Undiversified

Diversification is a core principle of investing. Yet money managers have not applied it to their own ranks. Only around 10 percent of portfolio managers—the people most directly responsible for investing your money—are female, and the numbers are even worse at the ownership level. What are the causes of this underrepresentation, and what are its consequences—including for firms’ and clients’ bottom lines? In Undiversified, experienced practitioners Ellen Carr and Katrina Dudley examine the lack of women in investment management and propose solutions to improve the imbalance. They explore the barriers that subtly but effectively discourage women from entering and staying in the industry at each point in the pipeline. At the entry level, the lack of visible role models discourages students from considering the field, and those who do embark on an investment management career face many obstacles to retention and promotion. Carr and Dudley highlight the importance of informal knowledge about how to navigate career tracks, without which women are left at a disadvantage in an industry that lionizes confidence. They showcase a diverse constellation of successful female portfolio managers to demystify the profession. Drawing on wide-ranging research, interviews with prospective, current, and former industry practitioners, and the authors’ own experiences, Undiversified makes a compelling case that increasing the number of women could help transform active investment management at a time when it is under threat from passive strategies and technological innovation.

Value at Risk and Bank Capital Management offers a unique combination of concise, expert academic analysis of the latest technical VaR measures and their applications, and the practical realities of bank decision making about capital management and capital allocation. The book contains concise, expert analysis of the latest technical VaR measures but without the highly mathematical component of other books. It discusses practical applications of these measures in the real world of banking, focusing on effective decision making for capital management and allocation. The author, Francesco Saita, is based at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, one of the foremost institutions for banking in Europe. He provides readers with his extensive academic and theoretical expertise combined with his practical and real-world understanding of bank structure, organizational constraints, and decision-making processes. This book is recommended for graduate students in master's or Ph.D. programs in finance/banking and bankers and risk managers involved in capital allocation and portfolio management. Contains concise, expert analysis of the latest technical VaR measures but without the highly mathematical component of other books Discusses practical applications of these measures in the real world of banking, focusing on effective decision making for capital management and allocation Author is based at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, one of the foremost institutions for banking in Europe

Edited by Rajnish Mehra, this volume focuses on the equity risk premium puzzle, a term coined by Mehra and Prescott in 1985 which encompasses a number of empirical regularities in the prices of capital assets that are at odds with the predictions of standard economic theory.

Stress tests are used in risk management by banks in order to determine how certain crisis scenarios would affect the value of their portfolios, and by public authorities for financial stability purposes. Until the first half of 2007, interest in stress-testing was largely restricted to practitioners. Since then, the global financial system has been hit by deep turbulences, including the fallout from sub-prime mortgage lending. Many observers have pointed out that the severity of the crisis has been largely due to its unexpected nature and have claimed that a more extensive use of stress-testing methodologies would have helped to alleviate the repercussions of the crisis. This book analyses the theoretical underpinnings, as well as the practical aspects, of applying such methodologies. Building on the experience gained by the economists of many national and international financial authorities, it provides an updated toolkit for both practitioners and academics.

Integrates essential risk management practices with practical corporate business strategies Focusing on educating readers on how to integrate risk management with corporate business strategy-not just on hedging practices-The Risk Management Process is the first financial risk management book that combines a detailed, big picture discussion of firm-wide risk management with a comprehensive discussion of derivatives-based hedging strategies and tactics. An essential component of any corporate business strategy today, risk management has become a mainstream business process at the highest level of the world's largest financial institutions, corporations, and investment management groups. Addressing the need for a well-balanced book on the subject, respected leader and teacher on the subject Christopher Culp has produced a well-balanced, comprehensive reference text for a broad audience of financial institutions and agents, nonfinancial corporations, and institutional investors.

Managing Financial Risk is the most authoritative and comprehensive primer ever published for financial professionals who must understand and successfully use derivaties. The previous edition of this professional financial classic sold over 18,000 copies and emerged as a leading training tool in the derivatives industry. The book covers derivative products from the most basic to the most complex and explains how derivatives are used by each major player in the market: dealers, financial firms, and corporations. In addition, the book includes short contributions from a variety of experts from leading companies such as Citibank, J.P. Morgan, British Petroleum, and Ciba-Geigy. Completely updated to include new material on new products such as commodity swaps and credit swaps, this edition will cover every aspect of the derivatives marketplace with insight and authority.

This thought-provoking study measures and critically examines the effects that an average population growth rate of 2.8% could have on the development of the Arab Gulf States. It questions the ability of Gulf governments to continue providing relatively high standards of education, health and employment under conditions of rapid population growth, an undiversified economic base, and a tribal political framework. Within this context, population growth is identified as one important variable that hinders long-term development. The book will appeal to all those interested in the Middle East, demography, development and sociology.

Many companies refuse to face the reality that their businesses are in trouble or that their strategic positions are wrong. Whether a product line is no longer profitable, foreign competition has slowed growth, or technological changes have left them behind, many otherwise well-managed companies hang on for too long to the status quo. In this inflexible posture, managements time and talent go to waste, assets grow sterile, and technology falls behind. This book will help managers overcome the exit barriers that hamper strategic flexibility. Based on innovative studies of 192 firms within Sixteen industries, the ideas presented here are applicable to almost any industry and any type of firm. Harrigan discusses the major strategic decisions facing executives today, including guerrilla strategies of underdog competitors, entry and exit barriers, the use of joint ventures to cope with the uncertainties created by erratic growth, and the management of change. She focuses on the shortcomings of vertical integration, developing a framework for better make-or-buy decisions. The effects of exit barriers on firms' strategic flexibility are detailed, and managerial tools to cope with high barriers and declining businesses are introduced. "Strategic Flexibility" is organized to provide easy reference for managers seeking to find out what strategies have worked and why. This book offers practical, proven ways for managers to expand the flexibility and responsiveness of their companies to new competitive conditions.