Hidden Markov Models in Finance (International Series in Operations Research & Management Science) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Hidden Markov Models have come into vogue in recent years in various fields. Notably automatic speech recognition. An HMM is useful in a Bayesian context, where you have to work back from some observations to discern an underlying probability model that is supposedly generating those observations. Often in the presence of noise. Well, it turns out that this general description can also be applied to financial models, which is the book's subject.
Various specific models are tackled. Including the seminal Black-Scholes, where the security market is modelled as a Markov modulated Brownian. Typically, the maths in the book uses sophisticated probabilistic analysis and often assuming Markov processes. As an aside, if your field is electrical engineering or information theory, where you might have used Markov processes, then your background should suffice if you want to migrate to finance. It's not that different, at a certain conceptual level.
The book could be improved by the addition of an index.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Hidden Markov Models in Finance (International Series in Operations Research & Management Science)

A number of methodologies have been employed to provide decision making solutions globalized markets. Hidden Markov Models in Finance offers the first systematic application of these methods to specialized financial problems: option pricing, credit risk modeling, volatility estimation and more. The book provides tools for sorting through turbulence, volatility, emotion, chaotic events - the random "noise" of financial markets - to analyze core components.

Get 20% OFF

Click here for more information about Hidden Markov Models in Finance (International Series in Operations Research & Management Science)

Read More...

Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: Modern Techniques and Applications (Chapman & Hall/CRC Financial Mathematics Series) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Update after 1 month of reading:
(1) intially rated 4 stars, should be 5 stars (Good books are hard to find, language factor is minor)
(2) A serious Quant reader can gain a lot of insights from this book.
(3) Some of the discussions are way better than the other QEPM book(by Chincarini & Kim ). Although, this is half of the thickness.
(4) you need to be good with Linear Algebra. It is so much fun to see the authors use Linear equations to solve almost everything.
Short summary:
(1) Some advanced math background is needed (Linear Algebra mostly)
(2) Modern investment ideas are presented clearly.
(3) "Quant" book
(4) The Full 9 yards coverage from basic CAPM, alpha model, portfolio construction, trading and turnover, to attribution.
(5) the non-native author(s) should get some help on the writing.
This is an advanced book for quantitative analyst. On the surface, it does not require special math skills to read, which is nice. But to fully appreciate the ideas, you still need a lot of math background.
Most explanations are clean and easy to understand, even with the sometimes annoying writing skills.
Coverage of the modern investment ideas are quite comprehensive and to the right depth. Going deeper could risk more than 1000 pages, less will risk being superficial. There are certain areas in the investment industry that is not covered in this book, including automatic trading, pattern recognition, Bayesian based analysis, macro investing strategies, and alternative investment strategies. Lightly mentioned behavior finance.
Overall, still a good book to have.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: Modern Techniques and Applications (Chapman & Hall/CRC Financial Mathematics Series)

Quantitative equity portfolio management combines theories and advanced techniques from several disciplines, including financial economics, accounting, mathematics, and operational research. While many texts are devoted to these disciplines, few deal with quantitative equity investing in a systematic and mathematical framework that is suitable for quantitative investment students. Providing a solid foundation in the subject, Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: Modern Techniques and Applications presents a self-contained overview and a detailed mathematical treatment of various topics.From the theoretical basis of behavior finance to recently developed techniques, the authors review quantitative investment strategies and factors that are commonly used in practice, including value, momentum, and quality, accompanied by their academic origins. They present advanced techniques and applications in return forecasting models, risk management, portfolio construction, and portfolio implementation that include examples such as optimal multi-factor models, contextual and nonlinear models, factor timing techniques, portfolio turnover control, Monte Carlo valuation of firm values, and optimal trading. In many cases, the text frames related problems in mathematical terms and illustrates the mathematical concepts and solutions with numerical and empirical examples. Ideal for students in computational and quantitative finance programs, Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management serves as a guide to combat many common modeling issues and provides a rich understanding of portfolio management using mathematical analysis.

Get 11% OFF

Click here for more information about Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: Modern Techniques and Applications (Chapman & Hall/CRC Financial Mathematics Series)

Read More...

Modeling Risk: Applying Monte Carlo Simulation, Real Options Analysis, Forecasting, and Optimization Techniques (Wiley Finance) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I found the discussion on nonparametric simulation, though brief, to be very helpful. The book also inspired me to use Excel's Solver in ways I had not considered before.
Beyond that, I was disappointed. The book is poorly edited and lacks a coherent structure. Once in a while, entire strings of paragraphs are repeated in two different parts of the book. More serious, however, is the fact that the book is largely an advertisement for the author's proprietary software.
If you are looking for a few techniques that you can apply in an Excel environment, you will find a few nuggets here and there. However, you will mostly be skimming through the 600 pages of rambling discussion.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Modeling Risk: Applying Monte Carlo Simulation, Real Options Analysis, Forecasting, and Optimization Techniques (Wiley Finance)

This completely revised and updated edition of Applied Risk Analysis includes new case studies in modeling risk and uncertainty as well as a new risk analysis CD-ROM prepared by Dr. Mun. On the CD-ROM you'll find his Risk Simulator and Real Options Super Lattice Solver software as well as many useful spreadsheet models.
"Johnathan Mun's book is a sparkling jewel in my finance library. Mun demonstrates a deep understanding of the underlying mathematical theory in his ability to reduce complex concepts to lucid explanations and applications. For this reason, he's my favorite writer in this field."—Janet Tavakoli, President, Tavakoli Structured Finance, Inc. and author of Collateralized Debt Obligations and Structured Finance
"A must-read for product portfolio managers . . . it captures the risk exposure of strategic investments, and provides management with estimates of potential outcomes and options for risk mitigation."—Rafael E. Gutierrez, Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Planning, Seagate Technology, Inc.
"Once again, Dr. Mun has created a 'must-have, must-read' book for anyone interested in the practical application of risk analysis. Other books speak in academic generalities, or focus on one area of risk application. [This book] gets to the heart of the matter with applications for every area of risk analysis. You have a real option to buy almost any book?you should exercise your option and get this one!"—Glenn Kautt, MBA, CFP, EA, President and Chairman, The Monitor Group, Inc.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Click here for more information about Modeling Risk: Applying Monte Carlo Simulation, Real Options Analysis, Forecasting, and Optimization Techniques (Wiley Finance)

Read More...

Financial Modeling Under Non-Gaussian Distributions (Springer Finance) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book is an outstanding a clear presentation of non-Gaussian financial modeling. In financial markets, the Gaussian curve or bell curve, is not accurate in that most markets are skewed (a predisposition to grow on average, not zero) and fat-tailed (rare events such as market crashes happen more often than a Gaussian curve would suggest). Therefore, non-Gaussian modeling is essential to make money in the market or assess risk. This book goes through all the new techniques of non-Gaussian modeling. It does an exceptional job discussing the GARCH generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity. This is but a fancy word for fluctuations in volatility over time pretty much dependent on recent fluctuations. It works very well I must say empirically, and has tripled the rationality and profitability of my portfolio - especially one of the versions of the GARCH over the others reviewed - but which one I'd rather not say, for obvious reasons ;) The book is weakest at page 183 or so, with the models and I was rather disappointed with the exclusion of the market crash of the 80s in the empirical analysis - wouldn't rare events be the main reason for improving non-Gaussian modeling? Anyway it's rather poor, but thorough, with additive and multivariate GARCHes but the fault lies with the faultiness of the theories not the authors, at least they're encyclopedic. The book picks up at the end with copulas, and a complete discussion of non-Gaussian option pricing. The review of BSM is appreciated and actually well-done, and a nice reminder of what we are trying to improve on exactly. I think this is a most incredible book, very clearly written, and at times, quite an enjoyable read for such a topic. All it takes is multivariate calculus and basic statistics, but more math ability will make the implications and comments breathtaking at times. I often find myself inspired by a passage or footnote to create a whole subroutine in R or python. I think avoiding Bayesian topics and Monte Carlo was disappointing, but wise in terms of focus. A great book for graduate mathematics in applications of statistics or stochastic calculus, or a good book for modeling fundamentals in economics or business management at the post-graduate level.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Financial Modeling Under Non-Gaussian Distributions (Springer Finance)

This book examines non-Gaussian distributions. It addresses the causes and consequences of non-normality and time dependency in both asset returns and option prices. The book is written for non-mathematicians who want to model financial market prices so the emphasis throughout is on practice. There are abundant empirical illustrations of the models and techniques described, many of which could be equally applied to other financial time series.

Get 20% OFF

Click here for more information about Financial Modeling Under Non-Gaussian Distributions (Springer Finance)

Read More...

The Outer Game of Trading: Modeling the Trading Strategies of Today's Market Wizard Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I know that Howard Abell is a very capable trader. However, you do not need to purchase all of his books due to the great deal of redundancy present in his writings. The title of this book is misleading. If you are looking for specific strategies or new ideas forget about it. I am not saying one needs to have a new idea in order to make money in the markets; what I am saying merely is that this book is more a pyschological treatise on the aspects of trading than one on methodologies. Out of all of his books this is the only title I can recommend. The Inner Game of trading is also good. But thats about all you need.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Outer Game of Trading: Modeling the Trading Strategies of Today's Market Wizard

Click here for more information about The Outer Game of Trading: Modeling the Trading Strategies of Today's Market Wizard

Read More...

Corporate Valuation Modeling: A Step-by-Step Guide (Wiley Finance) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There are many different variations on the basic DCF valuation model. Every bank has one, every business school has one, and everyone modifies it for their own purposes.
Keith's book offers some distinct advantages: (1) It actually walks you through the steps of building the model, instead of simply typing the inputs into one. This will ensure you understand it, but it might take some time to build it. (The full model is included for people who want to skip the typing). (2) Secondly, it is a "full blown" model and not a simplified version of one. While the first is common, and the second is common, the combination is (in my experience) uncommon.
More interestingly, (3) this model is more advanced than most of the others out there. The primary improvement is he has more "checks and balances" thrown in. The model has little checks that make sure cash ties through, that the extra cash pays off the debt, that capital expenditures are accounted for and that their depreciation pours through the income statement etc. This is invaluable. It does make it complicated, and sometimes I had circular references that were hard to fix, but this just forced me to deal with what was really going on in the model.
All in all, nicely done.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Corporate Valuation Modeling: A Step-by-Step Guide (Wiley Finance)

A critical guide to corporate valuation modeling
Valuation is at the heart of everything that Wall Street does. Every day, millions of transactions to purchase or sell companies take place based on prices created by the activities of all market participants. In this book, author Keith Allman provides you with a core model to value companies.
Corporate Valuation Modeling takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a powerful corporate valuation model. Each chapter skillfully discusses the theory of the concept, followed by Model Builder instructions that inform you of every step necessary to create the template model. Many chapters also include a validation section that shows techniques and implementations that you can employ to make sure the model is working properly.
Walks you through the full process of constructing a fully dynamic corporate valuation model
A Tool Box section at the end of each chapter assists readers who may be less skilled in Excel techniques and functions

Complete with a companion CD-ROM that contains constructed models, this book is an essential guide to understanding the intricacies of corporate valuation modeling.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Get 37% OFF

Click here for more information about Corporate Valuation Modeling: A Step-by-Step Guide (Wiley Finance)

Read More...