Book Description
Value at Risk (VAR) is rapidly emerging as the dominant methodology for estimating precisely how much money is at risk each day in the financial markets. Traders and managers use it to monitor the financial risk of a portfolio. This book provides an objective view of VAR, analyzing its pitfalls as well as its benefits.
Customer Reviews:
Failed Potential.......2007-03-12
This book would have been 5 stars if it had been edited and proofed properly. There are *FAR* too many errors. I would still recommend that one purchase and read this book, which is a good introduction to VaR for the uninitiated, but the error count is just ridiculous. There are significant errors nearly every other page.
There are:
* currency sign errors, which render examples meaningless;
* repeated formula errors, which require the reader to guess the correct formula;
* text errors, which change the meaning of the sentences to their exact opposite;
* errors in punctuation;
* errors in grammar;
* numerical errors in the text next to examples that show the correct numbers.
If there were going to have been a second edition, it would already be out by now, so I'm not hopeful that a new edition will appear to correct the many errors.
I am QUITE surprised that the author doesn't have an errata page at the website he put up for questions on this book at [...]
File this book under "Failed Potential".
Very helpful for beginners.......2006-03-20
I'm chemical Engineer and I'm working on my thesis on to get the Master in Sc. I had no clue in VaR, this book help not only to understand it but to apply it further pure finances.
Until something better comes along. . ........2005-07-19
The other reviewers are correct about the errors. The results of Mr. Butler's formulas sometimes don't match the formulas themselves which in turn don't match his results in the spreadsheets. Also, the grammar, particularly the punctuation, leaves much to be desired. This book had either a poor editor or no editor.
However, Mr. Butler is the only author to write a book that shows actual real-world VaR calculations. The other books give plenty of theory, but never enough detail to enable you to do your own VaR calculations. So until something similar and better comes along, this book will have to do. And really, the errors in the spreadsheets are not that hard to spot if you just follow the text and if you are aware that the errors are there.
very disappointing.......2004-06-25
There are a number of errors in the book, thus making it very hard to get through. Additionally, I spoke to the publisher and there is NOT a second edition of this book available yet - so don't bother with the book. I was also surprised there is nowhere to get copies of the spreadsheets from on the web!!
A note to Mr. Butler - please take a note from Scott Meyers or Bruce Eckel who publish errata web pages.
A practical book on VaR.......2002-09-29
Mastering Value at Risk is 80% practical and 20% theoretical. However, there are a lot of mistakes, specially printing and calculation mistakes. For example, page 24, 25, etc. ambiguous exercises. I require professional solved cases and applications of the real world. Back testing and stress testing themes present a poor development.
There is a great practical case on EWMA, but it can not be compared to GARCH model, because there is not a practical case on GARCH. There is no useful application. This model is only mentioned and explained theoretically. On the other hand Montecarlo Simulation presents a certain confusion. It's unclear and imprecise.
Finally, at the end of the book an address and e-mail are written in order to make contact with the author, but such an e-mail doesn't exist. It was impossible for me to contact Cormac Butler by means of that e-mail. Besides, there is a website in order to send your questions and queries named answerback.org. It was not possible for me to access this website.
Well, the book is good for a reader used to calculate VaR, not for beginners, because of printing errors and calculation mistakes. You must to identify them before to continue the next lesson and theme. Well, my rating to this book is 3 stars.
Average customer rating:
- An excellent and engaging resource
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Mastering the Financial Dimension of Your Practice: The Definitive Resource for Private Practice Development and Financial Planning
Peter H. Cole , and
Daisy Reese
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Similar Items:
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A Practice That Works: Tips and Strategies for Your Stand Alone Therapy Practice
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Essentials of Private Practice: Streamlining Costs, Procedures, and Policies for Less Stress
-
Twelve Months to Your Ideal Private Practice: A Workbook
-
Getting Started in Private Practice: The Complete Guide to Building Your Mental Health Practice (Getting Started)
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The Paper Office, Third Edition: Forms, Guidelines, and Resources to Make Your Practice Work Ethically, Legally, and Profitably
ASIN: 041594838X |
Book Description
Most therapists would not identify themselves as business people, yet running a successful practice is a complex business. For a population accustomed to empathizing with clients, financial planning is not intuitive. This volume, written by two therapists with extensive business experience, offers sound advice for mental health professionals in private practice.
Mastering the Financial Dimension of Your Practice is organized into four sections, each addressing the unique concerns of the therapist in private practice. The authors first offer a basic course in financial planning, including an investigation into "Five Common Financial Mistakes Therapists Make" and various "solutions" to each situation. The second section explores the lifecycle of the modern therapy practice, offering best business and investing practices for each phase. The third section considers the emotional dimension involved in the development of a private practice and the financial planning of a private practitioner, written in the thoughtful language of psychotherapy. Providing a self-guided financial planning seminar, the fourth section is designed to offer a road map of action to take in establishing a financial plan. Concluding the book is an inspirational discussion of how the therapist in private practice can create a career with meaning, fulfillment, personal satisfaction and solid financial rewards. Also included is a useful primer on Quickbooks software.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent and engaging resource .......2004-10-04
This well-written book is surprisingly engaging and inspirational for the potentially dry topic of finances. It provides recommendations for financial strategies across the career lifespan, clarifies financial planning concepts, and explores our psychological relationships with money that can either promote or inhibit our financial well-being. Even therapists who are not in private practice would gain from the insightful chapters on the emotional aspects of money for individuals and couples, and between therapist and client.
Book Description
The most up-to-date practical primer in the professional markets.
Customer Reviews:
Clear and thorough with excellent examples.......2006-06-13
This is an excellent book for both practitioners and students. The book is clearly written and contains some very good examples on calculations. As a portfolio manager, I find that this book is best used establishing basic knowledge of transaction mechanics. You can combine this reading with Fabozzi's book to get a better feel for the market. Although the Fabozzi book is not as well organized, it contains more industry perspectives. This book is very highly recommended.
Customer Reviews:
Bravo!.......2004-03-26
Editors at Financial Times (FT) co-authored this volume, with Tim Dickson serving as executive editor . It offers "The Complete MBA Companion in Strategy," the result of FT's strategic alliance with the University of Chicago Business School, INSEAD, the University of Michigan Business School, and the Said Business School at Oxford University. This is the seventh volume in what is identified as "The Financial Times Mastering" series. It contains articles that first appeared in FT in late-1999.
The material is carefully organized within 16 chapters. In the first, there are two essays: "Strategy and the delusion of Grand Designs" authored by John Kay, Director of london Economics; the second -- "Strategy, blind men and the elephant" was co-authored by Henry Mintzberg of McGill University and INSEAD, Bruce Ahlstrand of Trent University (Ontario), and Joseph Lampel of the University of Nottingham Business School.
As for the final chapter, "Fresh Challenges for the Future," it was written by Dan Schendel, founding and current editor the Strategic Management Journal. The reader is advised that "This final module sums up the main themes of the book, addresses some of the current controversies, and offers pointers on how the field may develop in coming years. The core message is that those who fail to keep up with the best in strategic management risk losing their businesses and losing their jobs. The cases of failure cited throughout the book underline the point." My own crystal ball imploded long ago so I now cut Schendel considerable slack, given the fact that his comments on "fresh challenges" were composed five years ago. In fact, I think his analysis holds up remarkably well.
Although exceptionally well-written and skillfully-edited, this volume is by no means an "easy read." My own opinion is that it will be of greatest interest and benefit to the more capable students enrolled in graduate schools of business, and, to senior-level executives. Of course, the immediate value of each chapter will be largely determined by the immediate needs and interests of each reader. I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the superb graphics provided by Graham Parish. I also want to commend, again, Tim Dickson and his associates -- notably Ken Pottinger, James Pickford, Laura Scanga, and various school "co-ordinators" -- for pulling together so much excellent material, then getting it all properly presented. Bravo!
Great Collection of Strategy Articles.......2002-12-25
This is a great collection of articles covering all aspects of business strategy. Prior knowledge about the subject matter, though is not necessary, will help you appreciate the material more. I strongly recommend this book to those people interested in building a thorough understanding of strategy.
Broad spectrum with excellent quality.......2001-11-23
'Mastering Strategy' consists of essays with consistently excellent quality, & covers a broad spectrum of strategy topics. It offers readers with perspectives on various dimensions of strategy, including: social impact, historical development, academic interest, operational issues etc. All essays are concise & good selection of further readings are included at the end of each essay, in order to guide readers for further investigation.
An easy way to update your strategy knowledge.......2001-05-08
The book presents an excellent companion of the top issues involving strategy today. The book is structured according to global themes, like strategy and economics, strategy and leadership, and so on. Each chapter has 4 or 5 articles related, written by authors from important business schools. Issues like game theory and commitments are deeply reviewed, but in a simple way, easy to understand, thus allowing anyone with no MBA to understand it. The book offers an easy way to update your strategy knowledge, if your are interested in business strategy.
Customer Reviews:
A buyer.......2006-09-18
Zero-. Author is more concerned of protecting his macros and VBA modules then to give real knowledge to the readers. So the rest of his books flooding the market, instead of just One but really good.
Absolutely first rate!.......2005-12-31
It seems as if I'm the pariah -- given the lukewarm nature of the preceeding reviews -- but, not afraid to sound contrarian, I unreservedly give this book five stars.
I believe "Mastering Financial Modelling" is not only one of the best books on the subject, but it is simple to read and understand, and convinces the reader that creating your own financial models is a lot of fun. I'm not sure you can acquire the same sense of satisfaction after reading its competition.
If you aren't sure about this book's utility as regards your immediate needs, feel free to visit www.financial-models.com, which gives a superficial representation of what you'll find in the book.
PS: I owned Benninga's "Financial Modelling" for about 4 years, before I sold it so that I could buy Day's book. Benninga's book is good for finance formulars and so on, but Day goes a step farther and gives you real models with the formulars and explains in greater detail how things like Combo Boxes work and so forth.
The only quirk with this book is that it does not come with a CD-Rom as promised on the website. I was pretty upset at first and e-mailed the author about it. But he quickly referred me to the Financial Times website, where I was able to obtain free downloads. If you own a MAC the files might not work for you. Nonetheless, I believe this is a relatively minor distraction in an otherwise fantastically put together piece of work.
Ignore previous reviewer -- password protection IS a major problem.......2005-07-24
Even if you copy the templates to your hard drive, you CANNOT customise the many password-protected spreadsheet templates included on the CD.
Even more disappointingly, the password prevents you from using Excel's audit function to trace formulae components.
This means that to understand formulae one must resort to the tedious, stone-age method of looking in the formula bar and noting down by hand that the formula is, for example," = (sum (A6:G12)) * [next sheet!]Q7 + ([sheet 7!]T78 / [sheet 3!] c24)", and then translating it all into English.
In summary, if you want to teach yourself from this book it will cost you a very substantial time investment in addition to the book's cover price.
ignore previous reviewer.......2003-01-03
if you actually install the files, instead of running them off of the write-protected CD-ROM, you can edit them.
Good Ideas - BUT You Can't Customize the Spreadsheets.......2001-10-05
Some good ideas about applying Microsoft Excel are included in book and the accompanying CD-ROM. But unfortunately the included models are not practical for most American readers. They use English nomenclature - NPAT instead of Net Income, etc. - and have formatting that looks ok on screen but is less than presentation quality when printed.
The author has password protected the spreadsheets so you can't customize them to your own needs. A serious drawback for the serious user, clearly the intended readership for this book.
Book Description
Skyrocketing tuitions have become a national concern. The average four-year college degree now costs more than $35,000, and that sum is growing at a phenomenal rate, forcing unprecedented numbers of college students into student-loan debt. In 1995, the Educational Resource Institute issued a report warning that borrowing has exploded to record levels and is expected to double in five years.
Whether they're just beginning to think about paying for college, are currently in school, starting repayment or already overwhelmed with debt, students, as well as recent graduates and parents, find The Guerrilla Guide to Mastering Student Loan Debt an indispensable guide to navigating the student loan maze. In clear, lively and reassuring chapters, it answers such time and money-saving questions as:
What types of loans are available, and how are they different?
How can I get the best possible deal?
What are my options for repaying my loan and can I postpone repayment?
How can I get a forbearance or a deferment?
How can I repair my credit rating?
Customer Reviews:
Know Your Options, and Know Your Rights.......2004-10-29
There is a common theme among college students these days, and those who have attended and quit as well as those (un)lucky multitudes who have graduated. Sometime during the senior year of high school, application forms to colleges are sent in, and admissions and rejection notices are sent a few months later. Along with the admissions forms comes another little form detailing the amount of aid that is extended by the college to the prospective freshperson. This is where all the fun begins, and it quickly snowballs into a pernicious form of indentured servitude.
Ms. Stockwell's book details in painful precision just what happens when a pimply-faced kid signs on the dotted line. First she begins by relating her own experience, and then she delves into the experiences of others. Along the way, she shows how many of us got into the student loan mess, how the financial aid system has evolved (or is it mutated?!) into the monstrous behemoth that it is today (actually at the time she wrote the book), some coping strategies (for it really can't be called anything else) for the inevitable missed payments and default, and finally some suggestions on how the system can(but will not ever) be fixed.
We live in an age of educational opportunity. Anyone with some combination of motivation and money can attend college. Indeed, attendance at college has become necessary in some professions just to keep pace. At any rate, it is a tremendous achievement that folks from just about all walks of life now have the chance to attend college.
However, this does not mean that the powers-that-be have made attendance easy or even free. There is a rather sinister catch attached to the proposition, and it always requires people of limited means to devote years of their lives and of their professional livelihood to servicing some form of debt burden. I have to agree with the author, who said that the best thing to do is to say NO! to all forms of debt- from student loans to credit cards to auto loans, as they all tend to lock you into cycles from which frankly there may be no escape.
This leads into another part of this sinister situation of Faustian proportions. Not long after the freshperson has signed on the dotted line, and just a few short weeks after parking his or her carcass in a smelly, roach-infested dorm room, the credit card people come calling. There literally seems to be a deluge of credit card applications arriving one after another in the mailbox. (However, these days, I have been told by more than a few distressed parents that the card companies don't even wait till the brats have donned their caps and gowns for high school graduation.)
Finally, sometime before college graduation, typically during the beginning of your senior year, some auto company like General Motors comes around and offers to 'help out' the soon-to-be graduated. It seems that they know you are looking for a job, and wouldn't it make a good impression on prospective employers if you rolled in a nice, shiny new car that shows that you are a professional and that you mean business? Fixing you up would be no problem at all- just sign here on the dotted line, and you'd better hurry, as there are only a limited number of this year's model left. Oh and uh, did I forget to mention that there's a really low 2.9% APR and uh, no payments for the first year?
In my mind, there is absolutely no doubt that there is a great deal of collusion between universities, credit card and auto companies in the ongoing mess of indebtedness seen among recent grads and post-grads. Here's a friendly tip: most aid packages have some combination of grants, work study and loans. You can negotiate the combination of the aid you receive. I strongly suggest that you negotiate to get as much work study as possible, and leave the loans, especially the Stafford Loans, as an option. It's what I did, and it meant the difference between finishing with a lot of debt (or not finishing and with a lot of debt as has happened to many acquaintances) and finishing with little or no debt. Too many friends of mine are broke, out of work, living in their parents' basement and have turned dodging dunning notices from student loan companies and collection agencies into a practiced science.
Anyone that is contemplating going to college should read this book. Although I must concede that the book is a a little dated, as there have been some significant changes in the student loan picture in the last six or seven years or so, it does precisely show the progression of events that do occur when one gets overwhelmed with student loans.
Yet, much of the debt mess we see among many students is indeed voluntary. No one is forcing kids to max out credit cards and purchase one (or more) cars before they graduate, but then no one is championing the cause of caution either with any form of credit. Many kids are not simply graduating in debt, they are now matriculating into debt in droves. Please note that all of this comes before contemplating the thorny proposition of a home mortgage!
In sum, in this age of job insecurity and galloping price increases, people need to know the risks when fooling around with any form of credit. I take my hat off to Ms. Stockwell, who had the courage to call attention to this clever ploy to re-institute feudalism among the masses.
All hail King George!
Read this book BEFORE you take out student loans.......2002-05-29
This book really will not help you if you already have student loan debt. If you do, the advice is simple - hunker down and pay it off. If you have no student loan debt, read this book and reconsider your desire to go into debt for your education. You can get a good education on the "pay as you go" method if you do it right. Take it from someone who made all the wrong choices - don't go into debt for your education!! I don't recommend this book if you already have sutdent loan debt - focus on paying it off. Save the money you'd spend on this book and put it toward your loan payoff.
Student Loan Warning.......2002-02-15
I have found myself graduated and placed in a law career that I never wanted, thanks to my family's pushing a smart but "too nice" young man into a potentially "lucrative" but intensely stressful and blood-spilling career as a lawyer. Of course the family never paid anything because they are simple lower middle class people who had a dream that their bright young son would become a smashing success. So now I have a $100,000 debt and stuck in a career that I dread (I wanted to be a damn scientist, not a LAWYER). This book is pretty good on telling you exactly how the government can wreck your life with its easy to get student loans, but it doesn't have any hands down cure. It is dated already in that a year after it was published congress took away the 7 year waiting period for a bankruptcy discharge. Now you may NEVER have your educational loans discharged, so they will chase you and harass you and try to reposess your things even when you are old and grey, all for your mistaken career choices made as a youth. For those who are sucked into the student loan system without rich parents to bail them out or pay the bills, there is not much anybody can do for you. This book SHOULD BE READ BY ANYONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE ASSETS and is thinking about taking loans to go to school. READ IT because nobody else is gonna tell you how absolutely crushing this educational debt can be to your dreams. Then you will see that NOBODY in their right mind should get into serious nondischargeable debt for what is at best an uncertain hope that you will maybe be able to get a job and pay it back through continuous work through what should be the prime years of your life. READ THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU SIGN THE PROMISSORY NOTE!!!!!!!!!!!
About as Good as a Student Loan Book Could Get.......2001-06-28
This book is just fine. I guess the bottom line is you need to make the money to pay the damn things off however. I'd like to see something in a more loompanics sort vein.
This book saved my life!.......2000-08-25
In a panic when facing consolidation of over $100,000 in student loans, I stumbled upon this great book. I then postponed reading it, fearing what I would learn. But, I did read it, and discovered I couldn't put it down. This book makes sense of the history of student loans and how to understand and get through the loan process. There is a wealth of resources, suggestions and information about how to live with student loans and NOT lose your sanity. Schools do NOT adequately prepare students to understand what they are getting into, much less how to manage loan repayment. I only wish I the book had been written before I started my graduate program. It is especially helpful to have this information BEFORE you sign for any student loan.
Book Description
Risk modeling is now a core skill for successful managers inside and outside finance. Alastair Day's Mastering Risk Modelling shows managers exactly how to build Excel-based models for identifying, quantifying and managing risk--models that provide clear, accurate decision-making guidance that can be used with confidence throughout the enterprise. An ideal follow-up to Day's bestselling Mastering Financial Modelling, the book brings together risk modeling theory and practice more effectively than ever before. Day presents extensive tips and methods for developing Excel-based risk applications--including practical guidance on designing models and layering complexity on top of basic models. His series of Excel templates will jumpstart your own modeling, eliminate the need to start from scratch, and provide powerful insights for improving any model. All models are provided on an accompanying CD-ROM.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book on Risk Modeling.......2005-02-22
I find the book extremely useful and it is a good supplement to standard textbooks on risk modeling. The book discusses the different principles of building models, and then explains how the same can be applied to risk modeling.
This book should not be treated as a stand-alone book on risk modeling and must be used as a supplement to some theoretical book on risk modeling.
If you already have the book on "Mastering Financial Modeling: by the same author, then you may not find this book as useful.
Bargin Bin Only.......2004-06-17
Mastering Risk Modelling has a few tricks and references that makes the book an excellent candidate for a bargain bin pickup. There is just enough information to make a newbie dangerous and not enough to add to the practioner's body of knowledge.
This book is not the place to start if you are new to spreadsheet modelling and/or risk modelling. The CD included is severely limited with the bulk of examples void of formulas and code. However, the book is not explicit enough to be a good "How To" and the risk methodologies are not explained in depth enough for a newbie to put into practice.
If you are a practitioner, you will find some nifty tricks, reminders, and some cut'n'paste vba that would take you ~15 min to write. However, the book is simply not sophisticated enough to put into practice.
The book is most suited to a recent MBA with some time on his/her hands to goof around in excel; an intern tasked with building a spreadsheet quickly; a practitioner that needs a jumpstart or wire frame for a task; or, perhaps, an accountant or finance geek that wants to understand business line concepts better.
Practical guide.......2003-12-04
The book covers a comprehensive aspect of everyday modelling requirements for practitioners. Since it is very dependent on Excel spreadsheet for all the modelling, having the sample template of the chapters on your PC will help a lot. Unfortunately, the CD that comes with the book cannot be install into my PC that runs on WinXP. Error message of not enough disk space will come up upon installation (my PC has 8G of free space)......sad. Hope the publisher will come up with a patch for the CD.
Book Description
No business will escape the global economy; it's your biggest opportunity and your biggest threat. How do you become a global player? The Complete NBA Companion in Global Business has the answers.
Average customer rating:
|
Finance: Mastering Your Small Business
David H. Jr Bangs , and
Robert Gruber
Manufacturer: Upstart Pub Co
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ASIN: 157410019X |
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