Investment Philosophies
Damodaran is a well-informed scholar with a gift for organized, clearly written syntheses of complex topics in modern finance. With Investment Philosophies he provides the uncensored facts about winning in the market place. If you are a fund manager, an investor, or simply a student of finance, you will want to read this book. Tom Copeland Managing Director of Corporate Finance...
Damodaran is a well-informed scholar with a gift for organized, clearly written syntheses of complex topics in modern finance. With Investment Philosophies he provides the uncensored facts about winning in the market place. If you are a fund manager, an investor, or simply a student of finance, you will want to read this book. Tom Copeland Managing Director of Corporate Finance, Monitor Group Professor Damodaran has zeroed in on the most important missing element of many investment management processes: a clearly defined investment philosophy which can serve as a beacon in difficult markets. He offers a cornucopia of philosophies and strategies that have worked for many of the most successful investors, and which have stood the test of time. Rob Arnott Chairman, First Quadrant, LP; Editor, Financial Analysts Journal As an investor, I always have to look back to my philosophy and strategy for taking risk and making money. This book is an invaluable aid for taking stock' before buying stock. It lays out the concepts and tools for understanding the basics of risk and return in the stock market, and presents a framework for any investor to construct his or her own investment philosophy. Mitch Julis Managing Partner, Canyon Capital Advisors Choosing an investment philosophy is the heart of successful investing. To make the choice, though, you need to look within before you look outside. In Investment Philosophies: Successful Strategies and the Investors Who Made Them Work, Aswath Damodaran will help you do this by going beyond the simple explanations of traditional and alternative investment strategies, to discuss the individual underlying philosophies that support these techniques. Investment Philosophies explores many of the time-tested strategies that have allowed investors to reap rewards over the years, including value investing, growth investing, technical analysis, market timing, arbitrage, and indexing.
Contents :
CHAPTER 1: Introduction
What Is an Investment Philosophy? Why Do You Need an Investment Philosophy? The Big Picture of Investing
Categorizing Investment Philosophies
Developing an Investment Philosophy: The Step
Conclusion
CHAPTER 2: Upside, Downside: Understanding Risk
What Is Risk? Equity Risk and Expected Return
A Comparative Analysis of Risk and Return Models
Models of Default Risk
Conclusion
CHAPTER 3: Numbers Do Not Lie or Do They?
The Basic Accounting Statements
Asset Measurement and Valuation
Measuring Financing Mix
Measuring Earnings and Profitability
Measuring Risk
Differences in Accounting Standards and Practices
Conclusion
CHAPTER 4: Show Me the Money: The Basics of Valuation
Intrinsic Value
Relative Valuation
Valuing an Asset with Contingent Cash Flows (Options)
Conclusion
CHAPTER 5: Many a Slip: Trading, Execution, and Taxes
The Trading Cost Drag
The Components of Trading Costs: Traded Financial Assets
Trading Costs with Non--Traded Assets
The Management of Trading Costs
Taxes
Conclusion
CHAPTER 6: Too Good to Be True? Testing Investment Strategies
Market Efficiency and Investment Philosophies
Market Efficiency: Definition and Implications
Closing Thoughts
Conclusion
CHAPTER 7: Smoke and Mirrors? Charting and Technical Analysis
Random Walks and Price Patterns
Investor Irrationality
The Foundations of Technical Analysis
Technical Indicators and Charting Patterns
Conclusion
CHAPTER 8: Graham's Disciples: Value Investing
Who Is a Value Investor? The Passive Screener
The Contrarian Value Investor
Activist Value Investing
Conclusion
CHAPTER 9: The Allure of Growth: Small Cap and Growth Investing
Who Is a Growth Investor? Passive Growth Investing
Activist Growth Investing
Conclusion
CHAPTER 10: Information Pays: Trading on News
Information and Prices
Trading on Private Information
Trading on Public Information
Implementing an Information--Based Investment Strategy
Conclusion
CHAPTER 11: A Sure Profit: The Essence of Arbitrage
Pure Arbitrage
Near Arbitrage
Speculative Arbitrage
Long Short Strategies Hedge Funds
Conclusion
CHAPTER 12: The Impossible Dream? Timing the Market
Market Timing: Payoff and Costs
Market Timing Approaches
The Evidence for Market Timing
Market Timing Strategies
Connecting Market Timing to Security Selection
Conclusion
CHAPTER 13: Ready to Give Up? The Allure of Indexing
The Mechanics of Indexing
A History of Indexing
The Case for Indexing
Why Do Active Investors not Perform Better? Alternative Paths to Indexing
Conclusion
CHAPTER 14: A Road Map to Choosing an Investment Philosophy
A Self--Assessment
Finding an Investment Philosophy
Conclusion
REFERENCES
INDEX.