This book demonstrates how quantitative country-level investment strategies can be successfully employed to manage money in international markets. It offers a range of state-of-the-art quantitative strategies, describing their theoretical bases, implementation details, and performance in over 70 countries between 1995 and 2015. International diversification has long been a key to stable investing. However, the increased integration and openness of global financial markets has led to rising correlations between stock market returns in particular countries, driving down the benefits of diversification and increasing the importance of country selection strategies as part of an investment process. Zaremba and Shemer explain the efficiency of quantitative investing, which captures huge amounts of data of limited scope very quickly. In the traditional approach, this data compilation is an immense undertaking, limited in scope and vulnerable to behavioral errors, but this can be overcome with the help of a new paradigm of quantitative investment at the country level. Quantitative country asset allocation can be efficiently accomplished by using wealth insights that have been generated in the academic literature, discovering many anomalies and regular patterns in asset prices. Armed with this information, investors and managers can process large amounts of data more efficiently when deciding to invest in ETFs, index funds, or futures markets.

The book covers a wide range of topics of relevance to policymakers in countries that have sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and those that receive SWF investments. Renowned experts in the field have contributed chapters. The book is organized around four themes: (1) the role and macrofinancial linkages of SWFs, (2) institutional factors, (3) investment approaches and financial markets, and (4) the postcrisis outlook. The book also discusses the challenges facing sovereign wealth funds in the coming years, from an inside perspective on countries, including Canada, Chile, China, Norway, Russia, and New Zealand. Economics of Sovereign Wealth Funds will contribute to a further understanding of the nature, strategies and behavior of SWFs and the environment in which they operate, as their importance is likely to grow in the coming years.

How can private equity investors exploit investment opportunities in foreign markets? Peter Cornelius uses a proprietary database to investigate and describe private equity markets worldwide, revealing their levels of integration, their risks, and the ways that investors can mitigate those risks. In three major sections that concentrate on the risk and return profile of private equity, the growth dynamics of discrete markets and geographies, and opportunities for private equity investments, he offers hard-to-find analyses that fill knowledge gaps about foreign markets. Observing that despite the progressive dismantling of barriers investors are still home-biased, he demonstrates that a methodical approach to understanding foreign private equity markets can take advantage of the macroeconomic and structural factors that drive supply and demand dynamics in individual markets. - Foreword by Josh Lerner - Teaches readers how to investigate and analyze foreign private equity markets - Forecasts private equity investment opportunities via macroeconomic and structural factors in individual markets - Draws on data from a proprietary database covering 250 buyout and VC funds and 7,000 portfolio companies

Build an agile, responsive portfolio with a new approach to global asset allocation Adaptive Asset Allocation is a no-nonsense how-to guide for dynamic portfolio management. Written by the team behind Gestaltu.com, this book walks you through a uniquely objective and unbiased investment philosophy and provides clear guidelines for execution. From foundational concepts and timing to forecasting and portfolio optimization, this book shares insightful perspective on portfolio adaptation that can improve any investment strategy. Accessible explanations of both classical and contemporary research support the methodologies presented, bolstered by the authors' own capstone case study showing the direct impact of this approach on the individual investor. Financial advisors are competing in an increasingly commoditized environment, with the added burden of two substantial bear markets in the last 15 years. This book presents a framework that addresses the major challenges both advisors and investors face, emphasizing the importance of an agile, globally-diversified portfolio. Drill down to the most important concepts in wealth management Optimize portfolio performance with careful timing of savings and withdrawals Forecast returns 80% more accurately than assuming long-term averages Adopt an investment framework for stability, growth, and maximum income An optimized portfolio must be structured in a way that allows quick response to changes in asset class risks and relationships, and the flexibility to continually adapt to market changes. To execute such an ambitious strategy, it is essential to have a strong grasp of foundational wealth management concepts, a reliable system of forecasting, and a clear understanding of the merits of individual investment methods. Adaptive Asset Allocation provides critical background information alongside a streamlined framework for improving portfolio performance.

The conventional portfolio is prone to frequent and potentially devastating losses because it is NOT balanced to different economic outcomes. In contrast, a truly balanced portfolio can help investors reduce risk and more reliably achieve their objectives. This simple fact would surprise most investors, from beginners to professionals. Investment consultant Alex Shahidi puts his 15 years of experience advising the most sophisticated investors in the world and managing multi-billion dollar portfolios to work in this important resource for investors. You will better understand why nearly every portfolio is poorly balanced and how to view the crucial asset allocation decision from a deeper, more thoughtful perspective. The concepts presented are simple, intuitive and easy to implement for every investor. Author Alex Shahidi will walk you through the logic behind the balanced portfolio framework and provide step-by-step instructions on how to build a truly balanced portfolio. No book has ever been written that discusses asset allocation in this light. Provides insights from a top-ranked investment consultant using strategies from the industry’s brightest minds Proposes a balanced asset allocation that can achieve stable returns through various economic climates Introduces sophisticated concepts in very simple terms For those who want to better manage their investment portfolio and seek a more advanced approach to building a balanced portfolio, Balanced Asset Allocation: How to Profit in Any Economic Climate provides an in-depth treatment of the topic that can be put to use immediately.

With all of our focus on assets - and how much and when to allocate them - are we missing the bigger picture? Our book begins by reviewing the historical performance record of popular assets like stocks, bonds, and cash. We look at the impact inflation has on our money. We then start to examine how diversification through combining assets, in this case a simple stock and bond mix, works to mitigate the extreme drawdowns of risky asset classes. But we go beyond a limited stock/bond portfolio to consider a more global allocation that also takes into account real assets. We track 13 assets and their returns since 1973, with particular attention to a number of well-known portfolios, like Ray Dalio's All Weather portfolio, the Endowment portfolio, Warren Buffett's suggestion, and others. And what we find is that, with a few notable exceptions, many of the allocations have similar exposures. And yet, while we are all busy paying close attention to our portfolio's particular allocation of assets, the greatest impact on our portfolios may be something we fail to notice altogether...

The guide for investors who want a better understanding of investment strategies that have stood the test of time This thoroughly revised and updated edition of Investment Philosophies covers different investment philosophies and reveal the beliefs that underlie each one, the evidence on whether the strategies that arise from the philosophy actually produce results, and what an investor needs to bring to the table to make the philosophy work. The book covers a wealth of strategies including indexing, passive and activist value investing, growth investing, chart/technical analysis, market timing, arbitrage, and many more investment philosophies. Presents the tools needed to understand portfolio management and the variety of strategies available to achieve investment success Explores the process of creating and managing a portfolio Shows readers how to profit like successful value growth index investors Aswath Damodaran is a well-known academic and practitioner in finance who is an expert on different approaches to valuation and investment This vital resource examines various investing philosophies and provides you with helpful online resources and tools to fully investigate each investment philosophy and assess whether it is a philosophy that is appropriate for you.

Investing information is everywhere; there are blogs, newspapers, magazines, and cable TV shows all dedicated to helping individuals invest in smarter and more successful ways. Yet despite all the efforts to educate the public on investing, most people still feel uncomfortable with how they should actually invest their money. Recent predictions about slowing economic growth, historically low interest rates, and volatile markets have investors scratching their heads about what to do with their money. And more than ever, people are scared about whether they can grow their money enough to last through their lifetime. Expert investor Timothy McCarthy has spent the last 30 years in the US and overseas providing investment solutions to individuals and their advisors. He believes that understanding how to create a truly globally diverse portfolio while applying the magic of time will help all investors navigate risky markets. McCarthy also explores the fundamentals of picking and evaluating financial advisors for those who want to understand the principles of investing but not actually do the work themselves. McCarthy helps guide the reader along a straightforward path to investment success by telling engaging and actual stories to illustrate each of his seven lessons of successful investing. The Safe Investor will help even those readers with little interest or aptitude for finance to be comfortable in knowing what to do to manage their life investment plan and how to manage their own advisors.