The battle of national, state, and local governments to attract investment has been a high priority for decades. For example, US state and local governments give almost $50 billion in location incentives and over $70 billion in total subsidies annually. Developing countries often pay even more for investments despite the fact they are less able to afford to do so. Using case studies from around the world, and at all levels of government, Thomas shows that investment incentives are rarely a good policy, especially for countries lacking education and an infrastructure. Finally, he analyzes the myriad methods of controlling incentives with an emphasis on the EU's comprehensive and largely successful state aid rules, illustrated by an extended case study of Ireland.

This book presents a series of contributions on key issues in the decision-making behind the management of financial assets. It provides insight into topics such as quantitative and traditional portfolio construction, performance clustering and incentives in the UK pension fund industry, pension fund governance, indexation, and tracking errors. Markets covered include major European markets, equities, and emerging markets of South-East and Central Asia.

This book provides a guide to the complexities of modern finance. It describes the basics of investment and the sophisticated innovations of the modern financial system. It explains how the follies of finance have threatened the stability of the world economy, and describes an environment that is complex and sophisticated, but greedy, cynical and self-interested. This book explains how to put your finances in the only hands you can confidently trust - your own. Readers will learn everything they need to be their own investment manager. They will recognise their investment options, the institutions that try to sell them, and how to distinguish between fact and fiction in what companies say. They will discover the principles of sound investment and the research that supports these principles. Crucially, they will learn a practical investment strategy and how to implement it. Leading economist and hugely successful investor John Kay uses his academic credentials and practical experience to lay out the key principles of investment with characteristic clarity and dry humour. This is the only book about finance and investment anyone needs, and the one book they must have.

Die eerste vereiste vir die vestiging van n lewensvatbare boerdery is goeie investeringsbesluite. Hierdie boek, wat veral gerig is op praktiserende boere en studente in boerderybestuur, bevat riglyne vir die neem van rasionele finansierings- en investeringsbesluite asook riglyne vir die behoorlike bestuur van menslike hulpbronne en arbeidsverhoudinge in boerderyverband. n Bywerking en opdatering van die gedeelte oor menslikehulpbronbestuur is tans in voorbereiding en sal eersdaags verskyn onder die titel Die diensverhouding wat as geselvolume (companion volume) saam met Boerderybestuur beskikbaar sal wees.

Does the stock market overreact? Recent capital market turbulences have cast doubt whether the behaviour of stock markets is in line with rational investor behaviour. To which extent stock returns are predictable is the question at the heart of the controversy between the paradigms of rational asset pricing and behavioural finance. This new and revised edition discusses the empirical evidence from both perspectives. Theory and empirical analysis are blended with feedback from security analysts to offer a road towards a deeper understanding of the underlying forces to drive performance in the stock market.

In his book "Irrational Exuberance" Robert Shiller offered an analysis of the US stock market in 2000. The focus of his book was the level of the stock market, which he thought to be overvalued at the time. This monograph offers a complementary analysis of the cross section of stock returns.

If the last financial crisis cost you money, you may be wondering whether you should continue investing in the market. After all, you have bills to pay and a job to keep-and you can't spend all your free time crunching numbers.

With the help of an expert, you can control your financial future by making small shifts in what you are already doing. Author Coreen T. Sol, Chartered Financial Analyst, gives you the tools you need to

avoid mistakes that could cost you money;

find good alternative investments;

maximize the benefits of a retirement plan; and

write your own investment policy statement.

This guidebook provides bold-faced terms and a glossary, along with instructions that make understanding the market fun and easy. You'll have to do some homework, but you can start taking simple steps to accomplish your dreams with the guidance in Practically Investing.

Globalization is posing enormous challenges to development efforts in many African countries. One of the most daunting challenges is to raise capital to meet financial needs. Despite regional tendencies, the effectiveness of stock markets to raise capital within the African region has been limited. This book asks whether African stock exchange might become more effective in enhancing development. It adopts a legal approach in analyzing various laws and texts. Stock Markets and Development begins with discussions of global experiences in both developed and developing countries. It then examines the legal frameworks of regional organizations, in which stock markets are catalysts of integration and development. Arguably, stock markets can serve as gateways to development within this zone through harmonization of laws and common public issue of shares. The effective operation of stock markets within Africa, however, is bedeviled by many legal and extra-legal challenges. In line with the globalization tendencies and mindful of lessons from advanced countries, the book recommends that institutional organizations should be used as facilitators to the integration of stock exchange markets. The ideal would be to create an environment conducive to the creation of a Pan-African stock exchange that is globally competitive and capable of enhancing development.

This book is a detailed account of the instruments that are used in the corporate bond markets, from conventional "plain vanilla" bonds to hybrid instruments and structured products. There is background information on bond pricing and yield, as well as a detailed look at the yield curve. The book covers the full set of instruments used by companies to raise finance, and which are aimed at a wide range of investors. It also discusses the analysis of these instruments. Topics covered include:
*Bond basics
*The yield curve
*Callable bonds
*Convertible bonds
*Eurobonds
*Warrants
*Commercial paper
*Corporate bonds credit analysis
*Securitisation
*Asset-backed securities
*Mortgage-backed securities
*Collateralised Debt Obligations
*Synthetic CDOs
Written by one of the leading names in the fixed income markets today, this book should prove to be an invaluable reference guide for all those with an interest in corporate bond markets, whether as practitioners, consultants or researchers.
* Covers every major aspect of corporate credit markets
* Features bond instruments as well as aspects of bond analysis
* Covers conventional bonds as well as securitisation and structured financial products

In 1991, Michael B. O'Higgins, one of the nation's top money managers, turned the investment world upside down with an ingenious strategy, showing how all investors--from those with only $5,000 to invest to millionaires--could beat the pros 95% of the time by putting 100% of their equity investment into the high-yield, low-risk "dog" stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. His formula spawned a veritable industry, including websites, mutual funds, and $20 billion worth of investments, elevating the theory to legendary status.

Reflecting on the greatest bull market of our time, this must-have investment guide has been revised and updated for a new economy. With current company and stock profiles, as well as new charts, statistics, graphs, and figures, Beating the Dow is the smart investment that you--and your portfolio--can't afford to miss

This book demonstrates how quantitative country-level investment strategies can be successfully employed to manage money in international markets. It offers a range of state-of-the-art quantitative strategies, describing their theoretical bases, implementation details, and performance in over 70 countries between 1995 and 2015. International diversification has long been a key to stable investing. However, the increased integration and openness of global financial markets has led to rising correlations between stock market returns in particular countries, driving down the benefits of diversification and increasing the importance of country selection strategies as part of an investment process. Zaremba and Shemer explain the efficiency of quantitative investing, which captures huge amounts of data of limited scope very quickly. In the traditional approach, this data compilation is an immense undertaking, limited in scope and vulnerable to behavioral errors, but this can be overcome with the help of a new paradigm of quantitative investment at the country level. Quantitative country asset allocation can be efficiently accomplished by using wealth insights that have been generated in the academic literature, discovering many anomalies and regular patterns in asset prices. Armed with this information, investors and managers can process large amounts of data more efficiently when deciding to invest in ETFs, index funds, or futures markets.

Machine learning (ML) is progressively reshaping the fields of quantitative finance and algorithmic trading. ML tools are increasingly adopted by hedge funds and asset managers, notably for alpha signal generation and stocks selection. The technicality of the subject can make it hard for non-specialists to join the bandwagon, as the jargon and coding requirements may seem out of reach. Machine Learning for Factor Investing: R Version bridges this gap. It provides a comprehensive tour of modern ML-based investment strategies that rely on firm characteristics. The book covers a wide array of subjects which range from economic rationales to rigorous portfolio back-testing and encompass both data processing and model interpretability. Common supervised learning algorithms such as tree models and neural networks are explained in the context of style investing and the reader can also dig into more complex techniques like autoencoder asset returns, Bayesian additive trees, and causal models. All topics are illustrated with self-contained R code samples and snippets that are applied to a large public dataset that contains over 90 predictors. The material, along with the content of the book, is available online so that readers can reproduce and enhance the examples at their convenience. If you have even a basic knowledge of quantitative finance, this combination of theoretical concepts and practical illustrations will help you learn quickly and deepen your financial and technical expertise.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This Advanced Introduction provides an illustrative guide to private equity, integrating insights from academic research with examples to derive practical recommendations. Paul Gompers and Steven Kaplan begin by reviewing the history of private equity then exploring the evidence on performance of private equity investments at both the portfolio company level and fund level, documenting the creation of economic value. The book then presents a set of actionable frameworks for driving value creation in private equity investments. It concludes by examining how private equity investors raise funds and how they successfully manage their private equity firms. Key Features: Explains what private equity investors do and how they do it Includes a detailed discussion of career paths in private equity Links real world examples that illustrate insights from academic research Provides an overview of the private equity industry from individual investments to fundraising to firm management This Advanced Introduction is an excellent resource for investment bankers and consultants as well as prospective investors who are looking for a comprehensive yet succinct introduction to the topic. Scholars interested in the fields of finance and private equity will find the research and case studies informative and enlightening.

An essential, all-in-one guide to investment banking and valuation, complete with downloadable models - this new edition reflects valuable contributions from Nasdaq and the global law firm Latham & Watkins LLP plus access to the online valuation models and course. The thoroughly revised Third Edition of Investment Banking: Valuation, LBOs, M&A, and IPOs (Book + Valuation Models) delivers the most current discussion of valuation and deal-making fundamentals essential to the work of investment bankers, private equity professionals, hedge fund investors, corporate lawyers, executives, and students. Drawing on over four decades of combined experience in investment banking and investing, authors Joshua Rosenbaum and Joshua Pearl explain how to perform the valuation work and financial analysis at the core of Wall Street - comparable companies, precedent transactions, DCF, LBO, M&A analysis...and now IPO analytics and valuation. Using a step-by-step, how-to approach for each methodology, the authors build a chronological knowledge base and define key terms, financial concepts, and processes throughout the book. Now, over 10 years after the release of the first edition, the book is more relevant and topical than ever. The book has sold over 250,000 copies and is used in over 200 universities globally. It has become a go-to resource for investment banks, private equity, investment firms, and corporations undertaking M&A transactions, LBOs, IPOs, restructurings, and investment decisions. While the fundamentals haven't changed, the environment must adapt to changing market developments and conditions. As a result, Rosenbaum and Pearl have updated their widely-adopted book accordingly, turning the latest edition into a unique and comprehensive training package. The Third Edition includes six downloadable valuation model templates: Comparable Companies Analysis, Precedent Transactions Analysis, Discounted Cash Flow Analysis, Leveraged Buyout Analysis, M&A Analysis, and IPO Valuation, available at www.wiley.com/go/investmentbanking3e.

With the aim to sequentially determine optimal allocations across a set of assets, Online Portfolio Selection (OLPS) has significantly reshaped the financial investment landscape. Online Portfolio Selection: Principles and Algorithms supplies a comprehensive survey of existing OLPS principles and presents a collection of innovative strategies that leverage machine learning techniques for financial investment. The book presents four new algorithms based on machine learning techniques that were designed by the authors, as well as a new back-test system they developed for evaluating trading strategy effectiveness. The book uses simulations with real market data to illustrate the trading strategies in action and to provide readers with the confidence to deploy the strategies themselves. The book is presented in five sections that: Introduce OLPS and formulate OLPS as a sequential decision task Present key OLPS principles, including benchmarks, follow the winner, follow the loser, pattern matching, and meta-learning Detail four innovative OLPS algorithms based on cutting-edge machine learning techniques Provide a toolbox for evaluating the OLPS algorithms and present empirical studies comparing the proposed algorithms with the state of the art Investigate possible future directions Complete with a back-test system that uses historical data to evaluate the performance of trading strategies, as well as MATLAB® code for the back-test systems, this book is an ideal resource for graduate students in finance, computer science, and statistics. It is also suitable for researchers and engineers interested in computational investment. Readers are encouraged to visit the authors’ website for updates: http://olps.stevenhoi.org.

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.

This volume presents a collection of the most important published articles in the field, including influential papers by key economists on terms of primary products, commodity price instability, stabilization programmes, trade shocks, futures markets and sectoral studies.The Economics of Commodity Markets will be an essential reference guide for students and researchers specializing in international trade and development.

An initial public offering (IPO) is one of the most significant events in corporate life. It follows months, even years of preparation. During the boom years of the late 1990s bull market, IPOs of growth companies captured the imagination and pocketbooks of investors like never before.
This book goes behind the scenes to examine the process of an offering from the decision to go public to the procedures of a subsequent equity offering. The book is written from the perspective of an experienced investment banker describing the hows and whys of IPOs and subsequent equity issues.
Each aspect of an IPO is illustrated with plenty of international examples pitched alongside relevant academic research to offer a combination of theoretical rigour and practical application.
Topics covered are:
- the decision to go public
- legal and regulatory aspects of an offering; marketing and research
- valuation and pricing
- allocations of shares to investors
- examination of fees and commissions
* Global perpective: UK, European and US practices, regulations and examples, and case studies
* First hand experience written by an IPO trader with academic rigour
* Includes the changes in the market that resulted from 1998-2000 equity boom

As the population is growing and urbanization is progressing, higher numbers of people are exposed to disaster risks, especially in the developing countries. Climate change is further worsening the impacts of existing risks and introducing new ones. It is imperative that countries need to invest more in disaster risk reduction (DRR) as well as climate change adaptation (CCA) not only to minimize their impacts but also to build resilience. To date, various international arenas have recommended increasing investment in DRR. The Sendai Framework for DRR, adopted by the UN member states in 2015 during the Third UN World Conference on DRR, emphasizes investment as a priority for decreasing disaster risks and losses. The Yangon Declaration set the goal of doubling investment to address water-related disasters. However, most countries are not able to proactively invest enough in DRR. Understanding the current scale and estimate of investment and its effects is crucial for promoting DRR investment, but such information and estimates are rarely available. This book examines the current investment trends and issues in DRR and CCA. Based on specific case studies, field data and evidence, the book identifies challenges in increasing investment and recommends various investment policies and innovative approaches to sustainable progress towards a resilient future. Chapter 12 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Make your money work for you with sound commercial real estate investment strategies If you're looking for more detailed advice on the commercial real estate market than, "Buy low, sell high," you've come to the right place. Commercial Real Estate Investing For Dummies is where you can find the smart, straightforward, and accurate info you need to get your start--or grow your portfolio--in commercial real estate. You'll learn foundational strategies, tips, and tricks for investing in all sorts of commercial properties, from apartments to shopping malls. You'll also get rock-solid advice on: How to get started in commercial real estate investing, even if you've never tried it before How to work with business and investment partners and protect your own interests with contracts Financing your investments with a variety of instruments and taking advantage of legal tax opportunities Growing wealth by investing in real estate is a strategy as old as money itself. Do yourself a favor and get in on the action with this straightforward and up-to-date guide!

3rd edition with new foreword by Ian Cassel Wouldn't life be better if you were free of the daily grind - the conventional job and boss - and instead succeeded or failed purely on the merits of your own investment choices? Free Capital is a window into this world. Based on a series of interviews, it outlines the investing strategies, wisdom and lifestyles of 12 highly successful private investors. Each of them has accumulated GBP1m or more - in most cases considerably more - mainly from stock market investment. Six are 'ISA millionaires' who have GBP1m or more in a tax-free ISA, a result which is arithmetically impossible without exceptional investment returns. Some have several academic degrees or strong City backgrounds; others left school with few qualifications and are entirely self-taught as investors. Some invest most of their money in very few shares and hold them for years at a time; others make dozens of trades every day, and hold them for at most a few hours. Some are inveterate networkers, who spend their day talking to managers at companies in which they invest; for others a share is just a symbol on a screen, and a price chart shows most of what they need to know to make their trading decisions. Free capital - money surplus to immediate living expenses - is the raw material with which these investors work. It can also be thought of as their psychological habitat, free from the petty tribulations of office politics. Lastly, free capital describes the footloose nature of their assets, which can be quickly redirected towards any type of investment anywhere in the world, without the constraints which institutional investors often face. Although it presents many advanced insights and valuable investment hints, this is not an overly technical book. It offers practical ideas and inspiration, with revealing detail and minimal jargon, making it an indispensable read for novice and experienced investors alike.