The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been one of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing regions over the years. Its average combined GDP growth rate is more than 6% and the total combined GDP was valued at US$3.0 trillion in 2018. ASEAN countries have managed to significantly reduce their national poverty over the last few decades. Although a correlation exists between economic growth and poverty reduction, millions of people in ASEAN countries still do not have sufficient incomes to fulfill their basic needs including food, shelter, clothes and sanitation. This book is a collection of working group papers contributed by members of Network of ASEAN-China Think-tanks (NACT) and covers best practices on poverty alleviation in ASEAN member states as well as in China, and ASEAN-China cooperation. It discusses experiences of ASEAN member states and China such as with regard to national policies, principles, definitions, approaches, progress, and challenges in poverty reduction. It reviews and evaluates the way forward including existing joint projects, opportunities, and challenges in the future cooperation and offers policy recommendations from both national and regional perspectives to help policymakers better cope with the daunting poverty challenges.

Goal-based investing is a new paradigm that is expected to have a profound and long-lasting impact on the wealth management industry. This book presents the concept in detail and introduces a general operational framework that can be used by financial advisors to help individual investors optimally allocate their wealth by identifying performance-seeking assets and hedging assets. Grounded in the principles of asset pricing and portfolio optimisation, the goal-based investing approach leads to the design of investment solutions that truly respond to investors' problems, which can most often be summarized as follows: secure essential goals with the highest confidence level and maximize the chances to reach aspirational goals.A series of case studies guides the reader through the implementation of goal-based investing, illustrates the efficiency of this paradigm and explains how one can accommodate a variety of implementation features such as taxes, short-sales constraints, parameter estimation risk, as well as limited customisation.

Take a more active role in strategic asset allocation Goals-Based Wealth Management is a manual for protecting and growing client wealth in a way that changes both the services and profitability of the firm. Written by a 35-year veteran of international wealth education and analysis, this informative guide explains a new approach to wealth management that allows individuals to take on a more active role in the allocation of their assets. Coverage includes a detailed examination of the goals-based approach, including what works and what needs to be revisited, and a clear, understandable model that allows advisors to help individuals to navigate complex processes. The companion website offers ancillary readings, practice management checklists, and assessments that help readers secure a deep understanding of the key ideas that make goals-based wealth management work. The goals-based wealth management approach was pioneered in 2002, but has seen a slow evolution and only modest refinements largely due to a lack of wide-scale adoption. This book takes the first steps toward finalizing the approach, by delineating the effective and ineffective aspects of traditional approaches, and proposing changes that could bring better value to practitioners and their clients. Understand the challenges faced by the affluent and wealthy Examine strategic asset allocation and investment policy formulation Learn a model for dealing with the asset allocation process Learn why the structure of the typical advisory firm needs to change High-net-worth individuals face very specific challenges. Goals-Based Wealth Management focuses on how those challenges can be overcome while adhering to their goals, incorporating constraints, and working within the individual's frame of reference to drive strategic allocation of their financial assets.

Get up to speed on the latest investing strategies, techniques, and products—and raise your game to a whole new level The financial services industry has undergone a major transformation over the last decade, including increased concerns from investors, the growth of the independent model, the growth of Robo-advisors, product evolution, increased market correlations—in addition to geopolitical risks, population growth, technological advances, and social tensions. Concepts like “Modern Portfolio Theory” aren’t modern anymore, and even Post-Modern Portfolio Theory has become passé. To succeed in today’s complex, uncertain world of investing, you need go beyond plain vanilla stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and embrace the latest investing tools and techniques—and that’s exactly what Goals-Based Investing helps you do. This unparalleled guide covers: The limitations with modern portfolio theory Behavioral Finance–overcoming biases The role and use of alternative investments (hedge funds, private equity, private credit, and real assets) in building better portfolios The growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from “cheap beta” to “smart beta” Sustainable investing, also known as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing Adopting a goals-based investing approach The future of wealth management Investing products have evolved significantly over the past two decades, making it easier than ever for you to access various segments of the market and unique asset classes. Goals-Based Investing examines product evolution and discusses how to use these tools to achieve your goals. With this forward-looking, one-of-a-kind investing guide, you have everything you need to navigate the investing jungle, avoid landmines, and generate solid, steady returns.

This volume provides the definitive treatment of fortune's formula or the Kelly capital growth criterion as it is often called. The strategy is to maximize long run wealth of the investor by maximizing the period by period expected utility of wealth with a logarithmic utility function. Mathematical theorems show that only the log utility function maximizes asymptotic long run wealth and minimizes the expected time to arbitrary large goals. In general, the strategy is risky in the short term but as the number of bets increase, the Kelly bettor's wealth tends to be much larger than those with essentially different strategies. So most of the time, the Kelly bettor will have much more wealth than these other bettors but the Kelly strategy can lead to considerable losses a small percent of the time. There are ways to reduce this risk at the cost of lower expected final wealth using fractional Kelly strategies that blend the Kelly suggested wager with cash. The various classic reprinted papers and the new ones written specifically for this volume cover various aspects of the theory and practice of dynamic investing. Good and bad properties are discussed, as are fixed-mix and volatility induced growth strategies. The relationships with utility theory and the use of these ideas by great investors are featured.

HOW DOES MONEY HELP IN CREATING A HAPPY LIFE? In The Geometry of Wealth, behavioral finance expert Brian Portnoy delivers an inspired answer based on the idea that wealth, truly defined, is funded contentment. It is the ability to underwrite a meaningful life. This stands in stark contrast to angling to become rich, which is usually an unsatisfying treadmill. At the heart of this groundbreaking perspective, Portnoy takes readers on a journey toward wealth, informed by disciplines ranging from ancient history to modern neuroscience. He contends that tackling the big questions about a joyful life and tending to financial decisions are complementary, not separate, tasks. These big questions include: • How is the human brain wired for two distinct experiences of happiness? And why can money “buy” one but not the other? • Why is being market savvy among the least important aspects of creating wealth but self-awareness among the most? • Can we strike a balance between pushing for more and being content with enough? This journey memorably contours along three basic shapes: A circle, triangle, and square help us visualize how we adapt to evolving circumstances, set clear priorities, and find empowerment in simplicity. In this accessible and entertaining book, Portnoy reveals that true wealth is achievable for many—including those who despair it is out of reach—but only in the context of a life in which purpose and practice are thoughtfully calibrated.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing: A Balanced Analysis of the Theory and Practice of a Sustainable Portfolio presents a balanced, thorough analysis of ESG factors as they are incorporated into the investment process. An estimated 25% of all new investments are in ESG funds, with a global total of $23 trillion and the U.S. accounting for almost $9 trillion. Many advocate the sustainability goals promoted by ESG, while others prefer to maximize returns and spend their earnings on social causes. The core problem facing those who want to promote sustainability goals is to define sustainability investing and measure its returns. This book examines theories and their practical implications, illuminating issues that other books leave in the shadows. - Provides a dispassionate examination of ESG investing - Presents the historical arguments for maximizing returns and competing theories to support an ESG approach - Reviews case studies of empirical evidence about relative returns of both traditional and ESG investment approaches