Too Smart for Our Own Good: Ingenious Investment Strategies, Illusions of Safety, and Market Crashes

Too Smart for Our Own Good: Ingenious Investment Strategies, Illusions of Safety, and Market Crashes PDF Author: Bruce I. Jacobs
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 1260440559
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
How investment strategies designed to reduce risk can increase risk for everyone—and can crash markets and economies Financial crises are often blamed on unforeseeable events, the unforgiving nature of capital markets, or just plain bad luck. Too Smart for Our Own Good argues that these crises are caused by certain alluring investment strategies that promise both high returns and safety of capital. In other words, the severe and widespread crises we have suffered in recent decades were not perfect storms. Instead, they were made by us. By understanding how and why this is so, we may be able to avoid or ameliorate future crises—and maybe even anticipate them. One of today’s leading financial thinkers, Bruce I. Jacobs, examines recent financial crises—including the 1987 stock market crash, the 1998 collapse of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, the 2007–2008 credit crisis, and the European debt crisis—and reveals the common threads that explain these market disruptions. In each case, investors in search of safety were drawn to novel strategies that were intended to reduce risk but actually magnified it—and blew up markets. Too Smart for Our Own Good takes a behind-the-curtain look at: • The inseparable nature of investment risk and reward and the often counterproductive effects of some popular approaches for reducing risk • A trading strategy known as portfolio insurance and the key role it played in the 1987 stock market crash • How option-related trading disrupted markets in the decade following the 1987 crash • Why the demise of Long-Term Capital Management in 1998 wreaked havoc on US stock and bond markets • How mortgage-backed financial products, by shifting risk from one party to another, created the credit crisis of 2007–2008 and contributed to the subsequent European debt crisis This broad, detailed investigation of financial crises is the most penetrating and objective look at the subject to date. In addition, Jacobs, an industry insider, offers invaluable insights into the nature of investment risk and reward, and how to manage risk. Risk is unavoidable—especially in investing—and financial markets connect us all. Until we accept these facts and manage risk in responsible ways, major crises will always be just around the bend. Too Smart for Our Own Good is a big step toward smarter investing—and a better financial future for everyone.

Capital Ideas and Market Realities

Capital Ideas and Market Realities PDF Author: Bruce I. Jacobs
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631215554
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
Bruce Jacobs sifts through the history of modern finance, from the efficient market hypothesis to behavioral psychology and chaos theory, to determine the cause of recent market crashes. Includes a Foreword from Nobel Laureate Harry M. Markowitz. Showcases the expertise of an author who identified and predicted the causes of 1987, 1997 and 1998 crashes. Explains the risks of little-understood option replication. Offers chapter summaries, appendices and a glossary.

EQUITY MANAGEMENT QUANTITIVE ANALYSIS

EQUITY MANAGEMENT QUANTITIVE ANALYSIS PDF Author: Bruce I. Jacobs
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 9780071371339
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Two pioneers and innovators in the money management field present their choice of groundbreaking, peer-reviewed articles on subjects including portfolio engineering and long-short investment strategy. More than just a collection of classic review pieces, however, Equity Management provides new material to introduce, interpret, and integrate the pieces, with an introduction that provides an authoritative overview of the chapters. Important and innovative, it is destined to become the "Graham and Dodd" of quantitative equity investing. About the Authors: Bruce I. Jacobs and Kenneth N. Levy are Principals of Jacobs Levy Equity Management. Based in Florham Park, New Jersey, Jacobs Levy Equity Management is widely recognized as a leading provider of quantitative equity strategies for institutional clients. Jacobs Levy currently manages over $15 billion in various strategies for a prestigious global roster of 50 corporate pension plans, public retirement systems, multi-employer funds, endowments, and foundations, including over 25 of Pensions & Investments' "Top 200 Pension Funds/Sponsors." Bruce I. Jacobs holds a PhD in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Capital Ideas and Market Realities: Option Replication, Investor Behavior, and Stock Market Crashes and co-editor, with Ken Levy, of Market Neutral Strategies. He serves on the advisory board of the Journal of Portfolio Management. Kenneth N. Levy holds an MBA and an MA in applied economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is co-editor, with Bruce Jacobs, of Market Neutral Strategies. A Chartered Financial Analyst, he has served on the CFA Institute's candidate curriculum committee and on the advisory board of POSIT.

Models.Behaving.Badly.

Models.Behaving.Badly. PDF Author: Emanuel Derman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439165017
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Now in paperback, “a compelling, accessible, and provocative piece of work that forces us to question many of our assumptions” (Gillian Tett, author of Fool’s Gold). Quants, physicists working on Wall Street as quantitative analysts, have been widely blamed for triggering financial crises with their complex mathematical models. Their formulas were meant to allow Wall Street to prosper without risk. But in this penetrating insider’s look at the recent economic collapse, Emanuel Derman—former head quant at Goldman Sachs—explains the collision between mathematical modeling and economics and what makes financial models so dangerous. Though such models imitate the style of physics and employ the language of mathematics, theories in physics aim for a description of reality—but in finance, models can shoot only for a very limited approximation of reality. Derman uses his firsthand experience in financial theory and practice to explain the complicated tangles that have paralyzed the economy. Models.Behaving.Badly. exposes Wall Street’s love affair with models, and shows us why nobody will ever be able to write a model that can encapsulate human behavior.

Unshakeable

Unshakeable PDF Author: Anthony Robbins
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501164589
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
After interviewing fifty of the world's greatest financial minds and penning the #1 New York Times bestseller Money: Master the Game, Tony Robbins returns with a step-by-step playbook, taking you on a journey to transform your financial life and accelerate your path to financial freedom. No matter your salary, your stage of life, or when you started, this book will provide the tools to help you achieve your financial goals more rapidly than you ever thought possible. Robbins, who has coached more than fifty million people from 100 countries, is the world's #1 life and business strategist. In this book, he teams up with Peter Mallouk, the only man in history to be ranked the #1 financial advisor in the US for three consecutive years by Barron's. Together they reveal how to become unshakeable--someone who can not only maintain true peace of mind in a world of immense uncertainty, economic volatility, and unprecedented change, but who can profit from the fear that immobilizes so many. In these pages, through plain English and inspiring stories, you'll discover... -How to put together a simple, actionable plan that can deliver true financial freedom. -Strategies from the world's top investors on how to protect yourself and your family and maximize profit from the inevitable crashes and corrections to come. -How a few simple steps can add a decade or more of additional retirement income by discovering what your 401(k) provider doesn't want you to know. -The core four principles that most of the world's greatest financial minds utilize so that you can maximize upside and minimize downside. -The fastest way to put money back in your pocket: uncover the hidden fees and half truths of Wall Street--how the biggest firms keep you overpaying for underperformance. -Master the mindset of true wealth and experience the fulfillment you deserve today.

Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks: Lost Growth Stock Strategies from the Father of Value Investing

Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks: Lost Growth Stock Strategies from the Father of Value Investing PDF Author: Frederick K. Martin
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 0071754563
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Use a master’s lost secret to pick growth companies bound for success In 1948, legendary Columbia University professor Benjamin Graham bought a major stake in the Government Employees Insurance Corporation. In a time when no one trusted the stock market, he championed value investing and helped introduce the world to intrinsic value. He had a powerful valuation formula. Now, in this groundbreaking book, long-term investing expert Fred Martin shows you how to use value-investing principles to analyze and pick winning growth-stock companies—just like Graham did when he acquired GEICO. Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks is an advanced, hands-on guide for investors and executives who want to find the best growth stocks, develop a solid portfolio strategy, and execute trades for maximum profitability and limited risk. Through conversational explanations, real-world case studies, and pragmatic formulas, it shows you step-by-step how this enlightened trading philosophy is successful. The secret lies in Graham’s valuation formula, which has been out of print since 1962—until now. By calculating the proper data, you can gain clarity of focus on an investment by putting on blinders to variables that are alluring but irrelevant. This one-stop guide to growing wealth shows you how to: Liberate your money from the needs of mutual funds and brokers Build a reasonable seven-year forecast for every company considered for your portfolio Estimate a company’s future value in four easy steps Ensure long-term profits with an unblinking buy-and-hold strategy This complete guide shows you why Graham’s game-changing formula works and how to use it to build a profitable portfolio. Additionally, you learn tips and proven techniques for unlocking the formula’s full potential with disciplined research and emotional control to stick by your decisions through long periods of inactive trading. But even if your trading approach includes profiting from short-term volatility, you can still benefit from the valuation formula and process inside by using them to gain an advantageous perspective on stock prices. Find the companies that will grow you a fortune with Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks.

Managed by the Markets

Managed by the Markets PDF Author: Gerald F. Davis
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191607584
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
The current economic crisis reveals just how central finance has become to American life. Problems with obscure securities created on Wall Street radiated outward to threaten the retirement security of pensioners in Florida and Arizona, the homes and college savings of families in Detroit and Southern California, and ultimately the global economy itself. The American government took on vast new debt to bail out the financial system, while the government-owned investment funds of Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, and China bought up much of what was left of Wall Street. How did we get into this mess, and what does it all mean? Managed by the Markets explains how finance replaced manufacturing at the center of the American economy and how its influence has seeped into daily life. From corporations operated to create shareholder value, to banks that became portals to financial markets, to governments seeking to regulate or profit from footloose capital, to households with savings, pensions, and mortgages that rise and fall with the market, life in post-industrial America is tied to finance to an unprecedented degree. Managed by the Markets provides a guide to how we got here and unpacks the consequences of linking the well-being of society too closely to financial markets.

Equity Management: The Art and Science of Modern Quantitative Investing, Second Edition

Equity Management: The Art and Science of Modern Quantitative Investing, Second Edition PDF Author: Bruce I. Jacobs
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 1259835251
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 897

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Book Description
The classic guide to quantitative investing—expanded and updated for today’s increasingly complex markets From Bruce Jacobs and Ken Levy—two pioneers of quantitative equity management—the go-to guide to stock selection has been substantially updated to help you build portfolios in today’s transformed investing landscape. A powerful combination of in-depth research and expert insights gained from decades of experience, Equity Management, Second Edition includes 24 new peer-reviewed articles that help leveraged long-short investors and leverage-averse investors navigate today’s complex and unpredictable markets. Retaining all the content that made an instant classic of the first edition—including the authors’ innovative approach to disentangling the many factors that influence stock returns, unifying the investment process, and integrating long and short portfolio positions—this new edition addresses critical issues. Among them-- • What’s the best leverage level for long-short and leveraged long-only portfolios? • Which behavioral characteristics explain the recent financial meltdown and previous crises? • What is smart beta—and why should you think twice about using it? • How do option-pricing theory and arbitrage strategies lead to market instability? • Why are factor-based strategies on the rise? Equity Management provides the most comprehensive treatment of the subject to date. More than a mere compilation of articles, this collection provides a carefully structured view of modern quantitative investing. You’ll come away with levels of insight and understanding that will give you an edge in increasingly complex and unpredictable markets. Well-established as two of today’s most innovative thinkers, Jacobs and Levy take you to the next level of investing. Read Equity Management and design the perfect portfolio for your investing goals.

The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice PDF Author: Barry Schwartz
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061748994
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Seeing Like a State

Seeing Like a State PDF Author: James C. Scott
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300252986
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 462

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Book Description
“One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades.”—John Gray, New York Times Book Review Hailed as “a magisterial critique of top-down social planning” by the New York Times, this essential work analyzes disasters from Russia to Tanzania to uncover why states so often fail—sometimes catastrophically—in grand efforts to engineer their society or their environment, and uncovers the conditions common to all such planning disasters. “Beautifully written, this book calls into sharp relief the nature of the world we now inhabit.”—New Yorker “A tour de force.”— Charles Tilly, Columbia University