Every futures, options, and stock markets trader operates under a set of highly suspect rules and assumptions. Are you risking your career on yours? Exceptionally clear and easy to use, The Mathematics of Money Management substitutes precise mathematical modeling for the subjective decision-making processes many traders and serious investors depend on. Step-by-step, it unveils powerful strategies for creating and using key money management formulas—based on the rules of probability and modern portfolio theory—that maximizes the potential gains for the level of risk you are assuming. With them, you’ll determine the payoffs and consequences of any potential trading decision and obtain the highest potential growth for your specified level of risk. You’ll quickly decide: What markets to trade in and at what quantities When to add or subtract funds from an account How to reinvest trading profits for maximum yield The Mathematics of Money Management provides the missing element in modern portfolio theory that weds optimal f to the optimal portfolio.

For four decades Professional Investor and its predecessor, Investment Analyst, the journal of The Institute of Investment Management and Research, has been publishing sound investment advice on topical issues from leading experts in the field.
The articles in this collection cover financial subjects ranging from the first introduction computers to mathematical techniques into finance, through the oil crisis years, to the valuation of brands, intellectual property and goodwill. Each article provides a fascinating insight both into the subject concerned and into contemporary thinking at the time of writing. All the articles have been selected for their significance to the financial world today. These fascinating articles are as relevant today as when first written.
The Institute of Investment management and Research (IIMR) is the professional Examining body for investment analysts and fund managers in the UK. It provides the 'Threshold Competence' examination for fund managers and analysts, in addition to a six paper Associate examination.
The Institute was founded in 1955 as the Society of Investment Analysts and changed its name in 1992. It was a founding member of EFFAS and has close links with AIMR in the US.
Professional Investor is the journal of the IIMR and is published ten times a year.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)-securitizations of mortgage loans backed by commercial real estate-have become compelling devices for fixed income investing. This title, edited by renowned financial expert Frank Fabozzi, describes the structure, valuation, and performance of CMBS, illustrates an empirical framework for estimating CMBS defaults, instructs how to value prepayment and credit risks of CMBS, and more.

The three volumes of Interest Rate Modeling present a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of techniques and models used in the pricing and risk management of fixed income securities. Written by two leading practitioners and seasoned industry veterans, this unique series combines finance theory, numerical methods, and approximation techniques to provide the reader with an integrated approach to the process of designing and implementing industrial-strength models for fixed income security valuation and hedging. Aiming to bridge the gap between advanced theoretical models and real-life trading applications, the pragmatic, yet rigorous, approach taken in this book will appeal to students, academics, and professionals working in quantitative finance. Volume I provides the theoretical and computational foundations for the series, emphasizing the construction of efficient grid- and simulation-based methods for contingent claims pricing. The second part of Volume I is dedicated to local-stochastic volatility modeling and to the construction of vanilla models for individual swap and Libor rates. Although the focus is eventually turned toward fixed income securities, much of the material in this volume applies to generic financial markets and will be of interest to anybody working in the general area of asset pricing.

During the past few decades, private equity (PE) has attracted considerable attention from investors, practitioners, and academicians. In fact, a substantial literature on PE has emerged. PE offers benefits for institutional and private wealth management clients including diversification and enhancement of risk-adjusted returns. However, the lack of transparency, regulatory restrictions, and liquidity concerns that exist for some PE options limit their attractiveness for some investors. Private Equity: Opportunities and Risks offers a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature on PE in both emerging and developed markets. The book examines PE and provides important insights about topics such as major types of PE (venture capital, leveraged, buyouts, mezzanine capital, and distressed debt investments), how PE works, performance and measurement, uses and structure, and trends. Readers can gain an in-depth understanding about PE from academics and practitioners from around the world. Private Equity: Opportunities and Risks provides a fresh look at the intriguing yet complex subject of PE. A group of renowned experts take readers through the core topics and issues of PE, and also examine the latest trends and cutting-edge developments in the field. Additionally, discussion of research on PE permeates the book. The coverage extends from discussing basic concepts and their application to increasingly complex and real-world situations. Thus, this volume spans the gamut from theoretical to practical, while offering a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. This fresh and intriguing examination of PE is essential reading for anyone hoping to gain a better understanding of PE, from seasoned professionals to those aspiring to enter the demanding world of finance.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Taking into account also its endowment and potential economic resources, the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia was expected to take on an important role in facilitating more financial resources and to contribute to the internationalization of the Islamic mode of financing particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the reality is far from the expectation. This book aims to clarify the causes and fundamental constraints leading to the extraordinarily low level of Indonesia's Islamic financial deepening. The authors draw on the traditions of Institutional Economics which are concerned with the rules or mechanisms of creating the 'incentive' and 'threat' for economic players because the rules (institutions) would matter as the determinant for economic development and economic efficiency. This book offers a fairly new analytical lens by hypothesizing that Islamic banks must earn additional profit- the authors coined as 'Islamic bank rent' - to maintain their franchise value as prudent Shari'ah-compliant lenders when compared to conventional banks. The authors argued that insufficient provision of the Islamic bank rent opportunity may have caused the Indonesia's Islamic banks the opportunity to learn and improve their skill and capacity for the credit risk management. The book also offers evidence in support of implementing economic and affirmative policy necessary for incubating and developing the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia and making Indonesia an international Islamic financial hub in the Asia-Pacific region. This book will be a useful resource for policy makers and researchers interested in Islamic banking in Indonesia.

"A virtual bible of how economic indicators are constructed and used. Important tidbits of history are mixed with present-day nuances to explain why we should care about all the economic indicators."
?Allen Grommet, Senior Economist, Cambridge Consumer Credit Index

"This book is an indispensable resource for anyone that wants a practical understanding of the economy and how it is measured. The information is clear, concise, and will help investors at all levels leverage the vast amount of economic data available."
?Jesse Harriott, PhD, Vice President of Research, Monster Worldwide, Inc.

This updated guide to economic indicators -- what they are and what they really mean -- covers all major economic indicators, from GDP to the consumer price index. You'll not only learn what key economic measurements are and how to read and interpret them, you'll discover how to use them to make better, more-informed financial, trading, and investing decisions.

The economic climate is ripe for another golden age of shareholder activism

"Deep Value: How Shareholder Activist Hedge Funds Battle for Control of The World's Leading Corporations" is a must-read exploration of deep value investment strategy, describing the evolution of the theories of valuation and shareholder activism from Graham to Icahn and beyond. The book combines engaging anecdotes with industry research to illustrate the principles and methods of this complex strategy, and explains the reasoning behind seemingly incomprehensible activist maneuvers. Written by an active value investor, "Deep Value" provides an insider's perspective on shareholder activist strategies in a format accessible to both professional investors and laypeople.

The Deep Value investment philosophy as described by Graham initially identified targets by their discount to liquidation value. This approach was extremely effective, but those opportunities are few and far between in the modern market, forcing activists to adapt. Current activists assess value from a much broader palate, and exploit a much wider range of tools to achieve their goals. "Deep Value" enumerates and expands upon the resources and strategies available to value investors today, and describes how the economic climate is allowing value investing to re-emerge. Topics include: Target identification, and determining the most advantageous endsStrategies and tactics of effective activismUnseating management and fomenting changeEyeing conditions for the next M&A boom

Activist hedge funds have been quiet since the early 2000s, but economic conditions, shareholder sentiment, and available opportunities are creating a fertile environment for another golden age of activism. "Deep Value: How Shareholder Activist Hedge Funds Battle for Control of The World's Leading Corporations" provides the in-depth information investors need to get up to speed before getting left behind.

A comprehensive guide to the continuously evolving world of securitization

The "Second Edition" of "The Securitization Markets Handbook" is a valuable resource for both experienced money managers trying to put a securitization strategy into place as well as newcomers looking to acquire a broad and strong foundation in this discipline. This edition takes a close look at the pre- and post-crash mortgage market and the mortgage-backed securities based on those mortgages, as well as other asset-backed securities including commercial paper or credit cards.

The crash of the subprime market and the failure of the asset-backed markets offer an opportunity to learn about banking finance, specifically off-balance sheet finance, and the many costly mistakes that resulted in one of the most severe downturns in financial markets. With this book, you'll discover why certain mortgage and asset-backed securities imploded and others didn't. This new edition examines why the market failed and how the next crisis can be averted or made less severe. It also explains why securitization remains a primary source of capital for the mortgage market, credit card market, home equity market, auto loan market, and segments of the commercial paper market.Offers an informed overview of how the securitization market works, how to make money in it, and what's next for asset- and mortgage-backed securities after the crisisContains new chapters on CDOs and SIVs, along with a history of the growth and crash of the subprime market, asset-backed securities, and home equity lines of creditWritten by securitization experts Charles Stone and Anne Zissu

Updated to reflect the current market environment, the "Second Edition" of "The Securitization Markets Handbook" offers clear, comprehensive guidance to these complex markets.

This unique and authoritative study of the investment management business focuses on the use of capital requirements for investment managers as a means of investor protection. Commissioned by the Investment Management Regulatory Organization and drawing on extensive discussions with investment managers themselves, it provides an account of this burgeoning sector that is both comprehensive in its coverage and penetrating in its analysis. The authors review the way in which the investment management business is organized and its inherent risks; they examine the causes and incidence of market failures as well as the dangers to investors through mismanagement and malpractice. The book includes an extensive treatment of fraud, with a full listing of fraud cases in the UK since the early 1970s. The report concludes with a summary of the evidence on the nature and scale of the risks faced by investors and recommendations for appropriate forms of protection; and, on the basis of existing regulatory structures in the UK and USA, sets out a proposed structure in accordance with the thrust of the authors' analysis. While specific in its coverage, much of the argument presented here is closely applicable to other financial sectors in which regulation is a crucial issue; and it is especially pertinent to current debates on financial regulation in the run-up to the completion of the European internal market in 1992.

"Foreign Capital and Technology in China" brings together both Chinese and non-Chinese policy-makers, managers, and scholars to examine the role of private foreign business in China. Seventeen specialists review China's policies toward foreign capital and technology, the experience of various countries in managing the entry and performance of foreign firms, and the applicability of this experience to China. With its comprehensive coverage and expert contributors, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in U.S.-China trade relations, international business, and international finance, as well as to practitioners who desire greater understanding of the Chinese view of foreign business.

Praise for Measure What Matters to Customers: Using Key Predictive Indicators

"From his wit to his insights, Ron Baker has done it again! As one of the best management thinkers of our time, he has taken on the field of measurement and given us the gift of knowledge so we may move ahead as well."
--Reed Holden, founder, Holden Advisors Corp., www.holdenadvisors.com, coauthor, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing

"Baker's book evolves the rationale for defining the success of a business the same way the customer does. With impeccable logic, he leads the charge for effectiveness over efficiency by shining the spotlight on the realities of today's knowledge economy. Measure What Matters to Customers is a Rosetta stone for leaders who are trying to translate what they measure into value for the customer."
--Thomas Finneran, Executive Vice President, American Association of Advertising Agencies

"I have read literally hundreds of business books and no author has entertained, educated, challenged, and extended my thinking more than Ron Baker. Ron is a gifted storyteller who, in a disarmingly simple way, shares with his readers an extraordinarily powerful message. In Measure What Matters to Customers, Ron provides us with an elegant justification, together with a practical framework, for developing metrics that truly reflect what's important to the people who, at the end of the day, determine the destiny of any organization--its customers. If you play a role in contributing to the success of any entity, whether it is a for-profit or nonprofit, you and the organization you serve will benefit immensely from this book."
--Ric Payne, President and CEO, Principa, www.principa.net

"We have known since the 1960s, when Xerox did extensive research, that employee satisfaction - customer satisfaction - profitability, yet the vast majority of companies measure only the latter. Why? Because we have a learning disability, that's why! In Measure What Matters to Customers, Ron Baker slaps us in the face with a generous dose of logic to help us correct our blind wandering through the labyrinth of lagging indicators like revenue and profitability, in favor of key predictive indicators that define success the same way our customers do. Hmmm, maybe we will get it this time?"
--Ed Kless, Director, Partner Development and Recruitment, Sage Software

"Ron Baker has done it again--this is the most helpful business book that I have read. In it, Ron continues his relentless focus on customer value, challenging the reader to rethink their definition of success. It provides both a solid theoretical foundation and proven practical steps that can be implemented in your business today to become a truly customer-focused organization. Lead your organization to the next level by measuring what matters to customers."
--Brendon Harrex, Chairman, Ward Wilson Ltd., Invercargill, New Zealand

"Yet more insights from Ron Baker that force us to challenge conventional norms--norms that keep us missing the really important stuff. Read this book and discover that there absolutely is an opportunity to move way beyond where you are now, into new realms of real relevance--indeed into new ways of delivering a far better customer experience. Yet again, Ron Baker provides a fabulous pathway."
--Paul Dunn, founder and CEO, ResultsNet Australia, www.resultsnetaustralia.com, coauthor, TheFirm of the Future: A Guide for Accountants, Lawyers, and Other Professional Services

Features Useful for practitioners and quants in the financial industry who need to make choices between pricing models of variance derivatives. Fabulous resource for researchers interested in pricing and hedging issues of variance derivatives and VIX products. Could be used as a textbook in a topic course on pricing variance derivatives at universities.

Proven currency-specific trading strategies from one of today's top currency analysts

"If you trade currency, then you need to have this book on your desk. It's the only book you need for technical analysis of the fastest-moving market on the planet."
--Rob Booker, Currency Trader, W.R. Booker & Company

"In plain English, Schlossberg lays out the basics in using technical analysis to trade foreign currencies, from the fundamentals of how the FX market works to the variety of technical strategies and trade management techniques traders can employ. Along the way, he offers entertaining examples and observations as well as simple, easy-to-read charts and diagrams. Anyone interested in getting started in the hugely popular FX market would do well to begin with this book."
--Sarah Rudolph, Executive Editor, SFO Magazine

"Boris Schlossberg has done a fabulous job with this book. It's packed with insightful tips and strategies that are sure to save traders a lot of time and money."
--Cory Janssen, CoFounder, Investopedia.com

"Schlossberg's book is a great resource for traders just starting out in currency markets. His focus on simplicity is critical for a new trader's education on how to make money."
--Andrew B. Busch, Global FX Strategist, BMO Financial Group

A detailed, multi-disciplinary approach to investment analytics Portfolio Construction and Analytics provides an up-to-date understanding of the analytic investment process for students and professionals alike. With complete and detailed coverage of portfolio analytics and modeling methods, this book is unique in its multi-disciplinary approach. Investment analytics involves the input of a variety of areas, and this guide provides the perspective of data management, modeling, software resources, and investment strategy to give you a truly comprehensive understanding of how today's firms approach the process. Real-world examples provide insight into analytics performed with vendor software, and references to analytics performed with open source software will prove useful to both students and practitioners. Portfolio analytics refers to all of the methods used to screen, model, track, and evaluate investments. Big data, regulatory change, and increasing risk is forcing a need for a more coherent approach to all aspects of investment analytics, and this book provides the strong foundation and critical skills you need. * Master the fundamental modeling concepts and widely used analytics * Learn the latest trends in risk metrics, modeling, and investment strategies * Get up to speed on the vendor and open-source software most commonly used * Gain a multi-angle perspective on portfolio analytics at today's firms Identifying investment opportunities, keeping portfolios aligned with investment objectives, and monitoring risk and performance are all major functions of an investment firm that relies heavily on analytics output. This reliance will only increase in the face of market changes and increased regulatory pressure, and practitioners need a deep understanding of the latest methods and models used to build a robust investment strategy. Portfolio Construction and Analytics is an invaluable resource for portfolio management in any capacity.

"Dark Pools" is a practical text dealing with the increasingly important topic of dark pools, or non-displayed, off-exchange trading and liquidity. It discusses the development of the equity trading marketplace over the past two decades and how dark pools may evolve in a post-financial crisis world.

Asset management has become central to the development of the financial industry, both in the United States and Europe. The increasing number of cross-border merger and acquisition operations and the extremely high valuations that are put on those operations are evidence of the major financial establishments' desire to invest in a sector that they consider to be essential to their strategy of globalising and "financialising" their activities.

Asset management's transition from an "art and craft" to an industry has inevitably called integrated business models into question, favouring specialisation strategies based on cost optimisation and learning curve objectives.

Faced with an abundance of tools and academic references, it is important to place all the practices, empirical studies and innovations in their context, given that they are always described as "major" by their promoters in the area of portfolio theory.

"Portfolio Theory and Performance Analysis" allow the professionals, whether managers or investors, to take a step back and c learly separate true innovations from mere improvements to well-known, existing techniques; puts into context the importance of innovations with regard to the fundamental portfolio management questions, which are the evolution of the investment management process, risk analysis and performance measurement; takes the explicit or implicit assumptions contained in the promoted tools into account and, by so doing, evaluate the inherent interpretative or practical limits.

This book connects each of the major categories of techniques and practices to the unifying and seminal conceptual developments of modern portfolio theory, whether theseinvolve measuring the return on a portfolio, analysing portfolio risk or evaluating the quality of the portfolio management process.

The updated edition of the guide to building trading systems that can keep pace with the market

The stock market is constantly evolving, and coupled with the new global economic landscape, traders need to radically rethink the way they do business at home and abroad. Enter "Building Winning Trading Systems, Second Edition," the all-new incarnation of the established text on getting the most out of the trading world. With technology now a pervasive element of every aspect of trading, the issue has become how to create a new system that meets the demands of the altered financial climate, and how to make it work.

Giving voice to the question on every trader and investor's lips, the book asks, "How can we build a trading system that will be paramount for our increasingly stressed markets?" The answer? Establish mechanical trading systems that remove human emotion from the equation and form the cornerstone of a complete trading plan and with greater agility, characteristics that are more important than ever given the kinetic pace of the markets.Presents an all-new strategy for trading systems that will show traders how to create systems that will work in the twenty first centuryExpert advice from highly respected trading authority, George PruittIncludes a new website featuring updated TradeStation code and shows how to use the world's best investment software platform to develop and utilize trading systems that really work

Once again paving the way for traders who want to adapt to their environment, "Building Winning Trading Systems, Second Edition" combines expertise in indicator design and system building in one indispensable volume.

While most books on trading deal with general concepts and shy away from specifics, "Forex Patterns and Probabilities" provides you with real-world strategies and a rare sense of clarity about the specific mechanics of currency trading. Leading trading educator Ed Ponsi will explain the driving forces in the currency markets and will provide strategies to enter, exit, and manage successful trades. Dozens of chart examples and explanations will guide you each step of the way and allow the reader to "look over the shoulder" of a professional trader hard at work at his craft.

This book provides traders with step-by-step methodologies that are based on real market tendencies. The strategies in this book are presented clearly and in detail, so that anyone who wishes to can learn how to trade like a professional. It is written in a style that is easy to understand, so that the reader can quickly learn and use the techniques provided.

Consumer Credit and the American Economy examines the economics, behavioral science, sociology, history, institutions, law, and regulation of consumer credit in the United States.
After discussing the origins and various kinds of consumer credit available in today's marketplace, this book reviews at some length the long run growth of consumer credit to explore the widely held belief that somehow consumer credit has risen "too fast for too long." It then turns to demand and supply with chapters discussing neoclassical theories of demand, new behavioral economics, and evidence on production costs and why consumer credit might seem expensive compared to some other kinds of credit like government finance. This discussion includes review of the economics of risk management and funding sources, as well discussion of the economic theory of why some people might be limited in their credit search, the phenomenon of credit rationing. This examination includes review of issues of risk management through mathematical methods of borrower screening known as credit scoring and financial market sources of funding for offerings of consumer credit.
The book then discusses technological change in credit granting. It examines how modern automated information systems called credit reporting agencies, or more popularly "credit bureaus," reduce the costs of information acquisition and permit greater credit availability at less cost. This discussion is followed by examination of the logical offspring of technology, the ubiquitous credit card that permits consumers access to both payments and credit services worldwide virtually instantly.
After a chapter on institutions that have arisen to supply credit to individuals for whom mainstream credit is often unavailable, including "payday loans" and other small dollar sources of loans, discussion turns to legal structure and the regulation of consumer credit. There are separate chapters on the theories behind the two main thrusts of federal regulation to this point, fairness for all and financial disclosure. Following these chapters, there is another on state regulation that has long focused on marketplace access and pricing.
Before a final concluding chapter, another chapter focuses on two noncredit marketplace products that are closely related to credit. The first of them, debt protection including credit insurance and other forms of credit protection, is economically a complement. The second product, consumer leasing, is a substitute for credit use in many situations, especially involving acquisition of automobiles. This chapter is followed by a full review of consumer bankruptcy, what happens in the worst of cases when consumers find themselves unable to repay their loans.
Because of the importance of consumer credit in consumers' financial affairs, the intended audience includes anyone interested in these issues, not only specialists who spend much of their time focused on them. For this reason, the authors have carefully avoided academic jargon and the mathematics that is the modern language of economics. It also examines the psychological, sociological, historical, and especially legal traditions that go into fully understanding what has led to the demand for consumer credit and to what the markets and institutions that provide these products have become today.

With its hip style and cutting-edge techniques, The Morningstar Company has positioned itself as the nation's leading authority on fund performance, and this book, aimed at the dynamic Baby Boomer and Generation X crowds that made Motley Fool's Guide to Investing a major success, reveals its secrets for the very first time to show how anyone can win the mutual fund game. National targeted ads/media.