The first book of its kind: a fascinating and entertaining examination of hedge funds today Shortlisted for the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 'An enormously satisfying book: a gripping chronicle of the cutting edge of the financial markets and a fascinating perspective on what was going on in these shadowy institutions as the crash hit' Observer Wealthy, powerful, and potentially dangerous, hedge-find managers have emerged as the stars of twenty-first century capitalism. Based on unprecedented access to the industry, More Money Than God provides the first authoritative history of hedge funds. This is the inside story of their origins in the 1960s and 1970s, their explosive battles with central banks in the 1980s and 1990s, and finally their role in the financial crisis of 2007-9. Hedge funds reward risk takers, so they tend to attract larger-than-life personalities. Jim Simons began life as a code-breaker and mathematician, co-authoring a paper on theoretical geometry that led to breakthroughs in string theory. Ken Griffin started out trading convertible bonds from his Harvard dorm room. Paul Tudor Jones happily declared that a 1929-style crash would be 'total rock-and-roll' for him. Michael Steinhardt was capable of reducing underlings to sobs. 'All I want to do is kill myself,' one said. 'Can I watch?' Steinhardt responded. A saga of riches and rich egos, this is also a history of discovery. Drawing on insights from mathematics, economics and psychology to crack the mysteries of the market, hedge funds have transformed the world, spawning new markets in exotic financial instruments and rewriting the rules of capitalism. And while major banks, brokers, home lenders, insurers and money market funds failed or were bailed out during the crisis of 2007-9, the hedge-fund industry survived the test, proving that money can be successfully managed without taxpayer safety nets. Anybody pondering fixes to the financial system could usefully start here: the future of finance lies in the history of hedge funds.

Energy Price Risk is the practitioner's guide to optimizing company performance using the correct price risk strategies and tools. Based on the author's extensive experience in the commodity derivatives industry, it comprehensively covers the full spectrum of the energy complex, including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, LPG/LNG, and electricity. Using many worked examples, this book offers practical insights and solutions.

Probabilistic and percentile/quantile functions play an important role in several applications, such as finance (Value-at-Risk), nuclear safety, and the environment. Recently, significant advances have been made in sensitivity analysis and optimization of probabilistic functions, which is the basis for construction of new efficient approaches. This book presents the state of the art in the theory of optimization of probabilistic functions and several engineering and finance applications, including material flow systems, production planning, Value-at-Risk, asset and liability management, and optimal trading strategies for financial derivatives (options). Audience: The book is a valuable source of information for faculty, students, researchers, and practitioners in financial engineering, operation research, optimization, computer science, and related areas.

A contributed handbook on the complexities of portfolio management that includes the most up-to-date findings from leading practitioners in the fixed income securities market.

Your Essential Guide to Quantitative Hedge Fund Investing provides a conceptual framework for understanding effective hedge fund investment strategies. The book offers a mathematically rigorous exploration of different topics, framed in an easy to digest set of examples and analogies, including stories from some legendary hedge fund investors. Readers will be guided from the historical to the cutting edge, while building a framework of understanding that encompasses it all. Features Filled with novel examples and analogies from within and beyond the world of finance Suitable for practitioners and graduate-level students with a passion for understanding the complexities that lie behind the raw mechanics of quantitative hedge fund investment A unique insight from an author with experience of both the practical and academic spheres.

Praise for Damn Right!

From the author of the bestselling WARREN BUFFETT SPEAKS. . .

"Charlie Munger, whose reputation is deep and wide, based on an extraordinary record of brilliantly successful business strategies, sees things that others don’t. There is a method to his mastery and, through this book, we get a chance to learn about this rare individual." –MICHAEL EISNER, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company

"Janet Lowe uncovers the iconoclastic genius and subtle charm behind Charlie Munger’s curmudgeonly façade in this richly woven portrait of our era’s heir to Ben Franklin. With a biographer’s detachment, an historian’s thoroughness, and a financial writer’s common sense, Lowe produces a riveting account of the family, personal, and business life of the idiosyncratically complex and endlessly fascinating figure." –LAWRENCE CUNNINGHAM, Cardozo Law School, Author of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America

"For years, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and investors worldwide (me included) have struggled to learn more about Warren Buffett’s cerebral sidekick. Now we can rest and enjoy reading Janet Lowe’s book about this rare intellectual jewel called Charlie Munger." –ROBERT G. HAGSTROM, Author of The Warren Buffett Way

"Charlie has lived by the creed that one should live a life that doesn’t need explaining. But his life should be explained. In a city where heroism is too often confused with celebrity, Charlie is a true hero and mentor. He lives the life lessons that he has studiously extracted from other true heroes and mentors, from Ben Franklin to Ben Graham. This book illuminates those life lessons." –RONALD L. OLSON, Munger, Tolles & Olson llp

"Janet Lowe’s unprecedented access to Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett has resulted in a first-class book that investors, academics, and CEOs will find entertaining and highly useful."–TIMOTHY P. VICK, Money Manager and Author of How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett

The proven, all-weather investing strategy that delivers long-term, consistent returns The most common investing approach today-one that values "growth" over all else- can be ineffective and counterproductive for many investors, not to mention needlessly stressful. Now, one of Seeking Alpha's most popular writers, Steven Bavaria, provides a groundbreaking alternative that will see you through all markets-up, down, and sideways. The Income Factory shows how to build an income stream that increases solidly and consistently-a result of re-investing and compounding the dividends. And the best part? This income stream actually grows faster during market downturns than during flat or rising market periods. The Income Factory sheds light on: * Why "high-yield" doesn't have to mean "high-risk" * How credit investments perform more predictably than equity investments * Why "junk" is a misnomer-and why high-yield debt is safer than most of the stocks investors own * How to grow your wealth steadily without following the markets obsessively Through Bavaria's strategy, cash income increases year after year at a predictable rate. For example, a 9% yielding portfolio doubles and re-doubles every 8 years. If you're in for the long haul, an Income Factory lets you achieve your goals and still sleep well at night. Investing does not have to be about picking specific horses and hoping they win the race. An Income Factory achieves its goals by essentially betting on horses to make it around the track and finish the race. Those are easier bets to win, and they don't require us to be glued to the financial news 24/7.

The analysis of investment decisions today draws upon a wide range of sources, from economics and finance to engineering economy and operations research. Dr. Beenhakker's book reflects this interdisciplinary approach, and without assuming prior knowledge of these fields or a sophisticated understanding of mathematics, provides professionals and upper-level students with the concepts and tools they need to make englightened investments in new ventures. Arranged to permit rapid review of an entire investment subject and written in a modular manner to allow readers to jump among chapters without losing their bearings, the book will help business managers deal intelligently with corporate financial and economic issues and government contracts. It will also help planners of the public sector incorporate the views of private industry in their own investment decision making. A unique, readable, comprehensive treatment for investment professionals and also for academics and their graduate-level students.

The analysis of investment decisions today draws upon a wide range of sources, from economics and finance to engineering economy and operations research. Dr. Beenhakker's book reflects this interdisciplinary approach, and without assuming prior knowledge of these fields or a sophisticated understanding of mathematics, provides professionals and upper-level students with the concepts and tools they need to make enlightened investments in new ventures. Arranged to permit rapid review of an entire investment subject and written in a modular manner to allow readers to jump among chapters without losing their bearings, the book will help business managers deal intelligently with corporate financial and economic issues and government contracts. It will also help planners of the public sector incorporate the views of private industry in their own investment decision making. A unique, readable, comprehensive treatment for investment professionals and also for academics and their graduate-level students.

Dr. Beenhakker begins with a study of financial statements and ratios, and covers annual reports, balance sheets, income and retained earnings statements, cash flow statements, and financial ratios. In Chapter 2 he looks at the valuation and investment problems when shares are under- or overvalued. He moves then to derivative securities, and in Chapter 4 to a discussion of diversification planning. In Chapter 5 he takes up the cost of capital, with special attention to risk, uncertainty, and certainty, and in Chapter 6 covers that and other topics in the context of project appraisal. Chapter 7 digs into programming and planning and covers topics such as the marginal cost of capital in capital budgeting, the optimal capital budget, capital rationing, and economic development plans. The book ends with a discussion of cost minimization problems, such as leasing and purchasing, replacement investments, expansion investments, decision trees, and the problem of how to ship quantities from supply to demand centers such that the total cost of transport is minimized. Five appendices provide readers with various tables and formulas to assist in their own calculations.

With the relaxation of capital controls in a large number of developed and developing countries and the globalization of capital markets, economies of emerging markets have attracted a great deal of attention. The objective of this book is to better understand the economic characteristics and shortcomings of emerging markets and provide a discussion of some of the policies which may have to be adopted in conjunction with financial reforms in developing countries in order to reduce the risk of another financial crisis. The book includes case study material.

In order to effectively employ portfolio strategies that can control interest rate risk and/or enhance returns, you must understand the forces that drive bond markets, as well as the valuation and risk management practices of these complex securities. In "Advanced Bond Portfolio Management," Frank Fabozzi, Lionel Martellini, and Philippe Priaulet have brought together more than thirty experienced bond market professionals to help you do just that.

Divided into six comprehensive parts, "Advanced Bond Portfolio Management" will guide you through the state-of-the-art techniques used in the analysis of bonds and bond portfolio management. Topics covered include: General background information on fixed-income markets and bond portfolio strategiesThe design of a strategy benchmarkVarious aspects of fixed-income modeling that will provide key ingredients in the implementation of an efficient portfolio and risk management processInterest rate risk and credit risk managementRisk factors involved in the management of an international bond portfolio

Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, "Advanced Bond Portfolio Management" is a valuable resource for anyone involved or interested in this important industry.

Written in highly readable layman's language, Fundamentals of Venture Capital is a concise introduction to the key issues facing both investors and entrepreneurs as they embark on the journey of turning a good idea into a profitable reality.

Why do some companies stay out of stock markets? How crucial are stock markets for competition between financial centres? How can local information help investors outperform the market?
While mainstream financial economics treats stock markets as consisting of anonymous actors interacting in space, with no consideration of the friction caused by distance or geography, this book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the global stock market by focusing on the relationships between issuers, investors, and intermediaries, and how these relationships impact on the performance of stock markets and the economy of cities, countries, and the world.
The book uses rich data and global case studies to examine the rise of emerging markets, the impact of the global financial crisis, the revolution in the stock exchange business model, and the continued dominance of London and New York as stock market centres.
Drawing on economic geography, financial economics, sociology, history, and globalization studies, the book explores the geographical constitution and footprint of stock markets and contributes to the broader debate on the role of stock markets in the global economy. Its conclusions are relevant to investors, companies issuing stocks, exchanges, analysts, investment banks, and policy-makers.

A unique new approach to trading based on financial analysis and financial astrology

"Timing Solutions for Swing Traders: Successful Trading Using Technical Analysis and Financial Astrology" is a remarkable new book that introduces a revolutionary approach to non-day trading that combines the four basic dimensions of trend analysis--price patterns, volume, price momentum, and price moving averages--with a little financial astrology. Focusing on the essentials of technical analysis, the book is filled with examples of reliable indicators and formulas that traders can use to help develop their own styles of trading, specially tailored to their individual needs and interests.

Filled with real-life market examples to help you understand how to use the matrix of moving averages, how to apply different sets of time frame moving averages to form a trading decision, and how to determine the intermediate state of the market using the Queuing Theory (QMAC)--which dissects the interplay of long-term moving averages and helps anticipate major support and resistance levels--this book is packed with the information you need to maximize your trading potential.A dedicated trading guide for non-day tradersIncorporates examples and formulas to bring ideas to lifePresents an innovative new approach to trading that draws on the four core dimensions--price patterns, volume, price momentum, and price moving averages--for analyzing trends

Innovative and practical, "Timing Solutions for Swing Traders" is a hands-on guide to applying a remarkable new approach to trading.

The advent of new stock markets (the German Neuer Markt, the French Nouveau March??, the Italian Nuovo Mercato and Nasdaq Europe) has been one of the most important reforms of stock exchanges in Continental Europe in the 1990s. These stock markets aimed at attracting early stage, innovative and high-growth firms that would not have been viable candidates for public equity financing on the main markets of European stock exchanges. Of these new markets, the Neuer Markt emerged as Europe's answer to NASDAQ. However, Europe's new stock markets met with only limited success. Stock prices plummeted after the ending of the stock market bubble and new markets suffered from poor liquidity, insider trading scandals and accounting frauds. This volume provides an overview of the rise and fall of Europe's new stock markets. It contains twelve papers which investigate the characteristics, the ownership structure and the market performance of companies in the short and long run, In addition this volume examines the role of venture capitalists. New stock markets offered venture capitalists an attractive exit for their investments and helped to create a more vibrant venture capital industry in Europe. The private equity market in Europe today is as large as it was just before the advent of new stock markets. As such, the need for stock markets that allow private equity investors to divest their equity stakes in growth companies continues to exist.

Achieve investing success by understanding your behavior type

This groundbreaking book shows how to invest wisely by managing your behavior, and not just your money. Step by step, Michael Pompian (a leading authority in the practical application of Behavioral Finance concepts to wealth management) helps you plan a strategy targeted to your personality. The book includes a test for determining your investment type and offers strategies you can put into use when investing. It also includes a brief history of the stock market, and easy-to-comprehend information about stocks and investing to help you lay a solid foundation for your investment decisions.

"Behavioral Finance and Investor Types" is divided into two parts. Test Your Type, gives an overview of Behavioral Finance as well as the elements that come into play when figuring out BIT, like active or passive traits, risk tolerance, and biases. The book includes a quiz to help you discover what category you are in. Plan and Act, contains the traits common to your type; an analysis of the biases associated with your type; and strategies and solutions that compliment and capitalize on your BIT.Offers a practical guide to an investing strategy that fits both your financial situation and your personality typeIncludes a test for determining your tolerance for risk and other traits that will determine your investment typeWritten by the Director of the Private Wealth Practice for Hammond Associates--an investment consulting firm serving institutional and private wealth clients

"Behavioral Finance and Investor Types" offers investors a better sense of what drives them and what puts on their breaks. By using the information found here, you'll quickly become savvy about the world of investing because you'll come to understand your place in it.

The taxation of equity derivatives and financial products is analyzed in detail by Tony Rumble and his contributors, Mohammed Amin and Ed Kleinbard. The book covers the financial and tax technical analysis of issues relating to equity derivatives and financial products. Part I examines the derivatives building blocks and financial market/corporate finance drivers of the equity derivatives and financial products market, and includes case studies of typical and landmark transactions. Part II looks at the tax technical rules in each of the target countries and examines the specific products highlighted in the first part of the book.

Eschewing a more theoretical approach, Portfolio Optimization shows how the mathematical tools of linear algebra and optimization can quickly and clearly formulate important ideas on the subject. This practical book extends the concepts of the Markowitz "budget constraint only" model to a linearly constrained model.

Only requiring elementary linear algebra, the text begins with the necessary and sufficient conditions for optimal quadratic minimization that is subject to linear equality constraints. It then develops the key properties of the efficient frontier, extends the results to problems with a risk-free asset, and presents Sharpe ratios and implied risk-free rates. After focusing on quadratic programming, the author discusses a constrained portfolio optimization problem and uses an algorithm to determine the entire (constrained) efficient frontier, its corner portfolios, the piecewise linear expected returns, and the piecewise quadratic variances. The final chapter illustrates infinitely many implied risk returns for certain market portfolios.

Drawing on the author 's experiences in the academic world and as a consultant to many financial institutions, this text provides a hands-on foundation in portfolio optimization. Although the author clearly describes how to implement each technique by hand, he includes several MATLAB programs designed to implement the methods and offers these programs on the accompanying CD-ROM.

Since financial myths exploded in the 1980s, the perspective of time creates a unique opportunity to update and expand the analysis begun in Glenn Yagos 1991 book, Junk Bonds: How High Yield Securities Restructured Corporate America (Oxford University Press). At the time of its publication, Junk Bonds drew controversial responses from the Federal Reserve and government agencies. In retrospect, the evidence clearly casts favorable light on the role of high yield securities. The research presented here demonstrates how financial innovations enabled capital access for industrial restructuring, capital and labor productivity gains, and improved global competitiveness. Enough time has now passed to allow this dispassionate empirical analysis to shear away the hype and hysteria that surrounded the Wall Street scandals, Washington controversies, and media frenzy of the time.

Beyond Junk Bonds provides a one-stop data, reference and case study presentation of the firms and securities in the contemporary high yield market and the financial innovations that spurred growth in the nineties and will continue to finance the future. The high yield market incubated successive waves of financial technologies that now proliferate beyond junk bonds to all the dimensions and dynamics of global debt and equity capital markets. It charts the recovery of the market in the 1990s, the recent wave of fallen angels, distressed credits and defaults, and suggests how the high yield market will be recreated in the global market of the 21st century. It explicates the linkages between the high yield market, and other credit and equity markets in managing a firms capital structure to execute its business strategy. The weakening of the U. S. economy in 2001 and the huge shock to Wall Street from the terrorist attacks of September 11 witnessed a historic increase in the yield to maturity of high yield bonds. Despite the volatility in the flow of funds to high yield mutual funds and occasionally sharp increases in non-investment grade debt yields, the asset class has been one of the best performing fixed income investments of the past decades. In fact, high yield bonds offer an attractive risk-reward ratio competitive with more traditional asset classes.

Anyone active in corporate finance, financial institutions and capital markets will find this book a must read for interpreting and understanding the recent history both of the high yield marketplace and its interaction with private equity, public equity, and fixed income markets. This new perspective recalling the ten years after the explosion of financial myths in the 1980's offers a unique opportunity to update and continue the arguments that were presented in Glen Yago's 1991 book, Junk Bonds: How High Yield Securities Restructured Corporate America. Beyond Junk Bonds provides a comprehensive presentation of the firms and securities represented in the high yield market. In addition, there are examples of the firms and institutions who are benefitting from the "new cycle", both in the US and abroad.

The current academic and financial planning industry definitions of "risk" are changing quickly, but the notion of what constitutes a risky investment strategy is still stuck in the Dark Ages. Wealth management expert Kenneth Solow takes a fresh look at the investment industry's reliance on Buy and Hold investing, exposing the flaws and potential dangers of this strategy during long-term bear markets. The fact is, patiently waiting for stocks to deliver historical average returns is not an effective investment strategy. Solow advocates a different approach called Tactical Asset Allocation, and he offers the reader an unparalleled look into the methods, techniques, and safeguards of active portfolio management. Now in its second edition with updated material and a new chapter, "Buy and Hold is Dead (Again)" remains an invaluable investment guide for our financially challenging times.

Praise for The Three Skills of Top Trading

"Professor Pruden's new book, The Three Skills of Top Trading, is unquestionably the best book on a specific trading method and the necessary attributes for trading that I have read. His logic, understanding of human foibles, and use of the Wyckoff method of trading are broadly referenced, readable, understandable, and entertaining."
-- Charles D. Kirkpatrick, II, CMT, coauthor of

Technical Analysis: The Complete Resource for Financial Market Technicians, Editor of the Journal of Technical Analysis, and board member of the Market Technicians Association

"At long last, someone has taken the time and effort to bring the work and insight of Wyckoff to wider public attention--and Hank Pruden has done so masterfully, with great clarity and eloquence. Hank has taken the best of Wyckoff's work, combining it with the essential aspects of trader discipline and psychology, to provide a highly readable and particularly useful guide to trading. MUST READING!"
-- Jacob Bernstein, www.trade-futures.com

"Hank Pruden puts all of the elements needed for successful trading into one volume. This book not only belongs on every trader's shelf but should be close enough for continuous reference."
-- Martin J. Pring, President, www.Pring.com

"Dr. Pruden has brought together his lifetime of work in developing a modern approach to analyzing and trading the markets built upon classic market analysis from the early part of the twentieth century and topped off with modern-day tenets of behavioral finance and mental state management."
-- Thom Hartle, Director of Marketing for CQG, Inc. (www.cqg.com)

"I usually consider a book to bewell worth reading if it gives me one paradigm shift. I believe that this book will give the average investor a lot more than just one."
-- Van K. Tharp, PhD, President, Van Tharp Institute

• This textbook presents an excellent overview of responsible investing and an abundance of cases and historical development of responsible investing, which is an increasingly important area in asset management • New chapter on “Regulation, Reporting, and Taxonomy in ESG Investing� • Reorganised material on KPIs and risk modelling methods in ESG investing, to improve flow for readers • Large collection of updated/new case studies, along with interactive sections designed to get students actively engaged • A more comprehensive test bank and rubric for assessment for use by instructors at the end of every chapter • PowerPoint slides for instructors

Many have written requesting me to write a new book. With the desire to help others I have written "45 Years in Wall Street" giving the benefit of my experience and my new discoveries to aid others in these difficult times. I am now in my 72nd year; fame would do me no good. I have more income than I can spend for my needs; therefore, my only object in writing this new book is to give to others the most valuable gift possible--KNOWLEDGE! If a few find the way to make safer investments my object will have been accomplished and satisfied readers will be my reward.

In this book I have revealed some of my most valuable rules and secret discoveries never published before, in hopes that others will work and study hard to learn and apply these rules. If they do, speculation and investing will no longer be gambling but will become a PROFITABLE PROFESSION.

W. D. Gann