Book Description

The Definitive 4-in-1 Reference Guide to Alternative Assets

Many books cover individual alternative asset classes, but none offers a comprehensive examination of the four major classes as presented in the Handbook of Alternative Assets. This complete handbook merges data and strategies scattered in numerous volumes into one handy guide for the serious investor. The four major classes discussed are:

• Hedge funds
• Commodity and managed futures
• Private equity
• Credit derivatives

Organized by sections–one for each alternative asset class–the Handbook of Alternative Assets demonstrates the benefits and risks of each alternative asset and reveals how these asset classes can be incorporated into a diversified portfolio.

Through expert advice, the Handbook of Alternative Assets details each of four major alternative asset classes and breaks down their quantitative statistical value as well. With this comprehensive handbook on your desk, you’ll begin to use alternative asset classes to both hedge and expand any portfolio. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Handbook of Alternative Assets
The Definitive 4-in-1 Reference Guide to Alternative Assets Many books cover individual alternative asset classes, but none offers a comprehensive examination of the four major classes as presented in the Handbook of Alternative Assets. This complete handbook merges data and strategies scattered in numerous volumes into one handy guide for the serious investor. The four major classes discussed are: Hedge funds Commodity and managed futures Private equity Credit derivatives Organized by sections-one for each alternative asset class-the Handbook of Alternative Assets demonstrates the benefits and risks of each alternative asset and reveals how these asset classes can be incorporated into a diversified portfolio. Through expert advice, the Handbook of Alternative Assets details each of four major alternative asset classes and breaks down their quantitative statistical value as well. With this comprehensive handbook on your desk, you'll begin to use alternative asset classes to both hedge and expand any portfolio.
The Handbook of Alternative Assets discusses and describes four types of alternative assets: hedge funds, private equity, credit derivatives and commodity futures.

Truely a Handbook
.
I used this book for my preparations towards CAIA Level 1 exam. And I am impressed. Mr. Anson is an authority and this is truely a great book for Alternative Investment aspirants.

If you want to have a very solid grasp of any of the following alternative investment approaches then this is the book you should turn to -

Hedge funds
Commodity and managed futures
Private equity (5 catagories)
....Venture Capital
....LBOs
....Mezzannine Financing
....Distressed Debt

....CrossOver/Interval/PIPE and PEPE funds
Credit derivatives
Corporate Governance

Mr. Anson helps you build strong fundamentals. Actually he clearly explains what constitutes Alternative Assets(Aha !!!) as against fundamental and/or capital assets and what is meant by alternative investment strategies.

This is followed by a rigorous analysis of the topics listed above in that order.

I particularly enjoyed his coverage of Hedge Funds. He explains each of the 10 Hedge Fund strategies in a systematic fashion. From a variety of angles including Market(S&P500), Risk, Regulatory, Due Diligence/Operational/Administrative perspective.

The coverage of Commodity Derivatives is also superb. Although confined to 4 chapters this coverage is sufficient to gain an intermediate level insight into the Commodities.

The coverage for Private Equity is less comprehensive(but good) compared to it's actual scope in real world. I particularly expected a more rigorous coverage for LBOs.

Although I did not touch credit derivatives and CorpGov I could tell you for sure that these topics must have been covered well.
As I read 19 out of 22 chapters.

To put it in a nutshell - This is a very good book for Hedge fund aspirants and prospective Alternative investment professionals.

For more info about CAIA please visit www.caia.org. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for the encyclopedia of chart patterns "A great achievement that fills a void for everyone who uses charts. Bulkowski has taken an intelligent and thoughtful approach to producing a practical guide to evaluating chart formations." —Perry Kaufman Author of Trading Systems and Methods, Third Edition "Not since Edwards and Magee has someone put together so comprehensive an assemblage of market behavior expressed graphically. That you also get a solid statistical assessment of the results of these chart formations is an unexpected and invaluable bonus. No chartist should be without this book." Interim Editor, Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities "Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns is a book I have wanted to see published for many years. It brings together the patterns found in many diverse charting methods and adds the valuable dimension of performance statistics, trading tactics, and behavioral characteristics of each pattern. It is a valuable contribution to existing literature on charting and should be considered an indispensable reference by any serious chart trader." —Edward D. Dobson President, Traders Press, Inc. "Having worn out my 1948 first edition of Edwards and Magee’s Technical Analysis of Stock Trends, I thought I knew a lot about chart patterns. Thomas Bulkowski’s Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns showed me how much more there is to learn. Meticulously researched, complete, and insightful, the Encyclopedia has earned a permanent place on my trading desk as a highly valued resource." —Thomas A. Bierovic Manager, Strategy Testing & Development, Omegs Reserch, Inc. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Mark Twain said it best
There are many flaws to this book & most of them Bulkowski admits. The first is the sample is cherry picked based on fundamentals which TB never gives out. The second is that while TB is obviously familiar with stats (he mentions the terms freq distribution & population enough that at least a passing idea of them is true) he dwells on the sample of 500 stocks over 5 years and gives us a population of X. Well that's a bit bogus as most PATTERNS take longer than a day to create (forget this hanging man thing, it's minor) so if you average out the span of a pattern creation, which is the true size of a sample not the one day of data, that he is using. Finally this books data was from only one market, a baby bull market, whether the stats quoted would hold up in a bear or a mature bull is questionable. I for sure wouldn't be able to extrapolate that based on what's given.

I'd recommend the source instead, Edwards & Magee, Technical Analysis of Stock Trends & for those interested in indicators/gann/elliott waves, Connie Browns Aerodynamic Trading.

On the plus side, it is very complete though the kook-sounding review about trendlines and support has a point; a lot of TB's work could have been done with Fib Retracement levels. Still if you are really into patterns you cannot pass it by though realize it's a starter in your analysis not a complete foundation. The 'Sample Trade' section is a real waste; there is not enough information other than pattern formation for you to do your own analysis. If you read the Identifcation section and the first summary paragraph you probably have gotten all you need out of the 46 chapters and saved yourself a lot of time.

Regarding inaccurate statistics
I don't even know Mr. Bulkowski, but I felt compelled to write this review. One particular reviewer points out a few apparent discrepancies in this 672 page volume of research. It does not matter whether you are an author or have been published in trading-related magazines.

The reviewer sarcastically poses that since the "rectangle bottom" stats on page 659 portray a zero faulure rate, that traders can get rich and never lose money!

If you truly read the entire text, including Mr. Bulkowski's opening remarks that define his fresh statistical-analysis approach, then everything falls into place.

Furthermore, the author addresses the "zero loss stat" for the rectangle formation on pages 440 and 444. He states that the "sample size" was small for this pattern and said: "Let me emphasize that because I did not find any failures of rectangle patterns with upside breakouts does not mean there are none."

This is a good and comprehensive book with a very fresh statistical approach for analyzing classic (and newer) bar chart formations. There is a wealth of information addressing each of the many patterns. It is offered up to the reader as copious amounts of quantified data that any trader/investor can draw from to incorporate into his or her own trading.

I too am an author, and I trade stocks full-time for a living. This book is a great resource and fits in the top 15 T.A. books of which I own roughly 300.

Yeah, he called a "dogi" a "hanging man." To me that doesn't detract from the other 671 pages.

Buy it, read it and use it!

method of trading successfully
is not found here. Wordy beyond tears. Could have easily been 100 pages instead of 600. A mere pretender to the classic by Magee and Edwards.

Tedium must be the Bulkowski philosophy. I really felt he did little to clarify any technical view what-so-ever. Every page is an endurance test of what's his point and where to find it. It promises theme, but delivers anecdotes.

Loaded with questionable statistics, methodology and wordiness any reasonable trader can only come away with a feeling that this book was written for the sole purpose of making the author a buck.

What this book lacks in originality it makes up for in a scholarly pomp. Perfect for a non traders library.

The patterns are previous, The tactics non profit. This would be the last book in my trading library.

Very indepth and good use of statistics
As a trader myself I am always on the lookout for books and materials that do not tout get rich quick strategies. Mr. Bulkowski takes a very methodical and usefull approach in collecting many common and some exotic chart formations and then documenting how identify, trade, and ultimately reveal their statistical performances. One feature I found pricesless was the visual index in which you can match a formation visually and then figure out what it is called to read more about it. I highly recommend this book for people who are looking for a excellent chart formation book.

Outstanding Source of Information
This book definitely serves it's purpose. I'm not sure how anyone could give it less than 5 stars. Of those who rated it lower, they seem to want someone to give them "The Holy Grail". With 43 chart patterns, it would have been impossible for Mr. Bulkowski to study the effects of support/resistance lines, low-cap vs. blue chip, etc. lest he end up with an 8,000 page tome. He assumes that each individual reader will be able to take the information given, and create their own testing to suit their individual needs. Impossible to put down once you start reading it. ... Read more

Book Description

The definitive guide to technical analysis . . . written from a trader's perspective

With the keen insight and perspective that have made him a market legend, Jack D. Schwager explores, explains, and examines the application of technical analysis in futures trading. In the most in-depth, comprehensive book available, the bestselling investment writer demonstrates why he is one of today's foremost authorities. Here is the one volume no trader should be without.

"Jack Schwager has accomplished the rarest of feats in this book. He has presented material in a way that both the professional and layman can profit from. It is a must read for traders on all levels." — Stanley Druckenmillern Managing Director, Soros Fund Management

"Jack Schwager's Technical Analysis is exactly what one should expect from this expert on futures. The book is comprehensive, thoroughly insightful, and highly educational. I recommend it to the beginner as well as the expert." — Leo Melamed Chairman, Sakura Dellsher, Inc.

"Jack Schwager possesses a remarkable ability to extract the important elements of complex, market-timing approaches, and distill that into something intelligible and useful. Not only is he able to present these ideas cleverly in an easily understood format, but he also demonstrates their application to the markets with clarity and precision." — Thomas R. DeMark Author, The New Science of Technical Analysis

"Jack Schwager's book, A Complete Guide to the Futures Markets, was one of the best books I have read on futures trading. We give a copy of it to all our new analysts. Jack's latest work, Technical Analysis, looks like a gold mine of information, adding significantly to the existing investment literature." — Monroe Trout President, Trout Trading Management Co.

Jack Schwager is one of the most important and visible figures in the futures industry today. His Market Wizards and The New Market Wizards are two of the bestselling finance titles of all time. Now, in the latest volume in the Schwager on Futures series, Technical Analysis, Schwager has created the most comprehensive guide ever for using technical analysis for futures trading. What makes Technical Analysis unique, besides its in-depth coverage, is that it is written from a trader's perspective. Schwager doesn't merely cover the subject, he explores what works and doesn't work in the real world of trading.

Contains a comprehensive guide to chart analysis written with a particular focus on trading applications

• Includes a separate 200+ page section illustrating the use of chart analysis in the real world
• Details and illustrates several original trading systems
• Includes a self-contained primer on cyclical analysis
• Describes popular oscillators, the pitfalls in their common use, and guidelines to their successful application in trading
• Explains the concept and use of "continuous futures" and compares 10-year continuous futures charts with conventional nearest futures charts for all major U.S. futures markets
• Contains a section on trading strategy and philosophy, including over 100 trading tips

Hundreds of charts, tables, and examples illustrate key points throughout, while the text is written in the informative, insightful, and nontechnical style that has made Jack Schwager one of the most highly regarded and bestselling investment authors ever. This invaluable book by one of the world's foremost authorities is destined to become the premier industry guide on technical analysis for many years to come. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

This book hurt my head!
I read this book ... I was thoroughly impressed.

I had read Schwager Market Wizards books after I had read this Technical books on trading. And although I liked it, I found many of the charts and graphs quite tedious. On the other hand was thoroughly impressed at level of information that was being presented. This book is a permanent part of my collection solely because it reads more like a college text book than a commercial investment book. He really delves deep and makes you think about what futures really are and what it takes to decipher their movements. I am looking forward to his comments on single stock futures.

One of the best Technical Analysis books
I thought Schwager did an excellent job with this book. I have read a ton of books on technical analysis and can say that this is definitely one of the best ones out there. I really liked the book, the real world chart analysis was excellent as was the section on trading systems. I recommend this book without hesitation whenever someone asks about a good technical analysis book. It is probably the best book on technical analysis I have read it does an excellent job showing how a trader actually uses and interprets charts and indicators. It ranks in the top 10 books on trading that I have and it has paid for itself many times over.

There is a Cheaper Version of This Book
I first read his book in paperback "Getting Started in Tech Analysis." Both books cover the same info, except the above reviewed book has more details on trading systems and has a lot more graphs and examples, which I felt I did not need. I would recommend the less costly paperback version - it is EXCELLENT!

A Complete Guide to Technical Analysis
Now don't get me wrong by the title, there are more methods of Technical Analysis than Schwager covers in this book...However, his many years of actually trading against analytical methods has given him great insight and time to study, characterize and rate the value of many of the most common analytical methods. He is quick to point out in several places in the book that these are "Western" analytical methods, practiced in the Euro-American world of futures trading.

The beginning of the book is a laborious and elementary but complete description of basic technical techniques. The later chapters talk about building trading systems using combinations of the techniques discussed in the beginning. There is a fair amount of history lesson given as to how the methods were 'discovered' or derived. In general, although ponderous to get through, I think that this detailed analysis allows the reader to believe in the method, the author, and the application of the method.

I highly recommend this book as the single basic reference that a technical trader cannot ignore.

A REASONABLY GOOD BOOK ON TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Tis book is very complete in all the basic technical patterns such as flags, channels, head & shoulders etc. and would be a complete technical analysis course for beginners, but may prove less useful to professional traders. The second section is helpful in that you read about a trade based on a particular pattern and then turn the page to see the chart move out in time and how the trade would have worked. Its a sort of real-time trading practice. As we have often heard, these basic patterns are about 50-50 accurate and Jack seems to imply that when he said on p. 142 that "Trading success is not dependent upon been right more than half the time, or for that matter even half the time."

I think that any furthur edition of the book should get some charts that have dates below. These charts show the month and a few spikes in between to suppose dates but they are difficult to co-relate with a calendar and so it makes it a bit difficult to know on what day of the week or if it is a weekend that a particular move took place.

In Chapter 18 it states: "The systems detailed in this chapter are throwaway systems, that is systems far inferior..... to other systems I have developed to bother using.". Maybe, the ad. for this book should tell us that purchasers will get rejected systems which the author does not use! In this way one can make a more precise purchase decision. The final chapter of this book which contain 82 trading rules is to me the best part of it all. This chapter are excerpts from his market wizard books.

I must admit that I had read Jack's "Market Wizards" and his "New Market Wizards" books and I had been very pleased with them. I had written excellent reviews for both these books and would always recommend them to anyone. However, I cannot be too sure to say the same for this one on technical analysis. ... Read more

Book Description

A revolutionary system for fearless trading without excessive risk

"Trading Risk provides a useful and intuitive roadmap of the risk management process, as written by an individual with unique experience and insight into this topic.It is an engaging read and covers complex subject matter in a straightforward and often-entertaining manner."
– Stanley Shopkorn, Shopkorn Associates

"Ken Grant's eminently readable new book on risk management is a rare blend of theory and practical applications. It is a great starting point for the novice and deep enough for the experienced practitioner."
– Mark R. Graham, Managing Partner, Blue Elite Fund, Ltd.

"This book describes a very practical approach to risk management in a lucid and entertaining manner.Anyone concerned with the topic of risk management ought to find it of interest."
– Susan Estes, Managing Director, Countrywide Securities

"Thoughtful, unique, detailed, actually enjoyable, and comprehensible reading for what is normally a boring and confusing topic."
– Dwight Anderson, President, Osprei Management, LP

"A must-read for risk managers of companies of all sizes who want to preserve capital and take practical advantage of trends in the marketplace.This is a clearly written, funny, and entertaining guide to a very serious topic that affects all corporations.This very complex topic was simplified and made easy to understand by a true expert in the art of risk management."
– Phupinder Gill, Managing Director & President
Chicago Mercantile Exchange ... Read more

Book Description

"Trading is notoriously tough.But Altucher's new book adds a noteworthy addition to the library on Warren Buffett.He shows a lot of Buffett that isn't readily available in the existing common literature.Definitely required reading for any serious Buffett buff."
—Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes' "Portfolio Strategy" Columnist Founder and CEO, Fisher Investments

"Finally, someone blows apart the myth that Warren Buffett is a buy-and-hold investor. Altucher has given us an insightful and well-written commentary on how Buffett has amassed his track record, and what we can do to emulate him. He details the trade-by-trade examples. This is a must read for anyone wanting to learn about how the Master Investor works."
—John Mauldin, author, Bull's Eye Investing editor of Thoughts from the Frontline (www.2000wave.com)

While Warren Buffett is considered the "world's greatest value investor," there's another side to Buffett that is rarely talked about. Although Buffett has gained recognition for his value investing approach to the markets, the fact is that nobody—over the past fifty years—has traded and invested with a more diverse group of strategies than Buffett.

Trade Like Warren Buffett challenges the current coverage of this great investor by including details of all of Buffett's investing and trading methods, including mean reversion, commodities, bonds, arbitrage, market timing, funds, as well as Graham-Dodd. To augment the discussion of each strategy, Trade Like Warren Buffett also includes interviews with leading financial professionals, who reveal in detail how they've successfully used the same techniques.

There is no one way to sum up Warren Buffett's investment style. But if you're interested in boosting the performance of your portfolio, Trade Like Warren Buffett can show you how. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Excellent Read
I very much enjoyed reading this book.I have read many of the books about Buffett and this is definitley one I would recommend to anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Buffett's investment philosophy.Too many people believe Buffett just "buys and holds" companies like Coke and Gillette, but that is a long way from the whole story.This book details many of the strategies Buffett employed through out the years.The author does an excellent job discussing why Buffett used the startegies and about where Buffet was in his career that made him able to do those sorts of trades.I also think it was good how the author was able to point out certain principals Buffett maintains regardless of what kind of trade he is making.

"Trade Like Warren Buffett," is an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

Buy Buffettology Instead
This book was rather weak.It touched on alot of interesting topics but often didn't dive into them in detail.It also had interviews with at least 3 people who run mutual and hedge funds that didn't have much to do with Buffett's record itself.

I've read just about all of the books on Buffett out there and this one was not one of the best by far.Buy Buffettology or the New Buffettology.They are far better.

A Must Read For All Investors
I have read several books about Warren Buffet and this was the best. The way the author drilled downed on many actual investments and investing techniques that Warren uses was very helpful to this investor. I read this book in one weekend, couldn't put it down. I have been managing money for more than a decade and found this book very educational and a breeze to read. I highly recomend it any investor or anyone who wants a better understanding of one of the greatest investors of all time.

What is a trade?
If one holds a stock for years and even decades and then sells, is that a trade or an investment? What is the period of holding where a trade can be called an investment?

True, some of Buffett's holdngs are shorter than others, but in a CNBC interview with Ron Insana, he said sure he sells.

Glad I Bought It
I was first exposed to James Altucher's work on theStreet.com and have always found his articles to be worthwhile."Trade Like Warren Buffett" is no different.Mr. Altucher's concise observations and comfortable writing style make this book a fun, fast read.

People who have had little exposure to Buffett literature beyond the endless magazine cover stories will see that he is at heart an extremely ambitious and competitive investor who is not above making a quick trade, timing the market or relying at least in part on anecdotal evidence when buying a stock. But even though Mr. Altucher makes short work of the "buy and hold forever" myth that surrounds Buffett, he clearly respects Buffett's prowess and accomplishments. I particularly liked the examination of Buffett's current stock holdings and the stories from his early investing career.And there are a couple of interviews with money managers that provide good perspective.

It was a little frustrating to read about all the investing opportunities that Buffett has taken advantage of over the years but that no longer exist.However, it was also nice to learn that Buffett has made mistakes too. ... Read more

Book Description

Value-at-risk (VaR) is a measure of market risk that has been widely adopted since the mid-1990s for use on trading floors. This is the first advanced book published on VaR. It describes how to design, implement, and use scalable production VaR measures on actual trading floors. It takes readers from the basics of VaR to the most advanced techniques, many of which have never been published in book form.

Practical, detailed examples are drawn from markets around the world, including: Euro deposits, Pacific Basin equities, physical coffees, and North American natural gas.

Real-world challenges relating to market data, portfolio mappings, multicollinearity, and intra-horizon events are addressed in detail. Exercises reinforce concepts and walk readers step-by-step through computations.

Sophisticated techniques are fully disclosed, including: quadratic ("delta-gamma") methods for nonlinear portfolios, variance reduction (control variates and stratified sampling) for Monte Carlo VaR measures, principal component remappings, techniques to "fix" estimated covariance matrices that are not positive-definite, the Cornish-Fisher expansion, and orthogonal GARCH.

* First advanced text on Value-at-Risk
* Practical, detailed examples drawn from markets around the world
* Exercises reinforce concepts and walk readers step-by-step through computations ... Read more

Reviews (2)

good
The book is great in clear notation, real data examples as well as online solutions for readers with or without math background. It will be better to include some advanced theory such as Extreme Value Theory.

One of the most refreshing QF books to come along
This is one of the most refreshing Quantitative Finance books that have come along in the last few years. This book has been a work in process from the author for at least four or five years.

Glyn Holton's mathematical background and experience as practising risk managemer and consultant is thoroughly reflected in character of this book. The notation is consistent and logical, the mathematical/theoretical presentation is rigorous but accessible to pretty much all the intermediate/advanced undergrad students.

The emphasis is on the methodological process of building a model rather than directly presenting the final product itself. This is in contrast to most of the Value-at-Risk books on the markets which up to this point, have been written mainly by academics (University professors) rather than practitioners.

Throughout the book, Mr. Holton keeps emphasizing the duality of VaR metrics in terms of the exposure and the uncertainty of its underlying portfolio. And using the conceptual differences of these two components of risk as starting point, the relevant mathematical, probabilistic, and statistical background material are presented. For the exposure component of risk, Holton presented the mathemcatical mapping procedure; while for the uncertainty component, the conditional distribution characteristization of the risk factors are thoroughly investigated. This 'Bottom-up' analytical approach breaks down the VaR metrics into its 'atomical' parts. From there the VaR measure is methodologically built from the ground up. As result all the VaR models are presented under a uniform theoretical umbrella. This is in contrast with a 'disjointed list of VaR models' approach taken by most of the available literature up to this point. The result is a book suitable for beginners and advanced practitioners alike. Well done Glyn. ... Read more

Book Description

In this two-volume work Paul Wilmott, described by the Financial Times as a "cult derivatives lecturer", updates and extends - with 18 new chapters - his earlier classic Derivatives: The Theory and Practice of Financial Engineering (also published by John Wiley). The new material includes chapters on technical trading, volatility modeling, utility theory, trader options, modeling dividends, real options, energy derivatives and analysis of recent derivatives-led fiascos.

Throughout the book's incredibly wide breadth, the author presents to the reader all current financial theories in a manner designed to make them easy to understand and implement. The reader will discover what the author thinks of certain theories, and where an existing concept is dismissed as impractical or unworkable it is always replaced with one of the author's own, alternative theories. Reviews of Derivatives: The Theory and Practice of Financial Engineering.

"It is a serious work that takes the reader all the way from the simplest of notions to the most complicated of recent models. In short, it is the most comprehensive and up-to-date textbook on options that I have seen ... The style is jocular, but the content heavyweight. The aim is to use a mathematical approach at all times but to motivate the development of models with intuition and to use diagrams and spreadsheet solutions whenever possible. It sounds like an impossible mission. Whoever heard of a mathematician who could convey the intuition of a result to those with a less complete training in the subject? Wilmott is an exception: he knows when a result is hard to understand and treats the reader in a sympathetic manner. ... I cannot imagine any derivatives specialist in an investment bank who would not want to have the book available." The Times Higher Educational Supplement.

"...this book has all the qualities necessary to attract impulse buyers expecting the novel which does for/to high finance what Malcolm Bradbury's 'The History Man' does for/to literary academia. ...What the reader gets is a text which will probably come to rank alongside Fabozzi's collected works of Leibowitz as a comprehensive practical reference source for finance theory." Futures and OTC World "Paul Wilmott has succeeded in simplifying the mathematics of financial engineering and he deserves praise for that. Unlike any other mathematical texts, the book uses a crisp and accessible language, relying on plain calculus and avoiding unnecessary formalism of topology and measure theory. It is rich in illustrations and graphs, making it easy for someone with limited maths to understand." --Risk Magazine.

"Paul Wilmott has produced one of the most exciting and classic reference volumes on derivatives which is a must for both students, practitioners, risk managers and the misunderstood."-- Global Trading.Volume 1: This first volume of Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance incorporates Parts I-III of this two-volume, seven-part publication. This new book by Paul Wilmott is an extensively updated and expanded edition of the bestselling Derivatives: The Theory and Practice of Financial Engineering. The first third of this volume (introducing the classic financial and mathematical concepts) remains largely the same as in Derivatives, with the remaining two-thirds incorporating the majority of the updating and expansion, plus the addition of a number of completely new chapters, including: Technical methods for predicting market movement Utility theory Derivatives and stochastic control The exercise of American options at non-optimal times Stochastic volatility and mean-variance analysis Dividend modeling.

The author has included numerous Bloomberg screen dumps to illustrate in real terms the points he raises, together with essential Visual Basic code, spreadsheet explanations of the models, the reproduction of termsheets and option classification tables. In addition to the practical orientation of his new publication the author himself also appears throughout the text - in cartoon form only, many readers will be relieved to hear - to personally highlight and explain the key sections and issues discussed. And if that wasn't enough, there is also a movie quiz hidden within the pages...

Volume 2 This second volume of Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance incorporates Parts IV-VII of this two-volume publication. Throughout this volume, many of the chapters which also appeared in the first edition - Derivatives: The Theory and Practice of Financial Engineering - have been extensively expanded and updated and in addition there are 11 completely new chapters, including: Mortgage-backed securities Pricing and optimal hedging of derivatives Increased uses of non-probabilistic interest-rate models Valuing a firm and the risk of default An analysis of financial crashes The modeling of bonus compensation for traders Real options Energy derivatives. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

Wilmott is now the quant to beat
Who should buy this book? The real question is who shouldn't buy this book. For the Phd Quant this book is a tour de force in how to explain technical topics clearly and concisely. For the newbie, this is simply the lowest barrier to entry available.

Interestingly, QF does not "replace" a bookshelf of quant books -- rather it nicely compliments many that you're likely to have such as Taleb, Neftci etc. As sales of QF increase, it is likely that readers will be less likely to buy a derivatives book that is over their head.

Volume 1 covers 37 chapters of the equities/currency derivatives world, While Volume 2 covers the Fixed Income World, Risk Measurement , Miscellaneous Topics and Numerical Methods.

Chapter 10 has an excellent and all too rare discussion of Probability Density Functions and First Exit Times, whilst Chapter 14 has an outstanding Trading Game invented by one of Paul Wilmott's former students.

Chapters 16 through 21 cover the Path Dependent world while the balance of the chapters cover extensions to Black Scholes.

Its in these sections that Wilmott delivers some surprising thoughts and insights into Stochastic Volatility Surfaces that are currently the rage.

Throughout both volumes I continue to be astonished at how clear, concise and effective his explanations are. The icons are not annoying at all -- rather I found myself skimming the icons to find out what was required to be committed to memory in each section versus what was background.

As obvious as it sounds, a glaring weakness in Derivatives texts is the inability of authors to elucidate what must be memorized as rote for the student to make further progress. Paul's easy to follow icons lay out a precise plan of study.

I can't say enough about what a leap this is over competing texts.

In Volume 2, Chapters 38 through 50 cover models that Wilmott likes as well as ones that he doesn't [again, a rather novel approach]

Some surprises in Chapters 51 and 52 are an excellent overview of Portfolio Management and a survey of Robert Merton's Asset Allocation in Continuous Time.

Sprinkle in outstanding chapters on Derivatives Fiascos, Real Options, Energy Derivatives and 5 chapters on Numerical Methods and an astonishing survey of Quantitative Finance is complete.

Throughout the books Paul's practical use of Term Sheets and quick and dirty VB code and spreadsheet tricks [you just have to see his Excel shortcut for approximating the Normal distribution] leave the reader constantly wanting to rev ahead.

To round out a tremendous effort, Wilmott also pays homage to authors that he's found helpful and he's generous with suggestions on further reading. This builds sorely needed confidence when attempting new material.

The comparison with Richard Feynman is apt but misses an important detail...Feynman was not noted for turning out hordes of talented understudies. Paul Wilmott has turned out enough talented graduate students that maybe he will be a bona fide cult leader someday.

Insufficient
This is not as good as Wilmott's earlier work, and even that could have benefited from better definition of terms. Wilmott needs to brush up on the latest techniques and talk to some practitioners to learn how to apply math to real world examples. It seems there is a lack of depth of understanding evidenced by the writing. The sections of self-expose are an embarrassment.

Old Material
This is recycled Wilmott, but not even as good as earlier work. His first book was better, probably because his co-authors talked some sense into him. His personal anecdotes demonstrate a low emotional IQ. It is as if Wilmott thinks that if readers agree with the finance they must agree with his incessant and juvenile self-regard. My reaction to the inappropriate self-expose was: "Who cares? Get some friends, they might help on the financial aspects of this book".

Wilmott's financial IQ is only average, if this book is to be the evidence. It seems Wilmott isn't up on the latest techniques, or can't be bothered to research them. Stochastic calculus for example. Lack of real world practical examples demonstrates lack of knowledge of how financial instruments work in practice.

The first resource
I own 'most' of the standard texts, oddly enough, this was one of my most recent purchases. Now, whenenver I need to find out about some concept I am unfamiliar with, or brush up on something, this is the first reference. Very often the other books don't get a look in.
Luckily I work from home. They aren't the sort of books you would take home from the office for bedtime reading, unless you did weightlifting as a hobby.
Pity the martingale approach is missing. Ignore the ridiculous comment by another reviewer who dismisses the martingale approach as useless. The approach is hard, that's all. It would be great to see it boiled down in further volumes.

Not practical or academic enough
The finance market is flooded with paper, but much is redundant and some isn't even very useful. This book manages to be both. "Market Models" by Carol Alexander is a fabulous resource. There are a lot of books and articles on quantitative finance and if you want only that, look through the literature and choose, but this book won't give enough comprehensive coverage to make it a buy. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for
TRADING CHAOS
SECOND EDITION

"As a trader and an author for over fourteen years in stocks, futures, and options, it still amazes me when I read a book that teaches me new approaches to the market. This book is one of these amazing books that can teach the novice or the professional something important to take them to the next level of their trading. It is a must read for everyone interested in looking at the markets in a new way."
–George Fontanills, President Emeritus, Optionetics

"Bill and Justine Williams, two of the truly great teachers of market action, have written an outstanding book. It not only covers the psychology of personal trading but provides one with a well defined, coherent trading plan. This book is must reading for any serious trader, whether a beginner or experienced veteran."
–John R. Hill, President, Futures Truth Company

"What Bill Williams does best is raise questions and doubts in the minds of his readers. But, even better, he then provides wonderful new choices for thinking and acting. He has a deft lightness in his writing and a seriousness of purpose that drew me in like a magnet."
–Rodney Napier, PhD, head of The Napier Group
coauthor, The Courage to Act and Groups: Theory & Experience (now in its seventh edition) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Trading Method that works.
I would have given this book five stars if it did not have 'chaos' in its title. The books is not about chaos theory, it is about trading.
The second edition is really a sequel to another book by Bill Williams: New Trading Dimensions. This book completes the trading methods explained by Bill.
Many like me have used his 'Alligator' to identify trading opportunities. However, the Alligator did not provide for efficient exits. This book completes the picture by discussing appropriate exit strategies and also methods for counter trend trading. Just for this piece of advice, the book is well worth its price. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for INTERMARKET ANALYSIS

"John Murphy has done it again. He dissects the global relationships between equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities like no one else can, and lays out an irrefutable case for intermarket analysis in plain English. This book is a must-read for all serious traders."
–Louis B. Mendelsohn, creator of VantagePoint Intermarket Analysis software

"John Murphy’s Intermarket Analysis should be on the desk of every trader and investor if they want to be positioned in the right markets at the right time."
–Thom Hartle, President, Market Analytics, Inc. (www.thomhartle.com)

"This book is full of valuable information. As a daily practitioner of intermarket analysis, I thought I knew most aspects of this invaluable subject, but this book gave me several new ideas. I thoroughly recommend it for beginners and professionals."
–Martin Pring, President of Pring.com and editor of the Intermarket Review Newsletter

"Mr. Murphy’s Intermarket Analysis is truly the most efficient and unambiguous way to define economic and fundamental relationships as they unfold in the market. It cuts through all of the conflicting economic news/views expressed each day to provide a clear picture of the ‘here and now’ in the global marketplace."
–Dennis Hynes, Managing Director, R. W. Pressprich

"Master Murphy is back with the quintessential look at intermarket analysis. The complex relationships among financial instruments have never been more important, and this book brings it all into focus. This is an essential read for all investors."
–Andrew Bekoff, Technical Strategist, VDM NYSE Specialists

"John Murphy is a legend in technical analysis, and a master at explaining precisely how the major markets impact each other. This updated version provides even more lessons from the past, plus fresh insights on current market trends."
–Price Headley, BigTrends.com, author of Big Trends in Trading ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great Rewrite of a Landmark Work
The original book Intermarket Technical Analysis was great for its time, however some of the relationships it described change in a deflationary environment which the author suggests we are in. However, the best reason for the rewrite was the writing in the earlier book was terrible in my opinion. It was a terribly boring book -- even if you are interested in the topic.

This book is different, and is a much better book. It also seems to me that the sector analysis coverage is a little more thorough (although I have not opened them up side by side to tell).

The only downside of this book is I don't think it gives you as many practical tools for tracking the business cycle and sector rotation as Pring's book, how to select stocks using technical analysis. It will give you the basics though, relying heavily on comparative relative strength.

If you want to see the big picture and understand how the markets are tied together, I can without hesitation recommend this book. There are several other books that complement this one as well.

A Good Read
This book will be helpful to those seeking an introduction to the interrelatedness of the currency, commodity, equity and fixed income markets. The book was well written and easy to read. However, I would not suggest the book to a person with no technical, economic or financial background.

Although I respect Mr. Murphy's work, he, like most technical analysts, can tell you with 100% accuracy exactly what happened.........yesterday. He really did do a good job on a very difficult topic, but the historical analogies referenced imply that the interrelatedness is rudimentary and predictable.
After a very detailed history of the four major market relationships, Murphy finally concludes that some of the historical tendencies are currently being challenged and that only time will tell if a new relationship has emerged or if history will again be proven right.

A Panoramic Market View
John Murphy's "Intermarket Analysis" is an updating of his excellent 1991 text "Intermarket Technical Analysis". Both books are the most clearly written and thought-provoking texts on this topic that I have encountered.

In the interest of disclosure, let me say that I do not know Mr. Murphy; nor has he or his publisher solicited this review. His editor at Wiley, Pamela Van Giessen, also edited a book I wrote on The Psychology of Trading. Knowing Ms. Van Giessen's integrity in a business that too often lacks that virtue, and having enjoyed Murphy's first book on the topic, I was eager to give "Intermarket Analysis" a thorough read.

Murphy begins with a review of the markets from the 1980s, recapitulating themes from the first book, including the close linkages among the currency, bond, commodities, and stock markets. His discussion of the role of oil and gold in economic slumps and booms is first rate, as he traces the interplay among these markets during the first Persian Gulf War and then during the "stealth bear market" of 1994. Throughout these presentations, Murphy captures qualitative relationships between markets that provide inspiration for traders interested in quantitative modeling. For example, the relationship between oil stocks and crude oil prices and the CRB/Bond Ratio are promising tools in capturing shifts in commodity prices that tend to impact the stock indices. I was particularly intrigued by his presentation of sector relationships during economic/market cycles, including the relative performance of cyclical and consumer stocks.

Where Murphy's book really shines, however, is in its explanation of intermarket relationships in a deflationary environment. He captures these relationships in his account of the recent bear market, drawing upon such diverse intermarket relationships as semiconductor stocks, Japanese markets, the Australian dollar, and the yield curve. This alone is a major advance over his previous text. At the end of the book, he traces the start of the recent bull market, illustrating the transition from a deflationary environment to an inflationary one--a pattern that also occurred after the great bear market of the 1930s.

Weaknesses in this book, from this reviewer's perspective, include an overemphasis on charts and visual data at the expense of quantitative treatments and a glib treatment of the Kondratieff Wave (long-term economic cycles). That having been said, this is an excellent market book. The presentation of sector rotation during economic cycles alone provided enough ideas to keep me busy with modeling efforts. Chart-based technical analysts and quants alike can find value in Murphy's work.

Brett Steenbarger
www.brettsteenbarger.com

Doing the Topic Justice
As John pointed out in an interview for Stocks & Commodities magazine with the author, it was his original goal to write the quintessential intermarket book but then found the topic so involved that each chapter could have become a book. There is just so much to discuss. Attempting to cover anything but a small snippet in a review is sheer folly. It is also impossible to do the book justice.

One technical analyst sent this author an email recently saying that she considered Murphy's first book on the subject, Intermarket Technical Analysis, to be one of the top three books on technical analysis. Those who liked his first book will absolutely love this one. This reviewer considers it to be one of his top three current technical analysis/market references.

Murphy is perhaps the only man alive today that could have written Intermarket Analysis with such conviction. As he mentions early in the book, anyone with the benefit of hindsight can choose what indicators would have worked best. There is no skill in that. What gives him the credibility to analyze what was happening at the time is that he was doing it daily for his subscribers to the MurphyMorris Market Message Newsletter online and much of the book is documented with excerpts and detailed charts written at the time the events were unfolding.

The book is well written and very readable with plenty of examples to demonstrate each key point. The business cycle and all important market cycles are discussed from the seasonal best time to be in the market (November through January) to the 54-year Kondratieff Long Wave Theory. It will be a book that one will read repeatedly as well as an essential reference to come back to time and again as new market events unfold.

There is also little doubt that this book will become a market best seller. But it will not become the sole domain of the technical analyst and trading community. Everyone who plays the markets will want to read it. It is not simply about trading or technical analysis, but about markets and how to operate within a global framework in the four asset classes and effectively gather crucial up-to-the-minute intelligence to make the best-informed decisions.

Murphy makes one fact crystal clear. There are a number of essential intermarket relationships of which to be aware, any one of which could save your financial bacon at the right time. The implied corollary is that ignorance of any one of them could prove fiscally catastrophic.

Markets have become so interdependent in the last decade, a correlation that continues to strengthen with time. If those who suffered financial ruin between 2000 and 2002 had read his first book, how many of them could have avoided huge losses and even profited from what occurred? We will never know for sure but is it a risk they anyone can afford to take, especially when considering that the cost of avoidance (cost of the book) is less than $50?

(Re-printed from Traders Mag with permission.)

Matt Blackman - Technical Writer/Reviewer Email: matt@tradesystemguru.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Contributor to Stocks & Commodities Magazine, Working Money, Traders.com Advantage, Active Trader, Traders Mag (Europe) and SFO Magazine ... Read more

Reviews (88)

Learn by losing or buy this book
I love this book. It has helped me understand myself in both the market and in life.

I sold a stock that wasn't acting right this week because of the way I've changed my mindset from reading this book. I know I did the right thing and I fully expect it to go down in the near future. This is something I wouldn't have admitted to myself before. I feel like a chain has been broken.

I really like the way he describes things. He tends to give a lot of examples and "in other words" type descriptions.

CANSLIM

Should be three chapters long
An OK book, but very repetitive. The last chapter is the most useful. There are better books, such as Trading for a Living.

Thank you Mr. Douglas
Anyone noticed that Mr. Douglas's detractors are NOT experienced traders? All I have to say is: THANK YOU 1000 TIMES MR DOUGLAS.

Written by a successful trader
It doesn't matter that Douglas is not a psychologist -- the book is about trading, and the mental processes involved in becoming a consistently successful trader. Since the early 1980s, Douglas has been, and still is, a successful trader -- not someone who makes his living writing books about trading -- as Mr. Kiev seems to do. Also, with regard to Mr. Kiev's book and the fact that he is a psychologist -- keep in mind -- Mr. Kiev is NOT a trader, never has been, so how could he write about being successful at something he has never accomplished himself??? But hey -- go ahead and buy Kiev's book -- if you need "degree" initials after an author's name to give a book validity. Myself -- I'll stick with a REAL trader's point of view and Douglas' books and talks -- he knows what he's talking about because he's been there in the trenches with us!

A MUST FOR SERIOUS TRADERS
It is apparent that Douglas exhaustively researched material for his book by talking and coaching other traders -- I see myself, and my fellow traders, in every chapter! It is great to know that even a successful trader like Douglas had problems in the beginning, like most of us, and learned how to overcome them. But more importantly, that he chose to share those ideas with the trading public. Thank you for your generosity! ... Read more

Book Description

Swing trading is gaining popularity as a powerful method to increase returns—and potentially lower risks—by profiting from short-term price moves. The Master Swing Trader explains how traders can use technical analysis, charting, and market sentiment to make trades that hold through price fluctuations and noise with wider stops. This complete, practical guide to making profitable short-term trades—based on the author’s popular “Mastering the Trade” online course—uses dozens of charts and graphs to illustrate proven swing trading concepts and strategies. Experienced day, position, and online traders will benefit immediately from: - The 7 Bells – unique tools to uncoverpromising short-term prospects - Techniques to profit from low-risk short sales- The 4 repeating cycles for perfectlytimed trades ... Read more

Reviews (212)

A good book beyond the apprehension of the mass
Seldom on Amazon a popular book (with 187 reviews utd) carries so extreme comment as this. I fully understand so because I did have negative feeling of it, which only improved gradually from page to page. In the beginning, the book really seems so complicated, full of jargons, candlestick charts elaborating on chart patterns with little reference to oscillator indicators like MACD, Stochastics, which I personally believe the alignment of several of them to be a prerequisite for any profitable trade. In the end, I realized that if I didnt put so much emphasis on the words "Swing Trading" and its virtual difference with "Momentum Trading" which the author criticized much, this book is not so bad when considered to be a general trading book with above average practical advice.

Amongst others, I found the following so called 7 Bells, tools to locate outstanding opportunities most interesting.

1. Dip Trip - Price that moves against a strong trend will rebound sharply
2. Coiled Spring - Constricted price gives way to directional movement
3. Finger Finder - Candles flag reversals in the next smaller time frame.
4. Hole in the wall - Gap downs after strong rallies signal a trend change
5. Power Spike - High volume events print the future diretion of price (Big volume kills a trend)
6. Bear Hug - Weak markets drop quickly after rallying into resistance
7. 3rd Watch - Breakouts through triple tops signal major uptrends

In a word, this book is quite a helpful tool of reference amidst the competitive life of trading which regular glance of its graphs do help much to refresh one's mind. Complex, time consuming but well worths the price.

Read it and Loved it
I would like to strongly recommend this book to everyone. I have been trading stocks for about 4 years and read almost every book written on trading. This book covers so many important elements of short-term trading, including patterns, indicators, psychology, cycles and execution. It doesn't only touch upon these issues but explains them thoroughly with excellent illustrations, I counted over 180 of them. If you're anything like me, you will appreciate all of the charts as visual aids for the teachings in the book.

I also found it to be very well organized. The early chapters required a lot of attention. But everything really starts to click as each new chapter builds on previous information. By the time I got to the excellent "7-Bells" sections, I could almost anticipate how the author was going to treat his detailed examples.

I learned a tremendous amount reading this book. My overall rating is 5 stars. It is well worth its price tag and you will get what you pay for.

No substance, Very wordy
VERY difficult to understand, the charts in this book look like tangled spaghetti, the wording is long and makes little sense. I returned the book 5 days after i bought it. The techniques in this book are useless if you can understand them. I am not new to trading books and have read my share but this has to be one of the worst. Don`t waste your time or money on the book.

Great ideas, disabled by poor expression
Some pluses for this book:

- I would have to say this book contains great ideas - both of logic and experience. Excellent in this regard.
- Not only are some of the ideas great, this is comprehensive stuff. It's almost everything you'd learn if you traded for a couple of years yourself (minus the actual experience of course)

However, there are some really terrible negatives in this book:

- the English is POOR. I'm not going to argue with what is good or bad English, but the simple fact that it is DIFFICULT to read make it poor. There are some very obscure expressions used to describe say, certain price movements. These are DIFFICULT to understand if not ambiguous. I do not know why the author decides to use such esoteric terms - why not use simple english?
- The diagrams are labelled somewhat poorly. Text should refer more to the diagrams!! Argh!!
- [update] forgot to mention that his elliott wave counts are basically wrong. I think he has very limited understanding of EW (even less so than me, which is quite appalling). Beginners need to be aware of this!

Although the book contains some excellent ideas, I suspect most people will have difficulty extracting this information. It's such a waste it's not funny. Needless to say, the text is quite verbose and accordingly is heavily demanding on the reader's time.

Trader
Mr. Farley is obviously an experienced and probably successful trader. He is one of the more knowledgable writers I have read on trading. His book is through and detailed.

I have only one criticism. Mr. Farley has a talent for taking a fairly simple function and making it sound complicated.

This book would make an excellent college text. ... Read more

Book Description

The new edition of Volatility and Correlation has been thoroughly updated and expanded with over 80ew or reworked material, reflecting the changes and developments that have taken place in the field. The new and updated material includes: empirical and theoretical analysis of the smile dynamics; examination of the perfect-replication model in relation to exotic options; treatment of additional important models, namely, Variance Gamma, displaced diffusion, CEV, stochastic volatility for interest-rate smiles and equity/FX options; questioning of the informational efficiency of markets in commonly-used calibration and hedging practices.

The book is split into four sections. Part I deals with a deterministic-volatility Black world (no smiles), and sets out the author's 'philosophical' approach to option pricing. Part II deals with smiles in the equity and FX worlds. Beginning with a review of relevant empirical information about smiles, this part provides coverage of local-stochastic-volatility, general-stochastic-volatility, jump-diffusion and Variance-Gamma processes. Part II concludes with an important chapter that discusses if and to what extent one can dispense with an explicit specification of a process-based model, and can directly prescribe the dynamics of the smile surface. Part III focuses on interest rates, and part IV extends the setting used for the deterministic-volatility LIBOR market model in order to account for interest-rate smiles in a financially-motivated and computationally-tractable manner. In this final part the author deals, in increasing levels of complexity, with CEV processes, with diffusive stochastic volatility and with Markov-chain processes.

Covering FX, equity and interest-rate products, Volatility and Correlation is a blend of theoretical and practical material and is designed for traders, risk managers, financial professionals and students.

‘The second edition is even more comprehensive than the first, and ideally suited to quantitatively oriented traders and risk managers. Rebonato has a knack for distilling the essence from a wide range of complex option pricing models.’ Darrell Duffie, Stanford University, USA

‘The author has greatly extended the first edition of this book, whose main merit remains its courage to deal with relevant issues for practitioners. Rather than concentrating on fictional problems stemming from the need to give financial ground to one’s favourite theories, the author moves from problems posed by the market. At times a colloquial stance is privileged over mathematical rigor and formalism, allowing a larger public to benefit from this book.’ Damiano Brigo, Head of Credit Models, Banca IMI, author of Interest Rate Models: Theory and Practice.

‘This book is about equity, FX and interest-rate option pricing at its best. It combines rigorous theory with practical knowledge of markets and models. Riccardo Rebonato uses his technical mastery to make the theory clear, and his wealth of experience to give insights into applications. Whatever your level of knowledge of these markets, you will learn from him.’ Ian Cooper, Professor of Finance, London Business School

‘In this book, Riccardo Rebonato discloses his invaluable expertise, shedding light over the gloomy path of modern model selection for pricing and hedging derivatives. Both practitioners and academics will benefit from his teachings and advice.’ Fabio Mercurio, Head of Financial Models, Banca IMI, Milan, Italy ... Read more

Book Description

Hedge funds have long been viewed as mysterious, high-risk investments, unsuitable for most investors. All About Hedge Funds debunks these myths and explains how any investor can take advantage of the high-potential returns of hedge funds while incorporating safeguards to limit their volatility and risk. This clear-headed, commonsense guide tells investors:

• What hedge funds are--and what they are not
• Four key hedge fund strategies
• How to incorporate hedge funds into an existing portfolio
• Types of risk involved in hedge fund investing

Reviews (6)

Excellent
Not just for people looking for a hedge fund! This book is a great introduction to modern portfolio theory and gives excellent descriptions of most key concepts. If there's a 2nd edition, I hope he will include more clarity and discussion of key terms like Sharpe Ratio (there are 2 definitions in customary usage, it's an important and misunderstood number, and there is no occurrence of "sharpe ratio" in the index), Alpha, Beta, R-squared, etc. Nonetheless, this book is extremely helpful and highly recommended.

Great, Great, Great
This book is great!

I'm a Wall Street professional, but wanted to understand more about the hedge fund business. My initial concern was that this book was going to be too basic, but it was not. It provided excellent insights into the function of hedge funds in today's financial world, various types of investment strategies, the tools available to hedge funds and even went into regulatory and tax issues. It answered all the questions I had about hedge funds (and was afraid to ask). Yet while it was not too simplistic for someone already in the financial services world, it was also not too complicated for a layperson. This book will remain a valuable resource for me in the future.

Fantastic overview of the industry
This book presents a fantastic overview of the hedge fund industry. The intended target audience is hedge fund investors, which is reinforced by the author's credentials as an executive in a "Fund of Funds". In addition, the book would be very useful as an interview to financial markets, useful for business students interested in careers in trading or hedge funds.

The book starts with a broad overview of market theory, covering efficient markets, diversification theory and strengths and weaknesses of the "Random Walk" theory. The book then moves to an overview of the various investment tools available to hedge funds, such as going long and short on stock prices and volatility. (If you'd like to know in plain english what being "long volatility" means, this is a good book for you!) The book then covers legal, financial and operational details of running a fund. Lastly, it covers the various types of funds, such as equity funds and event driven funds. The scope of the material covers financial institutions such as investment banks and brokers that support hedge funds.

In summary, this was a very informative introductory text on both hedge funds and markets. It will be very useful to both new investors in hedge funds, as well as students of financial markets. The math is well explained, and there are only a few tough technical sections.

Enjoy!

Excellent Primer on Hedge Funds and the Industry
This book delivered what I was looking for and more. I needed an introduction to hedge funds and the industry and the book does an excellent job of providing this information in complete and concise detail. In addition, the book also gives a good overview of portfolio theory and how it relates to actual practice. There is also a section that describes the prevalent hedge fund strategies with historical performances. I highly recommend this book to those interested in starting their own fund or wishing to work in the industry.

Best book I've read on hedge funds
"All About Hedge Funds" is lucid enough for beginners, sophisticated enough for those in the know, and written with a clarity and intelligence rare in the world of money books. Jaeger avoids hype while providing plenty of insight into this often misunderstood investment tool. ... Read more

Book Description

Options are potentially one of the most profitable investment instruments available in todays intensely volatile financial markets. Just a few years ago, the information needed to exploit the vast earnings potential of options was beyond the reach of all but a handful of analysts. Now, anyone with a PC and a few basic software tools has direct access to all the up-to-the-minute market information needed to compete successfully with the "big boys." But, having information and knowing how to wield it are two very different things. In this groundbreaking book, online options trading innovator George Fontanills arms you with the knowledge and skills youneed to unleash the phenomenal power of your computer to become a successful online options trader.

Following a concise review of the basics of online trading--including hardware andsoftware requirements and essential online resources--Fontanills cuts to the chase with step-by-step coverage of 15 proven managed risk option trading strategies. Specifically designed for online traders, these tested off-floor techniques provide you with a sure-fire method for consistently building up your trading account. Drawing upon his years as a leading international options educator, Fontanills makes it easy for you to master online options trading by walking you through a series of hypothetical trades that demonstrate how to compute the maximum risk, maximum profit, breakevens, and exit alternatives for each strategy.

Trade Options Online also includes a comprehensive guide to fundamental and technical analysis methodologies, a detailed list of 240 hot financial resources, websites analyzed from the point of view of an online options trader, and a review of more than 70 online brokerages. Trade Options Online is your complete guide to earning a living and making a killing as an online options trader.

"George Fontanills, the dean of options trading, has put together an online options trading approach that is down-to-earth and insightful. Armed with this book, investors should feel well equipped to play on the battlefield, having been forewarned of the risks, dangers, and opportunities. Fontanills cares about everyones money as much as he cares about his own--a rare find in the world of finance." - Peter D. Henig Senior Editor, The Red Herring

"Fontanills clearly and concisely outlines a map for options traders looking to move online. Covering options strategies as well as some technical information, Trade Options Online provides a solid overview of this emerging area of investing. As always, Fontanills is ahead of the trend." - Brenon Daly Options columnist

"Fontanills has written a great guide for the experienced and novice options trader. I highly recommend Trade Options Online to anyone. Trading options online is the obvious next frontier. Be ahead of the curve." - Bill M. Williams, PhD, CTA Author, Trading Chaos and New Trading Dimensions

"Options trading expert George Fontanills has written the definitive guide to trading options online. Filled with everything from a comprehensive list of insightful website reviews to innovative options strategies, Trade Options Online is a ‘must read for all investors who want to compete successfully in the computerized markets of the twenty-first century!" - Brown President and CEO ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Good primer for home-spun traders
This text contains wealth of information on online trading in general and trading of options in particular. But be careful, you need to know more than that to succeed in this business. Although this book will tell you how to go about placing your orders and which option strategy is good for which situation, making money comes down to predicting the behavior of your stock price and volatility, something you will have to learn elsewhere. Incidentally the book was most likely written to increase subscriber base of the author's website, so don't let your guard down.

Comphrensive Option book w references
Finally a book you can sink your teeth into and getstarted. I've read dozens of trading books where you finish and youwonder what your next step should be. Here the author gives detailed examples of strategies. There are also very few typos or mistakes which to me is most infuriating. You buy a "how to" book and you need a decoder ring to try and figure out what the author really meant because they didn't bother to proof the book. Not so with this book.

Chapter 9 was so refreshing! Here the author walks thru step-by-step what his typical trading day would involve. No "well-chosen" examples to fit the author's purpose, just fundamentals that he looks for and where online he looks.

The web site reference section alone is worth the price of the book. For me it well save hundreds of hours of World Wide Wait (WWW) searching for relevent sites with good, useful and reliable information. The reference site also had pricing info for those sites that weren't free. It also gave me an idea of what's available out there, Online!

There was a lot of educational sites for those remaining questions, like the break down of the "Greeks". These would of been too much to cover in this book and I'm glad the author didn't try to.

This book is a great first-step for ONLINE Option traders.

Good Luck Tradin