Understanding investments Theories and Strategies

The author's main goal in writing Understanding Investments is to present the classic theories and strategies in the field of finance in a new,intuitive, and practical way.This text offers context and grounding information to students trulylooking, as the title indicates,to understand investments. This textbook brings a number of innovative features to the field: 1. Presentation of material from the economics point of view, stressing the interpretation of concepts, rather than their mere memorization and mechanical application. 2. Shorter, more streamlinedchapters, so instructors and students won't be distracted by superfluous detail, and can instead focus on the most relevant issues. 3. Fewer chapters than in current textbooks, so instructors can comfortably cover all material within a semester. 4. Boxes with --International Focus-- vignettes, discussions --Applying Economic Analysis-- to relevant topics, and featured --Lessons from our Times--, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of the material and its relevant context and applications. 5. Sections in each chapter discussing different investment strategies and their pros and cons. 6. Questions that solicit students'critical thinking skills and problems that require their quantitative expertise to address real-life problems - rather than rote, mechanical questions that merely require regurgitation.

PartI: Investment Basics 1. The Investment Framework 2. The Investment Decision Process and Investment Strategies 3. Fundamentals of Risk and Return Part II: Financial Markets And Instruments 4. The Global Financial Environment 5. Money and Capital Markets, Instruments and Strategies 6. Investment Bankers and Investment Companies Part III Portfolio Theory 7. Diversification and Asset Allocation 8. Efficient Diversification and Capital Market Theory 9. Market Efficiency and Behavioral Finance Part IV Equity Securities10. Equity and Fundamental Analyses 11. Equity Valuation and Investment Strategies Part V: Debt Securities 12. Bond Fundamentals and Valuation13. Bond Portfolio Management and Performance Evaluation Part VI: Derivative Securities 14. Option Markets and Valuation 15. Futures Markets and Strategies Part VII Other Topics In Investments16. Current Topics in Investments