Practical Investment Management

Rating:
Summary: Practical Investment Management
Review: This book appears to be one of the more practical and straightforward texts on investments that I have encountered. It introduces the reader to why people invest, how security markets function, what typical investment choices are available, and how they are valued.

The book is the right size (about 530 pages) to be covered in a one semester course on the fundamentals of investing. It provides a foundation for analyzing various securities, including bonds, stocks, convertible securities, and derivatives. In addition, the book provides an exposure to risk reduction techniques, such as portfolio diversification and hedging, that is important for investors in protecting their gains or reducing their potential losses.

However, the book is not without its flaws. The chapter on fundamental analysis (chapter 7) could be expanded to include a discussion of financial statements (i.e., the balance sheet and the income statement) and an addition of ratios related to debt management (i.e., debt-to-assets, debt-to-equity, times-interest-earned, etc.). These ratios would provide the investor more information regarding the risks that are inherent with the use of debt. In addition, the topic on duration in chapter 17 does not include a discussion on the purpose for obtaining the duration of a fixed income security, namely how the price of the security is affected by a change in market interest rates.

Despite these shortcomings, the book will make a fine required text for an introductory course on investment management at the undergrduate level.

Rating:
Summary: Practical Investment Management
Review: This book appears to be one of the more practical and straightforward texts on investments that I have encountered. It introduces the reader to why people invest, how security markets function, what typical investment choices are available, and how they are valued.

The book is the right size (about 530 pages) to be covered in a one semester course on the fundamentals of investing. It provides a foundation for analyzing various securities, including bonds, stocks, convertible securities, and derivatives. In addition, the book provides an exposure to risk reduction techniques, such as portfolio diversification and hedging, that is important for investors in protecting their gains or reducing their potential losses.

However, the book is not without its flaws. The chapter on fundamental analysis (chapter 7) could be expanded to include a discussion of financial statements (i.e., the balance sheet and the income statement) and an addition of ratios related to debt management (i.e., debt-to-assets, debt-to-equity, times-interest-earned, etc.). These ratios would provide the investor more information regarding the risks that are inherent with the use of debt. In addition, the topic on duration in chapter 17 does not include a discussion on the purpose for obtaining the duration of a fixed income security, namely how the price of the security is affected by a change in market interest rates.

Despite these shortcomings, the book will make a fine required text for an introductory course on investment management at the undergrduate level.

Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to investments text
Review: This book is easy to read and interesting. The author makes investment principles incredibly easy to understand. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn to basics of investments.