Asset Management Primer

This primer on Asset Management (AM) will help those interested gain an understanding and appreciation of this expanded and important concept. AM is a bus. process and a decision-making framework that covers an extended time horizon, draws from econ. as well as engineering, and considers a broad range of assets. The AM approach incorporates the econ. assessment of trade-offs between alternative invest. options, both at the project level and at the network or system level, and uses this info. to help make cost-effective invest. decisions. It also requires a statement of explicit, clearly defined goals that reflect customer expectations, and are used to guide, monitor, and evaluate the entire process. Illustrations.

This book is different. Why? Because in short, bitesize chapters I will show you how the asset management industry works. Most other books on asset management focus on portfolio management. I will instead show you a 360 view of the industry covering topics including the industry's main asset managers, who the main types of clients are, and most importantly, how people within the money management industry look at themselves. The book also covers the main systems used from a corporate reporting standpoint and common jargon used within the industry. Having worked in the asset management industry for many years, I will give you a view of how asset management is viewed from within the industry, not outside. I find it frustrating when books are written from "experts" who aren't even in the field. Very frequently, I find such books highly academic in their nature and not entirely reflecting how the industry operates on a day-day basis. By reading this book, you will come out well versed to hold a mature conversation on what matters in the asset management. Perfect if you are preparing for an interview, or if you just want an accessible yet thorough introduction . It is also for working professionals who are already in the industry - possibly in a niche, or specialist role - who would like to get a better understanding of the bigger picture. Think of this book as a primer, a crash-course, an "essentials" book, a very short introduction to...

Alternative Investments: A Primer for Investment Professionals provides an overview of alternative investments for institutional asset allocators and other overseers of portfolios containing both traditional and alternative assets. It is designed for those with substantial experience regarding traditional investments in stocks and bonds but limited familiarity regarding alternative assets, alternative strategies, and alternative portfolio management. The primer categorizes alternative assets into four groups: hedge funds, real assets, private equity, and structured products/derivatives. Real assets include vacant land, farmland, timber, infrastructure, intellectual property, commodities, and private real estate. For each group, the primer provides essential information about the characteristics, challenges, and purposes of these institutional-quality alternative assets in the context of a well-diversified institutional portfolio. Other topics addressed by this primer include tail risk, due diligence of the investment process and operations, measurement and management of risks and returns, setting return expectations, and portfolio construction. The primer concludes with a chapter on the case for investing in alternatives.

Long gone are the times when investors could make decisions based on intuition. Modern asset management draws on a wide-range of fields beyond financial theory: economics, financial accounting, econometrics/statistics, management science, operations research (optimization and Monte Carlo simulation), and more recently, data science (Big Data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence). The challenge in writing an institutional asset management book is that when tools from these different fields are applied in an investment strategy or an analytical framework for valuing securities, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the fundamentals of these fields. Attempting to explain strategies and analytical concepts while also providing a primer on the tools from other fields is not the most effective way of describing the asset management process. Moreover, while an increasing number of investment models have been proposed in the asset management literature, there are challenges and issues in implementing these models. This book provides a description of the tools used in asset management as well as a more in-depth explanation of specialized topics and issues covered in the companion book, Fundamentals of Institutional Asset Management. The topics covered include the asset management business and its challenges, the basics of financial accounting, securitization technology, analytical tools (financial econometrics, Monte Carlo simulation, optimization models, and machine learning), alternative risk measures for asset allocation, securities finance, implementing quantitative research, quantitative equity strategies, transaction costs, multifactor models applied to equity and bond portfolio management, and backtesting methodologies. This pedagogic approach exposes the reader to the set of interdisciplinary tools that modern asset managers require in order to extract profits from data and processes.

A Primer in Financial Data Management describes concepts and methods, considering financial data management, not as a technological challenge, but as a key asset that underpins effective business management. This broad survey of data management in financial services discusses the data and process needs from the business user, client and regulatory perspectives. Its non-technical descriptions and insights can be used by readers with diverse interests across the financial services industry. The need has never been greater for skills, systems, and methodologies to manage information in financial markets. The volume of data, the diversity of sources, and the power of the tools to process it massively increased. Demands from business, customers, and regulators on transparency, safety, and above all, timely availability of high quality information for decision-making and reporting have grown in tandem, making this book a must read for those working in, or interested in, financial management. Focuses on ways information management can fuel financial institutions’ processes, including regulatory reporting, trade lifecycle management, and customer interaction Covers recent regulatory and technological developments and their implications for optimal financial information management Views data management from a supply chain perspective and discusses challenges and opportunities, including big data technologies and regulatory scrutiny