Working capital refers to the money that a company uses to finance its daily operations. Proper management of working capital is critical to financial health and operational success. Working capital management (WCM) aims to maximize operational efficiency by maintaining a delicate balance among growth, profitability, and liquidity. WCM is a continuous responsibility focusing on a firm's day-to-day operations involving short-term assets and liabilities. By efficiently managing a firm's cash, accounts receivable, inventories, and accounts payable, managers can help maintain smooth operations and improve a company's earnings and profitability. By contrast, poor WCM could lead to a lower credit score, financial insolvency, legal troubles, liquidation of assets, and potential bankruptcy.This book provides an objective look into the dynamic world of WCM. Its coverage extends from discussing basic concepts and their applications to increasingly complex and real-world situations. The book stresses that WCM is a combination of both art and science. This volume spans the gamut from theoretical to practical while offering the right balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. Readers can gain an in-depth understanding of this subject from experts in this field. Those who want a broad survey will benefit, as will readers looking for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within this field of study. In summary, Working Capital Management: Concepts and Strategies provides a fresh look at this intriguing but often complex subject of WCM.

Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds: Building Blocks to Wealth offers a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature primarily on mutual funds but also discusses related investment vehicles, especially ETFs. In this edited volume, noted scholars and practitioners write chapters in their areas of expertise. It interweaves the contributions of multiple authors into an authoritative overview of important but selective topics. Readers will gain an in-depth understanding of mutual funds and ETFs from experts from around the world. Based on research-based evidence, this is not intended to be a "how to " book; instead, it is a scholarly and in-depth approach to important investment subjects. Although the book places greater attention on these different types of investments in the United States, it also examines them in a global context. In today's financial environment, mutual funds and ETFs are dynamic areas that continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Because the flow of materials on the subject is voluminous, this book, by necessity, must be selective because it cannot cover every aspect of this field. However, readers can gain important insights about each investment vehicle including its structure and uses, performance and measurement. Beyond these core topics and issues, the book also examines the latest trends, cutting-edge developments, and real-world situations. Given its broad scope, this practical and comprehensive book should appeal to investors, investment professionals, academics, and others interested in mutual funds and ETFs. In particular, this book should help investors make key asset allocation decisions while capturing the benefits of a highly diversified, well-constructed, lower-cost portfolio of complementary strategies that enhance financial wealth.

Portfolio management is an ongoing process of constructing portfolios that balances an investor's objectives with the portfolio manager's expectations about the future. This dynamic process provides the payoff for investors. Portfolio management evaluates individual assets or investments by their contribution to the risk and return of an investor's portfolio rather than in isolation. This is called the portfolio perspective. Thus, by constructing a diversified portfolio, a portfolio manager can reduce risk for a given level of expected return, compared to investing in an individual asset or security. According to modern portfolio theory (MPT), investors who do not follow a portfolio perspective bear risk that is not rewarded with greater expected return. Portfolio diversification works best when financial markets are operating normally compared to periods of market turmoil such as the 2007-2008 financial crisis. During periods of turmoil, correlations tend to increase thus reducing the benefits of diversification. Portfolio management today emerges as a dynamic process, which continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The purpose of Portfolio Theory and Management is to take readers from the foundations of portfolio management with the contributions of financial pioneers up to the latest trends emerging within the context of special topics. The book includes discussions of portfolio theory and management both before and after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. This volume provides a critical reflection of what worked and what did not work viewed from the perspective of the recent financial crisis. Further, the book is not restricted to the U.S. market but takes a more global focus by highlighting cross-country differences and practices. This 30-chapter book consists of seven sections. These chapters are: (1) portfolio theory and asset pricing, (2) the investment policy statement and fiduciary duties, (3) asset allocation and portfolio construction, (4) risk management, (V) portfolio execution, monitoring, and rebalancing, (6) evaluating and reporting portfolio performance, and (7) special topics.

An accessible introduction to sustainable investing for investors Can investors do well financially and do good for the world? Should they try? A common assumption about investors is that they don't care who wins as long as they're making money. For some investors, this mindset still rings true. Yet, many investors today want to make money and do good. Sustainable investing has gained considerable momentum in the last few decades. It delivers value by balancing traditional investing with environmental, social, and governance-related (ESG) insights to improve long-term outcomes. Sustainable Investing: What Everyone Needs to Know (R) demystifies sustainable investing for investors. Using a user-friendly question-and-answer format and insights from noted investment professionals, this book explores some of sustainable investing's most critical questions in a clear and concise manner. The book explains how this approach involves investing in sustainable companies or funds and can include any investment approach that considers ESG criteria when selecting and managing investments. It demystifies sustainable investing specifically for average investors and examines whether such investments have a place in their portfolios. By covering everything from the changing investment landscape and the roles of social and religious values in finance to how to build a portfolio with purpose, H. Kent Baker, Hunter M. Holzhauer, and John R. Nofsinger provide an essential introduction to sustainable investing.

Bitcoin's introduction as the first cryptoasset in 2009 ushered in a new era, generating much interest, excitement, and growth. A cryptoasset is a digital asset using blockchain technology to regulate the generation of new units and verify and secure transactions. Besides cryptocurrencies, other major cryptoassets are security tokens and utility tokens. Cryptoassets are attractive to investors because of potentially high returns and diversification benefits. However, investors entering this market face substantial challenges like the low quality of information, high price volatility, a lack of academically defensible valuation models, and regulatory uncertainty. This book spans the gamut from theoretical to practical while offering the right balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. It consists of five parts: (1) the cryptoasset landscape, (2) types of cryptoassets, (3) cryptoassets as investment opportunities, (4) trading, reporting, and technical aspects, and (5) other cryptoasset issues. The book skillfully blends scholars' and practitioners' contributions into a single review of critical topics and issues about cryptoassets. The contributors' varied backgrounds ensure different perspectives and a rich interplay of ideas. The book reflects the latest research and offers a guide to understanding cryptoassets and their role in investment portfolios.

Do you want to see your wealth grow? If so, then this easy-to-read guide that focuses on alternative investments - hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and infrastructure - is just for you. The fourth book in The H. Kent Baker Investments Series attempts to remove some of the mystery surrounding these investments so that you can determine whether any of these are right for you. If you're willing to gain the necessary knowledge, you may be able to build long-term wealth by taking advantage of the benefits that each investment has to offer. The Savvy Investor's Guide to Building Wealth Through Alternative Investments is written for investors familiar with traditional investments but with limited knowledge of alternative assets and strategies.

Although an emerging technology, blockchain is here to stay. Since its inception, imaginative thinkers have identified new ways for this powerful technology to bring innovative solutions to problems in the business world. Considered by many as an extreme and disruptive change, how can business leaders overcome resistance to the implementation of blockchain solutions and maximize its potential? The Emerald Handbook of Blockchain for Business equips academics, practitioners, and students with a broad understanding of the cutting-edge developments and applications of emerging blockchain technology. Covering the basic concepts while also showcasing practical applications in intricate real-world situations, this handbook bridges the gap between theory and practice, providing a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. Facilitating readers with a working knowledge of how blockchain functions and integrates within the business world, this handbook is essential reading for academics looking for a springboard for further research and practitioners needing a go-to resource for navigating the implementation of this fast-moving new technology.

After each major corporate scandal, new suggestions for combatting fraud emerge from regulators and industry professionals. Despite changes to guidelines for firms' corporate governance, augmented protection for whistle blowers, and enhanced cybersecurity measures, evidence documents an alarming increase in the prevalence and severity of corporate fraud. The rapidly changing laws aimed at curbing corporate fraud sometimes lag behind the changing sophistication of fraud schemes. Corporate Fraud Exposed discusses the motivations and drivers of fraud including agency theory, executive compensation, and organizational culture. It examines fraud's consequences for various firm stakeholders and its spillover effects to other corporations, the political environment, and financial market participants, including those who participate via crowdfunding platforms. This book provides a fresh look at this intriguing but often complex subject. It skillfully blends the contributions of a global array of scholars and practitioners into a single review of some of the most important topics in this area. Given its broad scope, this practical and comprehensive title should be of interest to anyone curious about corporate fraud.

Winner of the Book Excellence Awards 2017, Personal Finance category Given the complex and challenging world of investing, what chance do individuals have navigating the financial minefield and emerging unscathed? Not much, unless they become knowledgeable about investment fundamentals, recognize and correct their mistakes and behavioral biases, and avoid traps strewn along their path. Investment Traps Exposed guides investors past such potential pitfalls as pyramid and Ponzi schemes to help them become more financially successful. Investment Traps Exposed helps investors and advisors increase their awareness about the external and internal traps that they or their clients can encounter. Baker and Puttonen not only examine common mistakes, assumptions and deceptions that can ensnare investors, affect sound judgment, and reduce wealth but also delve into how to recognize and avoid these errors. The authors present practical advice and real-world examples in a user-friendly manner, and also nudge investors to stay on the right course to mitigate misbehaving.

All investments carry with them some degree of risk. In the financial world, individuals, professional money managers, financial institutions, and many others encounter and must deal with risk. Risk management is a process of determining what risks exist in an investment and then handling those risks in the best-suited way. This is important because it can reduce or augment risk depending on the goals of investors and portfolio managers.
The main purpose of Investment Risk Management is to provide an overview of developments in risk management and a synthesis of research involving these developments. The book examines ways to alter exposures through measuring and managing those exposures and provides an understanding of the latest strategies and trends within risk management. The scope of the coverage is broad and encompasses the most important aspects of investment risk management. Its 30 chapters are organized into six sections: (1) foundations of risk management, (2) types of risk, (3) quantitative assessment of risk, (4) risk and risk classes, (5) hedging risk and (6) going forward.
The book should be of particular interest to sophisticated practitioners, investors, academics, and graduate finance students. Investment Risk Management provides a fresh look at this intriguing but complex subject.

After each major corporate scandal, new suggestions for combatting fraud emerge from regulators and industry professionals. Despite changes to guidelines for firms' corporate governance, augmented protection for whistle blowers, and enhanced cybersecurity measures, evidence documents an alarming increase in the prevalence and severity of corporate fraud. The rapidly changing laws aimed at curbing corporate fraud sometimes lag behind the changing sophistication of fraud schemes. Corporate Fraud Exposed discusses the motivations and drivers of fraud including agency theory, executive compensation, and organizational culture. It examines fraud's consequences for various firm stakeholders and its spillover effects to other corporations, the political environment, and financial market participants, including those who participate via crowdfunding platforms. This book provides a fresh look at this intriguing but often complex subject. It skillfully blends the contributions of a global array of scholars and practitioners into a single review of some of the most important topics in this area. Given its broad scope, this practical and comprehensive title should be of interest to anyone curious about corporate fraud.

Do you only have a relatively small amount of money to invest? Do you think this limitation give you only a few investment choices? Well, it doesn't. Investing experts H. Kent Baker, Greg Filbeck, and Halil Kiymaz offer an essential guide to one of the most common ways to invest: a pooled investment vehicle (PIV). A PIV is an investment fund that commingles the monies of many different investors to buy a portfolio that reflects a particular investment objective. - By using PIVs, you gain a diversified portfolio, which once was only available to large investors. The Savvy Investor's Guide to Pooled Investments clearly explains the risks and advantages of investing in a PIV. This book introduces you to five PIVs - mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds (CEFs), unit investment trusts (UITs), and real estate investment trusts (REITs) - with a unique Q&A format employed to delve into issues that investors want and need to know before choosing a PIV. If you have ever felt limited by your investment choices, Baker, Filbeck, and Kiymaz explain your options to creating an investment portfolio, which is an initial step to becoming a savvy investor.

Real estate is typically classified as an alternative to more traditional investments such as stocks and bonds. Real estate investing involves the purchase, ownership, management, rental, or sale of real estate for profit. Real estate investments can be both income producing and non-income producing. Although real estate can produce income like a bond and appreciate like a stock, this tangible asset has several unique characteristics as well as advantages and disadvantages relative to other investment alternatives. Benefits of including real estate in a portfolio include diversification, yield enhancement, risk reduction, tax management, and inflation hedging. Unlike traditional investments, investors in real estate have the ability to influence performance. Real estate has drawbacks in that it requires management, is costly and difficult to buy, sell, and operate, and sometimes has lower liquidity. Additionally, measuring the relative performance of real estate can be challenging.
The purpose of this 14-chapter book is to provide an overview and synthesis of public real estate markets and investments in a global context. The book discusses the major types and the latest trends within public real estate markets and presents the results of research studies in a straightforward manner. It has three sections: (1) foundations of public real estate, (2) public debt markets and investments, and (3) public equity markets and investments. The book should be interest to various groups including academics, practitioners, investors, and students. Readers should gain a greater appreciation of what is needed for success when investing in public real estate markets. For more information about private real estate, read Private Real Estate Markets and Investments.

Debt Markets and Investments provides an overview of the dynamic world of markets, products, valuation, and analysis of fixed income and related securities. Experts in the field, practitioners and academics, offer both diverse and in-depth insights into basic concepts and their application to increasingly intricate and real-world situations. This volume spans the entire spectrum from theoretical to practical, while attempting to offer a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. The volume begins with the basics of debt markets and investments, including basic bond terminology and market sectors. Among the topics covered are the relationship between fixed income and other asset classes as well as the differences in fundamental risk. Particular emphasis is given to interest rate risk as well as credit risks as well as those associated with inflation, liquidity, reinvestment, and ESG. Authors then turn to market sectors, including government debt, municipal bonds, the markets for corporate bonds, and developments in securitized debt markets along with derivatives and private debt markets. The third section focuses on models of yield curves, interest rates, and swaps, including opportunities for arbitrage. The next two sections focus on bond and securitized products, from sovereign debt and mutual funds focused on bonds to how securitization has increased liquidity through such innovations as mortgaged-and asset- backed securities, as well as collateralized debt-, bond-, and loan obligations. Authors next discuss various methods of valuation of bonds and securities, including the use of options and derivatives. The volume concludes with discussions of how debt can play a role in financial strategies and portfolio creation. Readers interested in a broad survey will benefit as will those looking for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within this field of study. In summary, the book provides a fresh look at this intriguing and dynamic but often complex subject.

Are you an investor facing an obstacle you don't know how to overcome? Are you ready to invest, but not sure how to reduce your risks? There are two important things you must do to be a savvy investor: make good investment decisions and avoid costly mistakes. As important as good investments are, one bad mistake can ruin the result of all your good decisions. In the second book in The H. Kent Baker Investments Series, investing experts H. Kent Baker, John R. Nofsinger, and Vesa Puttonen offer an insightful guide on avoiding those detrimental missteps. The Savvy Investor's Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls, Frauds and Scams explores the common pitfalls that investors face. Highlighting important issues when investing especially in common stocks and mutual funds, they explore the psychological biases of investors that can cause you to be your own worst enemy. Finally, they look at frauds and scams, and how to protect yourself from dishonest people wanting to profit at your expense. If you feel unprepared to face the risks of investing, Baker, Nofsinger, and Puttonen provide this essential guide to arming yourself against devastation on your path to becoming a savvy investor.

Financial Behavior: Players, Services, Products, and Markets provides a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature on the financial behavior of major stakeholders, financial services, investment products, and financial markets. The book offers a different way of looking at financial and emotional well-being and processing beliefs, emotions, and behaviors related to money. The book provides important insights about cognitive and emotional biases that influence various financial decision-makers, services, products, and markets. With diverse concepts and topics, the book brings together noted scholars and practitioners so readers can gain an in-depth understanding about this topic from experts from around the world. In today's financial setting, the discipline of behavioral finance is an ever-changing area that continues to evolve at a rapid pace. This book takes readers through the core topics and issues as well as the latest trends, cutting-edge research developments, and real-world situations. Additionally, discussion of research on various cognitive and emotional issues is covered throughout the book. Thus, this volume covers a breadth of content from theoretical to practical, while attempting to offer a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. Those interested in a broad survey will benefit as will those searching for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within this field of study. As the seventh book in the Financial Markets and Investment Series, Financial Behavior: Players, Services, Products, and Markets offers a fresh looks at the fascinating area of financial behavior.

People tend to be penny wise and pound foolish and cry over spilt milk, even though we are taught to do neither. Focusing on the present at the expense of the future and basing decisions on lost value are two mistakes common to decision-making that are particularly costly in the world of finance. Behavioral Finance: What Everyone Needs to KnowR provides an overview of common shortcuts and mistakes people make in managing their finances. It covers the common cognitive biases or errors that occur when people are collecting, processing, and interpreting information. These include emotional biases and the influence of social factors, from culture to the behavior of one's peers. These effects vary during one's life, reflecting differences in due to age, experience, and gender. Among the questions to be addressed are: How did the financial crisis of 2007-2008 spur understanding human behavior? What are market anomalies and how do they relate to behavioral biases? What role does overconfidence play in financial decision- making? And how does getting older affect risk tolerance?

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.

Would you like to be a millionaire? If you're like most people, your answer is "yes". But unlike popular opinion, this goal is not beyond your reach. Building wealth is more common sense than secret formula. You need to invest wisely. This easy-to-read guide focuses on traditional investments - stocks, bonds, and cash or cash equivalents. Stocks and bonds are the heartbeat of Wall Street. Finance experts H. Kent Baker, John R. Nofsinger, and Andrew C. Spieler take you through how to invest in a single security, as well as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which offer many potential benefits to individual investors. This practical and straightforward book is written for novice investors. It takes an innovative question-and-answer format to help you learn about traditional investments and to become a better investor. If you want to become a millionaire, and don't have the luck of buying a winning lottery ticket, this guide is for you.

An accessible introduction to sustainable investing for investors Can investors do well financially and do good for the world? Should they try? A common assumption about investors is that they don't care who wins as long as they're making money. For some investors, this mindset still rings true. Yet, many investors today want to make money and do good. Sustainable investing has gained considerable momentum in the last few decades. It delivers value by balancing traditional investing with environmental, social, and governance-related (ESG) insights to improve long-term outcomes. Sustainable Investing: What Everyone Needs to Know (R) demystifies sustainable investing for investors. Using a user-friendly question-and-answer format and insights from noted investment professionals, this book explores some of sustainable investing's most critical questions in a clear and concise manner. The book explains how this approach involves investing in sustainable companies or funds and can include any investment approach that considers ESG criteria when selecting and managing investments. It demystifies sustainable investing specifically for average investors and examines whether such investments have a place in their portfolios. By covering everything from the changing investment landscape and the roles of social and religious values in finance to how to build a portfolio with purpose, H. Kent Baker, Hunter M. Holzhauer, and John R. Nofsinger provide an essential introduction to sustainable investing.

Corporate finance is a multifaceted discipline in which everything works in theory but not necessarily in practice. To bridge this gap, intelligently designed and executed surveys are essential in empirically validating conceptual hypotheses and the relative usefulness of various theories.
Survey Research in Corporate Finance is a unique summary of state-of-the-art survey research in finance. Baker, Singleton, and Veit catalog and discuss the most important contributions to the field and provide a longitudinal perspective unavailable anywhere else. They offer an objective look at the role survey research in finance should play and illustrate the general and particular aspects of the form this research should take, how it is typically carried out, and how it should ideally be carried out, taking into account considerations developed throughout the book.
The book provides financial researchers with a useful overview of survey methodology, synthesizes the major streams or clusters of survey research in corporate finance, and offers a valuable resource and guide for those interested in conducting and reading survey research in finance. Because a variety of views exist on the role of survey research in corporate finance, the authors present key findings from the varying perspectives of finance academics, finance journal editors, and finance practitioners.
Synthesizing survey results on major issues in finance and offering knowledge learned from years of communications between academics and practitioners, Survey Research in Corporate Finance enables students and scholars of finance, as well as decision makers in many different kinds of firms, to actually determine how the theories on which their work is based actually play out in practice. This book is an essential, one-of-a-kind reference for any practitioners or academics interested in survey research in corporate finance.

When you think about investing, what words come to mind? Overwhelming? Intimidating? Scary? Investors face a vast array of investment options vying for their business. They are aware that some of those providing these "opportunities" seek to take advantage of them. And although most investors realize they are fallible, they often have no clear idea why or what they can do about it. So what chance do less savvy investors have navigating the investment minefield and emerging unscathed? The answer is not much-unless they recognize the pitfalls along the way. In this book, H. Kent Baker and Vesa Puttonen show new investors how to avoid rash financial decisions and basic investing sins. They help them to recognize and avoid common investing mistakes, behavioral biases, and traps that can affect sound judgment and reduce wealth. Ultimately, they explain how to separate investment fads from time-tested investment principles-a task that is easier said than done, but that is well worth the effort. Navigating the Investment Minefield is essential reading for novice investors, and it is of keen interest to more seasoned investors seeking a refresher course on the most basic, time-honored truths of wealth management.

Hedge Funds: Structure, Strategies, and Performance provides a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature on this intriguing, complex, and frequently misunderstood topic. The book dispels some common misconceptions of hedge funds, showing that they are not a monolithic asset class but pursue highly diverse strategies. Furthermore, not all hedge funds are unusually risky, excessively leveraged, invest only in illiquid asses, attempt to profit from short-term market movements, or only benefit hedge fund managers due to their high fees. Among the core issues addressed are how hedge funds are structured and how they work, hedge fund strategies, leading issues in this investment, and the latest trends and developments. The authors examine hedge funds from a range of perspectives, and from the theoretical to the practical. The book explores the background, organization, and economics of hedge funds, as well as their structure. A key part is the diverse investment strategies hedge funds follow, for example some are activists, others focusing on relative value, and all have views on managing risk. The book examines various ways to evaluate hedge fund performance, and enhances understanding of their regulatory environment. The extensive and engaging examination of these issues help the reader understands the important issues and trends facing hedge funds, as well as their future prospects.

This book provides an overview of private real estate markets and investments. The 14 chapters are divided into three sections for conventional and alternative real estate investments and regulatory issues. Conventional investable real assets examined are retail spaces, apartments, offices, and industrial facilities owned by corporate entities. Alternative real estate assets are uniquely and extensively addressed. These include healthcare, both for facilities and the pricing to make it an investable asset; infrastructure contains roads, bridges, and public utilities; and resources are in land, agriculture, oil, and gas. The regulatory section includes appraisal and valuation, brokerage and transaction costs, sustainability, and green buildings. Readers should gain a greater appreciation of what is needed to be successful when investing in private real estate markets.
The share of real estate in institutional portfolios has risen above a previous 5% target, as investors avoid the risks of low interest rates. The world's wealth is shifting to emerging markets where real estate is already a dominant asset class and public securities markets are limited. Institutions with long horizons avoid publicly traded markets because they want to capture any premium from illiquidity. Real estate involves local and cultural restrictions on land usage, sustainability and on the regulation of the illiquidity.
For information about public real estate, read Public Real Estate Markets and Investments.

Understanding the current state of affairs and tools available in the study of international finance is increasingly important as few areas in finance can be divorced completely from international issues. International Finance reflects the new diversity of interest in international finance by bringing together a set of chapters that summarizes and synthesizes developments to date in the many and varied areas that are now viewed as having international content. The book attempts to differentiate between what is known, what is believed, and what is still being debated about international finance. The survey nature of this book involves tradeoffs that inevitably had to be made in the process given the vast footprint that constitutes international finance. No single book can cover everything. This book, however, tries to maintain a balance between the micro and macro aspects of international finance. Although each chapter is self-contained, the chapters form a logical whole that follows a logical sequence. The book is organized into five broad categories of interest: (1) exchange rates and risk management, (2) international financial markets and institutions, (3) international investing, (4) international financial management, and (5) special topics. The chapters cover market integration, financial crisis, and the links between financial markets and development in some detail as they relate to these areas. In each instance, the contributors to this book discuss developments in the field to date and explain the importance of each area to finance as a field of study. Consequently, the strategic focus of the book is both broad and narrow, depending on the reader's needs. The entire book provides a broad picture of the current state of international finance, but a reader with more focused interests will find individual chapters illuminating on specific topics.