The Dao Of Capital

As today's preeminent doomsday investor Mark Spitznagel describes his Daoist and roundabout investment approach, “one gains by losing and loses by gaining.” This is Austrian Investing, an archetypal, counterintuitive, and proven approach, gleaned from the 150-year-old Austrian School of economics, that is both timeless and exceedingly timely. In The Dao of Capital, hedge fund manager and tail-hedging pioneer Mark Spitznagel—with one of the top returns on capital of the financial crisis, as well as over a career—takes us on a gripping, circuitous journey from the Chicago trading pits, over the coniferous boreal forests and canonical strategists from Warring States China to Napoleonic Europe to burgeoning industrial America, to the great economic thinkers of late 19th century Austria. We arrive at his central investment methodology of Austrian Investing, where victory comes not from waging the immediate decisive battle, but rather from the roundabout approach of seeking the intermediate positional advantage (what he calls shi), of aiming at the indirect means rather than directly at the ends. The monumental challenge is in seeing time differently, in a whole new intertemporal dimension, one that is so contrary to our wiring. Spitznagel is the first to condense the theories of Ludwig von Mises and his Austrian School of economics into a cohesive and—as Spitznagel has shown—highly effective investment methodology. From identifying the monetary distortions and non-randomness of stock market routs (Spitznagel's bread and butter) to scorned highly-productive assets, in Ron Paul's words from the foreword, Spitznagel “brings Austrian economics from the ivory tower to the investment portfolio.” The Dao of Capital provides a rare and accessible look through the lens of one of today's great investors to discover a profound harmony with the market process—a harmony that is so essential today.

As today's preeminent doomsday investor Mark Spitznageldescribes his Daoist and roundabout investmentapproach, “one gains by losing and loses by gaining.”This is Austrian Investing, an archetypal, counterintuitive,and proven approach, gleaned from the 150-year-old Austrian Schoolof economics, that is both timeless and exceedingly timely. In The Dao of Capital, hedge fund manager andtail-hedging pioneer Mark Spitznagel—with one of the topreturns on capital of the financial crisis, as well as over acareer—takes us on a gripping, circuitous journey from theChicago trading pits, over the coniferous boreal forests andcanonical strategists from Warring States China to NapoleonicEurope to burgeoning industrial America, to the great economicthinkers of late 19th century Austria. We arrive at his centralinvestment methodology of Austrian Investing, where victorycomes not from waging the immediate decisive battle, but ratherfrom the roundabout approach of seeking the intermediatepositional advantage (what he calls shi), of aiming at theindirect means rather than directly at the ends. The monumentalchallenge is in seeing time differently, in a whole newintertemporal dimension, one that is so contrary to ourwiring. Spitznagel is the first to condense the theories of Ludwig vonMises and his Austrian School of economics into a cohesiveand—as Spitznagel has shown—highly effective investmentmethodology. From identifying the monetary distortions andnon-randomness of stock market routs (Spitznagel's bread andbutter) to scorned highly-productive assets, in Ron Paul's wordsfrom the foreword, Spitznagel “brings Austrian economics fromthe ivory tower to the investment portfolio.” The Dao of Capital provides a rare and accessible lookthrough the lens of one of today's great investors to discover aprofound harmony with the market process—a harmony that is soessential today.

What is a safe haven? What role should they play in an investment portfolio? Do we use them only to seek shelter until the passing of financial storms? Or are they something more? Contrary to everything we know from modern financial theory, can higher returns actually come as a result of lowering risk? In Safe Haven, hedge fund manager Mark Spitznagel—one of the top practitioners of safe haven investing and portfolio risk mitigation in the world—answers these questions and more. Investors who heed the message in this book will never look at risk mitigation the same way again.

Destined to become a market classic, Dynamic Hedging is the only practical reference in exotic options hedgingand arbitrage for professional traders and money managers Watch the professionals. From central banks to brokerages to multinationals, institutional investors are flocking to a new generation of exotic and complex options contracts and derivatives. But the promise of ever larger profits also creates the potential for catastrophic trading losses. Now more than ever, the key to trading derivatives lies in implementing preventive risk management techniques that plan for and avoid these appalling downturns. Unlike other books that offer risk management for corporate treasurers, Dynamic Hedging targets the real-world needs of professional traders and money managers. Written by a leading options trader and derivatives risk advisor to global banks and exchanges, this book provides a practical, real-world methodology for monitoring and managing all the risks associated with portfolio management. Nassim Nicholas Taleb is the founder of Empirica Capital LLC, a hedge fund operator, and a fellow at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University. He has held a variety of senior derivative trading positions in New York and London and worked as an independent floor trader in Chicago. Dr. Taleb was inducted in February 2001 in the Derivatives Strategy Hall of Fame. He received an MBA from the Wharton School and a Ph.D. from University Paris-Dauphine.

Insanity seems to rule the financial markets and many investors are driven by delusion and anxiety. May everything you thought you knew about investing be wrong? The Austrian School's approach provides the needed respite for investors caught in inflationary treadmills. Conventional investment experts often overlook economic developments which may become a hazard for mainstream investors. Instead, the Austrian School of Economics has proved itself as an independent approach beyond the interests of politicians and bankers. The financial system is shaking. This book presents new paths through the shaky grounds between the tectonic plates of inflation and deflation to both private and professional investors. "This book is a must-have for every responsible investor!" (Felix W. Zulauf, Investor) "I am grateful to the authors of this book for not only highlighting the fundamental principles of the Austrian School but also for showing how investors can make practical use of them. " (Dr. Marc Faber, Investor) "For the first time an extensive compendium has been published in which the theoretical foundations developed by the 'Austrians' have been made useful for the investor's practical needs. The authors develop a remarkable 'Austrian investment philosophy'." (Prof. Guido HUlsmann, University of Angers) "The Austrian School's perception helps us to see long-term patterns and opportunities that today are often hidden. [...] For the authors and their important work I hope for the widest possible audience of a bestseller." (Prince Philipp von und zu Liechtenstein, Chairman LGT Group)

"Capital is the defining feature of modern economies, yet most people have no idea where it actually comes from. What is it, exactly, that transforms mere wealth into an asset that automatically creates more wealth? The Code of Capital explains how capital is created behind closed doors in the offices of private attorneys, and why this little-known fact is one of the biggest reasons for the widening wealth gap between the holders of capital and everybody else. In this revealing book, Katharina Pistor argues that the law selectively "codes" certain assets, endowing them with the capacity to protect and produce private wealth. With the right legal coding, any object, claim, or idea can be turned into capital - and lawyers are the keepers of the code. Pistor describes how they pick and choose among different legal systems and legal devices for the ones that best serve their clients' needs, and how techniques that were first perfected centuries ago to code landholdings as capital are being used today to code stocks, bonds, ideas, and even expectations--assets that exist only in law. A powerful new way of thinking about one of the most pernicious problems of our time, The Code of Capital explores the different ways that debt, complex financial products, and other assets are coded to give financial advantage to their holders. This provocative book paints a troubling portrait of the pervasive global nature of the code, the people who shape it, and the governments that enforce it."--Provided by publisher.

Jim Paul's meteoric rise took him from a small town in Northern Kentucky to governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, yet he lost it all--his fortune, his reputation, and his job--in one fatal attack of excessive economic hubris. In this honest, frank analysis, Paul and Brendan Moynihan revisit the events that led to Paul's disastrous decision and examine the psychological factors behind bad financial practices in several economic sectors. This book--winner of a 2014 Axiom Business Book award gold medal--begins with the unbroken string of successes that helped Paul achieve a jet-setting lifestyle and land a key spot with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It then describes the circumstances leading up to Paul's $1.6 million loss and the essential lessons he learned from it--primarily that, although there are as many ways to make money in the markets as there are people participating in them, all losses come from the same few sources. Investors lose money in the markets either because of errors in their analysis or because of psychological barriers preventing the application of analysis. While all analytical methods have some validity and make allowances for instances in which they do not work, psychological factors can keep an investor in a losing position, causing him to abandon one method for another in order to rationalize the decisions already made. Paul and Moynihan's cautionary tale includes strategies for avoiding loss tied to a simple framework for understanding, accepting, and dodging the dangers of investing, trading, and speculating.

Victor Niederhoffer, eine exzentrische, außergewöhnliche Persönlichkeit und ein äußerst erfolgreicher Börsenhändler, erzählt seine wirklich faszinierende Geschichte: Sein Leben, seine Ausbildung, seine Erfolge und Fehler, Gewinne und Verluste. In einem Geschäft, in dem es von Scharlatanen wimmelt, erfrischen derart realistische Worte. Mit vielen Hintergrundinformationen am Rande, beispielsweise über die Hillary-Clinton-Affäre. (06/98)