Three issues shape the current debate on asset management: The restructuring of the management process to integrate new investment products, the necessity to reform pension schemes and last but not least the achievement of a globally co-ordinated regulatory framework. These challenging tasks benefit from objective guidance by scientifically substantiated Asset Management Standards. The current discussion's main focus on governance issues matches the established structural components of the Asset Management Standard's systematic classification. Numerous innovations called for a nearly complete revision. Main topics are now: Enhancement of the regulatory framework and co-ordination between the US and the EU and among EU members. Securing sustainable funding for retirement provisions after the dot.com bubble and the ongoing debate on reforming PAYG schemes. As a consequence the new edition offers again a reliable source of information on the major issues in asset management.

Advances in Quantitative Asset Management contains selected articles which, for the most part, were presented at the Forecasting Financial Markets' Conference. Forecasting Financial Markets' is an international conference on quantitative finance which is held in London in May every year. Since its inception in 1994, the conference has grown in scope and stature to become a key international meeting point for those interested in quantitative finance, with the participation of prestigious academic and research institutions from all over the world, including major central banks and quantitative fund managers. The editor has chosen to concentrate on advances in quantitative asset management and, accordingly, the papers in this book are organized around two major themes: advances in asset allocation and portfolio management, and modelling risk, return and correlation.

Foreign Exchange in Practice, now in its 3rd edition, is the single reference to the foreign exchange market any financial practitioner needs to have. It explains the concepts involved in foreign exchange and their application to real-life situations. The book was originally developed as a textbook for the Citibank Bourse Course, an intensive course available to clients and staff of Citibank to improve their mastery of these complex markets. The course has been taught in 50 countries since 1975. This new edition includes the Euro amongst its currencies, expansion of material on interest rate concepts, exotic options and value at risk.

Written primarily for business managers and government officials, this is a comprehensive and extremely timely handbook on how to successfully initiate and implement joint ventures and direct investments in China. The authors combine in one volume an appreciation of the nuances faced in the negotiation of U.S.-Chinese joint ventures, an examination of the investment environment in China and an assessment of its past traditions, present policies, and emerging problems. Case studies of a variety of actual joint ventures are especially valuable for readers involved in or planning to open negotiations in China. Several chapters assess the impacts of the events in Tianamen Square on foreign direct investment in the country.

The book opens with two chapters which examine the reasons for China's open policy and the responses of foreign investors to the new policy. A group of chapters then explores the country's investment, cultural, and legal environments and their likely impacts on joint venture negotiations. Turning to an examination of Chinese markets and production capabilities, the authors assess consumption patterns, decision making, customer/supplier relations, local sourcing problems, transportation, the availability of skilled labor, management, and R&D. They go on to analyze the contributions of foreign direct investment, including the role of transnational corporations, and present a step-by-step guide to negotiating a joint venture in China and implementing the agreement reached. Finally, the authors look at prospects for development and modernization in China, particularly in terms of the trend towards recentralization following the Tianamen Square upheaval. In addition to business development managers, students in international business programs will find "Direct Investment and Joint Ventures in China" an indispensable resource.

Investing in Corporate Bonds and Credit Risk is a valuable tool for any corporate bond investor. All the most recent developments and strategies in investment in corporate bonds are analyzed included with qualitative and quantitative approaches. A complete and up-to-date investment process is developed through the book, using many examples taken from banking practice. The growing significance of derivative instruments and credit diversification to bond investors is also analyzed in detail. Investment professionals; Corporate finance staff; Portfolio Managers; Senior Managers; Risk Managers; Consultants; Trading and Sales Staff; Quantitative Analysts; Credit Analysts; Regulators MBA courses

The global value of trading in index futures is about $20 trillion per year and rising and for many countries the value traded is similar to that traded on their stock markets. This book describes how index futures markets work and clearly summarises the substantial body of international empirical evidence relating to these markets. Using the concepts and tools of finance, the book also provides a comprehensive description of the economic forces that underlie trading in index futures. Stock Index Futures 3/e contains many teaching and learning aids including numerous examples, a glossary, essay questions, comprehensive references, and a detailed subject index. Written primarily for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, this text will also be useful to researchers and market participants who want to gain a better understanding of these markets.

At the age of 26, Warren Buffett founded Buffett Partnership Limited, which lasted from 1956 to 1970. During this time he wrote 33 letters to his small but growing group of partners. These letters chronicle his thoughts, approaches and reflections in the period immediately prior to his Berkshire Hathaway tenure - one that saw an unprecedented record of investing success. This early period was astonishing: in 1968 he beat the Dow by more than 50%. Because Buffett wanted to ensure that his partners understood his process, he wrote letters. In them, he sets out what he termed "ground rules" for investing that remain startlingly relevant today for every type of investor - from beginners to sophisticated pros. Warren Buffett's Ground Rules brings together, for the first time, and with Buffett's blessing, the key investment principles and teachings the letters reveal. Here you will find the basis for Buffett's contrarian diversification strategy, his almost religious celebration of compounding interest and his tactics for bettering market results by at least 10% annually. Quoting extensively and directly from Buffett, equity research expert Jeremy Miller introduces us to the timeless advice the letters contain, demonstrating a set of highly effective investment strategies that continue to resonate today.

In the face of the recent financial crisis there is increased focus on long-term investment strategies. This is particularly true for institutional investors who manage our retirement savings. Simultaneously there is increased demand that financial assets be invested with an understanding of long-term environmental and social sustainability. Responsible investing provides a long-term sustainable investment strategy that values environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decision-making. Responsible Investing has always had a broad mandate. Put simply, it is a long-term sustainable investment strategy that seeks to reduce risk in investment portfolios through managing ESG issues in today 's corporations. The Next Generation of Responsible Investment explores this topic in an edited volume intended for those with an interest in finance and business.

This book recommends and examines the various approaches to incorporating an accurate measure of risk into the appraisal of an international investment. It considers the way in which decisions on international investment projects are taken and how they should be. It critiques and integrates existing theories, including the global capital asset pricing rule of financial theory, theories of strategy making and the real options approach, to show how risk should be incorporated into the present value formula and its various elements to produce a clear decision rule.

Since the publication of the 2nd edition of The Credit Risk of Complex Derivatives in 1997, the world of derivatives has gone through a period of dramatic change in the external operating environment, product and market characteristic and risk management techniques. In the light of these changes, the text has been substantially reorganized, updated and expanded. Several new chapters have been added including: derivative losses risk governance and risk management efforts regulatory initiatives and advances credit risk portfolio models Aimed at clients, intermediaries and regulators, this new edition will be focussed clearly on risk education, risk management and risk disclosure in order to make participation in derivatives more secure, transparent, efficient and beneficial. MARKET 1: Senior Managers; Risk Managers; Compliance Managers; Consultants; Trading and Sales Staff; Quantitative Analysts; Credit Analysts; Regulators MARKET 2: MBA courses

This book analyzes Africa's unprecedented economic growth, the state of its financial sector, and the varied opportunities for Islamic finance investors. It considers the role - potential and realized - of Islamic finance in fostering financial inclusion in areas such as banking, microfinance, capital market development, insurance, and private equity business. The book stresses that investing in Africa through Islamic finance will open new markets, ensure higher profit margins, diversify risk, and create business competition; and that these changes that will provide financial products that can satisfying the desires and beliefs of all consumers and unlock the real potential of the continent's financial system. The book also looks into the rise of international interest in Africa and concludes by scrutinizing the challenges impeding further economic growth, as well as the specific barriers that need to be addressed in order to promote the implementation of Islamic finance. Investors, policymakers, and academics ready to confront these challenges will find much of value in this book.

"Corporate Governance" is a new text which considers the problems surrounding governance and proposes solutions to help restore investor confidence in the corporate world. The book is intended for board members, corporate executives, regulators, auditors, creditors and analysts seeking a concise analysis of the governance issues facing financial and nonfinancial corporations round the world. The book is fully international in context and includes real life examples and cases to emphasize the practical nature of governance problems and solutions.

Service activities such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, business auditing, distribution, trading, and other services have been at the forefront of the transformation process in East Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. These reforms, though far from complete, are now sufficiently advanced to draw lessons and to identify strategic options for foreign service firms expanding in the region. In this volume, leading analysts and practitioners offer an appraisal of the service markets and the challenges related to foreign entry into the services sector in Central and Eastern Europe during the "second wave" of transformation. What is the emerging pattern of change? What is the outlook for promising business in the area of services? Which entry strategies have proven particularly successful? How do the leading service providers from the West deal with the challenges confronting them in service markets of the region?

This collective volume used case studies, field research and industry studies to consider strategic options for foreign service firms in East Central and Eastern Europe for the late nineties and beyond.

A state-of-the art treatment offering scientific procedures that require no special scientific expertise, Murphy's unusual new book provides a unified framework for the evaluation of investment assets and strategies--a particularly useful way to conduct security analysis, portfolio management, and trading, and for other general investment applications. Murphy covers practical methods for credit analysis and demonstrates ways to value equities using a pro forma model that integrates forecasting with the detailed use of financial statements and footnotes.

"Scientific Investment Analysis" explains how to evaluate both fixed income securities and equities, as well as options, futures, and investment companies. It illustrates the use of practical dynamic software for valuing complex call, conversion, and other option features embedded in security contracts. The valuation concepts he presents are well grounded in theory and empirical investigation and explained within the context of international portfolio management. The effects of trading, tax, and regulatory environments on market prices and investment strategies are thoroughly discussed. This is an important resource for investment analysts, researchers, advisers, and brokers, an as excellent text for students in advanced investment or portfolio management at upper university levels.

This book mainly addresses the general equilibrium asset pricing method in two aspects: option pricing and variance risk premium. First, volatility smile and smirk is the famous puzzle in option pricing. Different from no arbitrage method, this book applies the general equilibrium approach in explaining the puzzle. In the presence of jump, investors impose more weights on the jump risk than the volatility risk, and as a result, investors require more jump risk premium which generates a pronounced volatility smirk. Second, based on the general equilibrium framework, this book proposes variance risk premium and empirically tests its predictive power for international stock market returns.

With an insider's view of the mind of the master, Mary Buffett and David Clark have written a simple guide for reading financial statements from Buffett's successful perspective. They clearly outline Warren Buffett's strategies in a way that will appeal to newcomers and seasoned Buffettologists alike. Inspired by the seminal work of Buffett's mentor, Benjamin Graham, this book presents Buffett's interpretation of financial statements with anecdotes and quotes from the master investor himself. Destined to become a classic in the world of investment books, Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements is the perfect companion volume to The New Buffettology and The Tao of Warren Buffett.

Shareholder activism in Korea has been commended by Western economists. A prominent leader is the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), a civil society organization. How could the activism led by a civil society organization grow and thrive in the poor soil of Korea to become the success story of corporate governance reform in developing countries? This book examines shareholder activism and investigates three elements of social movement theory - political opportunity, framing process and resource mobilization - to explain this phenomenon.

The dramatic increase of Japanese direct manufacturing investment in the United States since the 1970s has brought with it many questions about the Japanese investment decision-making process. Japanese Direct Manufacturing in the United States is the first book to investigate this process, explaining the behavior of both the micro- and macro-level actors involved in it and examining such issues as government-business interaction. Based on interviews with Japanese executives and government officials, this book provides an up-to-date and intensive look at this investment phenomenon for Japanese and American policymakers as well as researchers and students interested in Japanese multinational business.

This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the major economic indicators in the US and the Euro Zone. Following an introduction to the construction of indicators and the basic concepts behind their use, the specific characteristics of the two currency areas are analyzed, and the most important economic indicators and their significance are explained. The author has developed a unique rating system for economic indicators that enables readers to establish the relative importance of 'market movers'. The book also contains an extensive overview of the Datastream mnemonics, making it an essential tool for those conducting investment research.

Despite Keynes' achievement in developing his theory of monetary economy, he failed to integrate some important real effects investment into his analysis. Specifically, he neglected the role of replacement investment, although his anticipations of the q-theory laid the groundwork for a theory of replacement investment.;This book integrates Keynes' observations about the q-theory into a coherent theory of replacement investment. It demonstrates why, in the absence of a significant post-war depression, business was relieved of the need to replace obsolete capital goods, thereby leading the economy into a period of prolonged stagnation.;Michael Perelman is the author of several books including "Karl Marx's Crisis Theory - Labor, Scarcity and Fictitious Capital".

This book integrates socially responsible investment into modern portfolio theory from a multi-criteria perspective. Socially responsible investment is a "new deal" championed by the institutional investment and bank sectors, agents that influence mutual funds and other collective investment schemes and which fear that financial strategies without ethical constraints can harm sustainable growth and prosperity. The book shows how to combine financial criteria such as profitability and risk with non-financial criteria such as the protection of the ecosystem, responsible consumption of energy, and healthcare campaigns. The book's first part presents critical issues in ethical investment, while the second explains in detail the application of goal programming techniques for SRI funds, illustrating their use in actual cases. Part three demonstrates how compromise programming can be applied in the contexts of portfolio selection and risk management. Finally, in its fourth part the book examines the application of other decision-making support methods like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework, the Reference Point Method, and soft computing techniques for portfolio selection.

Making your capital work hard has never been more important than it is today. Investment trusts, often over looked as an investing vehicle, are a key tool in getting better returns on your money.

The Financial Times Guide to Investment Trusts is your concise and jargon free introduction to one of the City’s best kept secrets. It explains how investment trusts differ from unit trusts and OEICs and explores the pros and cons of investment trusts including their superior performance. It also helps you identify your investment objectives, discusses the basic principles of successful investing, and how to run a trust portfolio.

Whether you are a novice DIY investor or have many years’ experience and wish to question the experts; the FT Guide to Investment Trusts:

• Provides a detailed overview of what investment trusts are and how they differ from other funds
• Examines the factors which help to explain the better performance of trusts – including cheaper fees, discounts and gearing
• Analyses the stepping stones to successful investing
• Shows you how to construct and monitor a trust portfolio
• Highlights the workings of two live and benchmarked portfolios which John has been sharing with Investor Chronicle readers over the years.