We're all familiar with "choice overload," whether on a trip to the grocery store, or while flipping through satellite TV channels. And while it's human to want all of the options, the surprising truth is that the more choice we have, the less satisfied we are. And nowhere is this more true - or more dangerous - than in our investments. Despite the troubled global economy, there are tens of thousands of mutual funds, hedge funds, exchange-traded funds, and other vehicles waiting to take your money. For help, individual and institutional investors alike turn to financial managers, though they are often no better equipped than the average person to assess and manage risk. In "The Investor's Paradox," hedge fund expert Brian Portnoy explains how to sift through today's diverse investment choices and solve even the most daunting portfolio problems. Drawing on cutting-edge research in behavioral economics, social psychology and choice theory, Portnoy lays bare the biases that interfere with good decision-making, and gives readers a set of basic tools they can use to tell the good from the bad. Along the way, he demystifies hedge funds, cuts through the labyrinth of the modern financial supermarket, and debunks popular myths, including the idea that mutual funds can "beat the market."

With real case stories, Wells and Ahmed bring to life both the hopes for and the failures of international guarantees of property rights for investors in the developing world. Their cases focus on infrastructure projects, but the lessons apply equally to many other investments. In the 1990's inexperienced firms from rich countries jumped directly into huge projects in some of the world's least developed countries. Their investments reflected almost unbridled enthusiasm for emerging markets and trust in new international guarantees. Yet within a few years the business pages of the world press were reporting an exploding number of serious disputes between foreign investors and governments. As the expected bonanzas proved elusive and the protections weaker than anticipated, many foreign investors became disenchanted with emerging markets. So bad were the outcomes in some cases that a few notable infrastructure firms came close to bankruptcy; several others hurriedly fled poor countries as projects soured.
In this book, Louis Wells and Rafiq Ahmed show why disputes developed, point out how investments and disputes have changed over time, explore why various firms responded differently to crises, and question the basic wisdom of some of the enthusiasm for privatization. The authors tell how firms, countries, and multilateral development organizations can build a conflict-management system that balances the legitimate economic and social concerns of the host countries and those of investors. Without these changes, multinational corporations will lose profitable opportunities and poor countries will not gain the contributions that foreign investment can make toward alleviating poverty.

Income Investing Today

Income Investing Today details a safe alternative to the downside risks inherent in the stock market--income securities that can provide a 7% to 8% annual cash income. With this book, fixed income expert Richard Lehmann outlines income investing concepts you need to understand, various investment vehicles, and investment strategies that will help you build a safe, diversified portfolio of investments.

The investment vehicles he explains range well beyond traditional fixed income securities or creditor instruments such as bonds, to include hybrids, REITs, mutual funds, and more. He shows that the key to building a steady, growth-oriented income portfolio is to diversify over a variety of securities that depend on different drivers--that is, portfolios that are not vulnerable to any one specific economic factor such as interest rates.

The ideal guide for individual investors saving for retirement and seeking more safety in their portfolios, Income Investing Today shows how a diversified collection of income securities can equal or exceed the returns from common stock with much lower risk.

Examine the high yield market for a clear understanding of this evolving asset class High Yield Debt is the one-stop resource for wealth advisors seeking an in-depth understanding of this misunderstood asset class. The high yield market provides a diverse opportunity set, including fixed and floating rate debt, high and low quality debt issues and both short- and long-term duration; but many fail to understand that not all high yield exposure is the same, and that different market segments and strategies work best at different points in the economic cycle. This guide addresses the confusion surrounding high yield debt. You'll find the information you need to decide whether or not to buy in to a high yield fund, and how to evaluate the opportunities and risks without getting lost in the jargon. The U.S. corporate high yield market is worth $2.4 trillion more than the stock markets of most developed countries. Market growth has increased the number of funds with high yield exposure, as well as the types of debt products available for investment. This book breaks it down into concrete terms, providing the answers advisors need to effectively evaluate the opportunities on offer. * Understand the high yield asset class * Learn the debt structures, performance and defaults * Evaluate risk and investment opportunities * Penetrate the jargon to make sense of high yield investment Over 300 publicly traded funds provide exposure to U.S. high yield, but despite it's size and ubiquity, understanding of the asset class as a whole remains somewhat of a rarity even among participants. A lack of transparency is partially to blame, but the market's evolution over the past fifteen years is the larger issue. High Yield Debt explains the modern high yield market in real terms, providing a much-needed resource for the savvy investor. "Rajay Bagaria has written the first book that captures a 360 degree view of the high yield debt market. Whether you are an investor, investment banker, corporate lawyer, CFO or layperson simply trying to gain insights into the fundamentals of high yield debt, this book translates financial and legal concepts, trends and structures of high yield bonds and leveraged loans into a simple, understandable format. Mr. Bagaria s book is a valuable resource for anyone involved in the new issue or secondary leveraged finance markets." Frank J. Lopez, Co-Head Global Capital Markets, Proskauer "Bagaria does a great service for both high yield professionals and beginners by providing an accessible, well-written, insightful market primer." Steven Miller, Managing Director, S&P Capital IQ, Leveraged Commentary & Data "High-Yield Debt - An Insider s Guide to the Marketplace is a comprehensive book that provides an in-depth understanding of the history, growth, basics and details of high-debt and the high-yield market. The author gives insights that only an experienced professional can provide. The book will be invaluable to readers both starting out and knowledgeable about an important segment of corporate finance, dealing with concepts, structures and performance." Arthur Kaufman, Retired Partner, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP / Member of Adjunct Faculty, Columbia Law School

Do you want to feel more confident about your investment decisions?

Do you need to have a better understanding of how the stock markets value a business?

Do you want to know what the key ratios are that drive share price performance?

The Financial Times Guide to Making the Right Investment Decisions is the insider’s guide to how the market examines companies and values shares.  It helps you understand the factors that drive long term wealth creation as well as highlighting the key risks that lead to value being destroyed.

Originally published as Analysing Companies and Valuing Shares, this new edition has been fully revised and includes a new and easy to follow framework for understanding valuation.  Perfect for investors at all levels, it guides you through the investment maze, and highlights the key issues you need to consider to invest successfully.

The Financial Times Guide to Making the Right Investment Decisions:

• Gives you an easy to follow framework to  guide your decision-making
• Explains clearly and concisely key financial concepts and how they drive valuation
• Shows you the key ratios to monitor and how they affect share prices
• Illustrates the key risks and warning signals that will help you avoid losses
• Identifies the qualities of company management and governance that differentiates winners from losers
• Brings the issues and numbers to life with real examples and case studies

Value-Based Working Capital Management analyzes the causes and effects of improper cash flow management between entrepreneurial organizations with varying levels of risk. This work looks at the motives and criteria for decision-making by entrepreneurs in their efforts to protect the financial security of their businesses and manage financial liquidity. Michalski argues that businesses exposed to greater risk need a different approach to managing liquidity levels.

This book discusses new determinants for optimal portfolio selection. It reviews the existing modelling framework and creates mean-variance efficient portfolios from the securities companies on the National Stock Exchange. Comparisons enable researchers to rank them in terms of their effectiveness in the present day Indian securities market.

Assessing the Energy Efficiency of Pumps and Pump Units, developed in cooperation with Europump, is the first book available providing the background, methodology, and assessment tools for understanding and calculating energy efficiency for pumps and extended products (pumps+motors+drives). Responding to new EU requirements for pump efficiency, and US DOE exploratory work in setting pump energy efficiency guidelines, this book provides explanation, derivation, and illustration of PA and EPA methods for assessing energy efficiency. It surveys legislation related to pump energy efficiencies, provides background on pump and motor efficiencies, and describes the concept of Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) for circulators and single and multi-pump systems.

Construct a portfolio that is sure to outperform market averages Warren Buffett had it right all along. Now it's your turn to learn how to construct a portfolio that is sure to outperform the market averages, as well as almost every professional money manager in the world. Warren Buffett's method of predictability can determine a future target price, which in turn determines his all-important purchase price. However, Buffett doesn't draw conclusions of his predictability method relative to the future total returns of portfolios. That's where Buffett and Beyond comes in, taking Buffett's method one giant step beyond, proving that if you select a portfolio of stocks using the predictability method in this book, you will outperform 96% of professional money managers over the long term. In addition to the information in the book, readers will have access to a password-protected website that includes tutorial videos, PowerPoint slides, free trial access to a video newsletter, and a trial subscription to the author's computer program, which follows the research presented in the book. * Explains Clean Surplus Accounting (CSA) to determine Return on Owners' Equity (ROE) * Uses CSA to determine ROE in a unique way to verify Buffett's all-important purchase price * Draws conclusions between Clean Surplus Return on Equity and future total returns * Shows that every portfolio selected from the S&P 500 index with above-average Clean Surplus ROEs outperformed the S&P average during the test periods from 1987 to the present If you're an investor, this book will impact your financial life forever.

Whatever financial freedom means to you - living the life you want, not working to someone else's timetable, not worrying about money ever again, or some other dream - the way to get there is through investing. In this concise and accessible book, Ben Carlson and Robin Powell show you how to put yourself on the path to financial freedom through sensible saving and straightforward investing. This is not about getting rich quick. But it is about getting rich reliably. Building wealth through investing - with the long-term goal of financial freedom - requires discipline, sacrifice and time. But it is possible, and almost anyone can do it if armed with the right information. Invest Your Way to Financial Freedom shares all the steps you need to take to reach your goals. This includes clear and simple answers to the following questions: Why is saving important - and how much to save? Why is investing the best way to build wealth? What should investors expect from the stock market? How long does it really take to become a millionaire? Is it too late if you don't make an early start to saving and investing? After reading this book, you will know everything you need to know to achieve financial freedom!

Sammy Chua's DAY TRADE Your Way to FINANCIAL FREEDOM
SECOND EDITION
Day Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, Second Edition tells you everything you need to have--and know--to launch a successful and satisfying career as a stock trader. From behind-the-scenes details on market makers and Level II trading to the stock-picking strategies and trading techniques of today's top pros, renowned trader and trainer Sammy Chua shows you how to:
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Use your Level II screen to look behind the action--and discover what the market makers are really doing
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Interpret technical indicators to identify trends and accurately forecast pending reversal points
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Stay in winning trades for the maximum possible profits, while avoiding huge losses that can cripple a trading program

New technologies and securities regulations make it the best time in history to become an independent day trader. But only you can make that first move. Let Day Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, Second Edition give you the intelligence and confidence you need to become a successful day trader, and take control of your financial future.