lévy processes, financial modeling with such processes, as well as numerical implementations, together with fundamentals of options pricing. Important examples and references are spread adequately throughout the book."
–Professor M. Yor, Université Pierre et Marie Curie

"Equity Derivatives: Theory and Applications gives a comprehensive, yet succinct, overview of the emerging technologies and architectures in computing today, and describes how those technologies and architectures can be applied to equity derivatives. This book bridges the gap between the pure theory of derivatives and the application of that theory through the use of new computing technologies, such as XML, Web services, and Microsoft’s .NET framework. This was a most informative read, both from a technological and theoretical perspective."
–Gregor Noriskin, Architectural Advisor, Developer Division
Microsoft Corporation

"The frontier of equity derivative transactions presented by the leading quantitative research team . . . This book will set the standard for innovation in the field."
–Dr. Hermann Schenk, Managing Director, Covion Organic Semiconductors GmbH

"I was very impressed by the authors’ study of the pricing of equity derivatives. This is not an easy subject and clearly the authors have a profound understanding of the matter."
–Dr. Serge Mores, Senior Investment Manager, ING Investment Management, Brussels

"This well-organized book provides a self-contained, computational, and up-to-date treatment of several interesting topics in the theory of option pricing–mainly in incomplete markets. This is an invaluable addition to the pedagogic literature on equity derivatives that no serious student should be without."
–Professor Aubrey Truman, Head of the Department of Mathematics
University of Wales Swansea

"This book is the first comprehensive guide to link the latest research in mathematical finance with the most recent developments and new technologies in the delivery of pricing and hedging analytics over the Internet. This unique approach is simple to follow, with information organized for easy access."
–Jon Kinol, Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Securities

Praise for The Intelligent Portfolio

"This is one of those rare investment books that actually raises your investment IQ. Christopher Jones's ten basic rules get investors focused on what really matters. You may have heard some of these investment truths before, but probably never in a way that is so powerful and intuitive. Filled with practical and insightful examples, this book is a real eye-opener for anyone serious about planning for a bright financial future."
--Jane Bryant Quinn, columnist for Newsweek and Bloomberg.com and author of Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People

"Books on personal investing are a dime a dozen. But if we add them up, all those dimes come to plenty of money. This book is worth all that and lots more. With its strong foundation in theory, the depth of its insights, the power of its message, the clarity of its exposition, and the value of its examples, The Intelligent Portfolio is worth many multiples of anything else in this overcrowded field."
--Peter L. Bernstein, author of Capital Ideas Evolving

"Christopher Jones gives investors a guided tour of the inner workings of modern portfolio theory. If you prefer to look under the hood and kick the tires of your retirement plan, this hands-on manual can help you turbocharge your portfolio."
--Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

"Jones provides his readers with a refreshing investment guide, chock-full of pithy and pertinent advice. Can you ignore expenses if a manager exhibits excess performance? His no-nonsense advice, 'the view that you can ignore the impact of fees is just a bunch of hooey.' And for those chasing yesterday's hot funds, he reminds us that 'good funds are not defined by how well they have performed in the past, but how well they are likely to perform in the future.' A quarter century of experience tells me readers will be better investors if they heed his easily digestible investment wisdom."
--Harold Evensky, CFP, President, Evensky & Katz

Twenty leading money minds reveal how to prosper in today's volatile markets
What strategies have made Wall Street's top investors so successful? What are their biggest mistakes and proudest accomplishments? How do they invest their own money? And what are the keys to finding the best stocks and bonds? This enlightening book features one-on-one interviews with 20 of the world's leading mutual fund managers representing a variety of different styles-from growth gurus, value masters, bond wizards, and international globetrotters to specialists in such market sectors as technology, healthcare, financial services, and real estate. All have demonstrated track records that consistently outperform the competition. These managers speak frankly about their strategies for beating the market in good times and bad, along with their predictions for the future and exclusive lists of favorite investments for the coming years.
Kirk Kazanjian (Mountain View, CA) is an experienced investment and personal finance author. He has written more than 20 books, including Wizards of Wall Street and Value Investing with the Masters. Kazanjian is a former award-winning television news anchor and business reporter whose stories appeared on CNN and ABC stations across the country. In addition to running his own investment company, he was an executive at several leading financial firms, including American Century Investments. He is regularly interviewed by CNBC, CNNfn, and Bloomberg, and has been featured in numerous business and investment publications.

Fixed income investments have been a topic of broad interest, in particular for institutional investors such as insurance companies and pensions schemes. They were considered safe heavens in turbulent times by almost all other institutional and individual investors and are used for strategies such as portfolio immunization and asset liability matching (ALM). The latest crisis, however, revealed some of the weaknesses of fixed income instruments. They proved to be not as safe as originally thought with both credit and interest rate risks emerging. Consequently, fixed income investments have been in the spotlight once more. This book presents all aspects pertaining to fixed income investments, starting from the basics-i.e. the types of bonds, their valuation, the interest rate term structure-then moving to fixed income portfolio management and the interest rate and credit derivatives and their relevant markets, funds, risks and risk management. Finally, the book addresses contemporary issues such as their behavior in times of crisis, their relation to debt, their coexistence with equity and the current regulatory environment. This book, providing a look at the broader environment of fixed income alongside the current market structure, will be of interest to students, academics, researchers and practitioners in fixed income and investing strategies.

In the current era of globalised financial markets, the stock market cannot be assessed solely by comparing quantitative features such as the number of listed companies or capitalisation on the stock exchange. This is of secondary importance from an investor's point of view. What is important, however, is how a given stock market behaves towards the environment - whether it is 'hyperactive' or 'excessively lethargic' in response to information. This book provides an innovative tool for assessing global stock markets. It describes the complex concept of 'stock market development' in light of classical and behavioural finance theories and considers both quantitative (the number of listed companies, turnover, etc.) and behavioural aspects (price volatility, the behaviour of fundamental indicators of listed companies). Based on an innovative method for assessing development, the author analyses 130 stock markets, indicating those that are more developed in terms of quantity and behaviour. Ultimately, this enables the assessment of which markets are more or less developed and why. This knowledge, used properly, offers an advantage over other financial market participants, and allows for the comprehensive assessment of individual stock markets, which can support the process of making good investment decisions. The book is an invaluable resource for research fellows and students in economics, particularly the field of finance. It is also addressed to business and stock market practitioners, such as financial market analysts, brokers and investment advisers.

The Evolution of Contemporary Arts Markets looks at the historical evolution of the art market from the 15th century to the present day. Art is both an expression of human creativity and an object of economic value and financial refuge at times of economic turbulence. Historically, the art market evolved with the development of capitalism, finance and technical change, and art schools responded to social events such as wars, revolutions and waves of democratization. The author discusses the main features of modern art markets such as complexity in art valuation, globalism, segmentation, financialization, indivisibility, liquidity and provenance issues. The book studies the impact of wealth inequality and economic cycles and crises on the art market and features a chapter focusing specifically on the art market in China. This accessible publication is ideal for a broad, interdisciplinary audience including those involved in the economic and financial fields as well as art lovers, art market participants and social and cultural scholars.

Written for undergraduates, this book is dedicated to fixed income fundamentals that do not require modeling the dynamics of interest rates. The book concentrates on understanding and explaining the pillars of fixed income markets, using the modern finance approach implied by the 'no free lunch' condition. It focuses on conceptual understanding so that novice readers will be familiar with tools needed to analyze bond markets. Institutional information is covered only to the extent that is necessary to obtain full appreciation of concepts.This volume will equip readers with a solid and intuitive understanding of the No Arbitrage Condition - its link to the existence and estimation of the term structure of interest rates, and to valuation of financial contracts. Using the modern approach of arbitrage arguments, the book addresses positions and contracts that do not require modeling evolution of interest rates. As such, it welcomes readers lacking the technical background for this modeling, and provides them with good intuition for interest rates, no arbitrage condition, bond markets and certain financial contracts.

The goal of investment management is to achieve the investor's required rate of return by putting assets to their most productive use. The return should compensate the investor for the time during which the funds are committed, the expected rate of inflation and the uncertainty of the anticipated future financial benefits from the investment. Investment management is a concise yet comprehensive introduction to investment analysis and portfolio management, specifically in the South African context. Investment management provides a broad framework and a thorough network of guidelines for the investment management student. It focuses on investment in financial assets such as shares and bonds, and explains both fundamental and technical analysis. It investigates portfolio management and how derivative instruments such as futures, options and swaps may be used for this purpose. A chapter is devoted to the foreign exchange market and its management, and a chapter dealing with the governance of investment management is included. By means of self-assessment questions at the end of each chapter, it prepares undergraduates for postgraduate study and is written with the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA (R)) Level I learning outcomes in mind. Investment management is aimed at undergraduate investment management students.

T"he Fisher Investments On" series is designed to provide individual investors, students, and aspiring investment professionals the tools necessary to understand and analyze investment opportunities--primarily for investing in global stocks.

Each guide is an easily accessible primer to economic sectors, regions, or other components of the global stock market. While this guide is specifically on Health

Care, the basic investment methodology is applicable for analyzing any global sector, regardless of the current macroeconomic environment.

Following a top-down approach to investing, "Fisher Investments on Heath Care" can help you make more informed decisions within the Health Care sector. It skillfully addresses how to determine optimal times to invest in Health Care stocks and which Health Care industries have the potential to perform well in various environments.Explains some of the sector's key macro drivers--like its defensive characteristics, economic cycles, and investor sentimentShows how to capitalize on a wide array of macro conditions and industry-specific features to help you form an opinion on each of the industries within the sectorTakes you through the major components of the industries within the global Health Care sector and reveals how they operateOffers investment strategies to help you determine when and how to overweight specific industries within the sectorOutlines a five-step process to help differentiate firms in this field--designed to help you identify ones with the greatest probability of outperforming

Filled with in-depth insights, "Fisher Investments on Health Care" provides a framework for understanding this sector and its industries to help you make better investment decisions--now and in the future. With this book as your guide, you can gain a global perspective of the Health Care sector and discover strategies to help achieve your investing goals.