Investments by William F. Sharpe

Product Description

KEY BENEFIT: This book provides a solid theoretical framework around which to build practical knowledge of securities and securities markets. KEY TOPICS: It offers a balanced presentation of theory and practice as it explains to readers the essentials of prominent investment concepts. Just as importantly, it illustrates how those concepts are applied by professional investors. Further, the book reviews a wide range of empirical studies that connects the academic to the practitioner. Numerous examples enhance readers' understanding of important ideas. The Sixth Edition distills the growing complexity of the investment environment, enumerating and describing today's various securities and markets in a clear, concise manner and integrating discussions of new investment management techniques.

Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #521604 in Books
* Published on: 1994-12-09
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Hardcover
* 900 pages

Editorial Reviews

Card catalog description
The subject matter for this edition of Investments has evolved considerably since 1978 when the first edition was published. For example, in the last several years international investing has expanded rapidly, securities such as swaps and mortgage derivatives have become increasingly popular, and investors have placed much more emphasis on investment styles. The task of the authors has been to keep Investments fresh and stimulating and to continue the tradition of this text to offer students and instructors the most thorough and most current survey of the investment environment.

The publisher, Prentice Hall Business Publishing
This book provides a solid theoretical framework around which to build practical knowledge of securities and securities markets. It offers a balanced presentation of theory and practice and it explains to students the essentials of prominent investment concepts. Just as importantly, it explains how those concepts are applied by professional investors. Further, the book reviews a wide range of empirical studies that connect the academic to the practitioner. Numerous examples enhance students' understanding of important ideas.

From the Back Cover
Key Benefit: This book provides a solid theoretical framework around which to build practical knowledge of securities and securities markets. Gives a comprehensive treatment of prominent financial instruments, securities markets, and investment management techniques. Key Topics: It offers a balanced presentation of theory and practice and it explains the essentials of prominent investment concepts. Just as importantly, it explains how those concepts are applied by professional investors. Further, the book reviews a wide range of empirical studies that connect the academic to the practitioner.
Customer Reviews

Learning from a Nobel Prize Laureate5
You do not pick up this book to get "tips" on making an easy million. It does not teach you how to chart nor pick a value/momentum stock based on fundamental analysis.

It does, however, teach you about the foundation of modern investment theory and concepts. William Sharpe is a professor at Stanford and a Nobel Prize winner in 1990, along with Markowitz, for portfolio theory. Sharpe later extended this and introduced Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and it is explained as part of a lesson in this book. Their work is THE fundamental investment Asset Pricing Model.

As others have mentioned, to get the most of this book, you need some understanding of investments and a solid understanding of statistics. With these in hand, you will gain knowledge from this book. It is not an easy read and it used in graduate schools (I used it while obtaining my MBA), but Sharpe does an excellent job at explaining and illustrating investment concepts.

If you want to create deeper understanding of investment knowledge and really want to know investments, this is your book. For example, instead of just knowing that diverification is important, know how diversification works.

Great book - thorogh coverage of fundamentals5
I had the opportunity to take a course at the University of Minnesota from Jeff Bailey while he was preparing this book. He provided an excellent mixture of pratical examples in addition to the theory involved.

In addition, he was very approachable.

Anyone seriously interested in investing should consider this book!

Think well, before buying this book.1
What will you learn from this book?

A lot of financial concepts, instruments and products.
If you do not know anything about financial markets, this is the book!!!!

Is it enough? NO, it is not enough even for a beginner. Why? Because it does not tell you how to think in financial terms, and mainly how to make up your portfolio.

Yes, lots of graphs, figures, nice words, you think you are learning finance, but suddenly you realize that actually you know nothing and that you read a lot of vain pages. Unfortunately, you will be in the end of the book.

If want to know how to implement the models presented in the book, or even if you want a book that says the same thing that Sharpe's but in less pages, consider:

- Modern Investment Theory by Robert A. Haugen; or
- Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis by Edwin J. Elton, Martin J. Gruber.