A serious source of information for those looking to reverse engineer business deals It’s clear from the current turbulence on Wall Street that the inner workings of its most complex transactions are poorly understood. Wall Street deals parse risk using intricate legal terminology that is difficult to translate into an analytical model. Reverse Engineering Deals on Wall Street: A Step-By-Step Guide takes readers through a detailed methodology of deconstructing the public deal documentation of a modern Wall Street transaction and applying the deconstructed elements to create a fully dynamic model that can be used for risk and investment analysis. Appropriate for the current market climate, an actual residential mortgage backed security (RMBS) transaction is taken from prospectus to model by the end of the book. Step by step, Allman walks the reader through the reversing process with textual excerpts from the prospectus and discussions on how it directly transfers to a model. Each chapter begins with a discussion of concepts with exact references to an example prospectus, followed by a section called "Model Builder," in which Allman translates the theory into a fully functioning model for the example deal. Also included is valuable VBA code and detailed explanation that shows proper valuation methods including loan level amortization and full trigger modeling. Aside from investment analysis this text can help anyone who wants to keep track of the competition, learn from others public transactions, or set up a system to audit one’s own models. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

At last, a book that, with honesty and humor, reveals the consultant's hidden playbook. A top-level consultant who came back in from the cold to become a corporate executive with one of the top U.S. banks, Romaine chronicles the behind-the-scenes deal making among executives, consultants, and third-party outsourcers that typifies all too many of today's corporations. . . . Romaine also presents sound recommendations that can help responsible managers and consultants survive and win. - M. A. Turin, Former IBM Group Director for International Technical Support, Vice President of Gartner Group, President of Turin Associates. . . intriguing and very relevant, particularly in light of Enron. - Ralph NaderEven if you're not in business, it's an interesting story, and worth the read. - ForewordFinally, the real story about corporate America with its increased reliance on consultants. Since the 1990s, consulting solutions have become the de facto standard for solving business problems and providing cover for corporate decision makers. This is not the typical CEO whitewash, or business management primer. Steve Romaine offers a view never before shared with management or stockholders as he takes a hired gun's journey beginning at the outside looking in, and ending at the pinnacle of a corporation's power.Based on his experience of working for IBM, his later role as a self-employed consultant, and finally his responsibilities as senior vice president for NationsBank, Romaine makes it clear that the issues leading to the collapse of Enron were not isolated events. Soldier of Fortune 500 explores corporate cronyism between executives and their consultants, and builds a convincing case of how, without the proper safeguards, such cozy relationships can lead to pervasive problems, placing stockholders, employees, and the future viability of the American corporation at risk.This book is a must read for corporate managers, employees, and anyone involved with the consulting business.Steve Romaine (Fairfield, CT), now an independent consultant, has held high-level consulting and managerial positions with KPMG Consulting, The Monitor Company, NationsBank, Informed Technology Decisions, and IBM.

NOW IN FULL COLOR! Written by sought-after speaker, designer, and researcher Stephanie D. H. Evergreen, Effective Data Visualization shows readers how to create Excel charts and graphs that best communicate their data findings. This comprehensive how-to guide functions as a set of blueprints—supported by both research and the author’s extensive experience with clients in industries all over the world—for conveying data in an impactful way. Delivered in Evergreen’s humorous and approachable style, the book covers the spectrum of graph types available beyond the default options, how to determine which one most appropriately fits specific data stories, and easy steps for building the chosen graph in Excel. Now in full color with new examples throughout, the Second Edition includes a revamped chapter on qualitative data, nine new quantitative graph types, new shortcuts in Excel, and an entirely new chapter on Sharing Your Data With the World, which provides advice on using dashboards. New from Stephanie Evergreen! The Data Visualization Sketchbook provides advice on getting started with sketching and offers tips, guidance, and completed sample sketches for a number of reporting formats. Bundle Effective Data Visualization, 2e, and The Data Visualization Sketchbook, using ISBN 978-1-5443-7178-8!

Stop settling for ever-decreasing dividend yields and bank CDs which pay less than 1% and start making your investments work for you again... If you're worried about the current market uncertainty, covered calls are your antidote to chaos. You can use them to generate safe returns, no matter what happens to your stock. It's like generating rental income on stocks you already own, even if those stocks don't already pay dividends. Which is why with smart covered call writing, you can double your monthly cash flow. Making it the perfect income strategy, because you can use covered calls to create instant cash, with premiums paid directly into your brokerage account. So you can use this smart, safe strategy to generate "Synthetic Dividends" on stocks that you already own. Covered calls aren't risky... when used correctly they actually decrease your risk... and even the most conservative investors can benefit from adding covered call writing to their investment strategy. Even if you know nothing about options, this book will get you right up to speed. Here is just a fraction of what you'll discover: - The 6 criteria we use to select the best stocks to write covered calls on - Page 96 - Why you shouldn't write covered calls in an IRA. Many investors make this mistake, but learn why using a regular account will actually save on your tax bill - Page 54 - How to use covered calls to lower the purchase price of stocks you already own - 3 rules for adjusting your covered call - Page 129 - How to find the best covered call stocks for free. Stock scanning services will charge you $99/month for this information, but our approach costs nothing and lists the exact same companies - Page 100 - How to get started with covered calls if you only have a small account. This is perfect if you want the benefits but don't have $5,000 or more to invest - Page 133 Plus, inside the book you get free access to a 7 part video course covering all aspects of profitable investing So even if you've never used options before, the book walks you through everything step by step. You'll find everything explained in plain English, free from technical jargon. Even if you get stuck, you can always send us an email (provided inside the book) or reach out in our private investing community on social media - we're always happy to help with any questions you might have. And remember... bank CD's will only pay you between 0% and 1%... the dividend yield on the S&P 500 is around 2%... and 5 to 10 year municipal bonds will only pay between 2% and 3%. But if you use what's inside this book, you could have the opportunity to get much more than that. For instance... if you put together a portfolio of three of the best covered call stocks... you could see an average yield of 15% per year... just from your covered call income. All this from your regular brokerage account, just as easily as you can buy stock. Because if you know how to buy stocks, you can use covered calls. And when you receive just a single premium from one of these covered calls (which is paid into your account instantly) it will cover the cost of this book 10x over. To get your copy right now, just scroll up and click "add to cart"

"A major contribution . . . on the behavior of common stocks in the United States." --Financial Analysts' Journal The consistently bestselling What Works on Wall Street explores the investment strategies that have provided the best returns over the past 50 years--and which are the top performers today. The third edition of this BusinessWeek and New York Times bestseller contains more than 50 percent new material and is designed to help you reshape your investment strategies for both the postbubble market and the dramatically changed political landscape. Packed with all-new charts, data, tables, and analyses, this updated classic allows you to directly compare popular stockpicking strategies and their results--creating a more comprehensive understanding of the intricate and often confusing investment process. Providing fresh insights into time-tested strategies, it examines: Value versus growth strategies P/E ratios versus price-to-sales Small-cap investing, seasonality, and more

Co-authored by two respected authorities on hedge funds and asset management, this implementation-oriented guide shows you how to employ a range of the most commonly used analysis tools and techniques both in industry and academia, for understanding, identifying and managing risk as well as for quantifying return factors across several key investment strategies. The book is also suitable for use as a core textbook for specialised graduate level courses in hedge funds and alternative investments. The book provides hands-on coverage of the visual and theoretical methods for measuring and modelling hedge fund performance with an emphasis on risk-adjusted performance metrics and techniques. A range of sophisticated risk analysis models and risk management strategies are also described in detail. Throughout, coverage is supplemented with helpful skill building exercises and worked examples in Excel and VBA. The book's dedicated website, www.darbyshirehampton.com provides Excel spreadsheets and VBA source code which can be freely downloaded and also features links to other relevant and useful resources. A comprehensive course in hedge fund modelling and analysis, this book arms you with the knowledge and tools required to effectively manage your risks and to optimise the return profile of your investment style.

Both the tech bubble burst of 2000, and the financial crisis of 2008, poked significant holes in the primary investment belief of too many investors today—that one can just blindly withdraw from principal, and that equity returns will keep up. Too many investment advisors have taken the path of least resistance, not aware of the risk in systematically withdrawing from what, at times, will be a declining portfolio. Investors seeking to accumulate money for their future needs, and investors needing to withdraw money now for a present need, both have one thing in common: Dividend Growth investing represents a powerful weapon in the achievement of their objectives. Market volatility is not something any investor can escape, but benefitting from it (for accumulators reinvesting dividends), and being insulated from it (for withdrawers taking only from a growing flow of dividend income), are achievable results for those who understand the time-tested, sustainable, intelligent strategy of investing that is Dividend Growth.