Elementary Stochastic Calculus With Finance in View, Advanced Series on Statistical Science & Applied Probability, Vol 6, Advanced Series on Statistical Science and Applied Probability, 1st edition, Thomas Mikosch

This book is an extremely good introduction to the stochastic calculus field. Indeed, it does not go into too much details and hence, if you are not a pure mathematician, you will still be able to get the idea and the key points of the field.
However, if you are really familiar with math and the probability theories, you might want to go for a more hardcore approach to this field.
This book provides clear definitions, clear theorems, the quality of the book itself is very good (rather small, solid pages).
The financial view is especially available in the last chapter though, but it is really not a problem because I think that it is nearly impossible to apply finance to stochastic calculus without having gone through the whole book first (you need the whole theory to apply it).

I came across stochastic differential equations in my work. I could simply have taken the rote formulas and scribbled away, but that approach never delivers wholly satisfactory results. When I translate a computation into the very unusual computing fabric in which I deal, I need to step past the last line in the proof. Many paths lead to that endpoint, all of which differ in how the mathematics matches the computing engine. Part of my job lies in mating the approach to a solution with the vehicle in which you approach it.

Mikosch's slender volume has helped me immensely. It carries every sign of technical brilliance. More than once, an off-hand comment or a couple of lines of inequalities turned months of bafflement into moments of clarity - only the finest minds, Heisenberg among them, have done that for me. Somewhat into the critical insights, however, my own weakness blocked my climb toward the pinnacle of this book's conclusions.

I'm not a mathematician. I'm a math user. I can hang with the probability side of this book as far as it goes, but my insight into calculus has suffered several decades of benign neglect. I hold onto the development well past the 3/4 point in this book, but I admit that my grasp loosens. I'm sure I can get more from the later sections, using either low-order approximations or an intensity of approach that competes with other demands on my attention. I'm still working, but I don't believe that I'll take in all of the understanding that Mikosch gives out.

I am quite sure there is more in this slender book than I have extracted. That is not a problem in the book, but a mismatch between its goals and my preparation. It's helped and could help another person more, but leaves this reviewer looking for just a bit that the author assumed I wouldn't need.

First of all, and most importantly, this is a math book with some finance in it, not the other way around, so you need to know some math before tackling it! If you find Newtonian Calculus complicated, Stochastic Calculus (which, in the realm of mathematics, is not the easiest of topics to start with) is not for you.

The aim of the book is not to present mathematical finance theory, such as option pricing or the Black and Scholes framework, etc... but simply to provide a little formalism and a lot of intuition allowing to better understand random processes and how they can be built at the infinitesimal level from Brownian Motion and previsible functions, and the macro properties that follow from there. Yes, random processes are at the heart of structured finance, but the goal of the author is simply to provide the tools necessary to better grasp financial applications... elsewhere. Therefore, Mikosh opted for an intuitive and rather informal approach presented in a mere 200 pages, which is quite refreshing in a field dominated by very technical and formal 500 page snoozers.

Given the scope and objectives of the book, there is no doubt that this is one of the best (and most affordable) reference available to simply and quickly gain an applied understanding of basic Stochastic Calculus. It can be used as an introduction to the topic before tackling more difficult and thorough books on SDE, or simply as a means of getting familiar with the ideas of Stochastic Calculus without bothering too much with the details of the proofs and move on to finance applications.

Being a strong believer that, at first, ideas are more important than the complex intricacies of formal proofs, this book allowed me to quickly gain a sound footing in SDE... Kudos to the author.

This book provides an excellent mild introduction of stochastic calculus and stochastic differential equations to someone like me who do not have a first mathematics degree (haven't done measure theories). Although the final chapter on application to finance is not as good as other financial maths books such as Joshi's Concepts and Baxter&Rennie's Financial Calculus. Overall, this book sets some firm grounds for further studies on stochastic calculus & financial maths. In addition, the price is low for this book with a hardcover.

This book may be fine if you have at least an undergraduate degree in math. I have an engineering degree with a minor in math, have read many books on quantitative finance, read math books and work math problems for furn, have several years' work experience in analyzing and hedging with derivatives, am taking a course in quantitative finance, and have worked many problems in stochastic calculus. I was actually MORE confused AFTER reading this book (I'm not exaggerating). This book should definitely not have "elementary" in the title.

But whatever your level, there are other books that cover the topic much more clearly and comprehensively. Start with Nefti's Intro to the Mathematics of Financial Derivatives; it's the best. Then read Joshi's Concepts and Practices of Mathematical Finance. Then you may be able to understand Steele's Stochastic Calculus and Financial Applications. Steele doesn't pretend to be a book for beginners, but it is actually more comprehensible to beginners than Mikosch's book.

But if you are more comfortable with reams of mathematical notation and do not require much explanation of that notation, Mikosch may be just what you want.

It is amazing that the author can expose the difficult topics step-by-step clearly in such a little book of less than 200 pages. Mikosch starts the book by introducing basic probability theories and stochastic processes which are prerequisite for the development of stochastic integrals, techniques for solving stochastic differential equations and applications in modern finance. However, reader should be aware that although the book is recommended for those without "deep" mathematical background, it is not suitable for average advanced undergraduates and practitioners without serious statistics and advanced claculus trainings. In my opinion, this book is suitable for those whos have finished the book like Financial Calculus by Baxter and Rennie and are looking for more formal details of the subject matter.

Product Details :
Hardcover: 212 pages
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company (October 30, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9810235437
ISBN-13: 978-9810235437
Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.6 x 9.1 inches

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Winning Angels: The 7 Fundamentals of Early Stage Investing 1st edition, David Amis

Winning Angels is a superbly organised and invaluable handbook to start-up investing. You will examine the shape of a typical deal, from chance contact at a networking group to flotation on the stock market. And all the time, you will be told to ask questions. What does my intuition tell me? Do I have experience in this area? Is there a clear product and revenue possibility? And you will learn about leaving people wanting to deal with you in the future. Very wise--that next one could be the real thing." Amazon.co.uk "An insightful and fact-filled primer on how to ferret out great opportunities." ¿ Richard Kramlich, angel in Apple Computer, and partner at Venture Capitalist firm, New Enterprise Associates
"Entrepreneurs would do well to read and reflect on the contents of the book before they seek funding." ¿ Peter Crisp, founding partner of VenRock Venture Capital
"Winning Angels is required reading by angel investors and entrepreneurs. It is the best book on the subject of angel investing." ¿ David Gladstone, Venture Capitalist, angel investor, and author of Venture Capital Handbook and Venture Capital Investor "This book will be a framework helping angels to become winning angels and helping start-up entrepreneurs understand the criteria for support from winning angels." ¿ Bert Twaalfhoven, angel in 24 deals in over 10 countries, Venture Capitalist, and founder of Europe's 500
"In its ever-bigger deals with more predictable pay-offs, the traditional venture capital industry has itself become ripe for disruption. Winning Angels provides a wonderful tutorial for how angel investors can make this happen." ¿ Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor and author of The Innovator's Dilemma
"This is a book about effective execution in a chaotic environment. A must-read for both angels and entrepreneurs." ¿ Wade Myers, Harvard Baker Scholar, US Army Ranger, and founder and CEO of Interelate "Winning Angels shows how many styles and frameworks there are that work, and reinforces how this early stage investing is still hard work." ¿ Michael Rockefeller, member of the Venrock Board, and CEO of Active Media "This is the first world class book on early stage investing, I wish I'd had it years ago." ¿ Prince Heinrich von Liechtenstein, international angel investor, and co-founder of FirstFive

I am a professor teaching in a master of entrepreneurship program. This is a great book, but the reproduction quality is very much sub-par. I have several review copies and they are all the same poor quality, so I assume that is the case with all copies that exist. For example, have a look at the photo of Rob Robinson on page 240. Nearly black, no contrast. Maybe photos aren't that important, but graphics are ... look at Figure 44.1 on page 256. The callouts in the graphic are hardly legible (too dark against a dark background). For a $50 book, this is unacceptable. Looks like a cheap POD (print-on-demand) production. Five stars on quality of content. One star on quality of reproduction.

My recent experience with angel investors is that they come in all flavors - from the sophisticated networks of dedicated portfolio managers to the impetuously interested or personal friend. Winning Angels provides a framework on which we can understand risk avoidance strategies, but doesn't go far enough to help most understand the characteristics of great opportunities or more importantly, the appropriate behavior of effective angel investors. I'm hoping there is a next book that enables true angel investors (not just family and friends) to participate as investors should. Angels are a critical part of the start-up ecosystem. Anything that can help make this process more efficient will certainly be welcome. Winning Angels falls short.

The relationship between Angel, VC and Entrepreneur has been a source of popular confusion. This book clears up some key misunderstandings, such as the different roles Angels and VC's play in the financing process of startup companies. 'Winning Angels' contains a reasonable quantitative element outlining different valuation methods and deal structures, which should be accessible to any reader with a basic understanding of Corporate Finance or Discounted Cash Flow analysis. It's also made particularly credible by the inclusion of interviews with successful Angels. I was struck by the high bar set by the interviewees, and their generally shared opinion that the calibre of entrepreneur was a factor subordinate to all others. Because it's written from an Angel's perspective, the book is skewed towards investor interests. These fall out of alignment with the entrepreneur in at least one key respect: investors are motivated to maximise the return on their portfolio of investments, rather than any individual company's. It follows that Angels will have a tendency to pursue a number of high risk, high payoff vectors rather than companies with a high probability of success but less financial upside. This isn't a criticism of the book, just an observation of differing interests. In short: high quality advice for people on both sides of the table.

The VC funding market (includes angels, VCs, etc) are by its very nature the most *inefficient*. It is an asymmetrical market where information is scant and unproven in most cases. This book provides an insight on how this market functions.
I have been using the Harvard-framework (chapters 11 & 12) for my clients and over a period of time have improvised on it, making it more "executable" (it first appeared in Sahlman's paper on Business Plans quite a few years ago). Chapters 11 & 12 of this book elaborates on this framework and is a good model to follow - these two chapters is well worth the price of this book.

This book is clear, informative and well presented. I have just completed an advanced financial course on starting a business. Virtually no time was spent on the topic of angel investors.

It seems to me that this critical topic must be understood by the entrepreneur as he or she consider the funding requirements of a start up company.

Who are Angels? How to do you approach them? What type of investment return do they expect? What types of exit strategies appeal to them and in what time frame? All of these questions are clearly addressed by a cross section of experienced Angels.

This book exceeded my expectations and deserves my time to say thank you.

As an individual that prefers the entrepreneur side of investments but has worked on both sides of the relationship, I have to state that this book does a great job of packaging and summarizing so much of what is known or "felt" in the investment decision cycle. Feelings are sometimes tough to quantify but the collection of opinions in Winning Angels should stand as a form of qualification. This book is great for helping to communicate the psychology of the investor to an entrepreneur frustrated with the fund raising process.

Winning Angels is a "must read" for anyone in the VC world and a great guidebook for anyone wanting to break into the VC world. The book is clear and concise. Ideas/concepts are clearly explained with the aid of great graphs and charts. In addition, Howard and Dave have not only drawn from their expansive knowledge on the subject, but also from other experts in the field.

As an angel investor in two start-ups and currently involved in fundraising for another one, I found this book to be an outstanding partner. With a chapter devoted to each aspect of the angel investing process, it is easy to get not only the 10,000 foot view, but also specific ideas on how to do it. I could not recommend this book more highly for serious angels or for entrepreneurs trying to understand them (and perhaps get some of their money).

The only drawback is that some people might think angel investing is for everyone, be sure to read the advice to new angels if you are one.

Finally a book that spells out a methodology behind the "mysterious" process of Angel investing. This books takes the reader (whether a novice or seasoned investor) through the "7 Fundementals of Early Stage Investing" based upon the input of a great collection of successful start-up investors aptly called "Winning Angels". This book is well worth the read for anyone who wants to start, improve, or add a better methodology to their early stage investing. This book is a real "winner" itself !! Well done, David Amis and Howard Stevenson, I look forward to your next collaberation.

Product Details :
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (March 15, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0273649167
ISBN-13: 978-0273649168
Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.5 inches

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Asset Pricing and Portfolio Choice Theory, Financial Management Association Survey and Synthesis Series, 1st edition, Kerry Back

"Kerry Back has created a masterful introduction to asset pricing and portfolio choice. It is easy to foresee this text becoming a new standard in finance PhD courses as well as a valued reference for seasoned finance scholars everywhere. The coverage of topics is comprehensive, starting in a single-period setting and then moving naturally to dynamic models in both discrete and continuous time. The numerous challenging exercises are yet another big strength. In short, an impressive achievement."--Robert F. Stambaugh, Miller Anderson & Sherrerd Professor of Finance, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania


"Kerry Back offers us a rigorous, but accessible treatment of the asset pricing theory concepts that every doctoral student in finance should learn. A distinguished scholar in the field provides a presentation that is clear yet concise, and at the end of each chapter exercises that are an invaluable pedagogical tool for both students and instructors."--Eduardo Schwartz, California Chair in Real Estate and Land Economics, UCLA Anderson School of Management


"In Asset Pricing and Portfolio Choice Theory Kerry Back has given us a comprehensive, rigorous and at the same time elegant and self-contained treatment of the important developments in this vast literature. It will be useful to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students in economics, finance, financial engineering, and management science as well as interested practitioners."--Ravi Jagannathan, Chicago Mercantile Exchange/John F. Sandner Professor of Finance and a Co-Director of the Financial Institutions and Markets Research Center, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

I am in the EDHEC PhD program, and we are using this book, instead of Merton's ConTimeFin, or Cochrane for our course Continuous Time Financial Economics.

Kerry Back's clarity is the main utility here. He does spend a *lot* of time on the binomial model (discrete time) before extending it to ConTime, but this grounding helps in the intuition.

Probably the best pedagogic layout of Ito's formula I've ever encountered, and this thoroughly covers Black Scholes, and asset pricing through Heleyete Geman's final extension.

Back's work benefits from all previous work in computational and continuous time finance in that more (not all) of the mathematical notation is standardized.

However, some of his choices for superscripts and subscripts strike you as odd, particularly if you've come from an MSF that emphasizes, say, John Hull's notation (most), or an MSFE (Carnagie Mellon) that emphasizes Merton's notation. Those coming to a PhD in Finance from Engineering or pure or applied Math will face a new, but slope familiar curve with comprehending the notation.

So the admonition in Financial Mathematics that you really have to pay attention to the author's sometimes idiosyncratic choices for mathematical notation remains, but Kerry Back has (to his credit) extensively used that which is agreed upon or in general consensus in this volume, so it is in fact easier to read (n relationship to other books) than say, Merton or Oksendal.

And so here a word on difficulty. This is not Oksendal. This is not Shreve and Karatzas. Those would be more appropriate for a PhD in Financial Mathematics, not a PhD in Finance.

So why four stars instead of five?

Typos, really. Kerr Back has the errata sheet on his website, but still...for a premium priced book the copy editing was supposed to be better than this. It isn't HORRIBLE (like, completely unedited, like some publishers ( "Wiley" )) but you'd expect better from Oxford University Press. And the errata sheet doesn't correct just minor stuff, some key items can throw the first-time-in-the-subject-reader way off on a useless tangent, wasting time and creating initial confusion. So get that errata sheet (the publisher should actually include it with the volume...my copy did not have it).

So in short, this is a great, clear, readable, and understandable Finance PhD level treatment of asset pricing that is a good choice for a variety of courses on continuous time asset pricing and financial economics. With the errata sheet and your hand made corrections, it is an excellent book. It is too light for a Financial Mathematics PhD, but a solid basic or supplemental text.

I'm a PhD student in finance at a top 10 US business school and must say I completely disagree with yamie2005. I find Kerry's book to be very well written, and its organization is much more logical than Cochrane's. I have a background in math and stats, and find Kerry's writing style to be very clear and concise (as opposed to Cochrane). However, I can see why students with a less rigorous background may prefer Cochrane. Kerry doesn't cover the same topics as Cochrane: Cochrane covers asset pricing theory in Part I of his book (chap 1-9), empirical asset pricing in Part II (chap 10-16), bonds and options in Part III (chap 17-19) and finishes with an empirical survey in Part IV (chap 20-21). I do like Cochrane's chapters on empirical asset pricing a lot, but find his writing style for the theory parts to be lengthy and not rigorous enough. Kerry focuses only on asset pricing theory (including some chapters on continuous time), and does this in much more detail than Cochrane - the two books have roughly the same number of pages. For instance Kerry contains chapters on Epstein-Zin preferences, asymmetric information and other topics not found in Cochrane. However, to me the most important thing about Kerry's book is his clear, logical, and thorough coverage of standard topics in single-period and dynamic models (part I and II). Compared to Cochrane, Kerry is much clearer about e.g. HJ-bounds, representative investors, dynamic programming, and the ICAPM. Conclusion: Use Kerry for the theory and Cochrane for the empirics.

Having gone through four financial economics classes at the PhD level and numerous other books (Cochrane, Ingersoll, Duffie, Pennachhi), I have found this to be the best book.

First, it is not cryptic. You understand what the flow is, where we came from and where we are going next, and why are we going there. This may sound simple and obvious, but it is not, especially when you follow the other books.

Chapters 1-11 go through the introductory/foundational concepts such as RRA, SDF, Welfare theorems, Arrow-Debreu securities, Arbitrage, Euler equations, Dynamic programming, Bellman Equations, Representative agent, complete and incomplete markets, habit models, equity premium puzzle etc., in detail.

Chapters 12-22 go through continuous time concepts, Ito's process, Radon-Nikodym derivatives, Beta pricing, HJ bounds, Change of numeraire, CAPM, ICAPM, Option pricing models without solving PDEs, Deep dive into option pricing using SDF and change of measure. The whole approach focuses on SDF related math.

All in all, it is a great book because another eloquent professor (who knew the old books and this book, and took pain to relearn the old techniques) taught this subject. If someone else taught it, I don't know if I would have appreciated this book to the same extent.

Product Details :
Hardcover: 504 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (September 10, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195380614
ISBN-13: 978-0195380613
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches

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Commodities and Commodity Derivatives: Modelling and Pricing for Agriculturals, Metals and Energy 1st edition, Helyette Geman

The text contains a very readable and intuitive introduction to Brownian motion in the context of pricing commodity derivatives. (The exception is Ito's Lemma, which is simply dropped into the reader's lap without any background or any motivation; see Wiersma's book on Brownian motion for both.) Prof. Geman does an exemplary job of comparing and contrasting the foundations of option pricing for equity options versus commodity derivatives. The last part of the book is a very good (albeit now somewhat dated) introduction the major commodities markets (ag, metals, oil & gas, and electricity). Particularly useful are the explications of the idiosyncracies of each market and why option pricing techniques and instruments will or will not work. A reader with 2 semesters of calculus and a background in standard probability theory (discrete and continuous) should have no problem with the mathematical formalism of the first six chapters. Alternately, read Hull or Choudhry's encyclopedic tome on the bond and money markets for a solid foundation.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the commodities market. Geman writes cogently and minimizes mathematical abstractions to bare necessity. Having read many a text book in my day, I can say this is one of the best.

I was reading the 2nd chapter where the math appeared the first time in the book. On Page 37, the equation #'s are completely messed up! For example, on Page 37, the author is referring to Equation (2.6): Where the hell is Equation (2.6) up to this page?! Of course, I am smart enough to figure out that it's actually referring to Equation (2.5).

Another detail: on Page 28 (Section 2.2), the 2nd bullet point. Here is TWO original quotes from this page.
ONE: "The price of a commodity and its volatility are positively correlated..."

Two: "We will call the inverse leverage effect the negative relationship between commodity prices and their volatility."

So what's the relationship between commodity prices and their volatility? Acoording to ONE, they are POSITIVELY correlated; however, by TWO, they have a negative relationship.

Does it take TWO PhDs to make mistakes like those above? (I am wondering how did she do her PhDs. It would be fun to read her thesis)

There just aren't enough good books on commodities. This fills a gap but suffers from incompleteness. The overviews are good, but there should be more scope and depth. The modeling and pricing aspects are ok, but I expected more there too.

However, I am glad I have it. It is well written and contains a lot useful information. A good primer.

Two aspects of Prof. Geman's book are immediately distinguishing: it is quantitative and it is not propaganda. You won't read about how you can make millions trading commodities NOW! in this book; you will read about some of the quirks of these markets and how those quirks an affects the modeling.

Equally important is that I found the book eminently readable. As one reviewer noted, there are occasionally clumsy phrases that read like transliterated French; however, I preferred Geman's chapters to those written by "guest authors." Overall, the tone and order of exposition are so engaging that I read the book completely (instead of skimming or reading only for needed information).

The only suggestion I would make is to also purchase Dunsby et al.'s book on commodities; the two are great complements.

Having done some work in commodities, and more recently in commodities derivatives, I was looking forward to reading this book. Helyette Geman has an excellent reputation in both the academic "ivory tower" and the practitioner "real world". While the book definitely attempts to cover a large and hereto unmet demand, it does not deliver a coherent, consistent and careful analysis of the commodities markets.

In offering an introductory overview of commodities spot and futures markets, the book does a decent job. Chapters 1 - 6 are probably the best chapters in the book and reflect the good understanding and thought leadership of the author. These chapters would have benefited from some careful linguistic editing. Frequently, the text reads French although the book is written in English; this linguistic dissonance is at times frustrating.

The last eight chapters are quite uneven. Each chapter is supposed to describe and introduce a commodity market, such as ags, metals, energy, etc, but few of the chapters are able to fully penetrate the material. The chapters and the material in these chapters are uneven, often bordering to the somewhat disorganized, and occasionally challenging to follow a logical flow in the exposition. Granted, the mathematics are there and they are correct for the most time (some steps in chapter 12 only make sense when you switch around the notation, which can be annoying). The chapter on gas markets is somewhat confusing and the treatment of electricity markets is very uneven. The two better chapters in the second half of the book - on metals and oil - are not written by prof Geman.

Is this a useful book? Notwithstanding the problems, it is a useful book as long as the reader and user recognizes its limitations.

Mrs Geman is a refernce in the commodities world and I would have expected to see less talk and more models. I defnitely would not recommend this book to any quant who have to deal with the real world!

As I had background in equity and credit derivatives I found the book to be an excellent introduction to commodities as it covers many aspects that I currently support at Barclays Capital as a technologist; the mathematical notations are not complicated and you can always dig deeper then the book. Definitly a book in your reference library.

As a former agricultural futures trader who has now moved on to credit, this book was a welcome addition to my bookshelf, as it brings a contemporary voice to the field which has been long overdue. The previous best work was the CBOT's own "Commodities Trading Manual," which has been outdated for a decade. Before the arrival of Helyette Geman's "Commodities and Commodity Derivatives : Modeling and Pricing for Agriculturals, Metals and Energy" the current state-of-the-art for pricing models and information feeds for commodity derivatives was sadly dispersed across journals, often obscure ones. Now increasing attention is being paid to diversified portfolios containing commodity exposure in addition to classic investment vehicles. Along with hedge funds, who naturally seek "under priced" volatility, portfolio managers today must therefore have a command of a wider knowledge base of investment opportunities. This work is therefore, indispensable.

The weakest element of the work is Nassim Taleb's introduction, for which commercial interests and pedagogic considerations no doubt combined.

an incredible reach book on the theoretical framework of derivatives pricing on commmodities as well as many specific fundamental aspects of agricultural, metal and energy. a beautiful blend of technical and fundamental topics on commodities. experienced derivatives people who encounter commoditiy derivatives the first time will be excited reading even the fundamentals of commoditiy derivatives since those basics are exciting to read and rich in challenges not known in financial derivatives. no wonder Nassim Taleb wrote the foreword, this is one of the most exciting derivatives books available!

Product Details :
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 11, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0470012188
ISBN-13: 978-0470012185
Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 1.1 x 10 inches

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Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance 3 Volume Set 2nd Edition

"...a very good first textbook on quantitative finance, especially, not only, for mathematics who need introducing into finance". Zentralblatt MATT May 2008 "...a very good first textbook on quantitative finance, especially, not only, for mathematics who need introducing into finance".Zentralblatt MATT May 2008

I found this book quite interesting. Yes it may lack rigor in math but it gave me intuitions other books lack. As an engineer who has gone through rigorous derivations in graduate school and entered the work place finding that all these math isn't very useful and is easy to forget. The intuitions and deep understanding of the reasoning are the things that people remember forever. This is what this book is good at.

This book was a big disappointment for three reasons: 1) it doesn't have a proper focus. Author wanted to cover everything and that's why the book is making sloppy impression, i.e. too wide and not too deep when it is necessary; 2) it doesn't help you as a quant in the everyday quant life. It doesn't show you how to backtest models, it doesn't tell you how to use all this knowledge in the practical way, it doesn't even tell about the robustness and out of sample testing; 3) it is an arbitrary collection of known theories with some unexplained extracts from the different fields which are not connected with each other in the logical way.

As the final accord: why the "quant bible" is based on the "normal" distribution. How long are we going to use all this useless in practice old concepts like Black-Scholes models etc?

I have used this book to teach a quantitative course on Fixed Income and Interest Rate Derivatives to those Master-of-Science students who are ready to enter the job market. Several of them got jobs in the quant finance industry as a result of this course. They told me what kind of questions they had on interviews, e.g., "derive the risk-neutral drift of the general HJM model." This interview question may sound intimidating to the uninitiated. But thanks to the extraordinarily simple exposition given in Wilmott, my students were able to answer this and many other such questions.

The math in this book is not complicated, if you read the book carefully. With some modest effort, you can figure out where the equations come from. Wilmott does a great job of showing only the relevant equations and hiding the less-important intermediate steps. Of course, if a reader bounces from section to section and expects to see everything clearly at the first glance, then he/she has unrealistic expectations of a quant book.

As for the comment by one of the reviewers about Wilmott's cartoons and jokes. There are quite a few of those. But you are free to ignore them if you think they distract you. It's always up to you what to read and what not to.

I bought tons of books before this set. This is the place to start. It is written with style and humor coupled with a pace that is simple to adjust to. I judge a book by how many equations it has - more is BETTER! This set strikes a balance. The exposition is solid. It covers many specialized topics like Energy Derivatives (just a taste, mind you, but it is there to get us thinking). I guess the bottom line is this book allowed me to start thinking like a Financial Quant and less like a mathematical physicist. I have gotten much more out of the other more mathematical works because I understand how the Quants think. I still like The Physics of Finance by Ilinsky. This is more than the past Derivatives book (that makes up the first 65% of volume 1) and sets a real tone to understanding - this is just what I was looking for as I re-tool. Buy this FIRST. Read the TOC, and Get moving!

I totally agree with the review of James Ward below. It really doesn't make sense to complain that a SUMMARY of any kind "doesn't cover x" or "glosses over y" because that's unavoidable.

However, I'd like to shed some light of how large the "non-coverage" can be. For instance, you may think that if you have read what Wilmott has to say on Fixed Income Securities, you are at least familiar with the basics, but that's not the case. If you are an entry-level quant looking for a job who claimed to "know the fixed income" you are likely to answer the first 2-3 fixed income interview questions, but fail the rest - unless you add, like, 500 or more pages of fixed income material to what is given in Wilmott.

So if your goal is to be able to claim (even a basic) knowledge of a certain QF topic in your resume, it's necessary to purchase a few good books dedicated entirely to that topic. And to find out what books are good, you don't really need Wilmott's references - using Amazon search and customer reviews should do the job.

Paul Wilmott has made quantitative finance his life's work, and this (now three volume) collection of his explications of his own fundamental work and the aggregation of the dispersed work of others is a welcome reference library in a field of increasing density.

Here is the bad news; it doesn't contain everything.

Here is the good news: it doesn't contain everything.

And thank God, because if Wilmott had gone through each topic in the rigorous theorem-proof of yellow-spine Springer books we'd be old men before we got finished.

Wilmott's critics usually center around three areas: tone, incompleteness (or sloppiness), and emphasis.

On emphasis, Wilmott's strengths is his own material in partial differential equations (PDE approach), which makes sense as his earliest background was in the mathematics of fluid dynamics. Some readers, therefore, may detect that there is a heavier hand on PDEs over other analytic or numeric approaches, etc. But like any novel, any collection and textbook must have a "spine" on which to build and reference other topics in extension and contrast.

On incompleteness, readers should consult the "Look Inside" feature for a list of topics, and recognize that quantitative finance is now a field so vast that no one volume can circumscribe the subject. Nevertheless, if there is one collection that covers the most interesting and common topics, it is this one (Hull's 6th edition leaves out some helpful chapters contained in the 5th edition, for example).

On tone, colleagues complain Wilmott glosses over important dimensions and has a flippant engagement with the material. My view is this criticism is simply one of preference. Each author chooses how to express his subject, often injecting themselves into the explanation: this is an effective literary technique hollowed by time and results. Reading Hull is like reading a report from an audit committee: Hull's tone is lean and exact. Wilmott, on the other hand, holds that quantitative finance need not be pompous, needlessly abstract, self-important or dull. In fact, it should be fun. Hull isn't funny nor lively, while Wilmott tries to be both. Neither is wrong, just different approaches to the same goal: trying to get the reader to understand the material.

The term "encyclopedia" (which Wilmott wisely does not use) may have as its root meaning "all knowledge" but even Voltaire's original encyclopediaists were aware of the hubris contained in the phrase. Anyone who whines "it doesn't cover (x)" or "it only glosses over (y)" or "the math isn't rigorous enough" is never going to be satisfied and misses entirely the purpose of this work. If you want to collect all these formulas and topics in the expression of academic journals and enjoy reading about them that way you are but a Google-Scholar search and three years of spare time away from satisfying your unique utility curve. Perhaps it is only for meatheads like me, but so be it. Wilmott's hefty contribution merits widespread use as a reference work, but like anything it is a condensed collection that for any single topic needs additional work by the reader.

This book is a wonderful mix of mathematics and practical wisdom. More focused on numerical than analytic methods, there are lots of other books available on the analytic methods anyway.

It is the best book I've read on the practical and numerical side of quantitative finance. For proving things about financial models or deriving them in a rigorous way, you'll need other books, but this book has 1500 pages full of material that is difficult to find elsewhere.

Product Details :
Hardcover: 1500 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (March 6, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0470018704
ISBN-13: 978-0470018705
Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.1 x 10.6 inches

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Enhancing Trader Performance: Proven Strategies From the Cutting Edge of Trading Psychology 1st edition, Brett N. Steenbarger

A year ago I've red Brett Steenbarger his first book The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets which immediately became one of my favorite books on trading psychology. I loved the author his writing style, his insights on how or psychology reacts on trading, the numerous stories of his counseling conversations, his trading experiences, ...

I started reading this book with similar expectations. The beginning part was still quite promising, but after being on page 100 I still had the feeling he didn't go toward his point. He kept hammering on the importance of learning, learning experience, being motivated, analyzing your own actions/feelings, ... Also something I found irritating were all those examples and comparisons with sport examples and highly trained athletes. Most of those examples didn't help me at all, I just didn't see the similarities with my own trading.

After reading this book I don't think I'm better at counseling myself, nor will I be a more disciplined trader. Nor did I read a lot of advanced stuff on psychology. Those were essentially the reasons why I bought this book (at a relative high price).
I might be reading other books from Steenbarger in the hope to find something like his first book, but I would not recommend buying this book.

I couldn't sleep tonight so I decided to read this book. Steenbarger is an excellent writer and can definitely tell a good story, but the problem is, and it's a large one, it's very jumbled and interrupted with another recommendation for another book that he thinks is great but tells you little about. And so it goes. Halfway through I began to wonder if any of this would change. I continued on, and the answer is no. Lots and lots recommendations, some stories about his ABC plan. Not much value overall. I'd give it a pass. /TKL

Great for beginner and advanced traders. Deals with the the MOST important aspect of trading...YOU! Successful trading is not just about indicators and systems. It's really about you being the captain of the ship. You control all the moves. You make all of the decisions. You make all of the money. You lose all of the money. This book deals with the psychology of trading- your psychology and how it applies to trading. It doesn't deal with the "markets" psychology. It's all about YOU. When it comes to making money, isn't this the MOST important factor anyway?

As a former professor of mathematics and futures trader for the past 25 years, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone considering trading on either a part-time or full-time basis. Most people assume that the way to make trading profitable is to find the right trading model. In my own experience, pyschology contributes 60 percent to the outcome, money management 20 percent, and one's approach or model 20 percent. Get any one of the three wrong and you will lose, but concentrate first on trading psychology. Brett Steenbarger does a masterful job of teaching the willing student much that is crucial to successful trading. I would rate this as one of the ten best books on trading for people with any level of experience.

I would with out a doubt rank this book in the top ten most helpful trading books I have read. (I have read over 130 books on trading). This book is on trading psychology, written by a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences who also trades his own account. It is a look at the winning psychology of top performers in all fields, art, sports, business, chess, music, and others. He delves into the fascinating study conducted that shows that what separates competent performers from the best performers is time spent in focused practice with feedback that enables the performer to adjust to be more successful. Studies show that 10,000 hours of correct training with proper form and helpful feedback leads to mastery. Usually this takes ten years, very bad news for those that want to trade for a living next week. However, the book shows how it is possible to short cut this rule if you watch the market intensely every day, day trade a tremendous amount for experience (only if your style is day trading),or you can incorporate similar skills for trading that you may have from other fields.
I like that the book explains that you must have a trading style that fits your personality and talents. He advises trying all styles to see which one clicks for you. If you grow bored with analyzing fundamentals and sitting on positions for months, then you may need to be a day trader or swing trader. If day trading stresses you out and you have trouble making quick decisions you may be a position trader in the wrong style.
The author discusses how traders may traumatize themselves by trading before they are ready. Or trading with to big of a position, this can scar you whether you win or lose because of the level of stress you are under. The book discusses how markets are continually changing and traders must change with it. Whether keeping their trading style and finding a different trading vehicle or changing their style to match the overall market, it is psychologically tough for a successful experienced trader to become a beginner again and retool their trading methods.
The book's best material is its dive into why discipline breaks down and a trader just starts trading crazy either trying to get back their losses or because of arrogance after many consecutive winning trades. This book really goes into the mind of the trader and where bad behaviors come from and what to do to change them. It also profiles hugely successful traders that make millions or six figure incomes. That was very informative seeing that the best are human just like us but have a consuming passion for trading and they rage to master their skills in the greatest game on earth. I highly recommend this is THE book on trading psychology and a must have for any serious trader, even the most experienced professionals.

I read Brett Steenbarger's book "Enhancing Trader Performance" with mixed emotions. After having read the first ten pages I wanted to return it to Amazon for a refund. On the first pages the author describes two traders, Al and Mick. Al was emotionally balanced, honored his stops, and did not become irate at losses. Mick was not balanced, took losses as personal affronts, and violated his risk management guidelines. Yet Steenbarger tells us that Mick was the better trader which is contrary to what all other trading psychologists tell us, and contrary to what experience tells me.

Well, I hung in there, and after the first pages the book covered the importance of finding one's trading niche. You need to discover your niche, the trading style you feel comfortable with, in order to be successful. This makes sense, and this I fully subscribe to.

The next 150 pages are interesting from the psychology side and they might even help you be successful in general life, but they are only of limited value to a trader. He gives examples of a wrestling coach (Dan Gable), a cyclist (Lance Armstrong), elite troops, and excellent chess players, and describes how they improve their performance. In my opinion, these comparisons are not valid. Drilling exercises are useful in sports and the military where you do the same movement over and over again, but not in trading. The problem in trading is not the mouse clicks, the problem is the mind. Even chess is not a good comparison because in chess there are no feelings like fear or greed involved which are the two main human drivers in the markets.

The chapters on cognitive techniques and behavioural techniques for enhancing performance are somewhat useful again for traders as is the afterword with the biography of a trader.

I was swaying between giving the book three or fours stars. Three stars would be justified because the book is not fully relevant for traders, it is tough to read, and it is printed on cheap looking yellow paper (especially considering the price of the book). In the end I gave it four stars because it is well written (demanding which at the same time makes it tough to read), and it has what you can expect of a good book: A conclusion, a summary, a bibliography, and a list of valuable internet resources.

The key point in this book is that expertise is different from competence. This is obvious, but you will still learn from this book. Brett provides references to elite sports research as well as examples from daytraders. Since Brett is bridging two worlds he can add something very unique.

How does this book compare to his earlier The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets? That book was focused on emotions and trading. The current book focuses on learning and trading. If you sometimes get emotional in front of the sceen, I would recommend that you start by reading the first book. If you like it, then you can also read this book.

Personally I find that Brett is hammering on the same point a bit too much in the second book. The point is useful, but not sufficient for five stars. Still it is a helpful book.

Finally, if you are looking for anything like a quick solution, you will find this book useless. The book asks certain questions relating to yourself that you need to think about. If you follow Brett's advice you are in for a lot of work.

I have written several short reviews on trading books. The best way is to compare the score on the books I've read. Many reviews on amazon.com are just glorious 5 star reviews. I use all five categories; sorry but everything isn't "great". Books rated 5 are very good. Books rated 4 are good solid books well worth reading. Books rated 3 can be bought by some people who read a lot or have very specific needs. Books rated 1 or 2 I would not recommend buying or reading. Naturally all in my humble opinion.

I gave a high rating to the author's first book "Psychology of Trading" with a review title "Well researched and written, but not for the mass" in that it suits perfectly those with medium or above knowledge of psychology. It's hardly a coincidence, that the second book of the author is also targeted at the professionals, or, to be specific, professional traders who can enjoy systemized training/mentoring offered by their institutions. For traders like me who dont have such priviledges, nearly half of it became quite irrelevant and remote. Definitely worth a read, especially the part elaborating the linkage between practice and expertise, but not as useful nor insightful as fans of his first book might expect.

p.s. Below please find some of my favorite passages for your reference.

Competence precedes confidence: Winning mindsets result from mastery, not the reverse pg 4

When you have found your niche, you dont need discipline to do the right things; you wont want to do anything else. pg 29

Markets, like people, have their personalities; our relationships with markets will profit to the extent that there is compatibility. pg 35

Evolution occurs when we are so taxed that we must make fresh adaptive efforts. The expert is one who continually adapts to extraordinary performance demands. pg 119

How to trade and what to trade are subordinate to when to trade. pg151

Amateur traders turn into professional traders once they stop looking for the next great technical indicator and start controlling their risk on each trade. - John Carter pg 156

Once in a while a book will appear which identifies problems so precisely that the reader begins to take ever-increasing delight at the insights afforded. The first reading, but certainly not the last, will conclude with such laudatory comments as, outstanding, empowering, top 10 or even top 5, and a must-read.

Such a book is Brett Steenbarger's "Enhancing Trader Performance". It carries my highest recommendation and since I'm not unknown in trading circles this may carry some weight. It should be read by anyone contemplating trading for a living and by all those short-term traders presently dissatisfied with their performance.

Dr. Brett's book cannot fail to benefit those in other disciplines that are performance related, such as golf, chess, wrestling, baseball or as a member of a NASCAR pit crew. The interdisciplinary approach is discussed in some detail and to everyone's advantage. It is a remarkable book with numerous outstanding insights, so that rather than attempt an overview, I will offer a single injunction, BUY IT.

Product Details :
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0470038667
ISBN-13: 978-0470038666
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 9 inches

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Covered Calls and LEAPS--A Wealth Option + DVD: A Guide for Generating Extraordinary Monthly Income 1st edition,

I was given this book years ago as a christmas present probably in 2008/09 time frame.. Since such time that book has sat on my investment book shelf collecting dust. As everyone knows there was quite a crises in the financial markets between then and now and I was busy just trying to protect the assets I had and not purge too much of my hard earned money. Just recently though I was talking to a co-worker who has been using an Iron-Condor strategy to trade options and has been fairly successful with it averaging double digits returns for the last few years. So I said to myself "hey you have a book on options sitting on your shelf collecting dust". I took the book down and read it, then I read it again... I then returned and re-read a few sections of the book that I didn't quite understand. Here is my take for all of Amazon.

1) There is some good information in this book and that can be applied in real life. In fact I'm paper trading a few of the covered call rules and techniques in my think or swim account and seeing slightly better returns than I would have without selling covered calls. If you have a good understanding of technical indicators and market trending and you pick correlating stocks in strong companies you can definitely squeeze some extra money out of your positions.

2) One of the first things any truly successful investor will tell you the key to becoming successful in the market is to not lose money. That being said I totally throw out all the managing a losing position crap. If I planned a position out and set that plan in motion and then it turns against me... I'm out (instantly) I take my small loss lick my wounds and go back to the drawing board. I find out what went wrong and go from there. Never hold a loser...

3) The seminars.. if your interested in this technique the book is more than enough info to get started. I use online stock screeners instead of their website which work just fine and I don't use all of their rules as stated I certainly have my own. Plus there is so much free information out there on options you don't need to pay anyone to access this information. And as far as I can tell the seminars are just repeating the same stuff in the book... sorry not gonna pay a couple grand to listen to someone repeat their book to me.

In summary, If someone gives this to you as a present or you take the plunge and spend the 75 bucks to read it your probably gonna learn some stuff. But take what you can from the book and move on from there and for the sake of your retirement acct DO NOT use any of these techniques without paper trading (fake trading) them first! Also, on a side note I don't recommend any of these techniques in anything but an IRA or uncle sam is gonna come take a big ole bite out of any profits you might have made.... and by the sounds of if that bite is about to get a lot bigger. I hope this helps anyone interested in this book or the technique.

People...wake up...Hooper is a complete Fraud! I am a professional trader and know what I am talking about. His techniques might "make sense" in theory - but try them in practice over the long haul and you will be no better off than if you closed your eyes and threw darts at a board as a means for picking stocks. Hooper says that there are ways to "manage out" of any position but this is completely untrue - when a stock drops dramatically (and believe me, there will always be stocks in your portfolio which decline quickly); there is NO POSSIBLE WAY for the "techniques" Hooper outlines to recover your losses (his TSS "rental" techniques and CPR tactics DO NOT WORK in practice even if he tries to tell you they work in theory - the real world out there isn't so rosy people).

True, you CAN from time to time make 3%-6% on stocks via covered calls when your stocks move very little and/or move upwards after buying them - however when a stock drops 10%, 20%, 30% or more, the techniques are useless. Believe me - I was a client of the Joe Hooper organization (Compound Stock Earnings) for years and have TONS of actual experience with his techniques...quite simply put; you will be wasting your money with him. He is a crochety curmudgeon who will tell you to screw off if you ask him too many questions about his techniques (he especially does not like insightful questions from people more intelligent than him) - I saw him berate several people both in person and over email multiple times, and watched in amazement. He is truly a bad (and extremely greedy) person. He is only after one thing - your money (through is seminars and monthly subscription services). You WILL lose money in the long run, and you WILL waste your money if you purchase this book and/or attend any of his seminars and/or subscribe to his stock/call recommendations. Trust your instincts - hope is eternal and unfortunately many people will fall for his dog and pony show, and will be posting their own complaints about Hooper here in a year or two themselves.

My one concern is the TSS which can lock you into a position. While I like the strategies in this book, you must really stick with these strategies and spend lots of time ensuring you are watching and turning over your stocks. I also do not think you should put more than 5% of your account into one name. Ensure you are still adhering to risk controls you can live with.
Also, I read a lot of examples in the book about a stock at 19.75 and selling a 20 call for $1.00, I do not see these types of front month calls being sold these days. That would only exist in a super volatile stock! Calls with 5% monthly premium are high for a reason. Always remember, high priced options are high for a reason, it means they are very very risky for the seller especially, hence the premium.

For about a year, I actively traded two accounts using the methods taught in this book. These are the same techniques taught during the authors' two-day intensive seminar. Over the last two years, I have spoken with well over 100 graduates of the authors' two-day intensive seminar. Interestingly, all of us have a similar experience to share. If you purchase the book and try the technique, odds are that you will have the same experience as well. Here's how it will go:

1) The method appeals to your logic: Buy a stock and collect instant income by selling a covered call. If your stock goes down in value, don't sell the stock at a loss like the rest of the world, instead, continue to collect monthly income on the stock whether the stock goes down, up or sideways. One day, when the stock is back to break-even, then we sell the stock. In the meantime, we collected 3%-5% income per month by renting out the stock! Sounds so good that you plunk down $3,750 for the two-day intensive seminar just to make sure you learn the method properly. You also invest in the $1,200 per year toolbox and covered call selection service.

2) The first few months of trading are great! Sure enough, you buy a stock, sell a covered call and instantly have 3%-5% cash income from the selling the call. Secondary calls on stocks that fall a bit are easy too: "Look at me - just made another 4%!" Anyone who asks (and even if they don't) - "Yep, I'm making 3%-5% income per month, how about you?"

3) After the first few months, several of your positions are in "management." Things are getting a bit more difficult now. Fewer and fewer dollars are available to start new positions that generate the easy money. Further, the TSS - used to generate "rent" on fallen positions - just isn't as easy as it looked. The stocks for several TSS's have been going up instead of down like they were supposed to do. This leaves you upside down with a loss on these TSS's. Now, because you're a bit gun-shy about selling more TSS calls, you have a couple more positions for which you haven't done anything for the month. Total income for the month has dropped a bit - "but hey, I still made almost 2% for the month, that's as much as many people make in a year!"

4) Realizing you probably need some help with TSS'ing, you e-mail Joe with a question. In response, Joe berates you by calling you a moron for thinking too much, for missing an obvious "inverted V" where you should have sold a TSS, and missing another obvious "V" where you should have bought it back. Joe then publishes your whipping in the "Cow Report" for all to read. The seminar is in town next weekend, so you attend again to brush up on the TSS and to talk with other investors. As they go around the room, every alum states they are making 3%-5% per month - wait a minute - that person just admitted he's only making 1%-2% per month. Joe humiliates him, which convinces you to state you're making 3%-5% per month should they call on you.

5) After another couple of months, a substantial majority of your positions are now in management. Many TSS's are upside down. Several of your stocks have fallen substantially in value, but you haven't TSS'd them as often as you should have. You tried an SSR to rescue one of your TSS's, but it did not get called out. Now you have a LEAPS that just lost 60% of it's value during the last month when the stock fell just 10%. How did that happen? Why did this SSR "rescue" technique leave us in more trouble than when we started? You know we don't speculate on stock price movement (like the stupid people on Wall Street), but you've noticed that success with new positions, TSS, SSR, SSSR, CPR, etc., all require that you properly guess the future movement of the stock.

6) It's all about cash flow, not account value, but after nine months, you can't help but notice your account values are down over 25%. Astonishingly, even though your taxable account is down 28% in value, you're having to pay short term capital gain taxes on the $25,000 in cash flow "income" you generated! Frustrated with your lack of success, you decide to pay Joe and Aaron another $3,000 to attend the Master's seminar.

7) The Master's seminar was exciting and fun! Some good points were made and obviously the method works for some people. Look at all the people who claimed they were making 3%-5% per month on the survey forms. Actually, you claimed that as well - "Yes, my account dropped $28,000 in value, but I reported $25,000 in cash flow to the IRS. That's close enough to 3% per month."

8) It's been almost a year. At 3%-5% per month - with all income reinvested - your accounts should be up at least 40% in value. Instead, your accounts are still down over 25% in value. It's just really hard picking the right time to enter new positions and deciding when to sell and buy back those TSS's. This new advanced charting seminar should help. Let's give Joe and Aaron another $2,000.

9) Advanced charting helps, but you're still certainly not growing your account at 3%-5% per month. Many acquaintances who started at the same time as you have given up on the method. Frankly, several of them have really good points as to why this technique isn't working. Maybe they're right. It's been over a year, you've given Joe and Aaron over $10,000 of your hard earned money, you're accounts are down in value by 30%, and to add insult to injury you've had to pay the IRS income tax anyway. Oh my God! What have I done??...

I was first introduced to Compound Stock Earnings by finding their weekly radio show on KABC 790 in Los Angeles. I was so intrigued after listening to their show about selling covered calls as a means of making 3 to 6% monthly cash by renting your stocks for income that I immediately found their book on amazon.com, purchased and read it cover to cover.

As a person who knew nothing about stock market investing I found this book to be a valuable resource in providing the tools and a system for a novice investor like myself to understand a rules based program of investing to turn my stock assets into real cash every month. The book is laid out chapter by chapter to teach the system in as easy to understand sequence. I was able to open an account and begin paper trading to test the system without risking any capital. The system works as predicted to earn 3% or more monthly when adhering to the rules.

For anyone looking for a better way to invest their money, I would highly recommend this book. The information is clear, organized and doesn't require an MBA in business or finance to understand how to apply it. I only wish I had discovered CSE years sooner!

I have been using the CSE methods for about 1 ½ years. My husband and I have always had financial planners manage our investments because we never felt that we had the time to spend maximizing our money - we wanted to have people who had trading experience and financial training manage our investments. We found over and over that when our money was in mutual funds and the market went down - we always lost a substantial portion of the last 3 or 4 years gains. We even sat through a dinner where our financial planner told us that despite losing almost 15% of our total portfolio that year, our investments would still gain over 10% a year - after the market adjustment. What he was really saying is that in another 1 ½ years we would be where we started. About that time one Saturday morning we were listening to a radio program with Joe and Aaron talking about making money in a stock market regardless of whether the market was going up or down. My skeptical nature and limited time to devote to managing my investments had me listen to the show and take the free introductory online seminar multiple times before I decided to invest in the CSE method. I have never regretted the decision! I quickly saw that with a little learning on my part, I could manage our investments and earn 2 to 6% a month by simply following the CSE methods. You are probably thinking the same thing that I thought - no way could somebody with no financial training earn 24% to 72% a year in the market. Despite what anybody tells you, it is possible if you are willing to spend the time learning the system and apply it. If you can't follow a system, cannot make decisions based on what you learn, and are not willing to invest your money based on what you have learned , then you will not be successful and I would not recommend spending the time or money for this program. But if you can learn new systems, apply them, and are willing to learn to invest based on what you have learned , you will be successful. How successful is directly relational to the amount of effort you spend in learning the system and applying it. I am now earning money, even in this down market, when everyone else I talk to is losing money on their investments. This incredible gift will allow me to pass on our wealth to my children. My children will be able to attend a college of their choice and will not have to base a career on earnings, but rather they will be able to do what they enjoy. I cannot think of a better gift to give my sons.

The CSE method teaches you a set of easy to learn rules that takes me between 20 minutes to 1 hour a day to manage my investments. Unlike other investment strategies, the CSE method has rules that work in both up and down markets. The investment strategy is conservative and forgiving if things do not go the way you thought they would. The support from Joe and Aaron and now several clients who have become staff has been exceptional. Where else can you take a seminar over and over again for no additional cost? Joe and Aaron and their staff are available to help you via email, phone support, and on-line coaching. The CSE staff continually improves on the techniques, adding new rules for problems other clients have encountered or tweaking rules based on client refinements. In the short time that I have been affiliated with CSE, they have introduced about 6 new techniques to help increase clients' returns. CSE also provides an on-line toolbox to help clients select new positions and manage existing ones. This toolbox was great from the start. But that isn't good enough for Joe and Aaron. They continually add features to make it easier for their clients.

Joe, Aaron, Ed, Mark D, Mark S, Jennifer, Tiffany, etc. - I cannot thank you enough for making my dreams a reality! There really is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Product Details :
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0470044705
ISBN-13: 978-0470044704
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches

More Details about Covered Calls and LEAPS--A Wealth Option + DVD: A Guide for Generating Extraordinary Monthly Income 1st edition

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Trading Chaos: Maximize Profits with Proven Technical Techniques 2nd edition, Justine Gregory-Williams

Bill and Justine are made me aware of what is driving the markets. Before I met them I was caught in a circle of winning and losing money in trading. The first edition opened my eyes, new trading dimensions got me out of the dream. The home study course showed me that It is possible to trade consistently, The personal workshop with Bill taught me more than enough of the inside of the markets to grasp the why and how. Eventually workshops by Justine in the middle of Chicago made me implement it all.

This new edition of Trading Chaos is refreshing. It's not about "the magic system", it's not about how to design the perfect system. No it's about real life and how the markets fit in. The perfection in the chaos, the perfect repetition of the small in to the bigger picture.

Don't buy this book if you want to know which market to trade and make money. Don't buy this book if you are looking for the magical tip.
Do buy the book if you want to learn what the market is driving and how you can profit.

Do buy this book if you are clueless (like I was) about your trading mistakes.
If you are serious go for the book, think of the implications and contact Bill and Justine to do a follow up. I did it 10 years ago and never had a moment of regret.

I am a BIG believer in Bill Williams and his body of work.

I have personally met with Bill, taken his home study course and even attended a private tutorial. Bill is the real deal. He is a *highly* profitable trader and Bill trades EXACTLY like he describes in his books (simplified over time, so Trading Chaos, 2nd Ed. is the LATEST and most refined method).

If you just want to trade with no other background information, Buy Trading Chaos, 2nd Edition (not this book) and start with chapter seven. When you get to the end of the book, you'll say, "That's it?!?! Than can't be it!" That's what I said. I then went on to take his home study course (13 weeks) and then went to a private tutorial. 95% of the methodology is IN THE BOOK! The more advanced stuff is for those who are scaling into positions and want more aggressive money management techniques.

Who am I to say this works? I started trading Bill's techniques from scratch. In LESS than 6 months I was up 95% in a medium sized account. I found some like-minded investors and we started our own Hedge Fund (more specifically, a commodity pool). I called Bill personally and he spoke with me at length about how I should flow into and out of my positions, etc. He went far above and beyond the call of duty. I cannot speak to how well my Pool is doing (not legal to disclose - considered solicitation of investors), so I cannot give figures of returns for the Pool.

Buy Trading Chaos 2nd Edition and then buy "New Trading Dim mentions" (his second book) and read chapters 9 - 11. Those chapters will give you more ideas of the SCOPE of just what is possible when you simplify your trading and align it with natural market tendencies (chaos principles).

The actual trading methodology is not really of interest to me. As a matter of fact, it's ironic that in the first half of the book statements such as "there is no magic system" and "all mechanical systems will fail" are made, then in the second half of the book a rather mechanical trading system that is referred to as "automagic" is described.

I suppose for a beginning trader looking for some kind of method to employ it's not a bad one to pursue. Allow me to suggest that the second half of the book should be given perhaps 10% of your consideration while the first half should be given 90%.

The first half of the book is revolutionary, and makes it a classic. It should be removed and marketed separately. In fact, I like your chances of success better if you only read the first half and then develop your own trading method based on what you notice happening in the market. Concentrate on developing a winning mindset and getting in tune with the market you trade. The first half of this book should be kept and reread regularly.

Once again Bill Williams and now his daugther, Justine, too, have contributed another advance in the field of trading stocks and futures. Dr. Williams' insights and advanced chaos theory techniques move traders to work in sync with the changing nature of the markets. Going with the flow and surfing the waves of the markets is now easier than ever. It's interesting to note that in this new book, the chaos-derived indicators (alligator, AO, and fractals) are not changed, but the way to interpret their information is adapted to take advantage of the choppier 21st century markets, compared to the go-go '90's markets. This new interpretation seeks to capture profits from short-term swings in the market, entering the market much closer to the turning points of each wave (fractals) and aggressively scooping up profits before the short-term swing runs its course. This method also reduces risk to the span of a single bar. Also included with even more emphasis than in previous books, are methods to adapt the mind of the trader to the ebbs and flows of the market, rather than the emotional fear-based reactions that most of us are prone to in our trading. I've had the privlege of attending one of Profitunity's intimate trading workshops (with 4-8 others) and witnessing Bill's trading first-hand. It was immediately obvious to me that here was a genius at work. I highly recommend this book to any trader who wants to "make winning the path of least resistance." My only criticisms are that this book should have a different title, since it is not a new edition of the first "Trading Chaos" book, and would not replace that seminal work. The new book has entirely different info and deserves its own place in the series. Perhaps "Trading Chaos in the 21st Century" or something like that. I would also like to see more guidance on how to integrate the techniques from the first two volumes with the new approach taken in this book. Clearly they are all compatible, yet forging an integrated system will take some effort on my part. Then again, maybe that's for the best. I know that if I didn't contribute to my own trading system in some way by adding to what Bill has pioneered, then I would feel incomplete. I suspect that many other traders would feel the same way.

I am not affiliated with the Bill Williams, he doesn't know me, I don't know him and I don't get compensated to speak on his behalf. I read his works and in my view this book is a good one. Written in layman terms for everyday traders, it describes a method that is profitable without resorting to complicated mathematical formulas with which others attempt to elucidate the mysteries of the "chaos theory". (What the heck is chaos anyway?) That it cannot be backtested, it absolutely doesn't matter. There are many other trading theories that cannot be backtested and are just great. On the other hand, I have seen many traders who use well tested methods and who either lose money or make so little profits that they would be better off going back to their former professions.

That there are a few incongruences in Bill's book, they are a test for the reader to discover them and to use his understanding of the ideas in the book to solve them. Let's not forget that a single book cannot cover everything for everybody. Such book does not exist. Why blame the inaccuracies when the whole concept can be praised?

"Trading chaos" is an invitation to study Bill's style and practice it.

On another note, in MetaStock, the Profitunity method is the most detailed Expert Advisor from among the several that come standard with the software package. It can be traded without the need for other bells and whistles. "Trading chaos" and the MetaStock Expert Advisor can and does make a trader a few dollars. Period.

Having read this book recently,and being familiar with Bill Williams' work,I would like to state my opinion here,which I am afraid is totally different than that of the previous reviewer.

First of all,let me explain that I have no personal connection or mutual interest with Mr. Williams and unfortunately for me I haven't taken his course or participated in his private seminars.Furthermore,I have also found his methology unprofitable a couple of years ago.....

This book made me reread his past books and reevaluate his methology.And I realized something very special : the reason I have failed in the past to profit from this methology and the reason the last reviewer makes such a critism,is that both of us haven't understood that Mr Williams doesn't simply teach a system.He teaches a completely alternative approach to the markets and life in general.And I believe that the main reason he devotes such a big part of the book for the psychological part of trading,is because he knows that it's extremely difficult for anybody to change his perceptions.

I can parallel the way most of the other systems work,with someone who tries many shoe sizes in order to find the one that fits his foot.All of us approach trading as a probabilities,or gambling game,trying to find out if a system,tested in past data,fits the present data of the market.If we are wise enough,we cut our losses short and we go on for our next try.That's the reason,almost 97% of the traders (mechanical systems included) fail to produce consistent profits.

Mr. Williams proposes another approach.Let the market tell you each time which system you must implement to have profits.Let the shoe determine which "foot" you must use to walk properly.And if you think that this example is not appropriate,let me state it otherwise.Which parameter determines what clothes you are going to wear to get out? the weather,of course.If it changes you must change your clothes also,to feel comfortable.You can't change the weather....

Now,if Mr.Williams techniques can guide you to be in tune with the markets,it's another story and I am working on it.It seems that his daughter brought fresh and original ideas to the whole approach.Surely,the book is only the starting point to understand this mans' logic and the way he trades the markets.But I really consider the money I have spent in buying this book as the best spent money in my whole trading career.And I certainly look forward to buy his course,when my financial ability permits it.

Product Details :
Hardcover: 228 pages
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Publishers; 2 edition (February 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0471463086
ISBN-13: 978-0471463085
Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 1 x 9.4 inches

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Private Capital Markets: Valuation, Capitalization, and Transfer of Private Business Interests + Website 2nd edition

Performing fair market valuations keeps thousands of appraisers busy in the United States. Most professional appraisers rarely venture outside of this one standard of value. Now imagine if fair market value accounted for less than 10% of the appraisal needs of the private capital markets. The private appraisal market would be huge! This is just one of the many messages contained in Robert T. Slee's book, Private Capital Markets.

Slee's book is not strictly a valuation book; rather, it is a conceptual Lewis & Clark-type survey of the private capital markets. This is the first book that attempts to develop a unified structure for the analysis of these markets. Think of it as a private finance textbook. Why do we need this?

Slee's premise is that the body of financial knowledge explaining the behavior of private players differs from corporate finance. Economists created corporate finance in the 1960s to explain the behavior of large public companies. Since that time, business professors have taught finance as if only public companies exist in the market. In fact, more than 99% of the companies in the United States are privately held. Private Capital Markets, on the other hand, focuses on the financial motives and needs of private company owners and their advisors.

In this book, Slee establishes private capital markets theory. This theory describes an integrated body of knowledge encompassing the valuation, capitalization and transfer of private companies, particularly those with annual revenues between $5 million and $500 million. Slee designed this theory to help players make better financing and investment decisions in private markets. He asserts that business owners can create competitive advantages with these tools.

Slee explains that valuation, capital, and transfer issues are inter-related and inter-dependent. This means that you cannot fully understand valuation, capital, or transfer discretely: You must first understand how they all fit together. He calls this holistic interconnection Triangulation. Each chapter of the book triangulates the reader's position so they understand their position within the private markets.

Slee introduces the new framework of value worlds to explain valuation, capital, and transfer. Value worlds dramatically extend the appraisal concept of standard of value. We all know that value is relative to the purpose of an appraisal. Slee illustrates how purpose selects a value world. As many value worlds exist as there are appraisal purposes. There are dozens. Because the valuation rules are different in each world, every private company has dozens of correct values at the same time.

Who sets the rules? Various authorities create and enforce the rules in each value world. For instance, in the fair market value world, the IRS, tax courts, ERISA laws, appraisal societies, and various other authorities tell appraisers how to value business interests within each's sphere of influence. Some authorities (IRS) have fairly strong sanctioning power; others (administrative rulings) can only suggest a course of action. Most value worlds, such as the owner or investment value worlds, have only one or two authorities. Slee's value world construct puts appraisers in their true role: as interpreters of authorities' decisions. This won't sit well with many appraisal purists, who for years have believed that they are authorities.

Slee views valuation as the common language that unites the private capital markets. He argues that we need this language to communicate with each other over capital structure and business transfer issues. Thus, the book surveys the entire capital and transfers spectrums of the private capital markets. It describes all institutional types of capital in terms of their access, sample terms, and effective all-in costs. Finally, Slee explains all transfer methods making up the private business transfer spectrum.

One surprise that springs from the book is that transfer methods select value worlds. This means that once a business owner chooses the method (ESOP, recapitalization, estate-planning, etc.) of transferring their business, they also choose (unknowingly in most cases) the transfer value as well.

This book and subsequent analyses of the private markets will likely impact fair market value appraisals significantly in a way that the book does not address. Businesses appraised for fair market value purposes are real flesh and blood businesses that operate in the private markets. As our young profession matures, continuing to treat private companies as if they operated in a market similar to the public markets will appear more futile.

Private Capital Markets is comprehensive and is aimed at the serious reader. Because we can competently value private businesses only to the extent we understand the private markets, this book belongs in every appraiser's library.

This book clarifies several obscure aspects and concepts of valuation of any company by providing an innovative approach to the subject, and its content also reflects well the needs of those working with evaluating non listed assets or willing to further understanding myriad aspects that are important in any transaction involving small to middle market companies.

Valuation and deal making practitioners will find in this book an in-depth conceptual understanding of the risk-reward trade-off existing in major capital structure decisions by looking at all major funding alternatives, their risk, cost to borrower and return to fund providers at different levels of claims and their consequent pledges.

In addition, this book provides a fresh view on different levels/structures of financial sponsoring companies, ownership and/or control issues and other intricacies regarding the relation of entrepreneurs and financists when dealing with transaction's high level issues.

Rob Slee, the author, spoke at our CVBBA meeting and made a compelling presentation of the past, present and future. I immediately purchased this book. It is too heavy to read cover to cover, but each chapter is clear and to the point for the subject you seek. A great resource! I sell businesses and have sold over 200 at Pro Biz in the last 17 years. More and more M&A situations tend to arise as one continues to attend educational classes and meetings such as this. If you aspire to the M&A level of transactions, dear broker, buy and read book. It has a long shelf life, so don't let the price put you off. it has helped my appraisal business and probizappraisal has resulted. So has capventure as well as probiz consulting. Helpful and informative.

Product Details :
Hardcover: 640 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (May 31, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0470928328
ISBN-13: 978-0470928325
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 1.5 x 10.9 inches

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