Description
Book SynopsisThe Fisher Investments On series is designed to provide individual investors, students, and aspiring investment professionals the tools necessary to understand and analyze investment opportunities-primarily for investing in global stocks.
Table of ContentsForeword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Part I Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Financials Basics 3
Financials 101 4
Financials Sector Breakdown 23
Part II Industry Group Details 31
Chapter 2 Banks 33
Banks 101 34
Types of Banks 45
Banks Industry Group Characteristics 48
Bank Regulation 53
Chapter 3 Diversified Financials 63
Capital Markets 64
Consumer Finance 76
Diversified Financial Services 80
Chapter 4 Insurance Industry Group 83
Characteristics of Insurers 84
How Do Insurance Companies Make Money? 89
How Do Insurance Companies Act? 94
Regulation 98
Chapter 5 Real Estate Industry Group 103
What Is a REIT? 105
REIT Characteristics 108
A Representative Example: Annaly Capital Management 112
Equity REIT Sub-Industries 115
Unique Measurements for REITs 118
Part III Thinking Like a Portfolio Manager 121
Chapter 6 The Top-Down Method 123
Investing Is a Science 123
The Top-Down Method 126
Top-Down Deconstructed 131
Managing Against a Financials Benchmark 139
Chapter 7 Security Analysis 143
Make Your Selection 144
A Five-Step Process 145
Financials Analysis 153
Chapter 8 Financials Investing Strategies 159
Adding Value at the Sector Level 160
Adding Value at the Country or Industry Level 161
Adding Value at the Security Level 162
Appendix A: Reference Material 165
Appendix B: Derivatives 171
Appendix C: Risk-Adjusted Balance Sheet 175
Notes 179
About the Author 185
Index 187
