In recent years the field of finance has exploded with innovation. New products, services and techniques abound. The risks of inflation, the volatility of interest rates, the deregulation of financial intermediaries and the unbundling of financial services have combined to present investment managers with challenges and opportunities far greater than in the past. For trustees and managers of pension, trust, endowment, and similar funds, the task of meeting the challenges and exploiting the opportunities is much more difficult. These fiduciaries must measure their investment decisions against constrained interpretations of a legal standard--the prudent man rule--that have caused it to lag far behind changes in investment theory and the marketplace. Drawing on financial history, a major opinion survey of institutional investors, and comprehensive reviews of the law and of the lessons of modern portfolio theory for prudence, this book presents a powerful case that the prudent man rule as elaborated in legal treatises and much of the case law would virtually compel a fiduciary to act imprudently in terms of financial theory and marketplace reality. In proposing a modern paradigm of investment prudence, the book uses illustrations drawn from such traditionally suspect categories of investment fiduciaries as securities lending, real estate, venture capital, options and futures and repurchaser agreements. An unusual examination of the interaction of the worlds of law and finance, this work will be of interest to fiduciaries who are subject to some from of prudent man rule and all others, including judges, lawyers and investment managers, who are called upon to interpret and apply that legal standard.

Gary Watt provides detailed and conceptual analysis of the complex area of trusts and equity. Emphasis on the modern commercial context and abundant cultural references, ensure students find Watt's approach a stimulating and inspiring read.

Trusts & Equity continues to offer a comprehensive and user-friendly approach, providing a concise route through what can be a challenging area of the law. Drawing on years of experience, Gary Watt encourages students to actively engage with the subject and think critically about its central issues, outlining the key perspectives with clarity and rigour.Digital formats and resourcesThis edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources.- The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features, and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks- The online resources include:· Video lectures presented by Gary Watt, providing an introduction to key areas of debate within the subject· Essay questions and problem scenarios with accompanying answer guidance, along with general guidance on answering these kinds of questions to enable you to improve· Web links to further primary sources and commentary to aid your understanding· Flashcard glossary to help test your knowledge of key terms

In its First Edition, this classic treatise called attention to the duty of reasonable care, the duty of loyalty and the public duty of fiduciaries to the marketplace. Grounded in the idea that prudent investing is to be defined by professional practices accepted as appropriate at the time of investment by the management, thereby permitting such practices to adapt to changing conditions and insights, the field of investment management law and regulation has at its center the goal of a common standard of care for investment.Now in its Second Edition, this definitive guide to investment management law and regulation helps you to profitably adapt to today's new and changing conditions and anticipate tomorrow's regulatory response.Here are just a few of the reasons why Investment Management Law and Regulation will be so valuable to you:Explains and analyzes all the ins and outs of the law, clarifies the complexities, answers your questions, points out pitfalls and helps you avoid themCovers the entire field in one volume, saves you valuable time and effort in finding information and searching through stacks of referencesEnsures compliance with all relevant regulations, makes sure nothing is overlooked, protects you against costly mistakesUpdates you on the latest important changes, tells you what is happening now and what is likely to happen in the future Investment Management Law and Regulation is the only up-to-date volume to offer a comprehensive examination of the field of investment management law, covering everything from financial theory and legal theory to the various aspects of hands-on fund management. It's the only resource of its kind that:Identifies and explains the financial theories that control the development of investment management law across management activitiesGives critical judicial, legislative, and regulatory history that makes recent law and regulation more comprehensibleCovers all areas of regulation governing the activities of investment managers, including marketing, suitability, advisory contacts, fees, exculpation and indemnification, performance, fiduciary obligations, conflicts of interest, best executionProvides the practical tools that help predict more effectively how regulators will respond to new marketplace developments and productsIntegrates investment management law and regulation for all institutional investment managersAnd more Whether you are a manager, broker, banker, or legal counsel, a seasoned professional or just starting out, this treatise will quickly become your most trusted guide through the intricacies of this complex, critical, and closely scrutinized area

“An incisive history of the venture-capital industry.” —New Yorker “An excellent and original economic history of venture capital.” —Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution “A detailed, fact-filled account of America’s most celebrated moneymen.” —New Republic “Extremely interesting, readable, and informative...Tom Nicholas tells you most everything you ever wanted to know about the history of venture capital, from the financing of the whaling industry to the present multibillion-dollar venture funds.” —Arthur Rock “In principle, venture capital is where the ordinarily conservative, cynical domain of big money touches dreamy, long-shot enterprise. In practice, it has become the distinguishing big-business engine of our time...[A] first-rate history.” —New Yorker VC tells the riveting story of how the venture capital industry arose from America’s longstanding identification with entrepreneurship and risk-taking. Whether the venture is a whaling voyage setting sail from New Bedford or the latest Silicon Valley startup, VC is a state of mind as much as a way of doing business, exemplified by an appetite for seeking extreme financial rewards, a tolerance for failure and experimentation, and a faith in the promise of innovation to generate new wealth. Tom Nicholas’s authoritative history takes us on a roller coaster of entrepreneurial successes and setbacks. It describes how iconic firms like Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia invested in Genentech and Apple even as it tells the larger story of VC’s birth and evolution, revealing along the way why venture capital is such a quintessentially American institution—one that has proven difficult to recreate elsewhere.

In spite of theoretical benefits, Markowitz mean-variance (MV) optimized portfolios often fail to meet practical investment goals of marketability, usability, and performance, prompting many investors to seek simpler alternatives. Financial experts Richard and Robert Michaud demonstrate that the limitations of MV optimization are not the result of conceptual flaws in Markowitz theory but unrealistic representation of investment information. What is missing is a realistic treatment of estimation error in the optimization and rebalancing process. The text provides a non-technical review of classical Markowitz optimization and traditional objections. The authors demonstrate that in practice the single most important limitation of MV optimization is oversensitivity to estimation error. Portfolio optimization requires a modern statistical perspective. Efficient Asset Management, Second Edition uses Monte Carlo resampling to address information uncertainty and define Resampled Efficiency (RE) technology. RE optimized portfolios represent a new definition of portfolio optimality that is more investment intuitive, robust, and provably investment effective. RE rebalancing provides the first rigorous portfolio trading, monitoring, and asset importance rules, avoiding widespread ad hoc methods in current practice. The Second Edition resolves several open issues and misunderstandings that have emerged since the original edition. The new edition includes new proofs of effectiveness, substantial revisions of statistical estimation, extensive discussion of long-short optimization, and new tools for dealing with estimation error in applications and enhancing computational efficiency. RE optimization is shown to be a Bayesian-based generalization and enhancement of Markowitz's solution. RE technology corrects many current practices that may adversely impact the investment value of trillions of dollars under current asset management. RE optimization technology may also be useful in other financial optimizations and more generally in multivariate estimation contexts of information uncertainty with Bayesian linear constraints. Michaud and Michaud's new book includes numerous additional proposals to enhance investment value including Stein and Bayesian methods for improved input estimation, the use of portfolio priors, and an economic perspective for asset-liability optimization. Applications include investment policy, asset allocation, and equity portfolio optimization. A simple global asset allocation problem illustrates portfolio optimization techniques. A final chapter includes practical advice for avoiding simple portfolio design errors. With its important implications for investment practice, Efficient Asset Management 's highly intuitive yet rigorous approach to defining optimal portfolios will appeal to investment management executives, consultants, brokers, and anyone seeking to stay abreast of current investment technology. Through practical examples and illustrations, Michaud and Michaud update the practice of optimization for modern investment management.

The second edition of a leading resource in the field, this valuable practice tool brings you completely up-to-date on the evolving laws governing banks' securities activities - from regulatory changes in the financial markets and administrative reform to recent court decisions and legislative reform. Here is everything you need to help build a bank's securities business while avoiding compliance pitfalls. SECURITIES ACTIVITIES OF BANKS, Second Edition provides: In-depth discussions of the securities activities now permissible for banks and bank holding companies Clear explanations of how securities laws affect banks' securities activities A complete review of how banks are regulated - including foreign banks and affiliates Up-to-date analysis of the evolution of the banking laws through agency and court decisions. Detailed descriptions and analyses illuminate the full range of current bank securities activities, including investment and trading activities, brokerage activities, investment advice, underwriting, mutual funds, international securities activities, derivative instruments, deposits and loans, joint activities with securities firms, fiduciary activities, and more.