Equity indexes must be constructed by a defined set of transparent rules. This accessible handbook provides clear guidelines and critical insight into the science and methodology of index construction.

Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management brings the orderly structure of fundamental asset management to the often-chaotic world of active equity management. Straightforward and accessible, it provides you with nuts-and-bolts details for selecting and aggregating factors, building a risk model, and much more.

This book constructs a Chinese Social Equality Index–the Mongoose Social Equality Index–with the wealth gap index as its core, and the legal equality index, the socio-cultural equality index, and the financial equality index as its supplement. The book focuses on the influence of the wealth gap on economic and social issues. Empirical research shows that there are three turning points in the influence of the wealth gap index on economic growth: discrepancy turning point, golden turning point and destructive turning point. Based on the latest data,the current expected wealth gap index in China has surpassed the destructive point. This means that wealth brought about by economic growth will largely go to the rich, which aggravates inequality and even brings forth a potential economic recession. Meanwhile, the index also indicates that, as the Chinese economy develops, social equality has been on a noticeable decline. This book will be of interest to economists, China watchers, and political scientists

For over three decades, indexing has become increasingly accepted by both institutional and individual investors. Index benchmarks and investment products that track them have been a driving force in the transformation of investment strategy from art to science. Yet investors’ understanding of the sophistication of this burgeoning field has lagged the growing use of index products. Active Index Investing is the definitive guide to how indexes are constructed, how index-based portfolios are managed, and how the world’s most sophisticated investors use index-based strategies to enhance performance, reduce costs and minimize the risks of investing. Active Index Investing provides a comprehensive overview of (1) the investment theories that are the foundation of index based investing, (2) best practices in benchmark construction, (3) the growing world of index-based investment vehicles, (4) cutting-edge index portfolio management techniq ues and (5) the myriad ways investors can and do capture the benefits of indexing. Active Index Investing has a unique format that captures the views and perspectives of over 40 of the investment industry’s leading experts and practitioners, while maintaining a holistic view of this complex subject matter. In addition to the Appendix and Glossary within the book, it features an E-ppendix, available at www.IndexUniverse.com

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, many will agree that it is time for a fresh approach to portfolio management. The Complete Guide to Portfolio Construction and Management provides practical investment advice for building a robust, diversified portfolio. Written by a high-profile investment adviser, this book reveals a practical portfolio management framework and new approach to portfolio construction based on four key market forces: macro, fundamental, technical, and behavioural. It is an insight that takes the focus off numbers, looking instead at the role of risk and behavior in finance. As we have seen with the recent finance meltdown, traditional portfolio management techniques are flawed. Investors need to understand those flaws and learn how to incorporate risk management and behavioral finance into their asset management strategies. With a foreword by industry leader Francois-Serge L'habitant, this is your one-stop guide, with new ways for you to manage, grow and preserve your investment portfolio, even in uncertain markets.

Understand how to use equity market metrics such as the price/earnings ratio (and other multiples) to value public and private enterprises. This essential book gives you the tools you need to identify and qualify investments and assess business strategy and performance. Author George Calhoun, Founding Director of the Quantitative Finance Program at Stevens Institute of Technology, shows you how to use metrics to appraise mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs. You will be able to shed light on financial market conditions, benchmark fair value assessments, and check and calibrate complex cash flow models. Market multiples share a peculiar construction: they are based on an explicit apples-to-oranges comparison of market prices with accounting fundamentals, combining data derived from two very different sources and methodologies. This creates ambiguities in interpretation that can complicate the application of these metrics for the many purposes. Multiples are thus easy to construct, but they can be difficult to interpret. The meanings of certain multiples have evolved over time, and new-and-improved versions have been introduced. The field is becoming more complex and the question of which metrics perform best can be a source of controversy. What You Will Learn Know the definitions, interpretations, and applications of all major market ratios, including: price/earnings (trailing and forward), cyclically adjusted price/earnings, cash-adjusted price/earnings, EV/EBITDA, price/sales, dividend yield, and many moreExamine the factors that drive the values of ratios from firm level (such as earnings growth, leverage, and governance) to market level (such as inflation, tax and fiscal policy, monetary policy, and international characteristics)Apply metrics in: investment analysis, index construction, factor models, sum-of-the-parts analysis of corporate structures, and detection of asset bubbles Who This Book Is For Professionals at all levels working in the finance industry, especially in fields related to investment management, trading, and investment banking who are involved with valuation and assessing and advising on corporate transactions and interpreting market trends, and university students in finance-related programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels

The Practical Guide to Wall Street is an indispensable resource for anyone who aspires to a front-office sales or trading position on Wall Street and an essential desk reference for market practitioners and those who interact with this exciting but widely misunderstood industry. Written by an experienced trader in a clear, conversational style and assuming no previous background in finance, The Practical Guide to Wall Street provides a thorough schooling in the core curriculum of the equity and equity derivatives sales and trading business - exactly what you would learn from sitting beside the traders at a tier-one Wall Street investment bank (except that in practice, traders rarely have time to provide such detailed explanations!) Topics covered include: Clear, detailed and intuitive explanations of all major products, their function, pricing and risks (several of which are unavailable anywhere else despite producing billions of dollars in annual revenue for Wall St.) The layout of the trading floor, the roles and responsibilities of the different sales and trading groups and how they interact to service the client business An overview of the structure of the macro-economy and the trader’s perspective on the significance of economic data releases and their impact on the financial markets A review of those concepts from fundamental valuation and financial statement analysis of greatest relevance on the trading floor (as opposed to abstract valuation models) Practical details of the structure and functioning of the equity and derivative markets including translations of trader jargon, Bloomberg tips, market conventions, liquidity and risk considerations and much more… This book provides the first comprehensive explanation of all aspects of the functioning of the equities division, with information, details and insights previously only available to those who already worked on a trading floor. The availability of this material in a format accessible to non-professionals fundamentally changes the level of industry knowledge employers in the financial services industry can expect of new hires.