Alternative Investments: A Primer for Investment Professionals provides an overview of alternative investments for institutional asset allocators and other overseers of portfolios containing both traditional and alternative assets. It is designed for those with substantial experience regarding traditional investments in stocks and bonds but limited familiarity regarding alternative assets, alternative strategies, and alternative portfolio management. The primer categorizes alternative assets into four groups: hedge funds, real assets, private equity, and structured products/derivatives. Real assets include vacant land, farmland, timber, infrastructure, intellectual property, commodities, and private real estate. For each group, the primer provides essential information about the characteristics, challenges, and purposes of these institutional-quality alternative assets in the context of a well-diversified institutional portfolio. Other topics addressed by this primer include tail risk, due diligence of the investment process and operations, measurement and management of risks and returns, setting return expectations, and portfolio construction. The primer concludes with a chapter on the case for investing in alternatives.

A Primer in Financial Data Management describes concepts and methods, considering financial data management, not as a technological challenge, but as a key asset that underpins effective business management. This broad survey of data management in financial services discusses the data and process needs from the business user, client and regulatory perspectives. Its non-technical descriptions and insights can be used by readers with diverse interests across the financial services industry. The need has never been greater for skills, systems, and methodologies to manage information in financial markets. The volume of data, the diversity of sources, and the power of the tools to process it massively increased. Demands from business, customers, and regulators on transparency, safety, and above all, timely availability of high quality information for decision-making and reporting have grown in tandem, making this book a must read for those working in, or interested in, financial management. - Focuses on ways information management can fuel financial institutions' processes, including regulatory reporting, trade lifecycle management, and customer interaction - Covers recent regulatory and technological developments and their implications for optimal financial information management - Views data management from a supply chain perspective and discusses challenges and opportunities, including big data technologies and regulatory scrutiny

Long gone are the times when investors could make decisions based on intuition. Modern asset management draws on a wide-range of fields beyond financial theory: economics, financial accounting, econometrics/statistics, management science, operations research (optimization and Monte Carlo simulation), and more recently, data science (Big Data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence). The challenge in writing an institutional asset management book is that when tools from these different fields are applied in an investment strategy or an analytical framework for valuing securities, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the fundamentals of these fields. Attempting to explain strategies and analytical concepts while also providing a primer on the tools from other fields is not the most effective way of describing the asset management process. Moreover, while an increasing number of investment models have been proposed in the asset management literature, there are challenges and issues in implementing these models. This book provides a description of the tools used in asset management as well as a more in-depth explanation of specialized topics and issues covered in the companion book, Fundamentals of Institutional Asset Management. The topics covered include the asset management business and its challenges, the basics of financial accounting, securitization technology, analytical tools (financial econometrics, Monte Carlo simulation, optimization models, and machine learning), alternative risk measures for asset allocation, securities finance, implementing quantitative research, quantitative equity strategies, transaction costs, multifactor models applied to equity and bond portfolio management, and backtesting methodologies. This pedagogic approach exposes the reader to the set of interdisciplinary tools that modern asset managers require in order to extract profits from data and processes.

In-depth Level II exam preparation direct from the CAIA Association CAIA Level II is the official study guide for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst professional examination, and an authoritative guide to working in the alternative investment sphere. Written by the makers of the exam, this book provides in-depth guidance through the entire exam agenda; the Level II strategies are the same as Level I, but this time you'll review them through the lens of risk management and portfolio optimisation. Topics include asset allocation and portfolio oversight, style analysis, risk management, alternative asset securitisation, secondary market creation, performance and style attribution and indexing and benchmarking, with clear organisation and a logical progression that allows you to customise your preparation focus. This new third edition has been updated to align with the latest exam, and to reflect the current practices in the field. The CAIA designation was developed to provide a standardized knowledge base in the midst of explosive capital inflow into alternative investments. This book provides a single-source repository of that essential information, tailored to those preparing for the Level II exam. Measure, monitor and manage funds from a risk management perspective Delve into advanced portfolio structures and optimisation strategies Master the nuances of private equity, real assets, commodities and hedge funds Gain expert insight into preparing thoroughly for the CAIA Level II exam The CAIA Charter programme is rigorous and comprehensive, and the designation is globally recognised as the highest standard in alternative investment education. Candidates seeking thorough preparation and detailed explanations of all aspects of alternative investment need look no further than CAIA Level II.

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.