A little book full of enormous value for novices and seasoned venture capitalists alike After having been thrown for a loop by the bursting of the tech bubble more than a decade ago, the venture capital industry suddenly has come roaring back to life over the past two years. In 2011 alone, more than $7.5 billion in venture capital was invested—representing more than a 19% increase over the previous year—in more than 966 companies. A majority of these companies reside in the life sciences, Internet, and alternative energy sectors. In today's weak job market, VC is more important than ever, since financing new tech, alternative energy, media, and other small to mid-sized companies is vital to creating new jobs. Written by Lou Gerken, a noted international authority on venture capital and alternative investments, this book tells you everything you need to know about the venture capital industry's important role in enhancing economic growth and employment. It is also the perfect go to primer on making venture capital investments to enhance portfolio returns. Highly accessible explanations of the ins and outs of venture capital for would-be investors and experienced VCs Highlights the historical VC track record, and offers expert advice and guidance on venture capital exposure, investment options, sourcing opportunities and due diligence Provides proven strategies for successful investment selection, timing, monitoring, and exiting for optimum returns Features endorsements from luminaries of the VC world, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers co-founder Frank Caulfield, and Dr. Art Laffer, among others

The Little Book of Hedge Funds that's big on explanations even the casual investor can use An accessible overview of hedge funds, from their historical origin, to their perceived effect on the global economy, to why individual investors should understand how they work, The Little Book of Hedge Funds is essential reading for anyone seeking the tools and information needed to invest in this lucrative yet mysterious world. Authored by wealth management expert Anthony Scaramucci, and providing a comprehensive overview of this shadowy corner of high finance, the book is written in a straightforward and entertaining style. Packed with introspective commentary, highly applicable advice, and engaging anecdotes, this Little Book: Explains why the future of hedge funds lies in their ability to provide greater transparency and access in order to attract investors currently put off because they do not understand how they work Shows that hedge funds have grown in both size and importance in the investment community and why individual investors need to be aware of their activities Demystifies hedge fund myths, by analyzing the infamous 2 and 20 performance fee and addressing claims that there is an increased risk in investing in hedge funds Explores a variety of financial instruments—including leverage, short selling and hedging—that hedge funds use to reduce risk, enhance returns, and minimize correlation with equity and bond markets Written to provide novice investors, experienced financiers, and financial institutions with the tools and information needed to invest in hedge funds, this book is a must read for anyone with outstanding questions about this key part of the twenty-first century economy.

“An incisive history of the venture-capital industry.” —New Yorker “An excellent and original economic history of venture capital.” —Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution “A detailed, fact-filled account of America’s most celebrated moneymen.” —New Republic “Extremely interesting, readable, and informative...Tom Nicholas tells you most everything you ever wanted to know about the history of venture capital, from the financing of the whaling industry to the present multibillion-dollar venture funds.” —Arthur Rock “In principle, venture capital is where the ordinarily conservative, cynical domain of big money touches dreamy, long-shot enterprise. In practice, it has become the distinguishing big-business engine of our time...[A] first-rate history.” —New Yorker VC tells the riveting story of how the venture capital industry arose from America’s longstanding identification with entrepreneurship and risk-taking. Whether the venture is a whaling voyage setting sail from New Bedford or the latest Silicon Valley startup, VC is a state of mind as much as a way of doing business, exemplified by an appetite for seeking extreme financial rewards, a tolerance for failure and experimentation, and a faith in the promise of innovation to generate new wealth. Tom Nicholas’s authoritative history takes us on a roller coaster of entrepreneurial successes and setbacks. It describes how iconic firms like Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia invested in Genentech and Apple even as it tells the larger story of VC’s birth and evolution, revealing along the way why venture capital is such a quintessentially American institution—one that has proven difficult to recreate elsewhere.

As you have probably noticed, there are quite a few investing books out there. Many of them were written by some of the world's greatest investors. So, why should you read our book? Stock investing is more prevalent than ever, whether directly or indirectly through brokerage accounts, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, or retirement plans. Despite this, the vast majority of individual investors have no training on how to pick stocks. And, until now, there hasn't been a truly accessible, easy-to-understand resource available to help them. The Little Book of Investing Like the Pros was written to fill this void. We believe the simplicity and accessibility of our stock picking framework is truly unique. Using real-world examples and actual Wall Street models used by the pros, we teach you how to pick stocks in a highly accessible, step-by-step manner. Our goal is straightforward—to impart the skills necessary for finding high-quality stocks while protecting your portfolio with risk management best practices. Our practical approach is designed to help demystify the investing process, which can be intimidating. This training will help set you apart from others who are largely flying blind. Pilots require extensive training before receiving a license. Doctors must graduate medical school, followed by a multi-year residency. Even those providing professional investment advice require certification. But, anyone can buy a stock without any training whatsoever. While buying stocks on a hunch and a prayer may not endanger your life, it can certainly put your finances at risk.

Due Diligence ist ein Prüfverfahren, mit dessen Hilfe Investoren die wirtschaftliche und finanzielle Situation des zu finanzierenden Unternehmens genau durchleuchten, um solide Investmententscheidungen zu treffen. "Venture Capital Due Diligence" ist ein praktischer Leitfaden zum Due Diligence Prozess. Er erläutert ausführlich das strenge Regelwerk dieses Prüfverfahrens und zeigt dem Leser, wie er diese Technik in der Praxis einsetzt, um damit Investmentchancen zu bewerten und die Rentabilität seiner Kapitalanlage (ROI - Return on Investment) einzuschätzen. Mit Tipps, Ratschlägen und Checklisten, die von den international erfolgreichsten Wagniskapitalgebern zusammengestellt wurden sowie einem Fragenkatalog, der die wichtigsten Kriterien des Due Diligence Prozesses beinhaltet. "Venture Capital Due Diligence" ist ein unentbehrlicher Ratgeber für alle Venture Capitalists, professionelle Investoren und Finanzgeber.

Dieser praktische Leitfaden macht Anleger mit dem Economic Moat Konzept vertraut, der "Zauberformel" des Morningstar, mit der sich erstklassige Investmentchancen aufspüren lassen. Das Konzept ist keineswegs neu: Es wurde zunächst durch Benjamin Graham und Warren Buffett populär, wurde dann aber lange vernachlässigt. "The Little Book that Builds Wealth" erklärt ganz genau, wie man den Economic Moat, d.h. die Wettbewerbsbarriere bzw. den Wettbewerbsvorteil (wie z.B. geringe Produktionskosten, ausgebautes Vertriebsnetz, gutes Markenimage etc.) ermittelt, durch den sich ein Unternehmen deutlich von Konkurrenzunternehmen abgrenzt. Dabei geht es aber weder um reines Value Investing, noch um reines Growth Investing, sondern vielmehr darum, erstklassige Nischen-Wachstumswerte zu einem attraktiven Kurs zu kaufen. Das Buch demonstriert anschaulich Schritt für Schritt, was einen Economic Moat ausmacht, wie man ihn ermittelt, wie man verschiedene Moats gegeneinander abwägt, und wie man auf der Basis dieser Daten am besten eine Investmententscheidung trifft. Mit begleitender Website. Sie wird vom Morningstar betrieben und enthält eine Reihe von Tools und Features, mit deren Hilfe der Leser das Gelernte in der Praxis testen kann. Autor Pat Dorsey ist ein renommierter Finanzexperte. Er ist Chef der Morningstar Equity Research und Kolumnist bei Morningstar.com. Ein neuer Band aus der beliebten 'Little Book'-Reihe.

The best-selling investing "bible" offers new information, new insights, and new perspectives The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is the classic guide to getting smart about the market. Legendary mutual fund pioneer John C. Bogle reveals his key to getting more out of investing: low-cost index funds. Bogle describes the simplest and most effective investment strategy for building wealth over the long term: buy and hold, at very low cost, a mutual fund that tracks a broad stock market Index such as the S&P 500. While the stock market has tumbled and then soared since the first edition of Little Book of Common Sense was published in April 2007, Bogle’s investment principles have endured and served investors well. This tenth anniversary edition includes updated data and new information but maintains the same long-term perspective as in its predecessor. Bogle has also added two new chapters designed to provide further guidance to investors: one on asset allocation, the other on retirement investing. A portfolio focused on index funds is the only investment that effectively guarantees your fair share of stock market returns. This strategy is favored by Warren Buffett, who said this about Bogle: “If a statue is ever erected to honor the person who has done the most for American investors, the hands-down choice should be Jack Bogle. For decades, Jack has urged investors to invest in ultra-low-cost index funds. . . . Today, however, he has the satisfaction of knowing that he helped millions of investors realize far better returns on their savings than they otherwise would have earned. He is a hero to them and to me.” Bogle shows you how to make index investing work for you and help you achieve your financial goals, and finds support from some of the world's best financial minds: not only Warren Buffett, but Benjamin Graham, Paul Samuelson, Burton Malkiel, Yale’s David Swensen, Cliff Asness of AQR, and many others. This new edition of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing offers you the same solid strategy as its predecessor for building your financial future. Build a broadly diversified, low-cost portfolio without the risks of individual stocks, manager selection, or sector rotation. Forget the fads and marketing hype, and focus on what works in the real world. Understand that stock returns are generated by three sources (dividend yield, earnings growth, and change in market valuation) in order to establish rational expectations for stock returns over the coming decade. Recognize that in the long run, business reality trumps market expectations. Learn how to harness the magic of compounding returns while avoiding the tyranny of compounding costs. While index investing allows you to sit back and let the market do the work for you, too many investors trade frantically, turning a winner’s game into a loser’s game. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is a solid guidebook to your financial future.

An engaging guide to excelling in today's venture capital arena Beginning in 2005, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, managing directors at Foundry Group, wrote a long series of blog posts describing all the parts of a typical venture capital Term Sheet: a document which outlines key financial and other terms of a proposed investment. Since this time, they've seen the series used as the basis for a number of college courses, and have been thanked by thousands of people who have used the information to gain a better understanding of the venture capital field. Drawn from the past work Feld and Mendelson have written about in their blog and augmented with newer material, Venture Capital Financings puts this discipline in perspective and lays out the strategies that allow entrepreneurs to excel in their start-up companies. Page by page, this book discusses all facets of the venture capital fundraising process. Along the way, Feld and Mendelson touch on everything from how valuations are set to what externalities venture capitalists face that factor into entrepreneurs' businesses. Includes a breakdown analysis of the mechanics of a Term Sheet and the tactics needed to negotiate Details the different stages of the venture capital process, from starting a venture and seeing it through to the later stages Explores the entire venture capital ecosystem including those who invest in venture capitalist Contain standard documents that are used in these transactions Written by two highly regarded experts in the world of venture capital The venture capital arena is a complex and competitive place, but with this book as your guide, you'll discover what it takes to make your way through it.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING PHENOMENON From Beth Kery, the national bestselling author of Explosive, comes a red-hot romance like no other—where the rules of attraction are broken with that first electrifying touch. Meet Francesca and Ian. The fantasies of what’s to come begin… Because You Are Mine, Part I Because You Tempt Me It starts with that first look, when you know you have to have him… Francesca Arno has been commissioned to create a grand centerpiece painting for the lobby of Ian Noble’s new skyscraper. It’s at a cocktail party in her honor that she first meets him—and the attraction is immediate for Francesca. It’s also bewildering. She’s not used to such a wholesale sexual response to a stranger. Enigmatic, darkly intense, with a commanding presence, Ian completely unnerves her. And she likes it. For Ian, she’s the kind of woman he can’t resist—one that comes all too rarely: a true innocent. But he can sense in her a desire to open up, to experiment, to give herself to the fantasies of a man in control. The first kiss, the first caress, the first challenge for a woman who craves what she’s never had—a man who gets what he wants. More to come. Don't miss Because You Are Mine, Part II, available 8/7

A concise and masterful discussion of a proven investing strategy There are many ways to make money in today’s market, but the one strategy that has truly proven itself over the years is value investing. Now, with The Little Book of Value Investing, Christopher Browne shows you how to use this wealth-building strategy to successfully buy bargain stocks around the world. You’ll explore how to value securities and find bargains in the stock market. You’ll also learn to ignore irrelevant noise, “advice” from self-proclaimed gurus, and other obstacles that can throw you off your game. The Little Book of Value Investing also offers: Strategies for analyzing public company financial statements and disclosures Advice on when you truly require a specialist’s opinion Tactics for sticking to your guns when you’re tempted to abandon a sound calculation because of froth in the market Perfect for beginning retail investors of all stripes, The Little Book of Value Investing will also earn a place in the libraries of veteran investors and portfolio managers seeking an expert reference covering the most time-tested lessons of value investing.