Investment and securities Books

Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface xxxiii Acknowledgments xxxvii About the Authors xli Part 1 Introduction to Alternative Investments Chapter 1 What is an Alternative Investment? 3 1.1 Alternative Investments by Exclusion 3 1.2 Alternative Investments by Inclusion 4 1.3 The Blurred Lines between Traditional and Alternative Investments 8 1.4 A History of Alternative Investing: The U.S. Case 10 1.5 Investments are Distinguished by Return Characteristics 11 1.6 Investments are Distinguished by Methods of Analysis 14 1.7 Eight Other Characteristics that Distinguish Alternative and Traditional Investments 16 1.8 Five Goals of Alternative Investing 18 1.9 Two Pillars of Alternative Investment Management 20 1.10 Overview of This Book 22 Review Questions 23 Chapter 2 The Environment of Alternative Investments 25 2.1 The Participants 25 2.2 Alternative Investment Structures 33 2.3 Key Features of Fund Structures 36 2.4 Financial Markets 40 2.5 Regulatory Environment 42 2.6 Liquid Alternative Investments 43 2.7 Taxation 47 2.8 Short Selling 49 Review Questions 52 Notes 53 Chapter 3 Quantitative Foundations 55 3.1 Return and Rate Mathematics 55 3.2 Returns Based on Notional Principal 57 3.3 Internal Rate of Return 60 3.4 Problems with Internal Rate of Return 64 3.5 Other Performance Measures 73 3.6 Illiquidity, Accounting Conservatism, IRR, and the J-Curve 75 3.7 Distribution of Cash Waterfall 77 Review Questions 85 Note 86 Chapter 4 Statistical Foundations 87 4.1 Return Distributions 87 4.2 Moments of the Distribution: Mean, Variance, Skewness, and Kurtosis 90 4.3 Covariance, Correlation, Beta, and Autocorrelation 94 4.4 Interpreting Standard Deviation and Variance 104 4.5 Testing for Normality 111 4.6 Time-Series Return Volatility Models 114 Review Questions 116 Chapter 5 Foundations of Financial Economics 117 5.1 Informational Market Efficiency 117 5.2 The Time Value of Money, Prices, and Rates 122 5.3 The Three Primary Theories of the Term Structure of Interest Rates 127 5.4 Forward Interest Rates 129 5.5 Arbitrage-Free Models 131 5.6 Binomial Tree Models 134 5.7 Single-Factor Default–Free Bond Models 137 5.8 Single-Factor Equity Pricing Models 143 Review Questions 148 Note 149 Chapter 6 Derivatives and Risk-Neutral Valuation 151 6.1 Foundations of Forward Contracts 151 6.2 Forward Contracts on Rates 155 6.3 Forward Contracts on Equities 157 6.4 Forward Contracts on Assets with Benefits and Costs of Carry 165 6.5 Forward Contracts Versus Futures Contracts 171 6.6 Managing Long-Term Futures Exposures 178 6.7 Option Exposures 180 6.8 Option Pricing Models 186 6.9 Option Sensitivities 188 Review Questions 190 Notes 191 Chapter 7 Measures of Risk and Performance 193 7.1 Measures of Risk 193 7.2 Estimating Value at Risk (VaR) 198 7.3 Benchmarking and Performance Attribution 203 7.4 Ratio-Based Performance Measures 204 7.5 Risk-Adjusted Return Measures 210 Review Questions 214 Notes 214 Chapter 8 Alpha, Beta, and Hypothesis Testing 215 8.1 Overview of Beta and Alpha 215 8.2 Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Alpha 217 8.3 Single-Factor Models and Regression 220 8.4 Inferring Ex Ante Alpha From Ex Post Alpha 225 8.5 Return Attribution, Alpha, and Beta 226 8.6 Ex Ante Alpha Estimation and Return Persistence 230 8.7 Return Drivers 231 8.8 Using Statistical Methods to Locate Alpha 234 8.9 Sampling and Testing Problems 239 8.10 Statistical Issues in Analyzing Alpha and Beta 242 Review Questions 246 Notes 247 Part 2 Real Assets Chapter 9 Natural Resources and Land 251 9.1 Natural Resources Other Than Land 251 9.2 Land 256 9.3 Timber and Timberland 261 9.4 Farmland 263 9.5 Valuation and Volatility of Real Assets 268 9.6 Pricing and Historic Data Analysis 272 9.7 Contagion, Price Indices, and Biases 275 9.8 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Timberland 278 9.9 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Farmland 278 Review Questions 279 Notes 279 Chapter 10 Commodities 281 10.1 Investing in Commodities Without Futures 281 10.2 The Term Structure of Forward Prices on Commodities 288 10.3 Rolling of Forward and Futures Contracts 296 10.4 Normal Backwardation and Normal Contango 302 10.5 Commodity Exposure and Diversification 307 10.6 Expected Returns on Commodities 310 10.7 Commodity Futures Indices 312 10.8 Commodity Risk Attributes 314 10.9 Observations Based on Historical Returns 318 Review Questions 318 Notes 318 Chapter 11 Other Real Assets 319 11.1 Commodity Producers 319 11.2 Liquid Alternative Real Assets 322 11.3 Infrastructure 325 11.4 Intellectual Property Overview 336 11.5 Cash Flows of Intellectual Property 341 11.6 Visual Works of Art and Historical Performance Data 344 11.7 R&D and Patents as Unbundled Intellectual Property 346 11.8 Intellectual Property Conclusions 349 Review Questions 350 Notes 350 References 350 Chapter 12 Real Estate Assets and Debt 353 12.1 Categories of Real Estate 353 12.2 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Styles of Real Estate Investments 355 12.3 Real Estate Style Boxes 361 12.4 Residential Mortgages 363 12.5 Commercial Mortgages 372 12.6 Mortgage-Backed Securities Market 375 12.7 Liquid Alternatives: Real Estate Investment Trusts 380 12.8 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Mortgage REITs 382 Review Questions 384 Notes 384 Chapter 13 Real Estate Equity 385 13.1 Real Estate Development 385 13.2 Commercial Real Estate Valuation 389 13.3 Details of the Income Approach to Real Estate Valuation 397 13.4 Illustration of the Income Method of Real Estate Valuation 402 13.5 Alternative Real Estate Investment Vehicles 403 13.6 Equity REIT Returns 409 13.7 Key Observations Regarding Historical Risks and Returns of Equity REITs 410 Review Questions 412 Part 3 Hedge Funds Chapter 14 Structure of the Hedge Fund Industry 415 14.1 Distinguishing Hedge Funds 415 14.2 Hedge Fund Fees 419 14.3 Hedge Fund Classification 431 14.4 Hedge Fund Returns and Asset Allocation 433 14.5 Evaluating a Hedge Fund Investment Program 438 14.6 Three Research Studies on Whether Hedge Funds Adversely Affect the Financial Markets 441 14.7 Hedge Fund Indices 442 14.8 Conclusion 451 Review Questions 451 Notes 451 Chapter 15 Macro and Managed Futures Funds 453 15.1 Macro and Managed Futures Strategies 453 15.2 Global Macro 455 15.3 Managed Futures 459 15.4 Systematic Trading 464 15.5 Four Core Dimensions of Managed Futures Investment Strategies 476 15.6 Systematic Futures Portfolio Construction 479 15.7 Eight Core Benefits of Managed Futures for Investors 483 15.8 Evidence on Managed Futures Returns 485 15.9 Benefits of Managed Futures Funds 493 15.10 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Macro and Systematic Diversified Funds 499 Review Questions 499 Notes 499 Chapter 16 Event-Driven Hedge Funds 501 16.1 The Sources of Most Event Strategy Returns 501 16.2 Activist Investing 505 16.3 Merger Arbitrage 517 16.4 Distressed Securities Funds 524 16.5 Event-Driven Multistrategy Funds 532 Review Questions 534 Notes 534 Chapter 17 Relative Value Hedge Funds 535 17.1 Overview of Relative Value Strategies 535 17.2 Convertible Bond Arbitrage 536 17.3 Volatility Arbitrage 551 17.4 Fixed-Income Arbitrage 565 17.5 Relative Value Multistrategy Funds 575 Review Questions 578 Notes 578 Chapter 18 Equity Hedge Funds 579 18.1 Commonalities of Equity Hedge Funds 579 18.2 Sources of Return 580 18.3 Market Anomalies 584 18.4 Implementing Anomaly Strategies 590 18.5 The Three Equity Strategies 594 18.6 Equity Hedge Fund Risks 605 Review Questions 605 Notes 606 Chapter 19 Funds of Hedge Funds 607 19.1 Overview of Funds of Hedge Funds 607 19.2 Investing in Multistrategy Funds 616 19.3 Investing in Funds of Hedge Funds 619 19.4 Investing in Portfolios of Single Hedge Funds 622 19.5 Multialternatives and Other Hedge Fund Liquid Alternatives 624 19.6 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Funds of Funds 628 Review Questions 631 Notes 631 Part 4 Private Securities Chapter 20 Private Equity Assets 635 20.1 Introduction to Private Equity Terms and Background 635 20.2 Overview of Three Forms of Pre-IPO Private Equity Investing 637 20.3 Venture Capital 639 20.4 Venture Capital as a Compound Option 647 20.5 Growth Equity 648 20.6 Buyouts and Leveraged Buyouts 651 20.7 Buyouts of Private Companies 653 20.8 Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs) 655 20.9 Merchant Banking 663 20.10 Dynamics of Private Equity Opportunities 663 Review Questions 665 Notes 666 Chapter 21 Private Equity Funds 667 21.1 Overview of Private Equity Funds 667 21.2 Private Equity Funds as Intermediaries 671 21.3 The LP and GP Relationship Life Cycle 677 21.4 Private Equity Fund Fees and Terms 680 21.5 Key Determinants of Venture Capital Fund Risks and Returns 687 21.6 Roles and Three Key Distinctions of Venture Capital and Buyout Managers 689 21.7 Leveraged Buyout Funds 689 21.8 Private Equity Liquid Alternatives 693 21.9 Private Equity Funds of Funds 698 21.10 Private Investments in Public Equity 699 21.11 Private Equity Secondary Markets and Structures 703 Review Questions 706 Notes 707 Chapter 22 Private Credit and Distressed Debt 709 22.1 Types of Fund Private Credit Vehicles 709 22.2 Fixed-Income Analysis 711 22.3 Credit Risk Analysis and the Bankruptcy Process 715 22.4 Leveraged Loans 725 22.5 Direct Lending 727 22.6 Mezzanine Debt 728 22.7 Distressed Debt 737 22.8 Private Credit Performance and Diversification 743 Review Questions 744 Note 744 References 745 Part 5 Structured Products Chapter 23 Introduction to Structuring 749 23.1 Overview of Financial Structuring 749 23.2 Major Types of Structuring 750 23.3 The Primary Economic Role of Structuring 751 23.4 Collateralized Mortgage Obligations 753 23.5 Structural Model Approach to Credit Risk 761 23.6 Interest Rate Options 766 23.7 Introduction to Collateralized Debt Obligations 768 Review Questions 773 Note 773 Chapter 24 Credit Risk and Credit Derivatives 775 24.1 An Overview of Credit Risk 775 24.2 Reduced-Form Modeling of Credit Risk 776 24.3 Credit Derivatives Markets 783 24.4 Interest Rate Swaps 786 24.5 Credit Default Swaps 793 24.6 Other Credit Derivatives 801 24.7 CDS Index Products 804 24.8 Five Key Risks of Credit Derivatives 805 Review Questions 807 Notes 807 Chapter 25 CDO Structuring of Credit Risk 809 25.1 Overview of CDO Variations 809 25.2 Balance Sheet CDOs and Arbitrage CDOs 812 25.3 Mechanics of and Motivations for An Arbitrage CDO 814 25.4 Cash-Funded CDOs Versus Synthetic CDOs 816 25.5 Cash Flow CDOs Versus Market Value CDOs 820 25.6 Credit Enhancements 821 25.7 Other Types of CDOs 823 25.8 Risks of CDOs 824 Review Questions 829 Chapter 26 Equity-Linked Structured Products 831 26.1 Structured Products and Six Types of Wrappers 831 26.2 Four Potential Tax Effects of Wrappers 832 26.3 Structured Products with Exotic Option Features 835 26.4 Popular Structured Product Types 843 26.5 The EUSIPA Classification 844 26.6 Global Structured Product Cases 848 26.7 Structured Product Valuation 850 26.8 Motivations of Structured Products 854 Review Questions 855 Notes 856 Index 857

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface xv Acknowledgments xvii About the CFA Institute Investment Series xix Chapter 1 Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis 1 Learning Outcomes 1 1. Introduction 1 2. Roles of Financial Reporting and Financial Statement Analysis 2 3. Primary Financial Statements and Other Information Sources 8 3.1. Financial Statements and Supplementary Information 9 3.2. Other Sources of Information 28 4. Financial Statement Analysis Framework 28 4.1. Articulate the Purpose and Context of Analysis 30 4.2. Collect Data 30 4.3. Process Data 31 4.4. Analyze/Interpret the Processed Data 31 4.5. Develop and Communicate Conclusions/Recommendations 32 4.6. Follow-Up 32 5. Summary 32 References 34 Practice Problems 34 Chapter 2 Financial Reporting Standards 37 Learning Outcomes 37 1. Introduction 37 2. The Objective of Financial Reporting 38 3. Standard-Setting Bodies and Regulatory Authorities 39 3.1. Accounting Standards Boards 39 3.2. Regulatory Authorities 41 4. The International Financial Reporting Standards Framework 46 4.1. Qualitative Characteristics of Financial Reports 46 4.2. Constraints on Financial Reports 48 4.3. The Elements of Financial Statements 49 4.4. General Requirements for Financial Statements 50 5. Comparison of IFRS with Alternative Reporting Systems 53 6. Monitoring Developments in Financial Reporting Standards 55 6.1. New Products or Types of Transactions 55 6.2. Evolving Standards and the Role of CFA Institute 55 7. Summary 57 Practice Problems 58 Chapter 3 Understanding Income Statements 61 Learning Outcomes 61 1. Introduction 62 2. Components and Format of the Income Statement 62 3. Revenue Recognition 68 3.1. General Principles 69 3.2. Accounting Standards for Revenue Recognition 70 4. Expense Recognition 73 4.1. General Principles 74 4.2. Issues in Expense Recognition 78 4.3. Implications for Financial Analysis 83 5. Non-Recurring Items and Non-Operating Items 84 5.1. Discontinued Operations 84 5.2. Unusual or Infrequent Items 85 5.3. Changes in Accounting Policies 86 5.4. Non-Operating Items 89 6. Earnings per Share 90 6.1. Simple versus Complex Capital Structure 90 6.2. Basic EPS 91 6.3. Diluted EPS 92 6.4. Changes in EPS 98 7. Analysis of the Income Statement 99 7.1. Common-Size Analysis of the Income Statement 99 7.2. Income Statement Ratios 101 8. Comprehensive Income 103 9. Summary 106 Practice Problems 108 Chapter 4 Understanding Balance Sheets 113 Learning Outcomes 113 1. Introduction 113 2. Components and Format of the Balance Sheet 114 2.1. Balance Sheet Components 115 2.2. Current and Non-Current Classification 116 2.3. Liquidity-Based Presentation 117 3. Current Assets and Current Liabilities 118 3.1. Current Assets 118 3.2. Current Liabilities 123 4. Non-Current Assets 127 4.1. Property, Plant, and Equipment 128 4.2. Investment Property 129 4.3. Intangible Assets 129 4.4. Goodwill 132 4.5. Financial Assets 135 4.6. Deferred Tax Assets 138 5. Non-Current Liabilities 139 5.1. Long-term Financial Liabilities 140 5.2. Deferred Tax Liabilities 140 6. Equity 141 6.1. Components of Equity 141 6.2. Statement of Changes in Equity 144 7. Analysis of the Balance Sheet 145 7.1. Common-Size Analysis of the Balance Sheet 146 7.2. Balance Sheet Ratios 153 8. Summary 156 Practice Problems 158 Chapter 5 Understanding Cash Flow Statements 163 Learning Outcomes 163 1. Introduction 163 2. Components and Format of the Cash Flow Statement 164 2.1. Classification of Cash Flows and Non-Cash Activities 165 2.2. A Summary of Differences between IFRS and US GAAP 167 2.3. Direct and Indirect Methods for Reporting Cash Flow from Operating Activities 168 3. The Cash Flow Statement: Linkages and Preparation 177 3.1. Linkages of the Cash Flow Statement with the Income Statement and Balance Sheet 178 3.2. Steps in Preparing the Cash Flow Statement 179 3.3. Conversion of Cash Flows from the Indirect to the Direct Method 191 4. Cash Flow Statement Analysis 192 4.1. Evaluation of the Sources and Uses of Cash 193 4.2. Common-Size Analysis of the Statement of Cash Flows 197 4.3. Free Cash Flow to the Firm and Free Cash Flow to Equity 202 4.4. Cash Flow Ratios 204 5. Summary 205 Practice Problems 206 Chapter 6 Financial Analysis Techniques 213 Learning Outcomes 213 1. Introduction 213 2. The Financial Analysis Process 214 2.1. The Objectives of the Financial Analysis Process 215 2.2. Distinguishing between Computations and Analysis 216 3. Analytical Tools and Techniques 218 3.1. Ratios 221 3.2. Common-Size Analysis 226 3.3. The Use of Graphs as an Analytical Tool 232 3.4. Regression Analysis 233 4. Common Ratios Used in Financial Analysis 234 4.1. Interpretation and Context 234 4.2. Activity Ratios 235 4.3. Liquidity Ratios 241 4.4. Solvency Ratios 246 4.5. Profitability Ratios 250 4.6. Integrated Financial Ratio Analysis 254 5. Equity Analysis 262 5.1. Valuation Ratios 262 5.2. Industry-Specific Ratios 265 5.3. Historical Research on Ratios in Equity Analysis 267 6. Credit Analysis 268 6.1. The Credit Rating Process 268 6.2. Historical Research on Ratios in Credit Analysis 269 7. Business and Geographic Segments 270 7.1. Segment Reporting Requirements 270 7.2. Segment Ratios 271 8. Model Building and Forecasting 274 9. Summary 275 References 275 Practice Problems 276 Chapter 7 Inventories 283 Learning Outcomes 283 1. Introduction 283 2. Cost of Inventories 285 3. Inventory Valuation Methods 286 3.1. Specific Identification 287 3.2. First-In, First-Out (FIFO) 287 3.3. Weighted Average Cost 287 3.4. Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) 288 3.5. Calculation of Cost of Sales, Gross Profit, and Ending Inventory 288 3.6. Periodic versus Perpetual Inventory Systems 290 3.7. Comparison of Inventory Valuation Methods 293 4. The LIFO Method 295 4.1. LIFO Reserve 295 4.2. LIFO Liquidations 296 5. Inventory Method Changes 303 6. Inventory Adjustments 304 7. Evaluation of Inventory Management 311 7.1. Presentation and Disclosure 312 7.2. Inventory Ratios 312 7.3. Financial Analysis Illustrations 313 8. Summary 323 Practice Problems 325 Chapter 8 Long-Lived Assets 339 Learning Outcomes 339 1. Introduction 340 2. Acquisition of Long-Lived Assets 340 2.1. Property, Plant, and Equipment 341 2.2. Intangible Assets 343 2.3. Capitalizing versus Expensing: Impact on Financial Statements and Ratios 348 2.4. Capitalization of Interest Costs 353 2.5. Capitalization of Internal Development Costs 355 3. Depreciation and Amortization of Long-Lived Assets 359 3.1. Depreciation Methods and Calculation of Depreciation Expense 360 3.2. Amortization Methods and Calculation of Amortization Expense 368 4. The Revaluation Model 369 5. Impairment of Assets 373 5.1. Impairment of Property, Plant, and Equipment 373 5.2. Impairment of Intangible Assets with a Finite Life 375 5.3. Impairment of Intangibles with Indefinite Lives 376 5.4. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Held for Sale 376 5.5. Reversals of Impairments of Long-Lived Assets 376 6. Derecognition 376 6.1. Sale of Long-Lived Assets 377 6.2. Long-Lived Assets Disposed of Other than by a Sale 378 7. Presentation and Disclosures 379 8. Investment Property 389 9. Summary 393 Practice Problems 395 Chapter 9 Income Taxes 407 Learning Outcomes 407 1. Introduction 408 2. Differences between Accounting Profit and Taxable Income 408 2.1. Current Tax Assets and Liabilities 409 2.2. Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities 410 3. Determining the Tax Base of Assets and Liabilities 413 3.1. Determining the Tax Base of an Asset 414 3.2. Determining the Tax Base of a Liability 415 3.3. Changes in Income Tax Rates 417 4. Temporary and Permanent Differences Between Taxable and Accounting Profit 418 4.1. Taxable Temporary Differences 419 4.2. Deductible Temporary Differences 419 4.3. Examples of Taxable and Deductible Temporary Differences 420 4.4. Temporary Differences at Initial Recognition of Assets and Liabilities 422 4.5. Business Combinations and Deferred Taxes 423 4.6. Investments in Subsidiaries, Branches, Associates, and Interests in Joint Ventures 423 5. Unused Tax Losses and Tax Credits 423 6. Recognition and Measurement of Current and Deferred Tax 424 6.1. Recognition of a Valuation Allowance 425 6.2. Recognition of Current and Deferred Tax Charged Directly to Equity 425 7. Presentation and Disclosure 428 8. Comparison of IFRS and US GAAP 433 9. Summary 436 Practice Problems 437 Chapter 10 Non-Current (Long-Term) Liabilities 443 Learning Outcomes 443 1. Introduction 443 2. Bonds Payable 444 2.1. Accounting for Bond Issuance 444 2.2. Accounting for Bond Amortization, Interest Expense, and Interest Payments 448 2.3. Current Market Rates and Fair Value Reporting Option 453 2.4. Derecognition of Debt 457 2.5. Debt Covenants 459 2.6. Presentation and Disclosure of Long-Term Debt 461 3. Leases 464 3.1. Lessee accounting 465 3.2. Lessor accounting 466 4. Introduction to Pensions and Other Post- Employment Benefits 468 5. Evaluating Solvency: Leverage and Coverage Ratios 472 6. Summary 475 Practice Problems 477 Chapter 11 Financial Reporting Quality 483 Learning Outcomes 483 1. Introduction 484 2. Conceptual Overview 484 2.1. GAAP, Decision-Useful, Sustainable, and Adequate Returns 486 2.2. GAAP, Decision-Useful, but Sustainable? 486 2.3. Biased Accounting Choices 487 2.4. Departures from GAAP 496 2.5. Differentiate between Conservative and Aggressive Accounting 498 3. Context for Assessing Financial Reporting Quality 501 3.1. Motivations 501 3.2. Conditions Conducive to Issuing Low-Quality Financial Reports 501 3.3. Mechanisms That Discipline Financial Reporting Quality 502 4. Detection of Financial Reporting Quality Issues 510 4.1. Presentation Choices 510 4.2. Accounting Choices and Estimates 516 4.3. Warning Signs 533 5. Summary 538 References 539 Practice Problems 540 Chapter 12 Applications of Financial Statement Analysis 545 Learning Outcomes 545 1. Introduction 545 2. Application: Evaluating Past Financial Performance 546 3. Application: Projecting Future Financial Performance 550 3.1. Projecting Performance: An Input to Market-Based Valuation 551 3.2. Projecting Multiple-Period Performance 555 4. Application: Assessing Credit Risk 559 5. Application: Screening for Potential Equity Investments 561 6. Analyst Adjustments to Reported Financials 565 6.1. A Framework for Analyst Adjustments 565 6.2. Analyst Adjustments Related to Investments 565 6.3. Analyst Adjustments Related to Inventory 566 6.4. Analyst Adjustments Related to Property, Plant, and Equipment 569 6.5. Analyst Adjustments Related to Goodwill 571 7. Summary 573 References 574 Practice Problems 574 Chapter 13 Intercorporate Investments 577 Learning Outcomes 577 1. Introduction 577 2. Basic Corporate Investment Categories 578 3. Investments in Financial Assets: IFRS 9 579 3.1. Classification and Measurement 580 3.2. Reclassification of Investments 582 4. Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures 583 4.1. Equity Method of Accounting: Basic Principles 584 4.2. Investment Costs That Exceed the Book Value of the Investee 587 4.3. Amortization of Excess Purchase Price 588 4.4 Fair Value Option 590 4.5. Impairment 591 4.6. Transactions with Associates 591 4.7. Disclosure 594 4.8. Issues for Analysts 595 5. Business Combinations 595 5.1. Acquisition Method 597 5.2. Impact of the Acquisition Method on Financial Statements, Post-Acquisition 599 5.3. Th e Consolidation Process 601 5.4. Financial Statement Presentation Subsequent to the Business Combination 607 5.5. Variable Interest and Special Purpose Entities 610 5.6. Additional Issues in Business Combinations That Impair Comparability 613 6. Summary 614 Practice Problems 615 Chapter 14 Employee Compensation: Post-Employment and Share-Based 627 Learning Outcomes 627 1. Introduction 627 2. Pensions and Other Post-Employment Benefits 628 2.1. Types of Post-Employment Benefit Plans 628 2.2. Measuring a Defined Benefit Pension Plan’s Obligations 631 2.3. Financial Statement Reporting of Pension Plans and Other Post-Employment Benefits 632 2.4. Disclosures of Pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits 645 3. Share-Based Compensation 656 3.1. Stock Grants 658 3.2. Stock Options 659 3.3. Other Types of Share-Based Compensation 662 4. Summary 662 Reference 663 Practice Problems 663 Chapter 15 Multinational Operations 673 Learning Outcomes 673 1. Introduction 674 2. Foreign Currency Transactions 675 2.1. Foreign Currency Transaction Exposure to Foreign Exchange Risk 676 2.2. Analytical Issues 680 2.3. Disclosures Related to Foreign Currency Transaction Gains and Losses 682 3. Translation of Foreign Currency Financial Statements 688 3.1. Translation Conceptual Issues 688 3.2. Translation Methods 693 3.3. Illustration of Translation Methods (Excluding Hyperinflationary Economies) 701 3.4. Translation Analytical Issues 704 3.5. Translation when a Foreign Subsidiary Operates in a Hyperinflationary Economy 716 3.6. Companies Use Both Translation Methods at the Same Time 720 3.7. Disclosures Related to Translation Methods 721 4. Multinational Operations and a Company’s Effective Tax Rate 727 5. Additional Disclosures on the Effects of Foreign Currency 730 5.1. Disclosures Related to Sales Growth 730 5.2. Disclosures Related to Major Sources of Foreign Exchange Risk 733 6. Summary 734 Practice Problems 736 Chapter 16 Analysis of Financial Institutions 749 Learning Outcomes 749 1. Introduction 749 2. What Makes Financial Institutions Different? 750 2.1. Global Organizations 753 2.2. Individual Jurisdictions’ Regulatory Authorities 755 3. Analyzing a Bank 756 3.1. The CAMELS Approach 756 3.2. Other Factors Relevant to Analysis of a Bank 773 3.3. An Illustration of the CAMELS Approach to Analysis of a Bank 777 4. Analyzing an Insurance Company 800 4.1. Property and Casualty Insurance Companies 800 4.2. Life and Health Insurance Companies 809 5. Summary 816 Practice Problems 817 Chapter 17 Evaluating Quality of Financial Reports 825 Learning Outcomes 825 1. Introduction 825 2. Quality of Financial Reports 827 2.1. Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Quality of Financial Reports 827 2.2. Potential Problems that Affect the Quality of Financial Reports 829 3. Evaluating the Quality of Financial Reports 840 3.1. General Steps to Evaluate the Quality of Financial Reports 841 3.2. Quantitative Tools to Assess the Likelihood of Misreporting 842 4. Earnings Quality 845 4.1. Indicators of Earnings Quality 845 4.2. Evaluating the Earnings Quality of a Company (Cases) 855 4.3. Bankruptcy Prediction Models 866 5. Cash Flow Quality 867 5.1. Indicators of Cash Flow Quality 867 5.2. Evaluating Cash Flow Quality 868 6. Balance Sheet Quality 876 7. Sources of Information about Risk 880 7.1. Limited Usefulness of Auditor’s Opinion as a Source of Information about Risk 880 7.2. Risk-Related Disclosures in the Notes 884 7.3. Management Commentary (Management Discussion and Analysis, or MD&A) 888 7.4. Other Required Disclosures 891 7.5. Financial Press as a Source of Information about Risk 892 8. Summary 892 References 894 Practice Problems 896 Chapter 18 Integration of Financial Statement Analysis Techniques 901 Learning Outcomes 901 1. Introduction 901 2. Case Study: Long-Term Equity Investment 903 2.1. Phase 1: Define a Purpose for the Analysis 903 2.2. Phase 2: Collect Input Data 903 2.3. Phase 3: Process Data and Phase 4: Analyze/Interpret the Processed Data 904 2.4. Phase 5: Develop and Communicate Conclusions and Recommendations (e.g., with an Analysis Report) 932 2.5. Phase 6: Follow-up 933 3. Summary 933 Practice Problems 933 Glossary 937 About the Editors 947 About the CFA Program 949 Index 951

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPrologue V Chapter One The Young Warren Buffett 1 It Begins 8 From Investment Partnership to a Compounding Conglomerate 13 Chapter Two Developing an Investment Philosophy 17 Howard Homan Buffett 19 Benjamin Graham 26 Charles Thomas Munger 32 In Closing . . . 47 Chapter Three Evolution of Value Investing 49 Stage One: Classic Value Investing 51 Stage Two: Valuing a Business, Not a Stock 65 Stage Three: The Value of Network Economics 81 Chapter Four Business-Driven Investing 115 Investment Zone 117 Chapter Five It’s Not That Active Management Doesn’t Work 147 Chapter Six The Money Mind: Sportsman, Teacher, Artist 185 Epilogue 199 Acknowledgments 207 Berkshire Hathaway Library 211 For Further Reading 215 Notes 225 Index 237

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Book SynopsisDiversify your portfolio with gold and silver Investing and trading in gold and silver is always a sound ideaand that goes double in a time of unusual market fluctuation. As people look for safe places to diversify their investment risk, you'll likely see the value of your investment go up where other stocks are vulnerable. Gold and silver saw increases in value of 16% and 15% respectively in 2019putting them among the top ten most desirable commodities out thereand are projected to experience even more of a bear market as the dollar wobbles in an uncertain post-COVID world. This year, 2020, gold and silver are set up to have their best year of price appreciation over the past 40+ years. Written in an easy-to-follow, no-jargon style by CFP and bestselling author, Paul Mladjenovic, Investing in Gold & Silver For Dummies explains the different complex processes and vehicles for buying gold and silver. You'll find out the best ways to add these to your portfolio, how to balance risk anTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting Started with Gold and Silver 5 Chapter 1: Exploring the World of Gold and Silver 7 Considering Gold and Silver for Your Situation 8 Assessing the world’s financial issues 9 Knowing how gold and silver can help you 9 Taking Action Before You Invest in Gold and Silver 10 Reviewing your portfolio 10 Boosting your cash position 11 Using your talents in your spare time 11 Doing your research on gold and silver 11 Chapter 2: Understanding Gold and Silver’s Greatest Benefit 13 Looking at Counterparty Risk in Today’s Investments 14 Stocks 15 Bonds 15 ETFs and mutual funds 16 Cash and bank investments 17 Real estate 18 Futures and options 18 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies 18 Knowing That Gold and Silver Have Risks, Too 19 Chapter 3: Adding Gold and Silver to Your Portfolio Mix 21 Defining Saving, Investing, Trading, and Speculating 22 Saving 22 Investing 22 Trading 23 Speculating 23 Building Your Financial Profile 24 For the conservative investor 24 For the growth investor 24 For the speculator 25 For the trader 25 Making Other Portfolio Considerations 26 Deciding on a percentage to put in metals 26 Choosing gold, silver, or both 27 Investing for income 27 Chapter 4: Recognizing the Risks 29 Exploring Different Kinds of Risks 31 Physical risks 31 Market risks 31 Futures exchange risks 32 Political risks 33 The risk of fraud 34 Minimizing Your Risk 35 Gaining knowledge 35 Being disciplined 36 Having patience 36 Using diversification 37 Keeping some risk management tools in your arsenal 38 Weighing Risk against Return with the 10 Percent Rule 39 Part 2: Spanning the Gold and Silver Landscape 41 Chapter 5: Investing in Gold 43 Comparing Gold to Other Investment Assets 44 Gold versus the financial world in general 45 Gold versus stocks versus currencies 46 Understanding the Gold Market 47 Gold demand 47 Gold supply 49 Going Over Gold’s Recent Bull and Bear Markets 49 The 1970s bull market 50 The 1980s bear market 50 The 1990s range-bound market 50 The bull and bear markets of 2000–2008 51 The bull market and bear market of 2008–2018 51 Making the Case for Gold Today 52 Chapter 6: Surveying Silver 55 Comparing Silver and Gold 56 Silver’s similarities to gold 56 Silver’s unique qualities 56 Digging into the Silver Market 57 Silver demand 58 Silver supply 59 Future drivers of silver 61 Starting with Silver’s Modern History in the 1970s 61 Picking Apart Silver’s Performance during 2000–2020 62 The first silver bull market (2000–2008) 63 The bull market of 2009–2011 and the bear market of 2011–2018 63 Silver versus the financial world in 2020 and beyond 64 Resources for Informed Silver Investors 66 Chapter 7: Making the Most of Mining Stocks 69 Examining the Essentials of Stock Investing 70 A profitable company 71 A growing industry 72 A healthy balance sheet 73 Knowing What to Look for When You Evaluate Mining Stocks 74 Value that isn’t cheaper than dirt 74 Management that you can dig 75 Politics: Not in my backyard 75 Distinguishing Different Types of Mining Stocks 76 The majors 77 Midtier mining companies 77 Junior miners, eureka! Exploratory companies 78 Considering the Risks of Mining Stocks 78 Boosting Your Returns 79 Generating income 79 Leveraging with warrants 80 Checking out mining stock indexes 82 Spotlighting the Pros 83 Rick Rule 83 Doug Casey 84 Chapter 8: Examining Mutual Funds and ETFs 85 Choosing Mutual Funds 86 The advantages of mutual funds 86 The downside of mutual funds 89 Keys to success with mutual funds 92 The prospectus: Netting it out 93 Mutual fund resources 94 Selecting Exchange-Traded Funds 94 The pros and cons of ETFs 95 The world of precious metals ETFs 96 Other ETFs for the metals-minded 97 ETF resources 98 Part 3: Looking at Other Gold and Silver Investing Vehicles 101 Chapter 9: Going Direct: Buying Bullion 103 Weighty Matters: Troy Ounces 103 Making the Case for Physical Ownership 104 What could go wrong with paper assets? 105 Bullion versus numismatics 106 The risks of owning physical metals 107 Going for Gold Physical Bullion 108 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 108 The American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coin 109 The Krugerrand 110 The Canadian Maple Leaf 110 Other gold bullion 111 Seeking Out Silver Physical Bullion 112 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins 112 One-ounce rounds 113 Junk silver bags 113 The $1,000 bag of silver dollars 114 The 40 percent silver bag 114 Silver bars and ingots 115 So what kind of silver is best? 116 Gold and Silver Commemorative Coins 116 Bullion Costs, Fees, Dealers, and Resources 117 Chapter 10: Numismatic Coins and Collectibles 119 Understanding the Basics of Numismatic Coins 120 Aiming for profitable coin investing 120 Making the grade 121 Checking out information sources 122 Considering Collectible Coins 123 Gold coins 123 Silver coins 124 Other coins 125 A special category: Commemoratives 126 Exploring Coin Organizations and Services 126 Information sharing 126 Grading services 127 Selling Your Coins 128 Potential buyers 128 Pricing information 130 Chapter 11: Leveraged and Inverse ETFs 133 Feeling Bullish: Leveraged ETFs 133 Discovering what makes an ETF leveraged 134 Some advantages of leveraged ETFs versus futures and options 136 Checking out a real-life example of a gold and silver leveraged ETF 136 Feeling Bearish: Inverse ETFs and Inverse Leveraged ETFs 139 Using Leveraged and Inverse ETFs during the Market’s Ups and Downs 140 Bullish moves 141 Bearish moves 141 Other considerations 142 Looking at Resources for Leveraged and Inverse ETFs 142 Chapter 12: Focusing on Futures 145 Back to the Futures 145 How the futures market works 147 What can be traded as a futures contract 148 The Players in the World of Futures 149 The U.S exchanges 149 The international futures exchanges 150 Speculators 150 Hedgers 150 Regulators 151 The Fundamentals of Futures Contracts 152 A specified size 153 Specified quality 153 Specified prices 153 A specified delivery date 154 Metals Futures Contracts 154 Precious metals contracts 155 Mini-futures contracts 156 Pass the margin 156 Leverage: The double-edged sword 158 Basic Futures Trading Strategies 158 Basic strategy #1: Going long 159 Basic strategy #2: Going short 159 Basic strategy #3: Spreads 160 Using Fundamental and Technical Analysis with Futures 162 Futures versus Options on Futures 165 Futures Resources 166 Chapter 13: Considering Options 167 Discovering How Options Work 168 The call option 168 The put option 172 Placing Orders for Options 174 Options: Offering Something for Everyone 174 For those seeking gains 175 Income strategy #1: Writing covered calls 175 Income strategy #2: Writing puts 176 Minimizing Risks with Options 177 Trying Some Profitable Combinations 178 The zero-cost collar 178 The straddle 179 Checking Out Options in the World of Precious Metals 180 Options on mining stocks 180 An option with no expiration? 181 Options on ETFs and indexes 182 Options on futures 182 Following Golden Rules for Options Success 183 Consulting Options Resources 185 Part 4: Digging into Gold and Silver Investing Strategies 187 Chapter 14: Trying Out Trading Approaches 189 Like a Scout: Being Prepared 190 Be a voracious reader 190 Have your plan 190 Decide your market 191 Practice with simulated trading 192 Picking Out Your Vehicle 192 Selecting Your Trading Strategy 193 Choosing your market outlook 194 Stock trading coupled with options 194 Futures trading coupled with options 195 Trading the Gold-to-Silver Ratio (GSR) 196 Getting a little background on the GSR 197 Investing with the GSR 198 Trading with the GSR 198 Chapter 15: Using Technical Analysis 201 Defining Technical Analysis 202 Comparing Technical Analysis versus Fundamental Analysis 202 The guts of technical analysis 203 How about both? 204 The tools of the trade 205 Tracking the Trend 205 Trend lengths 207 Channels 207 Resistance and support 208 Checking Out Charts 209 Line charts 209 Bar charts 210 Candlestick charts 210 Point and figure charts 210 Picking Apart Chart Patterns 210 Head and shoulders 211 Reverse head and shoulders 211 Cup and handle 211 Double tops and bottoms 212 Triangles 212 Flags and pennants 212 Wedges 213 Gaps 213 Assessing Moving Averages 213 Simple moving averages (SMA) 213 Other averages 215 Investigating Indicators 215 Oscillators 215 The relative strength index (RSI) 215 Moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) 216 Crossovers and divergence 216 Bollinger bands 217 Focusing on the Short Term versus the Long Term 217 Resources for Technical Analysis 218 Chapter 16: Using Dealers and Brokers 219 Starting with Some General Points on Dealers and Brokers 220 Working with Gold and Silver Dealers 221 Sticking to major bullion coins 221 Investigating a dealer’s reputation and reviews 222 Getting at least three price quotes 222 Understanding ancillary charges 222 Deciding whether to get physical metals online or visit a local dealer 222 Picking apart a buy back policy 223 Getting the Scoop on Stock Brokerage Accounts 223 Beginning with types of stockbrokers 224 Assessing account types 224 Opening a stock brokerage account 225 Distinguishing Types of Orders 226 Stock brokerage services 226 Margin in a stock brokerage account 228 Introducing Types of Futures Brokers 230 Selecting a Futures Broker 231 Dealing with Futures Accounts 233 Seeing how margin works in a futures account 233 Watching out for problems in your futures account 234 Opening a futures account 235 Checking out futures account commissions and fees 236 Making futures orders 237 Considering managed futures accounts 240 Chapter 17: Tax and Retirement Considerations 243 Assessing Taxable Activity in Different Accounts 244 Regular investment accounts 244 Individual retirement accounts 246 Understanding Capital Gains and Losses 246 Looking at Tax-Deductible Activity 247 Surveying Special Tax Considerations 248 Gold and silver as collectibles 248 Tax rules for traders 249 Tax Resources to Keep You Up-to-Date 250 The IRS (of course!) 250 Helpful tax websites 251 An ounce of prevention 251 Adding Physical Precious Metals to an IRA 252 Precious metals allowed for IRAs 252 Companies where you can establish an account 253 Part 5: The Part of Tens 255 Chapter 18: Ten Reasons to Have Gold and Silver 257 Gold and Silver Provide Diversification 258 Gold and Silver Allow for Privacy 258 Gold and Silver Are Portable Wealth 259 Gold and Silver Ease Retirement Concerns 259 Gold Is a Safe Haven Asset 260 The Value of Gold and Silver Is Never Zero 260 Gold Retains Its Value in Bear Markets 261 Gold and Silver Have Enduring Demand 261 Gold and Silver Make Good Inflation Hedges 262 Gold Guards against Financial Bubbles 263 Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Add Gold and Silver to Your Portfolio 265 Major Gold and Silver Stocks 266 Junior Gold and Silver Stocks 266 Mutual Funds 266 Physical Metal ETFs 267 Bullion Coins 267 Numismatic Coins 268 Leveraged ETFs 268 Junk Silver 268 Gold and Silver Cryptocurrencies 269 Buying through Goldmoney and OWNx 270 Chapter 20: Ten (Or So) Tips for Gold and Silver Speculators and Traders 271 Focus on a Specialty 272 Do Research and More Research 272 Be a Contrarian 273 Limit Your Grubstake 273 Stagger Your Entry 273 Use the Right Speculative Vehicles 274 Have Multiple Positions 275 Use Technical Indicators 275 Do Some Hedging 275 Take a Profit 276 Use Brokerage Orders 276 Part 6: Appendixes 277 Appendix A: Resources For Gold and Silver Investors 279 Appendix B: Gold and Silver Investments 293 Index 299

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Book SynopsisA practitioner's guide to the role and implications of performance measurement and attribution analysis in asset management firms Practical Portfolio Performance Measurement and Attribution is a comprehensive reference and guide to the use and calculation of performance returns in the investment decision process. Focusing on real-world application rather than academic theory, this highly practical book helps asset managers and investors determine return on assets, analyse portfolio behaviour and improve performance. Author Carl R. Bacon clearly describes each of the methodologies used by performance analysts in today's financial environment whilst sharing valuable insights drawn from his experience as a Director of Performance Measurement & Risk Control. The third edition is revised to reflect recent developments in performance attribution and presentation standards. Fully up-to-date chapters cover the entire performance measurement process, including return calculations, attribution methodologies, risk measures, manager selection and presentation of performance information. Written by an acknowledged leader in global investment performance standards, performance attribution technique and risk measurementAligns with the publication of the 2020 Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)Explains the mathematical aspects of performance measurement and attribution in a clear, easy-to-understand mannerProvides numerous practical and worked examples of attribution analysis and risk calculations supported by Excel spreadsheetsIncludes signposts for the future development of performance measurement Practical Portfolio Performance Measurement and Attribution, Third Edition, remains a must-have for performance analysts and risk controllers, portfolio managers, compliance professionals and all asset managers, owners, consultants and servicing firms.Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1 Introduction The Performance Measurement Process Role of performance analysts Book Structure Chapter 2 The Asset Management Industry Asset Classes Public Equities Bonds (or Fixed Income) Cash (and near cash) Private Assets Real Estate Private Equity Private Debt Infrastructure Natural Resources Commodities Derivatives Futures Forwards Swaps Contracts for Difference (CFD) Options Overlay Strategies Currency Hedge Funds Asset Allocation Strategic asset allocation Tactical asset allocation. Chapter 3 The Mathematics of Portfolio Return Simple Return Continuously Compounded (or logarithmic) Returns Money-weighted Returns (MWR) Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Ex-ante Internal Rate of Return Simple Internal Rate of Return Ex-post Internal Rate of Return Simple Dietz ICAA Method Modified Dietz Time-Weighted Returns (TWR) True Time-Weighted Unit Price Method Unit Price Method with Distributions Time-weighted versus Money-weighted Rates of Return Approximations to the Time Weighted Return Index Substitution Regression Method (or b method) Analyst’s Test Hybrid Methodologies Linked Modified Dietz BAI Method (or linked IRR) Which method to use? Late Trading and Market Timing Self-selection Large Cash Flow Self-selection of methodologies Annualised Returns Since Inception Internal Rate of Return (SI-IRR) Modified IRR (MIRR) Return Hiatus Gross and net of fee calculations Estimating gross and net of fee returns Initial Fees Performance Fees Asymmetric or Symmetric Crystallisation Performance Fees in Practice Equalization Reporting Hierarchy Overlay Strategies Overlay performance return calculations: Base currency and local returns Currency conversions Hedged Returns Currency Overlay Returns Perfectly Hedged Returns Portfolio Component Returns Money-weighted Component Returns End of day Beginning of day Intra-day weighted Differentiated Actual Time Rule-based Extremely large cash flows Which timing assumption to use for time-weighted returns? Carve Outs Sub-portfolios Cash Sectors Individual security returns Multi-period component returns Abnormal Returns Short Positions Contribution to return Composite returns Chapter 4 Benchmarks Benchmarks Benchmark attributes The Role of Benchmarks Types of Benchmarks Commercial Indexes Calculation methodologies Aggregate Price Index (Price-weighted Index or Carli type) Geometric (or Jevons type) Index Market Capitalisation Index Laspeyres Index Paasche Index Marshall – Edgeworth Index Fisher Index Equal weighted Indexes Fundamental Indexes Optimised Indexes (efficient or minimum variance indexes) Fixed Income Indexes Index Providers Choice of Index Provider Benchmark Regulation Choice of Index Currency Effects in Benchmark Hedged Indexes Customised Indexes Capped Indexes Peer Groups and Universes Percentile Rank Random Portfolios Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) Target Returns Blended Benchmarks (or balanced benchmarks) Fixed Weight & Dynamised Benchmarks Spliced Indexes Money-weighted Benchmarks (or public market equivalents) Normal Portfolio Benchmark Statistics Index Turnover Up-capture Indicator Down-capture Indicator Up-number Ratio Down-number Ratio Up-percentage Ratio Down-percentage Ratio Percentage Gain Ratio Excess return Arithmetic Excess Return Geometric Excess Return Chapter 5 Risk Definition of Risk Risk types Risk management v Risk control Risk aversion Ex-post and ex-ante Descriptive Statistics Mean (or arithmetic mean) Mean absolute deviation (or mean deviation) Variance Bessel’s correction (population or sample, n or n-1) Sample variance Standard deviation (variability or volatility) Annualised risk (or time aggregation) The Central Limit Theorem Frequency and number of data points Normal (or Gaussian) distribution Histograms Skewness (Fisher’s or moment skewness) Sample skewness Kurtosis (Pearson’s kurtosis) Excess kurtosis (or Fisher’s kurtosis) Sample kurtosis Bera-Jarque statistic (or Jarque-Bera) Covariance Sample covariance Correlation (r) Sample correlation Performance appraisal Sharpe ratio (reward to variability, Sharpe index) Roy ratio Risk-free rate Alternative Sharpe ratio Revised Sharpe ratio Adjusted Sharpe Ratio Skew-adjusted Sharpe Ratio Relative risk Tracking error (or tracking risk, relative risk, active risk) Information ratio Geometric information ratio Modified information ratio Regression analysis Regression equation Regression alpha Regression beta Regression epsilon Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) Beta (b) (systematic risk or volatility) Jensen’s alpha (Jensen’s measure or Jensen’s differential return or ex-post alpha) Annualised alpha Bull beta (b+) Bear beta (b-) Beta timing ratio Market timing Systematic risk Correlation R2(or coefficient of determination) Specific (or residual) risk Treynor ratio (Reward to volatility) Appraisal ratio (or Treynor-Black ratio) Factor Models Fama decomposition Selectivity Diversification Net selectivity Fama-French three factor model Three factor alpha (or Fama-French alpha) Carhart four factor model Four factor alpha (or Carhart’s alpha) Multi-factor Models Drawdown Average drawdown Maximum drawdown Largest individual drawdown Recovery time (or drawdown duration) Drawdown deviation Ulcer index Pain index Calmar ratio (or Drawdown ratio) MAR ratio Sterling ratio Sterling-Calmar ratio Burke ratio Modified Burke ratio Martin ratio (or Ulcer performance index) Pain ratio Partial Moments Downside risk (or semi-standard deviation) Downside potential Pure downside risk Half variance (or semi-variance) Upside risk (or upside uncertainty) Mean absolute moment Omega ratio (W) Bernardo & Ledoit (or gain–loss) ratio d ratio Omega-Sharpe ratio Sortino ratio Reward to half-variance Downside risk Sharpe ratio Sortino-Satchell ratio Kappa ratio Upside potential ratio Volatility skewness Variability skewness Farinelli-Tibiletti Ratio Prospect ratio Fixed Income Risk Pricing fixed income instruments Redemption yield (yield to maturity) Weighted average cash flow Duration (effective mean term, discounted mean term or volatility) Macaulay duration Macaulay-Weil duration Modified duration Portfolio duration Effective duration (or option-adjusted duration) Duration to worst Convexity Modified convexity Effective convexity Portfolio convexity Bond returns Duration beta Reward to duration Miscellaneous Risk Measures Hurst index (or Hurst exponent) Bias ratio Active Share Value at Risk (VaR) Risk-adjusted return M2 M2 excess return Differential return Adjusted M2 Skew-adjusted M2 Types of Excess Return (or Alpha) A Periodic Table of Risk Measures Periodic Table Design Why measure ex-post risk? Which risk measures to use? Hedge funds Smoothing Outliers Data mining Time Period Chapter 6 Return Attribution 280 What is Attribution? Definition Attribution as an asset management tool Early Development Types of Return Attribution Returns-based (regression or factor) Attribution Holdings-based (or buy/hold) Attribution Transaction-based Attribution Arithmetic Attribution Brinson, Hood & Beebower Asset Allocation Security (or Stock) Selection Interaction Brinson & Fachler Interaction Geometric Excess Return Attribution Asset allocation Stock selection Sector Weights Frequency of Analysis Security Level Attribution Transaction costs Off-benchmark (or zero weight sector) attribution Attribution consistent with the Investment Decision Process Market Neutral Attribution Attribution for 130/30 funds (or extended short funds) Leverage (or gearing) Attribution including derivatives Attribution including Equity Index Futures Attribution Analysis using options Multi-currency attribution Ankrim & Hensel Karnosky & Singer Geometric Multi-Currency Attribution Naïve Currency Attribution Compounding effects Geometric Currency Allocation Currency Timing Interest Rate Differentials Revised Currency Allocation Revised Country Allocation Incorporating Forward Currency Contracts Summarising Other Currency Issues Fixed Income Attribution The Yield Curve Yield curve analysis Shift Twist (or slope) Curvature (or butterfly) Carry Credit (or spread) Yield Curve Decomposition Wagner & Tito Weighted Duration Attribution Geometric Fixed Income Attribution Campisi Framework Yield Curve Decomposition Multi-period attribution Smoothing Algorithms Carino Menchero Linking Algorithms GRAP Method Frongello Davies & Laker Multi-period Geometric Attribution Annualisation of Excess Return Attribution Annualisation Contribution Analysis (or absolute return attribution) Risk-adjusted Attribution Selectivity Multi-level Attribution Balanced attribution Evolution of performance attribution methodologies Chapter 7 Performance Presentation Standards Why do we need performance presentation standards? Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) – A history Advantages for Asset Managers The GIPS Standards Fundamentals of Compliance Definition of the Firm Maintaining Policies and Procedures Providing GIPS Reports Benchmark Selection Correcting Errors in GIPS Reports Composite Descriptions Recordkeeping Linking of theoretical and actual performance Portability Use of time-weighted or money-weighted returns Claiming Compliance with the GIPS standards. Input Data and Calculation Methodology Firm Assets, Composite Assets and Pooled Fund Assets Overlay Exposure Returns Valuation Time-Weighted Returns Money-weighted Returns Net Returns Composite Returns Private Market Investments Real Estate Net-of-fee Carve-outs returns Wrap fee, side pockets and subscription lines of credit Composite and Pooled Fund Maintenance Composite Maintenance Carve-Outs Presentation and Reporting Composite Time-weighted Return Report Returns, Dispersion & Risk Unobservable inputs, gross or net-of-fees, multiple benchmarks, breaks in performance, carve-outs and non-fee-paying portfolios Committed Capital and Advisory Assets Reporting currency, carve-outs, overlay strategies, wrap fees and supplemental information Composite Money-weighted Reports Composite Cumulative Committed Capital Total Value to Since-inception Paid in Capital (TVPI or Multiple of Investment Capital (MOIC) or Investment Multiple) Since-inception Distributions to Since-inception Paid-in Capital (Realisation multiple or DPI) Since-inception Paid-in Capital to cumulative Committed Capital (PIC Multiple) Residual Value to since-Inception Paid-in Capital (Unrealised Multiple or RVPI) Disclosures Claim of Compliance Firm, composite and benchmark definitions Fee disclosures Inception date, creation date, composite lists availability of policies and procedures, leverage and estimated transaction costs. Significant events, redefinition, minimum asset levels and withholding tax Conflicts with regulation, carve-out disclosures & sub-advisors. Benchmark Disclosures Significant cash flow disclosure and material errors. Risk measures, overlay strategy, real estate valuation and theoretical performance disclosures. Sample GIPS Composite Report GIPS Advertising Guidelines Fundamental requirements of the GIPS Advertising Guidelines GIPS Advertisements that do not include performance. GIPS advertisements for composites GIPS Advertisements for a Broad Distribution Pooled Fund Verification Performance Examination Achieving Compliance Maintaining Compliance GIPS Standards for Asset Owners Chapter 8 Bringing it all together Effective dashboards Data visualisation tools Manager Selection Asset Manager Selection Manager Evaluation Portfolio Evaluation Monitoring and Control The Four Dimensions of Performance Ex-post Return (The traditional dimension) Ex-post Risk (The neglected dimension) Ex-ante Return (The unknown dimension) Ex-ante Risk (The “sexy” dimension) Risk efficiency ratio Performance efficiency Risk control structure Risk management Glossary of Key Terms Appendix A - Simple Attribution Appendix B - Multi-Currency Attribution Methodology Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements About the Author About the Contributors Introduction [Typesetter: Intro to start on Arabic page] Part One. Building Wealth Through Business Ownership 1. Own Good Businesses Part Two. The Global Investment Opportunity 2. The Global Economy 3. Global Trade 4. Global Financial Markets Part Three. Risks of Investing Globally 5. Market Cycle Risk 6. Currency Risk 7. Geopolitical Risk Part Four. Buying Global Businesses 8. Company Analysis Part Five. Global Sector & Industry Primers 9. Communication Services 10. Consumer Discretionary 11. Consumer Staples 12. Energy 13. Financials 14. Healthcare 15. Industrials 16. Information Technology 17. Materials 18. Real Estate 19. Utilities Part Six. Own the Best and Leave the Rest 20. Portfolio Construction Conclusion Tools and Resources

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsForeword by Cliff Asness xiii Part I: Setting the Stage 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 3 1.1. Serenity Prayer and Low Expected Returns 3 1.2. Outline of This Book 6 1.3. On Investment Beliefs 11 Chapter 2 The Secular Low Expected Return Challenge 15 2.1. Broad Context 15 2.2. Rearview-Mirror Expectations, Discount Rate Effect, and Low Expected Returns 17 2.3. How Low Are “Riskless” Long-term Yields from a Historical Perspective? 21 2.4. Decadal Perspective on Investment Returns 24 Chapter 3 Major Investor Types and Their Responses to This Challenge 27 3.1. Three Broad Investor Types 28 3.2. History of Institutional Asset Allocation 33 3.3. How Has the Low Expected Return Challenge Hurt Various Investor Types? 42 3.4. How Are Investors Responding to the Low Expected Return Challenge? 45 Part II: Building Blocks of Long-Run Returns 49 Chapter 4 Liquid Asset Class Premia 51 4.1. Riskless Cash Return 52 4.2. Equity Premium 55 4.3. Bond Risk Premium 69 4.4. Credit Premium 74 4.5. Commodity Premium 81 Chapter 5 Illiquidity Premia 87 5.1. Illiquid Alternative/Private Assets 88 5.2. Less Liquid Public Assets 101 5.3. Liquidity Provision Strategies 102 Chapter 6 Style Premia 105 6.1. Value and Other Contrarian Strategies 109 6.2. Momentum and Other Extrapolative Strategies 117 6.3. Carry and Other Income Strategies 124 6.4. Defensive and Other Low-Risk/ Quality Strategies 131 Chapter 7 Alpha and Its Cousins 139 7.1. Alpha and Active Returns 139 7.2. Reviewing the Classification of Portfolio Return Sources 146 7.3. Demystifying Hedge Funds, Superstars, and Other Active Managers 147 Chapter 8 Theories Explaining Long-run Return Sources 151 8.1. Rational Reward for Risk or Irrational Mispricing? 152 8.2. “Bad Returns in Bad Times” at the Heart of Risk Premia 153 8.3. Other Core Ideas for Rational Risk Premia and Behavioral Premia 155 8.4. Who Is on the Other Side? – and Related Crowding Concerns 158 Chapter 9 Sustaining Conviction and Patience on Long-run Return Sources 163 9.1. Patience: Sustaining Conviction When Faced with Adversity 164 9.2. Economic Rationale – and Has the World Changed? 169 9.3. Empirical Evidence – and Data Mining Concern 170 Chapter 10 Four Equations and Predictive Techniques 173 10.1. Four Key Equations and Some Extensions 173 10.2. Overview of Predictive Techniques 180 Part III: Putting It all Together 185 Chapter 11 Diversification – Its Power and Its Dark Sides 187 11.1. Outline of the Remainder of This Book 187 11.2. Ode to Diversification 188 11.3. Critics’ Laments 193 Chapter 12 Portfolio Construction 195 12.1. Top-down Decisions on the Portfolio 195 12.2. Mean-variance Optimization Basics and Beyond 200 12.3. Pitfalls with MVO and How to Deal with Them 204 Chapter 13 Risk Management 207 13.1. Broad Lens and Big Risks 208 13.2. Techniques for Managing Investment Risk 209 13.3. Managing Tail Risks: Contrasting Put and Trend Strategies 210 13.4. Managing Market Risks: Portfolio Volatility and Beyond 214 Chapter 14 ESG Investing 219 14.1. Booming ESG 220 14.2. How Does ESG Affect Returns? 221 14.3. ESG Impact of ESG Investing – a Case Study on Climate Change 224 Chapter 15 Costs and Fees 225 15.1. Trading Costs 226 15.2. Asset Management Fees 230 Chapter 16 Tactical Timing on Medium-term Expected Returns 235 16.1. Contrarian Timing of the US Equity Market 235 16.2. Beyond Contrarian Timing of Equities: Other Assets and Factors, Other Predictors 240 Chapter 17 Bad Habits and Good Practices 243 17.1. Multiyear Return Chasing 244 17.2. Other Bad Habits and Good Practices 246 Chapter 18 Concluding Remarks 249 Acknowledgments 253 Author Bio 255 Acronyms 257 References 259 Index 277 Boxes 3.1 Global Market Portfolio 39 4.1 A Brief History of Inflation 54 4.2 Weak Empirical Relationship Between GDP Growth and Equity Returns 67 5.1 Share of Illiquid Assets in Global Wealth 89 5.2 Calendar Strategies 103 6.1 The Size Premium 107 7.1 Systematic Versus Discretionary Investing 142 8.1 How to Make Sense of Flow Data When Every Buyer Has a Seller 161 10.1 Machine Learning 183 11.1 Rebalancing 192 12.1 Modern Portfolio Theory and Two-Fund Separation 202 13.1 Can Risk Management Enhance Returns? Volatility Targeting 216 15.1 Taxes 233

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 What’s New in This Edition 2 How This Book Is Different 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 Icons Used in This Book 4 Beyond the Book 5 Where to Go from Here 5 Part 1: Getting Started With Funds 7 Chapter 1: Making More Money, Taking Less Risk 9 Introducing Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds 10 Making Sense of Investments 11 Lending investments: Interest on your money 11 Ownership investments: More potential profit (and risk) 12 Surveying the Major Investment Options 13 Savings and money market accounts 13 Bonds 14 Stocks 14 Overseas/international investments 15 Real estate 16 Gold, silver, currencies, and the like 17 Annuities 17 Life insurance 18 Limited partnerships 18 Reviewing Important Investing Concepts 19 Getting a return: Why you invest .19 Measuring risks: Investment volatility 20 Diversifying: A smart way to reduce risk 22 Chapter 2: Fund Pros and Cons 23 Getting a Grip on Funds 23 Financial intermediaries 25 Open-end versus closed-end funds 25 Opting for Mutual Funds 27 Fund managers’ expertise 27 Funds save you money and time 30 Fund diversification minimizes your risk 31 Funds undergo regulatory scrutiny 32 You choose your risk level 32 Fund risk of bankruptcy is nil 33 Funds save you from sales sharks 34 You have convenient access to your money 34 Addressing the Drawbacks .35 Don’t worry about these 36 Watch out for these 37 Chapter 3: Funding Your Goals and Dreams 39 Acting Before Researching: The Story of Justine and Max 39 Lining Up Your Ducks Before You Invest 41 Pay off your consumer debts 41 Review your insurance coverage 42 Figure out your financial goals 42 Determine how much you’re saving 43 Examine your spending and income 43 Maximize tax-deferred retirement account savings .44 Determine your tax bracket 45 Assess the risk you’re comfortable with 45 Review current investment holdings 46 Consider other “investment” possibilities 46 Reaching Your Goals with Funds 46 The financial pillow — an emergency reserve 47 The golden egg — investing for retirement 48 The white picket fence — saving for a home 52 The ivory tower — saving for college and higher education 52 Part 2: Evaluating Alternatives to Funds 57 Chapter 4: Selecting Your Own Stocks and Bonds 59 Deciding to Choose Your Own Stocks and Bonds 59 Beware the claims of stock-picking gurus 60 Know the drawbacks of investing in individual securities 64 Understand the psychology of selecting stocks 65 Picking Your Own Stocks and Bonds 66 Chapter 5: Exchange-Traded Funds and Other Fund Lookalikes 69 Understanding Exchange-Traded Funds 70 Understanding ETF advantages 70 Eyeing ETF drawbacks 71 Seeing the pros and cons of trading ETFs 73 Identifying the best ETFs 73 Mimicking Closed-End Funds: Unit Investment Trusts 75 Customizing Your Own Funds Online 76 Chapter 6: Hedge Funds and Other Managed Options 79 Hedge Funds: Extremes of Costs and Risks 80 Getting the truth about hedge funds 80 Investigating hedge funds 82 Managed Accounts with Hefty Fees 84 Private Money Managers: One-on-One 86 Robo-Advisors: Automated Investment 87 Part 3: Separating the Best from the Rest 89 Chapter 7: Finding the Best Funds 91 Evaluating Gain-Eating Costs 91 Losing the load: Say no to commissions 92 Considering a fund’s operating expenses 98 Weighing Performance and Risk 100 Star today, also-ran tomorrow 100 Apples to apples: Comparing performance numbers 104 Recognizing Manager Expertise 105 Chapter 8: Using Fund Publications 107 Reading Prospectuses — the Important Stuff, Anyway 107 Cover page 109 Fund profile 109 Fund management and other fund information 116 Investment objectives and risks 116 Investment advisor 120 Financial highlights 122 Reviewing Annual Reports 125 Introduction and performance discussion 125 Investment advisor’s thoughts 127 Performance and its components 127 Investment holdings 131 Investigating the Statement of Additional Information (SAI) 135 Chapter 9: Buying Funds from the Best Firms 137 Finding the Best Buys 137 The Vanguard Group 138 Fidelity Investments 139 Dodge & Cox 140 Oakmark 140 T Rowe Price 141 TIAA 142 USAA 142 Other fund companies 142 Discount Brokers: Mutual Fund Supermarkets 143 Buying direct versus discount brokers 144 Debunking “No Transaction Fee” funds 146 Using the best discount brokers 147 Places to Pass By 148 Hiring an Advisor: The Good, Bad, and Ugly 149 The wrong reason to hire an advisor 149 The right reasons to hire an advisor 150 Beware of conflicts of interest 150 Your best options for help 151 If you seek a salesperson 153 Part 4: Crafting Your Fund Portfolio 155 Chapter 10: Perfecting a Fund Portfolio 157 Asset Allocation: An Investment Recipe 158 Allocating to reduce your risks 158 Looking toward your time horizon 158 Taxes: It’s What You Keep That Matters 163 Fitting funds to your tax bracket 163 Minimizing your taxes on funds 165 Fund-Investing Strategies 168 Market timing versus buy-and-hold investing 168 Active versus index fund managers 169 Putting Your Plans into Action 171 Determining how many funds and families to use 172 Matching fund allocation to your asset allocation 173 Allocating when you don’t have much to allocate 175 Investing large amounts: To lump or to average? 175 Sorting through your existing investments 177 Chapter 11: Money Market Funds: Beating the Bank 179 Money Market Funds 101 180 Comparing money funds with bank accounts .180 Finding uses for money funds 182 Refuting common concerns 183 Grasping what money market funds invest in 189 Choosing a Great Money Market Fund 191 Understanding why yield and expenses go hand in hand 192 Looking at your tax situation 192 Deciding where you want your home base 194 Keeping your investments close to home 194 Considering other issues 194 Finding the Recommended Funds 195 Taxable money market funds 195 U.S Treasury money market funds 195 Municipal tax-free money market funds 197 Chapter 12: Bond Funds: When Boring Is Best 199 Understanding Bonds 199 Sizing Up a Bond Fund’s Personality 201 Maturity: Counting the years until you get your principal back 201 Duration: Measuring interest rate risk 203 Credit quality: Determining whether bonds will pay you back 204 Issuer: Knowing who you’re lending to 205 Management: Considering the passive or active type 206 Inflation-indexed Treasury bonds 207 Investing in Bond Funds 208 Why you may (and may not) want to invest in bond funds 209 How to pick a bond fund with an outcome you can enjoy 210 How to obtain tax-free income 214 Eyeing Recommended Bond Funds 214 Short-term bond funds 215 Intermediate-term bond funds 218 Long-term bond funds 221 Exploring Alternatives to Bond Funds 223 Certificates of deposit 223 Individual bonds 225 Guaranteed-investment contracts 226 Mortgages 227 Chapter 13: Stock Funds: Meeting Your Longer Term Needs 229 Seeing Your Money Grow 230 Be patient 231 Add regularly to your stock investments 233 Using Funds to Invest in Stocks 233 Reducing risk and increasing returns 234 Making money: How funds do it 235 Seeing your stock fund choices 236 The Best Stock Funds 238 Mixing it up: Recommended hybrid funds 239 Letting computers do the heavy lifting: Recommended index funds 243 Keeping it local: Recommended U.S.-focused stock funds 245 Being worldly: Recommended international funds 247 Expanding your horizon: Recommended global stock funds 249 Chapter 14: Specialty Funds 251 Sector Funds: Should You or Shouldn’t You Invest in Them? 252 Landlording Made Easy: Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Funds 253 Profiting from What Everyone Needs: Utility Funds 254 Factor Investing and Factor Funds 254 Arming for Armageddon: Precious Metals Funds 255 Crypto Funds: Pathway to Digital Riches? 257 From Energy to Metals: Clarifying Commodity Funds 258 Hedging: Market Neutral (Long-Short) Funds 258 Matching Values to Investments: ESG Funds 259 Evil is in the eye of the beholder 261 Ways to express your social concerns 262 Chapter 15: Working It Out: Sample Portfolios 263 Getting Started 264 Starting from square one: Melinda 264 Silencing student loans: Saanvi, the student 266 Living month to month with debt: Mobile Marcos 268 Competing goals: Gina and George 269 Wanting lots and lotsa money: Pat and Chris 272 Changing Goals and Starting Over 274 Funding education: The Lees 274 Rolling over (but not playing dead): Rafaella 276 Wishing for higher interest rates: Nell, the near-retiree 277 Lovin’ retirement: Noel and Patricia 279 Dealing with a Mountain of Moola 282 He’s in the money: Cash-rich Carlos 282 Inheritances: Loaded Liz 284 Getting Unstuck 285 Chapter 16: Applications, Transfers, and Other Useful Forms 287 Taking the Nonretirement Account Route 287 Filling in the blanks: Application basics 288 Buying into brokerage accounts 293 Preparing for Leisure: Retirement Accounts 297 Retirement account applications 297 What to do before transferring accounts 300 Filling out transfer forms 301 Investing on Autopilot 304 Finding Help for an Overwhelmed Brain 305 Part 5: Keeping Current and Informed 307 Chapter 17: Evaluating Your Funds and Adjusting Your Portfolio 309 Deciphering Your Fund Statement 310 Trade date or date of transaction 310 Transaction description 310 Dollar amount 311 Share price or price per share 312 Share amount or shares transacted 312 Shares owned or share balance 312 Account value 313 Interpreting Brokerage Firm Statements 313 Portfolio overview 314 Account transaction details 314 Assessing Your Funds’ Returns 314 Getting a panoramic view: Total return 315 Focusing on the misleading share price 316 Figuring total return 317 Assessing your funds’ performance 319 Deciding Whether to Sell, Hold, or Buy More 324 Handling bear markets 324 Dealing with fund company consolidations 325 Tweaking and Rebalancing Your Portfolio 325 Chapter 18: The Taxing Side of Mutual Funds 327 Mutual Fund Distributions Form: 1099-DIV 328 Box 1a: Total ordinary dividends 329 Box 1b: Qualified dividends 330 Box 2a: Total capital gains distributions 330 Box 3: Nondividend distributions 330 Box 4: Federal income tax withheld 331 Box 7: Foreign tax paid 331 When You Sell Your Fund Shares 332 Introducing the “basis” basics 332 Accounting for your basis 333 Deciding when to take your tax lumps or deductions 335 Looking at fund sales reports: Form 1099-B 336 Getting help: When you don’t know how much you paid for a fund 337 Retirement Fund Withdrawals and Form 1099-R 337 Minimizing taxes and avoiding penalties 338 Making sense of Form 1099-R for IRAs 340 Withdrawing from non-IRA accounts 341 Understanding form 1099-R for non-IRAs 341 Chapter 19: Common Fund Problems and How to Fix Them 343 Playing the Phone Game 343 Troubleshooting Bungled Transactions 344 Specifying Funds to Buy at Discount Brokers 345 Making Deposits in a Flash 346 Verifying Receipt of Deposits 347 Transferring Money Quickly 347 Losing Checks and Applications in the Mail 348 Changing Options after Opening Your Account 348 Making Sense of Your Statements and Profits 349 Changing Addresses 349 Finding Funds You Forgot to Move 350 Untangling Account Transfer Snags 350 Eliminating Marketing Solicitations 351 Digging Out from under the Statements 352 Getting Older Account Statements 352 Chapter 20: Information Sources: Fund Ratings and Forecasters 353 Entering Cyberspace: What the Internet Is Good For 354 Understanding Online Perils 355 Avoiding the Bad Stuff 356 Looking into market timing and crystal balls 357 Keeping them honest and providing new fodder: The Hulbert Financial Digest 358 Using bogus rankings, token awards, and mystery testimonials 359 Pitching a product: Filler and ads in newsletter form 359 Investing newsletter Hall of Shame 360 Getting In on the Good Stuff 362 Investment Company Institute 362 Morningstar 362 T Rowe Price 365 Securities and Exchange Commission 366 Vanguard.com 366 EricTyson.com 366 Part 6: The Part of Tens 367 Chapter 21: Ten Common Fund-Investing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them 369 Lacking an Overall Plan .369 Failing to Examine Sales Charges and Expenses 370 Chasing Past Performance 370 Ignoring Tax Issues 371 Getting Duped by “Advisors” 371 Falling Prey to the Collection Syndrome 371 Trying to Time the Market’s Movements 372 Following Prognosticators’ Predictions 372 Being Swayed by Major News Events 372 Comparing Your Funds Unfairly 373 Chapter 22: Ten Fund-Investing Fears to Conquer 375 Investing with Little Money 375 Investing in Uninsured Funds 376 Rising Interest Rates 376 Missing High Returns from Stocks 377 Waiting to Get a Handle on the Economy 377 Buying the Best-Performing Funds 378 Waiting for an Ideal Buying Opportunity 378 Obsessing Over Your Funds 379 Thinking You’ve Made a Bad Decision 379 Lacking in Performance 379 Chapter 23: Ten Tips for Hiring a Financial Advisor 381 Communicator or Obfuscator? 381 Financial Planner or Money Manager? 382 Is Your Focus on Market Timing and Active Management? 383 Who’s in Control? 383 Fees: What’s Your Advice Going to Cost? 385 How Do You Make Investing Decisions? .386 What’s Your Track Record? 386 What Are Your Qualifications and Training? 388 What Are Your References? 389 Do You Carry Liability Insurance? 389 Appendix: Recommended Fund Companies And Brokers 391 Index 393

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting Started with Cryptocurrency Mining 5 Chapter 1: Cryptocurrency Explained 7 A Short History of Digital Dollars 8 First, take the Internet 8 Add credit card confusion 8 Add a dash of David Chaum 9 Result? DigiCash, E-Gold, Millicent, CyberCash, and More 10 The Bitcoin white paper 10 Bitcoin: The first blockchain app 11 Who (or what) is Satoshi Nakamoto? 12 What’s the Blockchain? 13 Blockchain around the world — the blockchain network 13 Hashing: “Fingerprinting” blocks 14 Blockchain is “immutable” 15 Where’s the Money? 16 What’s the Crypto in Cryptocurrency? 18 Public Key Encryption Magic 20 Messages to the blockchain 21 Signing messages with the private key 22 The blockchain address — your money’s home 22 Sending a transaction message 23 Unraveling the message 24 The Basic Components of Cryptocurrency 25 What’s in a wallet? 25 Private keys create public keys 26 Public keys create blockchain addresses 26 The private key controls the address 26 Where Does Crypto Come From? The Crypto Mines (Sometimes) 27 Chapter 2: Understanding Cryptocurrency Mining 29 Understanding Decentralized Currencies 30 Exploring the Role of the Crypto Miner 31 Making Cryptocurrency Trustworthy 32 Reaching Agreement through Consensus Algorithms 34 Looking at the Cryptocurrency Miner 35 Making the Crypto World Go ‘Round 37 Chapter 3: Building Blocks: The Transaction’s Journey to the Blockchain 39 The Cryptocurrency Network 40 Submitting Transactions 44 Looking at transaction fees 44 Change address 46 Verifying the transaction 47 Competing for Bitcoin, the ten-minute contest 48 Winning the Bitcoin 50 Chapter 4: Exploring the Different Forms of Mining 53 Proof-of-Work Algorithms 53 Proof-of-work applications 55 Proof-of-work examples 56 Upsides 58 Downsides 59 Proof-of-Stake Algorithms 60 Proof of stake explained 60 Proof-of-stake selections 62 PoS example cryptocurrencies 63 Upsides 64 Downsides 64 Hybrid Proof of Stake/Proof of Work 65 Hybrids explained 66 Hybridized examples 68 Upsides 68 Downsides 69 Delegated Proof of Stake 69 Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance 69 Proof of Burn 70 And More 71 Part 2: the Evolution of Cryptocurrency Mining 73 Chapter 5: The Evolution of Mining 75 Proof of Work Mining Evolution 76 CPU mining 76 Adoption of GPUs 76 Rise of the FPGAs 77 Dominance and efficiency of ASICs 77 The Days of Solo Mining 79 Pool Mining 80 What is a mining pool? 80 Choosing a pool 81 Pros and cons of pool mining 82 Cloud Mining 83 Pool mining versus cloud mining 84 Pros and cons of cloud mining 84 Chapter 6: The Future of Cryptocurrency Mining 85 Incentivization of Energy Exploration 85 Underutilized hydroelectric dams 86 Oil and gas flaring 87 Continued Computational Efficiency Improvements 88 Doing more with less 88 Approaching the limits of physics 88 Corporate and Nation State Participation 89 Nation states 89 Corporations 91 Future speculation 91 The Mythical Miner Death Spiral 92 Block difficulty 93 Block difficulty adjustment algorithm 93 Miners of last resort 95 Part 3: Becoming a Cryptocurrency Miner 97 Chapter 7: Mining Made Simple: Finding a Pool and Preparing an Account 99 Understanding How Pool Mining Works 100 Choosing a Pool 102 Pools that are good starting points 103 A few of the largest pools 103 Incentives and rewards 105 Pool ideology 108 Pool reputation 108 Pool fees 110 Pool percentage of the total network 110 Setting Up a Pool Account 113 Server choice 113 Mining equipment pool settings 113 Payout addresses 114 Payout thresholds 115 Researching Mining Pools 115 Cloud Mining 116 Working with Cudo Miner 118 Chapter 8: Picking a Cryptocurrency to Mine 123 Determining Your Goal 124 Mineable? PoW? PoS? 126 Researching Cryptocurrencies 127 Mining profitability comparison sites 127 Algorithms and cryptocurrencies 131 The cryptocurrency’s details page 138 Mining-profit calculators 140 The cryptocurrency’s home page 141 GitHub 142 The cryptocurrency’s Wikipedia page 143 Mining forums 144 Going Deep 144 Longevity of a cryptocurrency 144 Hash rate and cryptocurrency security 145 Community support 146 Knowing That Decentralization Is a Good Thing 148 Finding Out It’s an Iterative Process 151 Chapter 9: Gathering Your Mining Gear 153 Selecting the Correct Computational Mining Hardware 153 Specified hash rate 154 Specified power consumption 156 Equipment cost and other considerations 161 Length of time your hardware will be viable 162 Mining Equipment Manufacturers 164 ASIC rig producers 164 Mining container producers 165 GPU rig producers 165 Finding a Wallet to Store and Protect Your Private Keys 166 Where to Mine? Selecting a Viable Location 166 Vet your home for cryptocurrency mining 166 Communication requirements 167 Power source thoughts 168 Data centers and other dedicated commercial locations 172 Chapter 10: Setting Up Your Mining Hardware 175 ASIC Mining Rigs 175 Racks 176 Power supply 177 PDUs 179 Network and Ethernet connection 180 A computer to control your rig 181 GPU Mining Rigs 183 Getting your GPU rig online 183 Building your own GPU miner 185 CPU Mining 195 Mining Software 196 Pool mining 196 Solo mining 200 Part 4: the Economics of Mining 201 Chapter 11: Running the Numbers: Is It Worth It? 203 Factors That Determine Mining Profitability 204 Cost of equipment 204 Hash rate of your equipment 206 Mining rig efficiency 210 Cost of electricity 213 Total network hash rate 217 Information about your pool 217 Block earnings 218 Cryptocurrency conversion rate 218 Calculating Your ROI 218 Your block earnings 219 Your expenses 223 Calculating ROI 223 Knowing the unknowns 224 Online profitability calculators 225 Historical estimates 226 Chapter 12: Reducing Negatives and Gaining an Edge 229 Profitability through Efficiency 230 Upgrading aging equipment 230 Mining different cryptocurrencies 230 Using exhaust heat 231 Reducing electricity bills 232 Knowledge Is Power 234 Why current events are important 235 The “fork wars” 236 Your forking decisions 240 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 244 Evaluating Your Mining Resources 245 Increasing mining competition 245 Increasing block difficulty 245 Diminishing returns due to halving events 246 Chapter 13: Running Your Cryptocurrency Business 249 What to Do with Your Mined Cryptocurrency 250 Convert your cryptocurrency 250 Buying equipment and paying bills 250 Paying with crypto when you can’t pay with crypto 251 Expand or upgrade your mining operation 253 But don’t forget the tax 253 Hodling your cryptocurrency 253 Invest your cryptocurrency 255 Donate your cryptocurrency to charity 256 Gift your cryptocurrency 256 Determining When to Sell 257 Cryptocurrency market indicators 257 Where to sell: Cryptocurrency exchanges 260 Dollar Cost Averaging 260 Dollar cost averaging your purchases 261 Cost averaging your exits 262 Custodial exchange risk 262 Tax and Your Mining Business 263 But you’re mining, not investing 263 It gets complicated 264 Scaling Up? 265 Do not overextend 266 Milestones to meet before you reinvest 266 Planning your expansion 268 Part 5: the Part of Tens 271 Chapter 14: Ten (or So) Tips for When the Market Dips 273 Have a Plan, Hedge Your Mine 274 How Long Can You Last? 275 Learn from Market History 277 Don’t Panic! (Keep Calm and Carry On?) 279 Buy the Dip 280 Look for the Advantages 281 Anticipate the Market Recovery 281 Learn From Your First Dip 282 Consider Market Volatility 283 Switch to Another Cryptocurrency 285 Stop Mining! 286 These are simple calculations 287 Stop or go? 289 Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Boost Your Return on Investment 291 Doing Your Homework 291 Timing Your Entry 292 Playing the Markets 293 Identifying Low Hash Rate Alternative Cryptocurrencies 293 Mining the Start of a Chain 294 Starting Small 297 Scaling Choices 297 Finding Cheap Electricity 298 Cooling Efficiently 299 Scoring Hardware Deals 300 Chapter 16: Ten Types of Cryptocurrency Resources 303 Cryptocurrency Market Trackers 304 Mining Profitability Estimation Tools 304 Cryptocurrency Reddit Pages 304 Blockchain Explorers 305 Data Visualizations 306 Cryptocurrency Data and Statistics 307 Cryptocurrency Wikis 307 Cryptocurrency White Papers 308 The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute 308 A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto 309 Bitcoin Guides and Walkthroughs 309 Chapter 17: Ten Criticisms of Cryptocurrencies and Mining 311 Energy Consumption 312 Wasted Processing 315 Scalability, Transaction Speed, and Throughput 317 Coin Distribution Fairness 319 Market Bubbles and Volatility 319 Centralization 320 Scams and Rip-offs 321 Hardware Price Inflation and Scarcity 322 Fire Hazards 323 Neighbor Complaints 323 Index 325

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface xiii Acknowledgments xv About the Author xvii Chapter 1 Setting the Stage 1 1.1 What is fixed income? 1 1.2 How big are fixed income markets? 3 1.3 What does it mean to be systematic? 8 1.4 Which fixed income markets will this book focus on? 15 1.5 Commonly used fixed income analytics 17 1.6 Other fixed income considerations 24 References 28 Chapter 2 Fixed Income – Strategic Asset Allocation 29 2.1 What are the key drivers of fixed income security returns? 29 2.2 What traditional risk premia can be harvested in fixed income? 36 2.3 The strategic diversification benefit of fixed income 50 2.4 Is the strategic diversification benefit of fixed income threatened in a low-interest-rate environment? 54 References 55 Chapter 3 Fixed Income – Tactical Asset Allocation 57 3.1 Market timing – term premium 57 3.2 Market timing – credit premium 70 3.3 Other considerations 83 References 88 Chapter 4 Incumbent Active Fixed Income Managers 89 4.1 Framework for active fixed income management 89 4.2 US Aggregate (Core Plus) benchmarked fixed income managers 94 4.3 Global Aggregate benchmarked fixed income managers 97 4.4 Unconstrained Bond Funds 100 4.5 Emerging Market fixed income managers 102 4.6 Credit long/short managers 104 References 108 Chapter 5 Security Selection – Rate-Sensitive Assets 109 5.1 What is the investment opportunity set for developed market government bonds? 109 5.2 Reducing the dimensionality 112 5.3 A framework for security selection of government bonds (investment themes) 119 5.4 A framework for security selection of government bonds (level, slope, and curvature) 123 5.5 Extensions 131 References 135 Chapter 6 Security Selection – Credit-Sensitive Assets 137 6.1 What is the investment opportunity set for developed market corporate bonds? 137 6.2 Dimensions of active risk taking within corporate bonds 145 6.3 A framework for security selection of corporate bonds (investment themes) 149 6.4 A framework for security selection of corporate bonds (performance) 158 6.5 Extensions 163 References 170 Chapter 7 Security Selection – Emerging Markets (Hard Currency) 173 7.1 What is the investment opportunity for emerging market fixed income? 173 7.2 A framework for security selection of hard currency emerging market bonds (investment themes) 178 7.3 A framework for security selection of emerging market hard currency bonds (performance) 182 7.4 Extensions 184 References 186 Chapter 8 Portfolio Construction Considerations 187 8.1 Choices in the investment process (design and investment universe) 187 8.2 Choices in the investment model (expected returns) 191 8.3 Choices in the portfolio construction process (optimization, rebalancing, trading) 199 8.4 Other topics 207 References 208 Chapter 9 Liquidity and Trading Considerations 209 9.1 Some context for the liquidity challenges of fixed income assets 209 9.2 Basics for trading credit-sensitive assets 210 9.3 Electronification of trading for credit-sensitive assets 219 9.4 Primary markets – liquidity provision 221 9.5 Secondary markets – liquidity provision 226 9.6 Ancillary topics 228 References 232 Chapter 10 Sustainability 233 10.1 Interest in ESG/sustainability 233 10.2 Sustainable investing with credit-sensitive assets 235 10.3 Sustainable investing with rate-sensitive assets 249 References 256 Chapter 11 Putting It All Together 259 11.1 What might a successful systematic fixed income investing process look like? 259 11.2 Some final thoughts 272 Reference 277 Index 279

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Book SynopsisThe complete package for succeeding in options! This exciting combo from experienced options trader Michael Sincere provides an A-to-Z education on low-risk options trading.If youâre interested in building a powerful options portfolio, the Ultimate Guide to Understanding and Trading Options: Two-Book Bundle has everything you need. This unmatched investing package provides the foundational knowledge you need to get started with confidence, along with effective hands-on methods for generating profitsâwith minimal risk.  Now considered an investing classic, Understanding Options explains all the basics, including overcoming assignment anxiety, LEAPS, the Greeks, protective and married puts, collars, credit and debit spreads, straddles, strangles, and options tips. Then, Make Money Trading Options provides battle-tested strategies for finding the best stocks, identifying the overall market environment, deciding whether to go l

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Book SynopsisTodayâs best-known expert on the topic shows business leaders how to dramatically increase corporate value through smart, strategic divestituresYou've focused on mergers and acquisitions, but how much do you know about divestitures? Wharton Professor Emilie R. Feldman provides a comprehensive primer on what strategic objectives divestitures can achieve, which businesses divestitures typically involve, what divestiture structures companies can choose from, and how to implement divestitures to maximize their financial benefits.Divestitures are among the hottest transactional structures today. Divestitures: Creating Value Through Strategy, Structure, and Implementation shows executives, board members, transactional advisors, educators, and others how strategic divestitures can be used to enhance corporate value and performance. The book is organized into three sections:Strategy: Remove problems, improve focus, reconfigure the corporate portfolio,

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Book Synopsis John Baron is a columnist, author and the founder of the investment trust website.  He is best known to readers of the FT's Investors Chronicle for having successfully managed two real investment trust portfolios since 2009 - as measured by their respective MSCI PIMFA benchmarks. His popular monthly column is closely followed and helps investors - private and professional - with their investments. John has used investment trusts for over 35 years. After university and the Army, in a career spanning 14 years, he ran a broad range of charity and private client portfolios as a director of both Henderson Private Clients and then Rothschild Asset Management (RAM). Table of Contents 1 What are investment trusts? 2 Better performance 3 Competitive fees 4 Structural advantages 5 Geared tailwinds 6 Discount opportunities 7 Dividend heroes 8 Independent board 9 Good communication 10 Comparing investment trusts 11 Perspectives – three fund managers 12 Perspectives – the AIC and a board director 13 Perspectives – an analyst, a shareholder and an ­editor 14 Deciding investment objectives 15 Accessing markets 16 First principles 17 More considerations 18 Further considerations 19 The Summer portfolio 20 Recent commentaries

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Book SynopsisBuild wealth through real estate Real Estate Investing All-in-One For Dummies will show new and seasoned real estate investors how to make smart decisions. With seven books in one, this complete resource will teach you how to purchase real estate, flip houses, invest in commercial real estate and foreclosures, sell your house, buy real estate internationally, and more. We even explain the ins and outs of short-term rentals like Airbnb, so all your passive income options are covered. With this book, you can start investing in real estate quickly and easily, thanks to user-friendly information and expert tips that will help you avoid costly mistakes. It's your one-stop resource for all things real estate. Learn how to buy and sell real estate, including how to find the best dealsDetermine whether flipping houses or short-term rental management is for youMaximize your earnings and minimize your tax bill in real estate investmentExtend your reach outside the United States by investing in real estate globallyThis is the perfect Dummies guide for amateur real estate investors who need a hand getting started, and for seasoned investors looking to up their game with commercial, international, and other investment strategies.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Book 1: Getting Started with Real Estate Investing 5 Chapter 1: Evaluating Real Estate as an Investment 7 Chapter 2: Covering Common Real Estate Investments 25 Chapter 3: Building Your Team 45 Chapter 4: Financing Your Property Purchases 63 Chapter 5: Grasping the Legal Fundamentals of Managing Residential Rentals 83 Book 2: Welcome Home: Buying a House 99 Chapter 1: Knowing Where and What to Buy 101 Chapter 2: Determining a House’s Worth 139 Chapter 3: Negotiating Your Best Deal 159 Book 3: Investing in a Foreclosure Property 185 Chapter 1: Getting Up to Speed on the Foreclosure Process 187 Chapter 2: Picking Your Point of Entry in the Foreclosure Process 199 Chapter 3: Performing Your Due Diligence 215 Chapter 4: Cashing Out on Your Foreclosure Property 237 Book 4: Flipping a House 259 Chapter 1: Devising an Effective Flipping Strategy 261 Chapter 2: Inspecting the Property and Estimating Rehab Costs 273 Chapter 3: Calculating Your Profit and Best Offer 291 Chapter 4: Prioritizing and Planning Your Renovations 303 Chapter 5: Negotiating the Sale to Maximize Your Profit 319 Book 5: Using Your House as an Airbnb 331 Chapter 1: Hosting on Airbnb: What It Really Means 333 Chapter 2: Determining Your Profit Potential 345 Chapter 3: Preparing Your Property 363 Chapter 4: Setting Your Listing Pricing 387 Book 6: It’s All Over: Selling Your House 405 Chapter 1: Deciding to Sell 407 Chapter 2: Timing Is Everything 423 Chapter 3: Price It Right and Buyers Will Come 435 Chapter 4: Marketing Your House 453 Book 7: Gone Global: Investing in International Real Estate 467 Chapter 1: Introducing International Investment Strategies 469 Chapter 2: Investing at Home or Abroad: Which Is Right for You? 485 Book 8: The Next Level: Investing in Commercial Real Estate 501 Chapter 1: A Crash Course in Commercial Real Estate Investing 503 Chapter 2: Evaluating Commercial Real Estate 519 Chapter 3: Property Management: Who’s Minding Your Ship? 549 Index 571

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Book SynopsisGet the 411 on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and how they might fit into your portfolio Are you looking for excitingbut responsiblenew investment opportunities that go beyond simple stocks and bonds? In REITs For Dummies, celebrated investing lecturer and author Brad Thomas delivers an easy-to-understand guide to getting started with real estate investment trustsalso known as REITs. These flexible and lucrative investment tools package together individual properties so you can invest in land and buildings without the hassle of being a landlord. In the book, you'll get a straightforward tour of REIT property sectors and the different ways you can invest in REITs. You'll also find: Strategies for selecting the best REITs for you and your familyWays to navigate the sector and generate durable income that helps you sleep well at nightOptions for those who want to go beyond the United States and investigate international REIT products. You already know about the basics of stock anTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part 1: Getting Started with REITs 5 Chapter 1: Who Wants to Be a Virtual Landlord? 7 Chapter 2: It All Starts with Real Estate 15 Chapter 3: Unlocking the First Level of the REIT Universe 31 Chapter 4: Understanding How REITs Make Money 45 Chapter 5: REITs around the Globe 61 Part 2: Exploring the REIT Universe 83 Chapter 6: Exploring the Primary REIT Sectors 85 Chapter 7: Exploring Alternative REIT Sectors 105 Chapter 8: Putting on Your REIT Analyst Hat 125 Chapter 9: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff 149 Part 3: REITs for All Investors 161 Chapter 10: Building a Smart REIT Portfolio from the Ground Up 163 Chapter 11: The Big Fish REIT Investors 179 Chapter 12: Pressing the REIT Easy Button 195 Part 4: The Part of Tens 211 Chapter 13: More Than Ten FAQs About REITs 213 Chapter 14: Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Investing in REITs 223 Appendix A: Assessing Weighted Average Cost of Capital 233 Appendix B: Determining Net Asset Value 237 Appendix C: Calculating Adjusted Funds from Operations 241 Glossary 243 Index 261

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Book SynopsisAn invaluable guide for fixed income practitioners, fully updated to incorporate the shift from LIBOR to SOFR Since its first edition in 2013, Fixed Income Relative Value Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide to the Theory, Tools, and Trades has become the gold standard for guides linking financial theories with practical analysis tools. The newly revised second edition reflects both the progress in statistical tools over the last decade and the impact of the transition to SOFR on swap spreads. You'll find a set of statistical and financial tools, a multitude of actual trades resulting from the application of these tools, as well as access to a companion website featuring spreadsheets illustrating some of the models contained in the book. This book covers: Statistical models for quantitative market analysis, in particular mean reversion models and principal component analysis, now including the multivariate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model. An in-depth ap

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Book SynopsisCreate a winning portfolio by understanding the realities of modern investing In Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing, prolific author and investor Larry Swedroe shines light on the foundation of modern investing, enabling readers to create winning portfolios through simple yet effective strategies. Through a combination of analogies, personal anecdotes, and empirical evidence from peer reviewed journals, the book clearly explains how to play the winner's game, instead of simply following the crowd, speculating, and making brokers and fund families wealthy in the process. The book begins by first explaining how to put your portfolio on the right path, then how to keep a steady course during market uncertainty, when many investors fall victim to human nature, lose perspective, and make incorrect investment decisions based on fear and greed. In this book, readers will learn: How prices of securities are established and why it''s so diffi

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Book SynopsisMaster your mindset and boost your investing success Investing Psychology Secrets is your golden key to developing an unshakable mental toughness when it comes to investing in and trading shares. If you want to truly excel as an investor, you need to develop your psychological fitness first so you can confidently handle whatever the sharemarket might throw at you. Investing Psychology Secrets reveals practical, evidence-backed methods to build your money mindset and improve your psychological strengths as an investor. To grow your wealth consistently, you need to be able to triumph throughout the struggles and stress, the wins and breakthroughs, in ever-challenging financial markets. In this book, Louise Bedford, a leading expert in behavioural finance and the bestselling author of Trading Secrets and Charting Secrets, unveils her strategies for confident investing. She shows you how to build your resilience, maintain focus, and thri

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Book Synopsis''A valuable exploration of the topic and a thought-provoking read.''Financial TimesAn insider''s look into how Generation Z''s focus on ethics, climate change and purpose will change capitalism forever. In the next ten years there will be an unprecedented wealth transfer from the so-called ''baby boomer'' generation to the young. Never before will so much money in housing, land, stocks and cash be shifted so suddenly from one generation to the next, and never before does the next generation feel so differently about the future of the planet and of capitalism.Ken Costa works with this new generation and shows how environmental concerns and anxiety about equality and diversity are more than mere slogans; instead they are driving the future of the markets. So many issues stem from the reality of the financial gap between age groups - from cancel culture and fears about wokeness, to generation rent, protest movements and re-evalTrade ReviewA valuable exploration of the topic and a thought-provoking read. * Financial Times *Everybody in finance and wealth management should read this book – as soon as possible. * Alec Marsh, Contributing Editor, Spear's Magazine *Ken Costa’s provocative and hope-filled book is for anyone who wants a more inclusive capitalism, but it is especially for the leaders who haven’t yet seen the great wealth transfer on the horizon, or who think it won’t affect them. Ken not only shows that we are facing the greatest shift in affluence, influence and values between generations that our world has ever seen. He also sets out a vision for capitalising on this moment in order to reset our economy, our societies and our future. It’s a manifesto for our times. * Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, business leader, campaigner, co-author of Net Positive *Ken Costa’s new book highlights the need for pragmatic cooperation between generations, if we are to shape the future that is already in our hands. The priority of Millennials and Gen Z is no longer amassing as much wealth as possible, but using their influence, values and newly acquired means to end poverty, tackle climate change and create a more equitable society. These may seem like ambitious goals, but I believe human beings are capable of extraordinary things – especially if they learn from the past to chart a clear path for the future with specific policy reform. Costa indicates a sustainable path towards a new form of capitalism, one in which the old and younger generations work in partnership, sharing knowledge and learning from each other, to save our planet. * Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen *“A generation without capital can never be capitalists.” This quote from the book captures well the generation gap that lies at the heart of this timely book that also importantly sets out what can be done about it. * Linda Yueh, author of The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How To Prevent Them *Ken’s insights challenge us to realise the huge wealth shifts, value shifts, technology shifts, and age shifts before us as we face up to the enormous inter-generational transfers from Boomers to Zennials. This book helps us bridge these generational gaps. What really matters is ‘CO’, as we co-lead our co-llectives to co-create generational trust towards a shared prosperity and destiny that spans generations. * Professor Michael Mainelli, Chairman, Z/Yen Group, and Sheriff of the City of London 2019-2021 *Ken Costa argues that the great wealth transfer of trillions of dollars from one generation (the Boomers) to the next (the Zennials) may become the defining movement of the 21st century. His book beautifully describes the characteristics of these two generations, and the tensions that have arisen between them and for society. The book is vital reading for anyone who wants to understand more about this momentous financial shift and the dramatic economic and social changes it may trigger. Ken Costa’s insights, arising from years of relevant experience, provide not only incisive commentary and thorough analysis, but also fresh and creative ways that we can (indeed he argues, must) work together to solve these huge societal problems. Many of these creative ideas reflect themes which Ken developed while Professor of Commerce at Gresham College. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as a razor-sharp yet compassionate attempt to resolve the clash of generations and to pave the way for what Ken terms a socially energised capitalism fit for the times in which we live. * Professor Martin Elliott, Provost, Gresham College *As an experienced leader, as well as a trailblazer in forging relationships with younger generations, Ken Costa is uniquely positioned to comment, advise and warn on the historic wealth transfer we’ve already begun to see. An illuminating and prophetic exploration, this book convincingly shows how leaders from across the generations must really come together, if we are to thrive as a society as well as a global economy. As Ken Costa shrewdly points out, CO is clearly the way ahead; collaboration, compassion and community are more than just buzzwords – they are the pillars upon which our newly socially energised capitalism must be founded. * John C. Maxwell – NYT Best Selling Author, Leadership Expert and Coach *The 100 Trillion Dollar Wealth Transfer is a gripping and insightful testimony of how intergenerational harmony and wisdom is essential for a thriving world. Ken Costa understands, as younger generations do, that you can create value in a market economy without abandoning your values. A powerful financial, societal and generational transition is occurring. For it to be successful, generations cannot navigate it on their own. In this book, Ken shows that uniting the spiritual hunger and ethical commitment of Zennials with the wisdom and experience of Boomers will guide us all to a more purposeful and prosperous future. * Rick Warren – author of the New York Times international bestseller The Purpose Driven Life *[Ken Costa] makes a convincing case on the need for a change in attitudes and working practices and has some practical advice for how business leaders can adapt their management style and organisations, all backed up with a wealth of data and anecdotes. The arguments considered in this book need to be taken seriously by business leaders, executives and managers who are having problems understanding their younger workers. * MoneyWeek *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 The Generation Game 2 The Crisis in Capitalism 3 The Tech Fissure 4 The Challenge of Individualism 5 The End of Truth 6 Understanding CO 7 CO-Leading 8 CO-Working 9 CO Compassion 10 CO-Creating Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisFully updated and revised for this edition, this is a beginner's guide to stocks, shares and all your investment choices from top financial guru Alvin Hall.Trade ReviewPraise for PLAN NOW, RETIRE HAPPY: 'Part of Alvin Hall's indisputable charm is to make the process of making pots of money look simple.' * Daily Mail *The most popular expert in the business. * Daily Express *Alvin Hall is the Mr Motivator of the money world. * Daily Telegraph *Not just a psychologist but a magician too * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisRead what happened next in the follow-up to the bestselling The Wolf of Wall Street, now a major motion picture directed by MARTIN SCORSESE, starring LEONARDO DICAPRIO, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, JONAH HILL, JEAN DUJARDIN, KYLE CHANDLER and JOANNA LUMLEY.In the 1990s Jordan Belfort became one of the most infamous names in American finance: a brilliant, conniving stock-chopper. He was THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, whose life of greed, power and excess was so outrageous it could only be true; no one could make this up! But the day Jordan was arrested and taken away in handcuffs was not the end of the madness.Catching the Wolf of Wall Street tells of what happened next. After getting out of jail on $10 million bail he had to choose whether to plead guilty and act as a government witness or fight the charges and see his wife be charged as well. he cooperated.With his trademark brash, brazen and thoroughly unputdownable storytelling, JoTrade ReviewWhat separates Jordan's story from others like it, is the brutal honesty. * Leonardo DiCaprio *Still a hustler, still a salesman - and also a hell of a writer. * Kirkus reviews *spankingly candid insights into sex, drugs and rocky stockbroking. * GQ Australia *Salacious reading. * The Star-Ledger *

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Book SynopsisA revised, fully updated 9th edition of this bestselling book about investing in stocks and shares.This book, first published in 1992, is one of the most enduring guides to investment in the stock market ever published. Now in a thoroughly revised, updated 9th edition this bestselling volume has been written and kept up to date by a professional long-term investor. It explains in plain English how the stock market works; what affects share prices;how to avoid unnecessary risks; and how you can invest successfully in shares, bonds, gilts, options and futures over the long term. It gives step-by-step guidance on: how to trade on the stock market, whether it''s going up or down; successful stock investment strategies; investing at minimum risk in traded options and futures; buying bonds, gilts and interest-bearing deposits.Trade ReviewAn easy to understand guide to the way the stock market works, and how the investor should go about setting up a successful investment strategy. - What Investment

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Book SynopsisMinimize risk and maximize profit with Options Trading 101. With its trademark series content format and accessible entry structure, Options Trading 101 brings the ins and outs of this hot investment strategy to readers everywhere in an engaging, informative, and easy-to-navigate package.

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Book SynopsisUnderstanding Cryptocurrencies is perfect for both introductory investors to the digital asset space and experienced investors seeking to gain practical insight into frameworks for understanding digital assets and valuation metrics.The book provides in-depth analysis of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the different types of Altcoins in the ecosystem. The author demonstrates an empirical approach to explaining how digital assets can fit into a diversified portfolio of traditional financial assets, or as a standalone portfolio in a parallel financial ecosystem. The book contains fundamental, technical, and on-chain analytic tools for investors to better understand Bitcoin price cycles that will ultimately lead to better returns. The capital from these price cycles oftentimes migrates to other digital assets, creating a robust ecosystem and providing opportunities for enterprising investors to generate additional alpha.In Understanding Cryptocurrencies, the author also offers options for asset custody and counterargument breakdowns to create better informed investors. Lastly, the author provides poignant insight into the economic inefficiencies created from decades of Central Bank interest rate manipulation and monetary expansion. These inefficiencies have had social, political, and economic implications. It is ultimately due to these inefficiencies that a global sound money vacuum exists for Bitcoin and other digital assets to exploit.

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Book SynopsisWhen companies suffer a dramatic even catastrophic drop in their share price, it is the investors who lose their shirts and employees their jobs. But often, a company's published accounts offer clues to impending disaster, providing you know where to look. Through the forensic examination of more than 20 recent stock market disasters, Tim Steer reveals how companies hide or disguise worrying facts about the robustness of their business. In his lively style, he looks at the themes that underlie the ways companies hide the truth and he stresses that in an assessment of a company's accounts, investors should always bear in mind that the only fact is cash; everything else - profit, assets, etc - is a matter of opinion. Full of invaluable lessons for investors, the book concludes with some trenchant observations on what is wrong in the worlds of investment, audit and financial regulation, and what changes should be introduced.Trade Review[The] best book I have ever read about accounting. * Telegraph *A lot of useful hints and tips. Highly recommended * Money Week *

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Book SynopsisAre 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.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Common Investing Pitfalls That Can Separate You from Financial Security and Success Chapter 2. Common Stock Pitfalls That Can Lead to Big Losses Chapter 3. Mutual Fund and ETF Pitfalls: What the Industry Won’t Tell You Chapter 4. Self-Inflicted Pitfalls: The Dangers of Psychological Biases Chapter 5. Investment Schemes Designed to Separate You from Your Money Chapter 6. Other Frauds and Scams that Lure Unsuspecting Investors

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Book SynopsisWelcome to the secretive club of modern hedge funds, where important players in the world of investing and capital markets have invested close to $4 trillion globally.If you're intrigued by the inner workings of hedge funds, investment techniques and technologies they use to source investment alpha, this book is for you. Focusing on the author's three decades of trading experience at leading banks and hedge funds, it covers both discretionary and computer-driven strategies and perspectives on AI-based and quantamental investing using new alternative data, which includes numerous examples and insights of real trades and investment strategies. No mathematical knowledge is required, with the relevant algorithms detailed in the appendices.Discretionary investing details equity and credit investing across the corporate capital structure. Through trading equities, bonds and loans, event-driven trades can target profitable special situations and relative value opportunities. Systematic trading involves computer-driven strategies derived from a scientific and statistical analysis of liquid markets. The investment strategies of both commodity trading advisors (CTAs) and long/short equity funds are detailed, from trend-following to factor-based approaches. AI investing is fashionable but does the reality for hedge funds correspond to the AI hype present in other non-financial domains? AI using neural nets and other machine learning techniques are outlined along with their practical application in regards to investing.Quantitative Hedge Funds also discusses environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, which has rapidly evolved as the public and institutions demand solutions to global problems such as climate change, pollution and unethical labour practices. ESG investment strategies are migrating out of the long-only space and into hedge funds.Finally, the advent of big data has led to multiple alternative datasets available for hedge fund managers. The integration of alternative data into the investment process is discussed, together with the rise of so-called quantamental investing, a hybrid of the best of human skill and computer-based technologies.Related Link(s)

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Book SynopsisTurbulence in crypto markets has left investors and potential investors terrified about the future of digital assets and decentralised finance. Valuations have collapsed, exchanges have bankrupted, and billions of dollars have been washed away. But is it really a crisis? Or is the immense promise and potential of this dynamic new asset class stronger than it's ever been? This isn't the first crypto boom and bust (likely not the last), and with every cycle exciting, emerging innovative opportunities rise to the surface and provide untapped potential for the informed investor. Investment and crypto expert Sam Volkering delves into the turmoil and unlocks the realities and potential of the still-emerging crypto opportunity. The Crypto Handbook is a must-have guide to the fundamentals of crypto and digital assets, covering topics such as exchanges, blockchain, NFTs, Web3, the metaverse and much more. Learn how to construct a robust crypto portfolio, how to secure and protect your crypto assets, how to put your crypto to work using decentralised finance, and how to spot and avoid threats and scams. This indispensable book reveals the latest thinking on the present and future of crypto, from some of the sector's leaders and innovators. Featuring interviews with: Luc Froehlich and Ben Brophy, Fidelity James Putra, TradeStation Dr. Jemma Green, Powerledger Hector McNeil, HANetf Lawrence Wintermeyer, GBBC Digital Finance By demystifying the complexities and confusion rife in the mainstream, The Crypto Handbook is a must-read for crypto newcomers and experienced investors alike. Readers will improve their ability to answer questions such as: What separates Bitcoin from the other 'altcoins' on the market? Can and should we trust crypto exchanges? What role do stablecoins play in the future of global finance? Is there any substance to the metaverse? What is blockchain, and how does it work? Are NFTs dead, or is another NFT boom around the corner? Is Web3 the future of the internet? And much more. Learn to master the crypto markets now with The Crypto Handbook.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents an integrating theoretical and empirical study of the co-movement and time-varying correlations between the stock markets of China and other BRICS countries including Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa, the United States and Australia. It is motivated by the global integration of capital markets and the resultant decline in the potential benefits of diversification.This book fills the gap in the research regarding this issue, as prior research has investigated the benefits of diversification for investors from developed markets. Topics include Capital markets, Globalization, China, BRICS countries.Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation and background 1.2 Research question and data 1.3 Research contribution and implication 1.4 Research findings and weakness Chapter 2 Literature review 2.1 Diversification benefit 2.2 Correlation 2.3 Dynamic correlation - DCC GARCH model 2.3.1 The development of the DCC GARCH model 2.4 Dynamic correlation - copula model 2.4.1 The development of the copula model 2.4.2 Upper and lower tail dependence 2.5 Conclusion Chapter 3 Stock market background 3.1 US subprime crisis 3.2 Market background - China and the US 3.3 Market background - China and Australia 3.4 Market background - China and Brazil 3.5 Market background - China and Russia 3.6 Market background - China and South Africa 50 3.7 Market background - China and India 3.8 Conclusion Chapter 4 Methodology 4.1 Static correlation 4.2 Dynamic correlation of the DCC GARCH model 4.3 Dynamic correlation of the copula model 4.3.1 Time varying Gaussian copula 4.3.2 Time varying Student's t copula 4.4 Tail dependence 4.5 Significance of the difference between two correlations Chapter 5 Data and preliminary data analysis 5.1 A preliminary statistical analysis of the data Chapter 6 Empirical study 6.1 Autocorrelation result 6.2 Unit root test 6.3 Cointegration test 6.4 Granger causality test and VAR model 6.4.1 China and the US - Granger causality test and the VAR model 6.4.2 China and Australia - Granger causality test and VAR model 6.4.3 China and Brazil - Granger causality test and VAR model 6.4.4 China and Russia- Granger causality test and VAR model 6.4.5 China and South Africa - Granger causality test and VAR model 6.4.6 China and India - Granger causality test and VAR model 6.4.7 Summary of results 6.5 Static correlation 6.6 Dynamic correlation - DCC GARCH model 6.6.1 China and the US - DCC GARCH model 6.6.2 China and Australia - DCC GARCH model 6.6.3 China and Brazil - DCC GARCH model 6.6.4 China and Russian - DCC GARCH model 6.6.5 China and South Africa - DCC GARCH model 6.6.6 China and India - DCC GARCH model 6.7 Tail dependence 6.8 Dynamic correlation - copula model 6.8.1 Dynamic correlation results of Gaussian copula and Student's t copula 6.8.2 Significance of the difference - Gaussian and Student's t copula model 6.9 Correlation comparison Chapter 7 Conclusion 7.1 Empirical findings 7.2 Limitation of the study 7.3 Future research References Appendix Appendix 1. Quantile - Quantile distribution curves Appendix 2. Probability of Ljung - Box autocorrelation test Appendix 3. The Autocorrelation regression equations of AR(1) and GARCH equation Appendix 4. DCC parameters and equations Appendix 5. Gaussian and Student's t Copula parameters of 2-step MLE Appendix 6. Dynamic correlation under the Gaussian and Student's t copula Appendix 7. Dynamic Spearman rho and Kendall Appendix 8. Copula Dynamic Correlation

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Book SynopsisEasy to use, and adopted by many successful traders over the years, William Dunnigan''s One-Way Formula for Trading in Stocks and Commodities is a robust and reliable mechanical approach to buy/sell decision-making in speculative markets. A rare example of a ''universal'' formula, this technique can be applied to almost any stock or commodity market, and requires little more than accurate line and bar charts.To understand the union of these two books, we have to understand the author''s ambition to develop a complete trading system which gave exact buy/sell signals for stocks or commodities, which was mechanical in all its applications, and which didn''t require the user to make any mental decisions.In New Blueprints for Gains in Stocks and Grains the author explores and introduces a full range of technical principles and lays the essential analytical groundwork for this universal formula.

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Book SynopsisOver the last few years, the world of betting has changed dramatically thanks to the convergence of betting on sporting events and the trading of financial markets. A new type of betting has emerged which has become the fastest growing area of betting today - binary bets. John Piper's 'Binary Betting' is the definitive guide to getting started with binary betting. Now he has written a second book for more experienced traders that takes binary betting to a new level. 'Binary Trading' assumes that you already know the basics and will show you in detail how and why: - you need never use a stop again - you can get the market totally wrong and still make money - you can look forward to news items and trade them with impunity Whatever your current trading strategy, you should consider how binaries could fit into your trading plan and make you money. This detailed and comprehensive book from an experienced trader will tell you just that whilst giving an inside look at the exciting world of binary bets.Table of ContentsBiography Preface Introduction Part I - Essentials 1. A Day in the Life of a FTSE Binaries Trader 2. Trading Strategies 3. The Key Bets Part II - Strategies 4. Shorting FTSE with BetonMarkets.com 5. Trading the News with Binaries 6. Trading the Waves with Binaries 7. Trading the Spikes 8. Trading Failures, the Mind of the Market, and Trendlines Part III - You and Your System 9. How Many Brains do you Think you Have? 10. Statistics & Probability 11. Developing a Trading System 12. System Testing 13. The Psychology of Trading the Binaries 14. Binary Betting Rules 15. The Beginning Appendices I Directory of Binary Betting Companies II Futures, Options and Binary Bets III Answers to Exercises IV The 5 Point Trading System V Stops and Limits VI Market Profile and Minus Development VII Lunchtime Trader and JPT Index

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Book SynopsisBurton Malkiel’s 1973 A Random Walk Down Wall Street was an explosive contribution to debates about how to reap a good return on investing in stocks and shares. Reissued and updated many times since, Malkiel’s text remains an indispensable contribution to the world of investment strategy – one that continues to cause controversy among investment professionals today.At the book’s heart lies a simple question of evaluation: just how successful are investment experts? The financial world was, and is, full of people who claim to have the knowledge and expertise to outperform the markets, and produce larger gains for investors as a result of their knowledge. But how successful, Malkiel asked, are they really? Via careful evaluations of performance – looking at those who invested via ‘technical analysis’ and ‘fundamental analysis’ – he was able to challenge the adequacy of many of the claims made for analysts’ success. Malkiel found the major active investment strategies to be significantly flawed. Where actively managed funds posted big gains one year, they seemingly inevitably posted below average gains in succeeding years. By evaluating the figures over the medium and long term, indeed, Malkiel discovered that actively-managed funds did far worse on average than those that passively followed the general market index.Though many investment professionals still argue against Malkiel’s influential findings, his exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of the argument for believing investors’ claims provides strong evidence that his own passive strategy wins out overall.Table of ContentsWays In to the Text Who is Burton G. Malkiel? What does A Random Walk Down Wall Street Say? Why does A Random Walk Down Wall Street Matter? Section 1: Influences Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context Module 2: Academic Context Module 3: The Problem Module 4: The Author's Contribution Section 2: Ideas Module 5: Main Ideas Module 6: Secondary Ideas Module 7: Achievement Module 8: Place in the Author's Work Section 3: Impact Module 9: The First Responses Module 10: The Evolving Debate Module 11: Impact and Influence Today Module 12: Where Next? Glossary of Terms People Mentioned in the Text Works Cited

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Book SynopsisEnter the wonderful world of whisky casks to learn about a unique investment opportunity.We are in the grip of the greatest period of uncertainty since the 2008 financial crash. Volatility is rocking global financial markets, and inflation is back with a vengeance. Investors are seeking capital preservation and stable returns. Whisky casks can provide both.Two unique attributes make whisky casks different from the other safe-haven assets. Whisky casks automatically appreciate in value as time passes because the spirit within them becomes more precious as it matures – and you can curate your own whisky cask to maximise your returns. Add to that supply constraints, deep heritage and a booming market that has been unaffected by Covid-19 and geopolitical tensions, and you have an uncorrelated investment that can offer stable annual returns of 10-12% and a hedge against rising inflation.This book tells you everything you need to know to start investing in whisky casks. It uncovers the history of whisky cask investment and explains how to choose and curate your cask, highlighting the factors to consider when creating a portfolio of casks.With cask prices starting at around £1,500, whisky cask investment is open to almost everyone. It provides an enjoyable way to diversify your investment portfolio in uncertain times with the promise of outstanding returns. Unlock the door to a new investment that could revolutionise your personal finances – with a few tasty drams along the way.

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Book SynopsisInvestor Relations and ESG Reporting in a Regulatory Perspective is a comprehensive and detailed practical guide for financial market participants, focusing on the stock market, written for practitioners by practitioners. The main themes of the book include the challenging integration of investor relations (IR) and the non-financial reporting of environmental, social and governance (ESG). Further, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the complex regulatory framework of the European Union (EU) related to the financial markets, including the expected global trends in this area. This includes financial legislation such as MiFID II, MiFIR and MAR along with non-financial legislation like the EU’s taxonomy, CSRD and SFDR. In addition, this book explores the non-financial reporting standards of GRI, TCFD, CDSB, IBC, SASB, IRRC and the upcoming ISSB, and discusses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, the book provides a practical guide regarding IR in special situations, e.g. in connection with takeover response manuals, M&A, investor activism, initial public offerings (IPOs), as well companies’ collaboration with e.g. investment banks and corporate finance advisers, financial PR and IR advisers in such situations. The suggested audience of the book includes board members and senior management of in particular listed companies, and companies considering an IPO; professionals working in the fields of IR, ESG and communications; institutional and retail investors; private equity executives; venture capitalists; investment bankers; legal practitioners; accountants and auditors; financial journalists; and politicians. Finally, university and business students may benefit from an insight into the dynamics of the financial markets and the direction they are moving, a possible inspiration for choosing a future career. Table of ContentsOverview of main sections1. The financial markets – an overview 2. The participants of the financial markets 3. Major legislation themes related to the European financial markets 4. Optimizing the investor relations department, and a fair valuation of the company through good investor relations 5. Investor relations in special situations 6. ESG-reporting for listed companies 7. Future trends in financial and non-financial reporting Section 1: The financial markets – an overview [including the benefits of a stock market listing, how stock prices are formed, and understanding the valuation methodology of investors, equity analysts, and corporate finance professionals] Chapter 1.1: The benefits and drawbacks of a stock market listing · Why is a company listed on the stock exchange? [a summary of the main motivations, including access to capital, liquidity, ownership transition, credibility, marketing, transparency, and employee engagement] · The terminology of the financial markets [with an emphasis of the importance of distinguishing the different participants and stakeholders of the financial markets, including their motivation, and why tailoring communication improves the company’s standing with the stock market] Chapter 1.2: The formation of stock prices · What determines the price of a stock? [a framework on the social interactions within the financial markets between different participants, and how information volatility forms stock prices - based on the works of e.g. Robert J. Schiller (1984/2003) and Ho & Lyke (2017)] · The social interaction within the financial markets [the interaction between buyers and sellers, and the deviation between market price volatility and intrinsic value] · Information is king [defining types of information (asymmetric/symmetric, disclosed/undisclosed, grey areas) and types of markets (perfect/imperfect/hybrid) Chapter 1.3: Ethics on the financial markets: Why a solid IR framework is key · Important considerations on ethics in the financial markets [Outlining insider information, including DOs & DONTs] · Understanding the difference between forward-looking views and investor communication with material sensitive information Chapter 1.4: Understanding valuation methodology · Introduction to different valuation methods of investors, equity analysts, and corporate finance professionals [qualitative and quantitative methods, including their use, input and limitations] · The importance of the financial accounts [identification of the most relevant ‘lines’ of the profit & loss account, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement) · Enterprise multiples [different earnings/sales/cash multiples, including in combination, with selected growth rates and earnings margins] · Discounted Cash Flows (DCF) [description of mythology, assumptions and inputs] · Others (e.g. M&A multiples, subscriptions) Chapter 1.5: ESG and other non-valuation methods (inspiration from ‘Beating the Market with ESG, Silvalo, H. and Landau, T.) · Motivation and methods for sustainable investing · Active ownership · Qualitative and quantitative methods · The investment trends of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) in the investment community Chapter 1.6: Valuation methodology from the perspective of different investors · Investors and their valuation preferences [integrating the valuation methods with the social context of the financial markets, before exploring the relevant stakeholders in detail] Summary of advice and best practices [brief and operational] Section 2: The participants of the financial markets [including understanding their respective interests, and the collaboration between them] Abstract [of section content] Chapter 2.1: Understanding the financial markets’ stakeholders and their motivation · The dynamics between the various stakeholders of the financial markets [incl. an illustrative diagram connecting all stakeholders] Chapter 2.2: The buy-side - from institutional to retail investors · Investors (the ‘buy-side’) [including an illustrative diagram connecting risk profile, investment tenure and return expectations – and typical shareholder composition of various investor types in listed companies] Chapter 2.3: Understanding the role of institutional investors · Portfolio managers [tier 1 and 2, who are they, including e.g. the internal process with institutional investors which leads to a decision to invest in a certain company, including investment focus, investment themes, valuation, and selected 'political' considerations] · Buy-side analyst [identifying thematic investments themes (asset classes and equity classes) over the investment cycle] · Other investor groups, including private equity and proprietary trading Chapter 2.4: How to communicate with retail investors · Traditional retail investors · High net-worth individuals · Exchange traded funds (ETFs) (passive investors) [types of fund specifications, incl. traditional such as index, size, region, industry, factors to new such as ESG-compositions, investment themes and SRI)] Chapter 2.5: The sell-side - brokers, corporate access, equity analysts, and corporate finance [including an illustrative diagram of the collaboration framework] · Sell-side analysts [including an illustrative diagram of sell-side analysts’ role among the financial markets’ participants, types of equity research (comprehensive research reports, analyst notes and chat commentary and ESG reporting), financial modelling and maintenance, external data] · Sales and trading [client relationship management (client onboarding and maintenance), as intermediate between institutional investors, trading and institutional investors, and research analysts - interpreting analyst reports, and qualitative analysis for example management composition and ESG-trends] · Corporate access [managing roadshows and ad hoc investor events] · Broker reviews and ratings [including what dictates the distribution of investors’ commission among brokers] · Credit/debt analysts [including brief explanation of the different focus of equity analysts and credit/debt analyst] · Corporate finance advisers [types of financial market-related corporate finance transactions, and the collaboration between the various financial market participants on the one side, and the corporate finance advisers on the other side of the ‘wall’] Chapter 2.6: Considering the role of other non-financial market stakeholders · Other stakeholders in the financial markets [e.g. competitors, customers, external IR advisors (elaborated in chapter [5]), employees, media etc.] · How does regulatory and legislation influence the stock markets [bridging to the following chapter] Summary of advice and best practices [brief and operational] Section 3: Major legislation themes related to the European financial markets [including the wave of new regulations and laws which have flooded the on financial markets in recent years; their impact; as well as ESG and mitigation methods] Abstract [of section content] Chapter 3.1: How is regulation implemented on the European financial markets? · Introduction to, and a legislative overview of, the legal framework governing the EU financial markets [including an illustrative diagram and timeline of the comprehensive regulatory framework governing the participants of the financial markets] · Relevant EU legislation and its context [including how are EU laws encapsulated into EU jurisdictions (via. legislation and directives) and how does EU legislation generally tie in with the local legislation of the different EU jurisdictions. Inclusion of illustration of overall financial market legal framework in the EU and table related to local laws] · MiFID II (the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) [including a summary of legal framework, and overview of implications] · MIFIR (Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation) [including a summary of legal framework, and overview of implications] · MAR (Market abuse regulation) [including a summary of legal framework, and overview of implications] Chapter 3.2: Learning from the impact on financial markets of recent regulation · MiFID II’s motivation to outline stakeholders and increase transparency · The more detailed regulatory impact on the financial markets [EU’s impact of MIFID II on SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) and fixed income] · Research coverage [the separation of research and trading remuneration has lowered the flexibility of research, consolidating it towards larger companies] · Road shows and other event services [the increasing difficulty of broker facilitated events due to the required remuneration] · Liquidity [overall lower attention from brokers has resulted in reduced stock liquidity] · Chinese walls and organisational silos [increase of internal compliance, bureaucracy, and procedures to navigate ‘the regulatory framework’ in an optimal, efficient best-practice ethical manner] Chapter 3.3: Best-practice mitigation methods to increase investor interest · Possibilities to mitigate the adverse impact of selected regulatory framework · Sponsored research [the difference vs. traditional research (e.g. no recommendation and public distribution); examples from the market; the buy-side’s perception] · Event relationships [e.g. paid roadshows; motivating the sell-side; the buy-side’s perception] · Digital IR [e.g. marketing through social media; addressing private investors and the retail market] · Selected proactive media relations [incl. the impact on retail investors] Chapter 3.4: The new wave of regulatory framework [ESG may be a central topic] · MIFID II / EU Commission ‘Financing Sustainable Growth’ · EU Classification system ‘Taxonomy’ and changes in international politics and legislation (Silvola, H. et al.) · What may the future bring on the regulatory side? [potential themes of MiFID III; optimising IR activities as introduction to new chapter] Summary of advice and best practices [brief and operational] Section 4: Optimizing the investor relations department, and a fair valuation of the company through good investor relations [including the purpose, role, toolbox and transformative role of IR] Abstract [of section content] Chapter 4.1: The purpose of IR · Strategic management · Two-way communication · The goal of achieving a fair value of the share price Chapter 4.2: Deciding on IR ambitions and its success factors · The basics of IR ambitions · Best practice · IR practicalities (central IR tasks) · What characterizes good IR? Chapter 4.3: IR within the organisation · Organizing IR · The operational responsibility of IR · Management’s role · Board of Directors’ role · Collaboration with communication and ESG leads · Internal IR reporting · Internal collaboration · Competitor intelligence Chapter 4.4: IR’s responsibilities of implementing policies and planning ahead · Quarterly reporting cycle [including silent periods, management priorities, pre-close calls] · Internal process and planning (the IR-wheel) · IR in a corporate governance context · IR policy · IR strategy · IR plan Chapter 4.5: Tools to engage a company’s stakeholders · Website · Investor presentation · Annual report · Quarterly reporting · Q&A · Investor targeting · Investor meetings, roadshow and other IR activities o Webcasts o Psychical / video meetings o Group meetings o One-on-one meetings o Capital markets days · Financial targets [incl. pros and cons] · Perception studies [an under-rated IR tool] Chapter 4.6: Managing investor expectations · Meetings with investors and analysts o Institutional investors [and buyside analysts] o Private investors (distinguishing between high-net worth and retail) o Equity analysts o Credit/debt analysts · Expectations management [without challenging existing legislation] Chapter 4.7: Embracing the digital world of IR activities · The use of social media · Digital platforms facilitating contact between companies and investors · Potential pitfalls · Leveraging IR through the financial media · The IR function’s interaction with different stakeholders [external and internal] · Leveraging IR at the executive management and board of directors’ levels Summary of advice and best practices [brief and operational] Section 5: Investor relations in special situations [including contingencies, engagement, monitoring and Initial Public Offerings (IPOs)] Abstract [of section content] Chapter 5.1: IR preparation of difference types in contingencies · The importance of contingencies [including the role of IR] · IR’s role if a crisis emerges · Designing a comprehensive contingency · Balancing investor communication and transparency · The use of external advisers [e.g. IR and communications advisers, investments banks, legal] · Takeover response manuals [i.e. detailed contingencies in a takeover situation to ease the pressure on the company, and to obtain the best offer price for the shareholders] Chapter 5.2: Valuation in a take-over situation and strategic alternatives · Overview of thresholds · The approach of investments banks [the investment banks works with management to perform a thorough valuation review, focusing on share price performance, broker outlook, SOTP (Sum-Of-The-Parts) intrinsic value, and comparable company valuation analyses] · Assess strategic value to competitors [e.g. synergies] · Understand the company’s weaknesses · Assess possible attack themes and responses · Review strategic alternatives as routes to value [e.g. acquisitions, capital returns, licensing, other collaborations, etc.] Chapter 5.3: Shareholder engagement and monitoring market activity · How to stay close to and communicate with shareholders · Review list of major shareholders in detail and know them [investor perception, satisfaction, trust] · Continue developing the company’s equity story and communicate it effectively to the investor community; make sure guidance is both robust and credible, and that shareholders have proper visibility with respect to the company’s value drivers · Track trading flows in order to decipher whether or not stake accumulation is taking place · Monitor trading activity relative to historical averages · The implications of voting rights and dual voting right structures · Maintain awareness of short positions and related derivatives trading as indicia of potential activist activity, or a potential acquirer building a major shareholding Chapter 5.4: Developing a comprehensive take-over response manual · Develop a comprehensive take-over response manual that can be relied upon by the board of directors and executive management in the event of an unsolicited approach from a third party [i.e. a document that illustrate the steps each party needs to take in the event of an unsolicited approach] · Prepare detailed ‘leak protocol’ and ‘aide-mémoire’ to ensure formal framework in place · Rehearsing the board of directors, and management, on a ‘situation simulation’ [i.e. where a possible takeover scenario is conducted on a ‘war games’ basis] · White knight analysis [i.e. understanding who friend is, and who is foe] · Compile list of possible acquirors and analyse their financial capabilities and borrowing/financing potential · Create short-list of ‘white knights’ and what steps might be taken to cultivate them in advance of a potential third-party bid approach Chapter 5.5: A checklist for prober IR strategy during an IPO · A company’s collaboration with investment banks, lawyers and other advisers · IR, financial PR and media relations in an IPO process [i.e. the IPO process from an IR perspective] · Creating a new IR function [summary considerations] · Guidelines and procedures for onboarding new equity analysts · Public-to-private transactions, including contested take-overs [the role of IR] Summary of advice and best practices [brief and operational] Section 6 ESG-reporting for listed companies [including integrating the growing strong focus and understanding of ESG within the relevant reporting structures among the stakeholders] Abstract [of section content] Chapter 6.1: A detailed insight to the importance of integrating ESG in the business and IR · The new world of business, and the financial markets, are dictated by ESG. ESG must be an integrated part of a company’s business strategy · The ESG stakeholders [illustration of a Stakeholder and ESG model by Kay I., et. al. (2020)] and how the IR and ESG departments can collaborate · Aligning the company’s internal actors (board of directors, management, and general senior staff) to embrace ESG · Why the importance of ESG has increased in the financial market [e.g. the fundamental, climate, business, political and emotional arguments to embrace ESG] Chapter 6.2: The importance of good ESG-reporting [vis-à-vis the financial markets] · Investor attention: Better ESG performance relative to peers · Cost of capital: Companies with a focus on ESG provide more transparent financial information; may lower their cost of capital by attracting long-term institutional investors; and are superior in attracting equity analyst coverage · Raising capital - a long-standing focus on ESG has a positive impact on the ability to raise new capital, including the magnitude hereof · The stance of institutional investors · Pressure from stakeholders · Screening criteria’s and ESG investment strategies · The stance of equity analysts · Onwards – lack of good ESG will dry out companies’ access to new capital Chapter 6.3: Setting the standards of ESG-reporting · ESG rating agencies [who are they and what do they do?] · What value do investors put into ESG rating agencies? · How do investors evaluate the ESG progress of companies? · The financial stakeholders’ demands to ESG-reporting, for both institutional investors, retail investors, equity analysts and other stakeholders Chapter 6.4: ESG-reporting [how to approach and prepare it] · Where to start · Select the main audience · What do the financial stakeholders prioritise · Creating the right reporting framework · Select your focus areas [e.g. among UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to transform the world] · Develop relevant and realistic plans and reporting targets · Typical challenges [e.g. collecting the relevant data] · Integrating the financial and ESG-related/non-financial reporting Summary of advice and best practices [brief and operational] Section 7 Future trends in financial and non-financial reporting [summarizing a series of reporting trends related to financial and non-financial stakeholders] Abstract [of section content] Chapter 7.1: The next generation of EU budgets and policy · Outlining the inflow of capital into best-in-class companies, and the reporting challenges remaining · A monumental legislative and investment shift into best-in-class companies [outline the European Green deal (EGD), the NextGen EU Budgets and 2050 Co2 neutrality targets] · Motivation and challenges remaining for financial and non-financial reporting [EU evaluation study: Lack of comparability, reliability, and relevance – with strong support of simplification, stick audit requirements, digitalization and materiality assessment] Chapter 7.2: Financial reporting · Relevant legislation in this context [international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and International accounting standards board (IASB)] · Forecasting [balancing transparent financial guidance with competition concerns] · Communicated non-recurring items [restructuring, write-offs, impairments, purchase price allocations (PPA), severance and variable compensation] · Short-term and long-term [liquidity status and risks] · Internal controls [physical inventory, cyberattacks, segregation of duties] Chapter 7.3: Non-financial reporting · Relevant legislation in this context [The 2018 EU non-financial reporting directive (NFRD), the EU sustainability goals (SDG), the Paris agreement and sustainable goals, taxonomy eligibility and science-based targets, proposal of corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD)] · Defining impact, risk, and objectives among related disclosures: o Climate-related non-financial reporting [SDG performance (products), operational performance (climate and energy / environmental management / waste and recycling)] o Other non-financial reporting [operational performance (safety and social / corporate governance (including anti-corruption) / diversity and inclusion / wage gap] · Communicating a transparent supply network in accordance with taxonomy targets and objectives · Assuring forward-looking quality and relevant information [taking current and future challenges into account on a micro and macro level, using case examples, relative calculations and communicating ongoing progress/achievements] Chapter 7.4: Global investment and financial reporting trends · Comparability, benchmarking and transparency · SFDR2 and technical screening of comparisons · Standardisation of data and rating disclose of companies on an EU level (a potential screening criterion for institutional investors) Summary of trends [brief and operational] * * * * *

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a comprehensive guide to market timing using moving averages. Part I explores the foundations of market timing rules, presenting a methodology for examining how the value of a trading indicator is computed. Using this methodology the author then applies the computation of trading indicators to a variety of market timing rules to analyse the commonalities and differences between the rules. Part II goes on to present a comprehensive analysis of the empirical performance of trading rules based on moving averages.Table of ContentsPart I: Anatomy of Trading RulesSynopsis: Uncovers the anatomy of market timing rules based on moving averages of pricesChapter 1. IntroductionChapter 2. Moving AveragesSynopsis: This chapter presents all necessary information about different types of moving averages that are used in trading rules1. Simple Moving Average2. Linear Moving Average3. Exponential Moving Average4. Reverse Exponential Moving Averages5. Moving Averages of Moving Averages: Double and Triple Exponential Moving AverageChapter 3. Trading RulesSynopsis: This chapter introduces different trading rules that are used by practitioners1. Momentum Rule2. Price-minus-Moving Average Rule3. Change of Direction Rule4. Moving Average Crossover5. Moving Average Convergence DivergenceChapter 4. Anatomy of Trading RulesSynopsis: This is the core chapter in the first part of the book. Here I uncover the anatomy of each trading rule coupled with some specific type of a moving average1. Preliminaries2. Momentum Rule3. Price-minus-Moving Average Rule4. Change of Direction Rule5. Moving Average Crossover6. Moving Average Convergence DivergenceChapter 5. Summary and ConclusionsSynopsis: This chapter summarizes the information from the previous chapter and draws general conclusions1. Generic Trading Rule2. Alternative Construction of a Generic Trading RulePart II: Performance of Trading RulesSynopsis: In this part of the book I present the most comprehensive and objective analysis of empirical performance of market timing rules based on moving averagesChapter 1. IntroductionChapter 2. Transaction Costs and the Returns to a Trading StrategySynopsis: This chapter informs about transaction costs and their impact on the returns to a trading strategyChapter 3. Performance measurement of a Trading StrategySynopsis: This chapter presents the information about the measurement of the performance of a trading strategy and how to test the hypothesis whether an active trading strategy outperforms the passive strategy1. Mean returns2. Risk-adjusted returns: Modigiliani-Modigiliani measure (M2) and Sharpe ratio3. Statistical tests for outperformanceChapter 3. Simulation of Trading StrategiesSynopsis: In this chapter I explain how to simulate objectively the returns to a trading strategy1. In-Sample Simulation of a trading strategy2. Out-of-Sample Simulation of a trading strategy2.1 Splitting the total sample in two segments2.2 Rolling and Expanding window estimation schemes3. Adaptive approach to selecting a trading rule in out-of-sample testsChapter 4. Case Study: Historical Performance of Trading Rules on the S&P Composite IndexSynopsis: This is the core chapter in the second part of the book where I present the most comprehensive analysis of historical empirical performance of different trading rules using the longest historical period of 155 years1. Data1.1 Construction of 155 Year Historical Data1.2 Bull and Bear Cycles in the Stock Market1.3 Test for Structural Breaks in Data2. Historical Performance of the Most Typical Trading Rules2.1 The set of rules2.2 Time variations in the optimal size of the averaging window2.2 Performance over Bull and Bear Markets Separately2.3 Measuring Similarity Between Bull-Bear Markets and Buy-Sell Trading Signals2.4 Performance over Interchanging Bull and Bear Markets2.5 Performance over short- to medium-term horizons3. Historical Performance of Various Weighting Schemes3.1 Best performing weighting scheme3.2 Adaptive selection of the best weighting scheme3.3 Robust weighting schemeChapter 5. Case Study: Historical Performance of Trading Rules on Other Financial IndicesSynopsis: In this chapter I briefly evaluate the historical empirical performance of different trading rules using data on a set of different financial indices. The historical data in this chapter are much shorter than in the previous chapter and spans periods of maximum 90 years (beginning from 1926)1. The set of indices2. Historical performance of trading rulesChapter 6. Summary and ConclusionsSynopsis: This final chapter in the second part of the book summaries and draws general conclusion on the historical performance of trading rules based on moving averages

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Book SynopsisThis edition sets out recent developments in East Asian local currency bond markets and discusses the region's economic outlook, the risk of another taper tantrum, and price differences between labeled and unlabeled green bonds.Emerging East Asia's local currency (LCY) bond markets expanded to an aggregate USD21.7 trillion at the end of September 2021, posting growth of 3.4% quarter-on-quarter, up from 2.9% in the previous quarter. LCY bond issuance rose 6.8% quarter-on-quarter to USD2.4 trillion in Q3 2021. Sustainable bond markets in ASEAN+3 also continued to expand to reach a size of USD388.7 billion at the end of September.

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Book SynopsisThis publication provides updates on the bond market in Indonesia since 2017.The ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide series provides information on the investment climate, rules, laws, opportunities, and characteristics of bond markets in Asia and the Pacific. It aims to help bond market issuers, investors, and financial intermediaries understand the local context and encourage greater participation in the region's rapidly developing bond markets. This edition updates the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2017: Indonesia.

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Book SynopsisThis volume provides the definitive treatment of fortune's formula or the Kelly capital growth criterion as it is often called. The strategy is to maximize long run wealth of the investor by maximizing the period by period expected utility of wealth with a logarithmic utility function. Mathematical theorems show that only the log utility function maximizes asymptotic long run wealth and minimizes the expected time to arbitrary large goals. In general, the strategy is risky in the short term but as the number of bets increase, the Kelly bettor's wealth tends to be much larger than those with essentially different strategies. So most of the time, the Kelly bettor will have much more wealth than these other bettors but the Kelly strategy can lead to considerable losses a small percent of the time. There are ways to reduce this risk at the cost of lower expected final wealth using fractional Kelly strategies that blend the Kelly suggested wager with cash. The various classic reprinted papers and the new ones written specifically for this volume cover various aspects of the theory and practice of dynamic investing. Good and bad properties are discussed, as are fixed-mix and volatility induced growth strategies. The relationships with utility theory and the use of these ideas by great investors are featured.Table of ContentsThe Early Ideas and Contributions; Classic Papers and Theories; Relations to Asset Allocation: Benchmarks, Fractional Kelly Strategies and Volatility Pumping; Critics and Good and Bad Properties; Utility Foundations; Evidence of Use by Great Investors.

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