This uniquely comprehensive guide provides expert insights into everything from financial mathematics to the practical realities of asset allocation and pricing Investors like you typically have a choice to make when seeking guidance for portfolio selection―either a book of practical, hands-on approaches to your craft or an academic tome of theories and mathematical formulas. From three top experts, Portfolio Selection and Asset Pricing strikes the right balance with an extensive discussion of mathematical foundations of portfolio choice and asset pricing models, and the practice of asset allocation. This thorough guide is conveniently organized into four sections: Mathematical Foundations―normed vector spaces, optimization in discrete and continuous time, utility theory, and uncertainty Portfolio Models―single-period and continuous-time portfolio choice, analogies, asset allocation for a sovereign as an example, and liability-driven allocation Asset Pricing―capital asset pricing models, factor models, option pricing, and expected returns Robust Asset Allocation―robust estimation of optimization inputs, such as the Black-Litterman Model and shrinkage, and robust optimizers Whether you are a sophisticated investor or advanced graduate student, this high-level title combines rigorous mathematical theory with an emphasis on practical implementation techniques.

In our daily life, almost every family owns a portfolio of assets. This portfolio could contain real assets such as a car, or a house, as well as financial assets such as stocks, bonds or futures. Portfolio theory deals with how to form a satisfied portfolio among an enormous number of assets. Originally proposed by H. Markowtiz in 1952, the mean-variance methodology for portfolio optimization has been central to the research activities in this area and has served as a basis for the development of modem financial theory during the past four decades. Follow-on work with this approach has born much fruit for this field of study. Among all those research fruits, the most important is the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) proposed by Sharpe in 1964. This model greatly simplifies the input for portfolio selection and makes the mean-variance methodology into a practical application. Consequently, lots of models were proposed to price the capital assets. In this book, some of the most important progresses in portfolio theory are surveyed and a few new models for portfolio selection are presented. Models for asset pricing are illustrated and the empirical tests of CAPM for China's stock markets are made. The first chapter surveys ideas and principles of modeling the investment decision process of economic agents. It starts with the Markowitz criteria of formulating return and risk as mean and variance and then looks into other related criteria which are based on probability assumptions on future prices of securities.

While mainstream financial theories and applications assume that asset returns are normally distributed and individual preferences are quadratic, the overwhelming empirical evidence shows otherwise. Indeed, most of the asset returns exhibit “fat-tails” distributions and investors exhibit asymmetric preferences. These empirical findings lead to the development of a new area of research dedicated to the introduction of higher order moments in portfolio theory and asset pricing models. Multi-moment asset pricing is a revolutionary new way of modeling time series in finance which allows various degrees of long-term memory to be generated. It allows risk and prices of risk to vary through time enabling the accurate valuation of long-lived assets. This book presents the state-of-the art in multi-moment asset allocation and pricing models and provides many new developments in a single volume, collecting in a unified framework theoretical results and applications previously scattered throughout the financial literature. The topics covered in this comprehensive volume include: four-moment individual risk preferences, mathematics of the multi-moment efficient frontier, coherent asymmetric risks measures, hedge funds asset allocation under higher moments, time-varying specifications of (co)moments and multi-moment asset pricing models with homogeneous and heterogeneous agents. Written by leading academics, Multi-moment Asset Allocation and Pricing Models offers a unique opportunity to explore the latest findings in this new field of research.

This monograph consists of two parts. One part is portfolio selection theory and the other part is capital asset pricing theory. For each part, a comprehensive review of the original theory, efforts to improve the theory afterwards and future works to be done are presented. Some innovative models and empirical research works are given in subsequent chapters following the review. For example, a model for portfolio selection with order of expected returns is presented in Chapter 2, the model addresses the inaccuracy in the estimation the expected returns of securities by putting the expected returns of securities as variables rather than known constant. Readers will see some new results which are very practical and interesting. TOC:Criteria, Models and Strategies in Portfolio Selection.- A Model for Portfolio Selection with Order of Expected Returns.- A Compromise Solution to Mutual Funds Portfolio Selection with Transaction Cost.- Optimal Portfolio Selection of Assets with Transaction Costs and No Short Sales.- Portfolio Frontier with Different Rates for Borrowing and Lending.- Multi-period Investment.- Mean-Variance-Skewness Model for Portfolio Selection with Transaction Costs.- Capital Asset Pricing Theory.- Empirical Tests of CAPM for China's Stock Markets.- References.- Subject Index.- Author Index.

In Investors and Markets, Nobel Prize-winning financial economist William Sharpe shows that investment professionals cannot make good portfolio choices unless they understand the determinants of asset prices. But until now asset-price analysis has largely been inaccessible to everyone except PhDs in financial economics. In this book, Sharpe changes that by setting out his state-of-the-art approach to asset pricing in a nonmathematical form that will be comprehensible to a broad range of investment professionals, including investment advisors, money managers, and financial analysts. Bridging the gap between the best financial theory and investment practice, Investors and Markets will help investment professionals make better portfolio choices by being smarter about asset prices. Based on Sharpe's Princeton Lectures in Finance, Investors and Markets presents a method of analyzing asset prices that accounts for the real behavior of investors. Sharpe makes this technique accessible through a new, one-of-a-kind computer program (available for free on his Web site, at http://www.stanford.edu/~wfsharpe/apsim/index.html) that enables users to create virtual markets, setting the starting conditions and then allowing trading until equilibrium is reached and trading stops. Program users can then analyze the final portfolios and asset prices, see expected returns, and measure risk. In addition to popularizing the most sophisticated form of asset-price analysis, Investors and Markets summarizes much of Sharpe's most important previous work and reflects a lifetime of thinking about investing by one of the leading minds in financial economics. Any serious investment professional will benefit from Sharpe's unique insights.

In the 2nd edition of Asset Pricing and Portfolio Choice Theory, Kerry E. Back offers a concise yet comprehensive introduction to and overview of asset pricing. Intended as a textbook for asset pricing theory courses at the Ph.D. or Masters in Quantitative Finance level with extensive exercises and a solutions manual available for professors, the book is also an essential reference for financial researchers and professionals, as it includes detailed proofs and calculations as section appendices. The first two parts of the book explain portfolio choice and asset pricing theory in single-period, discrete-time, and continuous-time models. For valuation, the focus throughout is on stochastic discount factors and their properties. A section on derivative securities covers the usual derivatives (options, forwards and futures, and term structure models) and also applications of perpetual options to corporate debt, real options, and optimal irreversible investment. A chapter on "explaining puzzles" and the last part of the book provide introductions to a number of additional current topics in asset pricing research, including rare disasters, long-run risks, external and internal habits, asymmetric and incomplete information, heterogeneous beliefs, and non-expected-utility preferences. Each chapter includes a "Notes and References" section providing additional pathways to the literature. Each chapter also includes extensive exercises.

Modern asset pricing models play a central role in finance and economic theory and applications. This book introduces a structural theory to evaluate these asset pricing models and throws light on the existence of Equity Premium Puzzle. Based on the structural theory, some algebraic (valuation-preserving) operations are developed in asset spaces and pricing kernel spaces. This has a very important implication leading to practical guidance in portfolio management and asset allocation in the global financial industry. The book also covers topics, such as the role of over-confidence in asset pricing modeling, relationship of the portfolio insurance with option and consumption-based asset pricing models, etc.

From the field's leading authority, the most authoritative and comprehensive advanced-level textbook on asset pricing In Financial Decisions and Markets, John Campbell, one of the field’s most respected authorities, provides a broad graduate-level overview of asset pricing. He introduces students to leading theories of portfolio choice, their implications for asset prices, and empirical patterns of risk and return in financial markets. Campbell emphasizes the interplay of theory and evidence, as theorists respond to empirical puzzles by developing models with new testable implications. The book shows how models make predictions not only about asset prices but also about investors’ financial positions, and how they often draw on insights from behavioral economics. After a careful introduction to single-period models, Campbell develops multiperiod models with time-varying discount rates, reviews the leading approaches to consumption-based asset pricing, and integrates the study of equities and fixed-income securities. He discusses models with heterogeneous agents who use financial markets to share their risks, but also may speculate against one another on the basis of different beliefs or private information. Campbell takes a broad view of the field, linking asset pricing to related areas, including financial econometrics, household finance, and macroeconomics. The textbook works in discrete time throughout, and does not require stochastic calculus. Problems are provided at the end of each chapter to challenge students to develop their understanding of the main issues in financial economics. The most comprehensive and balanced textbook on asset pricing available, Financial Decisions and Markets is an essential resource for all graduate students and practitioners in finance and related fields. Integrated treatment of asset pricing theory and empirical evidence Emphasis on investors’ decisions Broad view linking the field to financial econometrics, household finance, and macroeconomics Topics treated in discrete time, with no requirement for stochastic calculus Forthcoming solutions manual for problems available to professors

In Asset Pricing and Portfolio Choice Theory, Kerry E. Back at last offers what is at once a welcoming introduction to and a comprehensive overview of asset pricing. Useful as a textbook for graduate students in finance, with extensive exercises and a solutions manual available for professors, the book will also serve as an essential reference for scholars and professionals, as it includes detailed proofs and calculations as section appendices. Topics covered include the classical results on single-period, discrete-time, and continuous-time models, as well as various proposed explanations for the equity premium and risk-free rate puzzles and chapters on heterogeneous beliefs, asymmetric information, non-expected utility preferences, and production models. The book includes numerous exercises designed to provide practice with the concepts and to introduce additional results. Each chapter concludes with a notes and references section that supplies pathways to additional developments in the field.

An updated guide to the theory and practice of investment management Many books focus on the theory of investment management and leave the details of the implementation of the theory up to you. This book illustrates how theory is applied in practice while stressing the importance of the portfolio construction process. The Second Edition of The Theory and Practice of Investment Management is the ultimate guide to understanding the various aspects of investment management and investment vehicles. Tying together theoretical advances in investment management with actual practical applications, this book gives you a unique opportunity to use proven investment management techniques to protect and grow a portfolio under many different circumstances. Contains new material on the latest tools and strategies for both equity and fixed income portfolio management Includes key take-aways as well as study questions at the conclusion of each chapter A timely updated guide to an important topic in today's investment world This comprehensive investment management resource combines real-world financial knowledge with investment management theory to provide you with the practical guidance needed to succeed within the investment management arena.