This text will introduce you to major issues currently of concern to all investors. It can give you the skills to assess watershed current issues and debates covered by both the popular media and more-specialized finance journals. Our guiding principle has been to present the material in a framework that is organized by a central core of consistent fundamental principles. We attempt to strip away unnecessary mathematical and technical detail, and we have concentrated on providing the intuition that may guide students and practitioners as they confront new ideas and challenges in their professional lives.
Many features of this text make it consistent with and relevant to the CFA curriculum. Questions adapted from past CFA exams appear at the end of nearly every chapter, and references are listed at the end of the book. Chapter 3 includes excerpts from the “Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct” of the CFA Institute. Chapter 28, which discusses investors and the investment process, presents the CFA Institute’s framework for systematically relating investor objectives and constraints to ultimate investment policy. End-of-chapter problems also include questions from test-prep leader Kaplan Schweser
