H. Kent Baker

Greg Filbeck

Halil Kiymaz

Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds: Building Blocks to Wealth offers a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature primarily on mutual funds but also discusses related investment vehicles, especially ETFs. In this edited volume, noted scholars and practitioners write chapters in their areas of expertise. It interweaves the contributions of multiple authors into an authoritative overview of important but selective topics. Readers will gain an in-depth understanding of mutual funds and ETFs from experts from around the world. Based on research-based evidence, this is not intended to be a "how to" book; instead, it is a scholarly and in-depth approach to important investment subjects. Although the book places greater attention on these different types of investments in the United States, it also examines them in a global context. In today's financial environment, mutual funds and ETFs are dynamic areas that continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Because the flow of materials on the subject is voluminous, this book, by necessity, must be selective because it cannot cover every aspect of this field. However, readers can gain important insights about each investment vehicle including its structure and uses, performance and measurement. Beyond these core topics and issues, the book also examines the latest trends, cutting-edge developments, and real-world situations. Given its broad scope, this practical and comprehensive book should appeal to investors, investment professionals, academics, and others interested in mutual funds and ETFs. In particular, this book should help investors make key asset allocation decisions while capturing the benefits of a highly diversified, well-constructed, lower-cost portfolio of complementary strategies that enhance financial wealth.

Building Blocks to Wealth

Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds

Victor Ricciardi

Financial Behavior: Players, Services, Products, and Markets provides a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature on the financial behavior of major stakeholders, financial services, investment products, and financial markets. The book offers a different way of looking at financial and emotional well-being and processing beliefs, emotions, and behaviors related to money. The book provides important insights about cognitive and emotional biases that influence various financial decision-makers, services, products, and markets. With diverse concepts and topics, the book brings together noted scholars and practitioners so readers can gain an in-depth understanding about this topic from experts from around the world. In today's financial setting, the discipline of behavioral finance is an ever-changing area that continues to evolve at a rapid pace. This book takes readers through the core topics and issues as well as the latest trends, cutting-edge research developments, and real-world situations. Additionally, discussion of research on various cognitive and emotional issues is covered throughout the book. Thus, this volume covers a breadth of content from theoretical to practical, while attempting to offer a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. Those interested in a broad survey will benefit as will those searching for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within this field of study. As the seventh book in the Financial Markets and Investment Series, Financial Behavior: Players, Services, Products, and Markets offers a fresh looks at the fascinating area of financial behavior.

Players, Services, Products, and Markets

Financial Behavior

Portfolio Theory and Management examines the foundations of portfolio management with the contributions of financial pioneers up to the latest trends. The book discusses portfolio theory and management both before and after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. It takes a global focus by highlighting cross-country differences and practices.

Portfolio Theory and Management

J. Clay Singleton

E. Theodore Veit

As there is no current book that deals extensively or exclusively with survey research in corporate finance Survey Research in Corporate Finance is the only one of its kind. For even while there are numerous books on survey methodology, none focus on this methodology as specifically applied to corporate finance. In the book, Baker, Singleton, and Velt do nothing less than provide an overview of survey methodology useful to financial researchers, synthesize the major streams or clusters of survey research in corporate finance, and offer a valuable resource and guide for those interested in conducting survey research in finance. Thus this volume will be an essential reference for practitioners, academics, and graduate students-who all must know the methodology of finance survey research. In addition to methodology, the book identifies areas that will be best served by survey-based research. Researchers will have a wealth of information regarding past surveys and will be aware of suitable candidates for future surveys. Several chapters are devoted to synthesizing survey results on major issues in finance. These will help decision makers in finance and in non-finance firms to acquire knowledge learned from years of communications between academics and practitioners.

Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice

Survey Research in Corporate Finance

Leigh A. Riddick

Understanding the current state of affairs and tools available in the study of international finance is increasingly important as few areas in finance can be divorced completely from international issues. International Finance reflects the new diversity of interest in international finance by bringing together a set of chapters that summarizes and synthesizes developments to date in the many and varied areas that are now viewed as having international content. The book attempts to differentiate between what is known, what is believed, and what is still being debated about international finance. The survey nature of this book involves tradeoffs that inevitably had to be made in the process given the vast footprint that constitutes international finance. No single book can cover everything. This book, however, tries to maintain a balance between the micro and macro aspects of international finance. Although each chapter is self-contained, the chapters form a logical whole that follows a logical sequence. The book is organized into five broad categories of interest: (1) exchange rates and risk management, (2) international financial markets and institutions, (3) international investing, (4) international financial management, and (5) special topics. The chapters cover market integration, financial crisis, and the links between financial markets and development in some detail as they relate to these areas. In each instance, the contributors to this book discuss developments in the field to date and explain the importance of each area to finance as a field of study. Consequently, the strategic focus of the book is both broad and narrow, depending on the reader's needs. The entire book provides a broad picture of the current state of international finance, but a reader with more focused interests will find individual chapters illuminating on specific topics.

A Survey

International Finance

John R. Nofsinger

A detailed look at the role of social responsibility in finance and investing The concept of socially responsible finance and investing continues to grow, especially in the wake of one of the most devastating financial crises in history. This includes responsibility from the corporate side (corporate social responsibility) as well as the investor side (socially responsible investing) of the capital markets. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Socially Responsible Finance and Investing offers an important basis of knowledge regarding both the theory and practice of this ever-evolving area of finance. As part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance, this book showcases contributed chapters from professionals and academics with extensive expertise on this particular subject. It provides a comprehensive view of socially responsible foundations and their applications to finance and investing as determined by the current state of research. Discusses many important issues associated with socially responsible finance and investing, like moral hazard and the concept of "too big to fail" Contains contributed chapters from numerous thought-leaders in the field of finance Presents comprehensive coverage starting with the basics and bringing you through to cutting-edge, current theory and practice Now more than ever, we need to be mindful of the social responsibilities of all investment practices. The recent financial crisis and recession has changed the financial landscape for years to come and Socially Responsible Finance and Investing is a timely guide to help us navigate this difficult terrain.

Financial Institutions, Corporations, Investors, and Activists

Socially Responsible Finance and Investing

Jeffrey H. Harris

Commodities: Markets, Performance, and Strategies provides a comprehensive view of commodity markets by describing and analyzing historical commodity performance, vehicles for investing in commodities, portfolio strategies, and current topics. It begins with the basics of commodity markets and various investment vehicles. The book then highlights the unique risk and return profiles of commodity investments, along with the dangers from mismanaged risk practices. The book also provides important insights into recent developments, including high frequency trading, financialization, and the emergence of virtual currencies as commodities. Readers of Commodities: Markets, Performance, and Strategies can gain an in-depth understanding about the multiple dimensions of commodity investing from experts from around the world. Commodity markets can be accessed with products that create unique risk and return dynamics for investors worldwide. The authors provide insights in a range of areas, from the economics of supply and demand for individual physical commodities through the financial products used to gain exposure to commodities. The book balances useful practical advice on commodity exposure while exposing the reader to various pitfalls inherent in these markets. Readers interested in a basic understanding will benefit as will those looking for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within commodity markets. Overall, Commodities: Markets, Performance, and Strategies provides a fresh look at the myriad dimensions of investing in these globally important markets.

Markets, Performance, and Strategies

Commodities

This book provides an overview of private real estate markets and investments. The 14 chapters are divided into three sections for conventional and alternative real estate investments and regulatory issues. Conventional investable real assets examined are retail spaces, apartments, offices, and industrial facilities owned by corporate entities. Alternative real estate assets are uniquely and extensively addressed. These include healthcare, both for facilities and the pricing to make it an investable asset; infrastructure contains roads, bridges, and public utilities; and resources are in land, agriculture, oil, and gas. The regulatory section includes appraisal and valuation, brokerage and transaction costs, sustainability, and green buildings. Readers should gain a greater appreciation of what is needed to be successful when investing in private real estate markets. The share of real estate in institutional portfolios has risen above a previous 5% target, as investors avoid the risks of low interest rates. The world's wealth is shifting to emerging markets where real estate is already a dominant asset class and public securities markets are limited. Institutions with long horizons avoid publicly traded markets because they want to capture any premium from illiquidity. Real estate involves local and cultural restrictions on land usage, sustainability and on the regulation of the illiquidity. For information about public real estate, read Public Real Estate Markets and Investments.

Private Real Estate Markets and Investments

Vesa Puttonen

A Case Study: Equity Index-Linked Bonds in Norway -- A Case Study: Reverse Convertibles -- A Case Study: SPARQS -- Wrap-Up of Structured Products -- Trap Judgment -- Leveraged and Inverse Exchange-Traded Funds -- Trap Judgment -- Lessons Learned -- Questions -- Notes -- 12 Traps 8 and 9: Engaging in Gambling Disguised as Investing and Relying on Unsupported Promises -- Gambling Disguised as Investing -- Foreign Exchange -- Features of Currency Markets -- A Zero-Sum Game -- Caveats -- Trap Judgment -- Excessive Online Trading -- Overconfidence -- Lower Costs of Online Trading -- High Frequency Trading -- Trap Judgment -- Unsupported Promises -- Socially Responsible Investing -- Screening Processes -- SRI and Conventional Mutual Funds -- Performance of SRI Mutual Funds -- Case: UBS International Sustainable Equity -- Trap Judgment -- Investment Clubs -- Classic Case: Beardstown Ladies -- Trap Judgment -- Investment Newsletters -- Case: Investment Newsletters by Doug Fabian -- Trap Judgment -- Lessons Learned -- Becoming A Successful Investor -- Questions -- Notes -- Index

Navigating Investor Mistakes and Behavioral Biases

Investment Traps Exposed

Ehsan Nikbakht

Sean Stein Smith

This handbook equips academics, practitioners, and students with an understanding of the cutting-edge developments and applications of emerging blockchain technology. Covering the basic concepts while showcasing practical applications in intricate real-world situations, readers benefit from a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage.

The Emerald Handbook of Blockchain for Business

A definitive guide to the growing field of behavioral finance This reliable resource provides a comprehensive view of behavioral finance and its psychological foundations, as well as its applications to finance. Comprising contributed chapters written by distinguished authors from some of the most influential firms and universities in the world, Behavioral Finance provides a synthesis of the most essential elements of this discipline, including psychological concepts and behavioral biases, the behavioral aspects of asset pricing, asset allocation, and market prices, as well as investor behavior, corporate managerial behavior, and social influences. * Uses a structured approach to put behavioral finance in perspective * Relies on recent research findings to provide guidance through the maze of theories and concepts * Discusses the impact of sub-optimal financial decisions on the efficiency of capital markets, personal wealth, and the performance of corporations Behavioral finance has quickly become part of mainstream finance. If you need to gain a better understanding of this topic, look no further than this book.

Investors, Corporations, and Markets

Behavioral Finance

The Savvy Investor's Guide to Pooled Investments offers a practical guide to anyone interested in gaining a basic understanding of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, unit investment trusts, and real estate investment trusts. It uses a Q&A format to examine what you want and need to know before investing.

Mutual Funds, ETFs, and More

The Savvy Investor's Guide to Pooled Investments

There are two important things you must do to be a savvy investor: make good investment decisions, and avoid costly mistakes. In the second book in The Savvy Investor's Guide series, investing experts H. Kent Baker, John R. Nofsinger, and Vesa Puttonen come together to offer an insightful guide on avoiding those detrimental missteps.

The Savvy Investor's Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls, Frauds, and Scams

Hedge Funds: Structure, Strategies, and Performance provides a synthesis of the theoretical and empirical literature on this intriguing, complex, and frequently misunderstood topic. The book dispels some common misconceptions of hedge funds, showing that they are not a monolithic asset class but pursue highly diverse strategies. Furthermore, not all hedge funds are unusually risky, excessively leveraged, invest only in illiquid asses, attempt to profit from short-term market movements, or only benefit hedge fund managers due to their high fees. Among the core issues addressed are how hedge funds are structured and how they work, hedge fund strategies, leading issues in this investment, and the latest trends and developments. The authors examine hedge funds from a range of perspectives, and from the theoretical to the practical. The book explores the background, organization, and economics of hedge funds, as well as their structure. A key part is the diverse investment strategies hedge funds follow, for example some are activists, others focusing on relative value, and all have views on managing risk. The book examines various ways to evaluate hedge fund performance, and enhances understanding of their regulatory environment. The extensive and engaging examination of these issues help the reader understands the important issues and trends facing hedge funds, as well as their future prospects.

Structure, Strategies, and Performance

Hedge Funds

Peter Chinloy

Dividends And Dividend Policy The Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance is an unparalleled source of information dedicated to the most important issues in modern finance. Each book focuses on a specific topic in the field of finance and contains contributed chapters from both respected academics and experienced financial professionals. As part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance, Dividends and Dividend Policy aims to be the essential guide to dividends and their impact on shareholder value. Issues concerning dividends and dividend policy have always posed challenges to both academics and professionals. While all the pieces to the dividend puzzle may not be in place yet, the information found here can help you gain a firm understanding of this dynamic discipline. Comprising twenty-eight chapters—contributed by both top academics and financial experts in the field—this well-rounded resource discusses everything from corporate dividend decisions to the role behavioral finance plays in dividend policy. Along the way, you'll gain valuable insights into the history, trends, and determinants of dividends and dividend policy, and discover the different approaches firms are taking when it comes to dividends. Whether you're a seasoned financial professional or just beginning your journey in the world of finance, having a firm understanding of the issues surrounding dividends and dividend policy is now more important than ever. With this book as your guide, you'll be prepared to make the most informed dividend-related decisions possible—even in the most challenging economic conditions.

Dividends and Dividend Policy

The most up-to-date guide on making the right capital restructuring moves The Art of Capital Restructuring provides a fresh look at the current state of mergers, acquisitions, and corporate restructuring around the world. The dynamic nature of M&As requires an evolving understanding of the field, and this book considers several different forms of physical restructuring such as divestitures as well as financial restructuring, which refers to alterations in the capital structure of the firm. The Art of Capital Restructuring not only explains the financial aspects of these transactions but also examines legal, regulatory, tax, ethical, social, and behavioral considerations. In addition to this timely information, coverage also includes discussion of basic concepts, motives, strategies, and techniques as well as their application to increasingly complex, real-world situations. Emphasizes best practices that lead to M&A success Contains important and relevant research studies based on recent developments in the field Comprised of contributed chapters from both experienced professionals and academics, offering a variety of perspectives and a rich interplay of ideas Skillfully blending theory with practice, this book will put you in a better position to make the right decisions with regard to capital restructuring in today's dynamic business world.

Creating Shareholder Value through Mergers and Acquisitions

The Art of Capital Restructuring

Andrew C. Spieler

Debt Markets and Investments provides an overview of the dynamic world of markets, products, valuation, and analysis of fixed income and related securities. Experts in the field, practitioners and academics, offer both diverse and in-depth insights into basic concepts and their application to increasingly intricate and real-world situations. This volume spans the entire spectrum from theoretical to practical, while attempting to offer a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. The volume begins with the basics of debt markets and investments, including basic bond terminology and market sectors. Among the topics covered are the relationship between fixed income and other asset classes as well as the differences in fundamental risk. Particular emphasis is given to interest rate risk as well as credit risks as well as those associated with inflation, liquidity, reinvestment, and ESG. Authors then turn to market sectors, including government debt, municipal bonds, the markets for corporate bonds, and developments in securitized debt markets along with derivatives and private debt markets. The third section focuses on models of yield curves, interest rates, and swaps, including opportunities for arbitrage. The next two sections focus on bond and securitized products, from sovereign debt and mutual funds focused on bonds to how securitization has increased liquidity through such innovations as mortgaged-and asset- backed securities, as well as collateralized debt-, bond-, and loan obligations. Authors next discuss various methods of valuation of bonds and securities, including the use of options and derivatives. The volume concludes with discussions of how debt can play a role in financial strategies and portfolio creation. Readers interested in a broad survey will benefit as will those looking for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within this field of study. In summary, the book provides a fresh look at this intriguing and dynamic but often complex subject.

H. Kent Baker

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