Business

Written for the introductory course in Investments.

This introduction provides a clear framework for understanding and analyzing securities, and covers the major institutional features and theories of investing. While the text is meant to present a thorough discussion of investments, the authors keep the material practical, relevant, and make the text easy to comprehend.

• NEW - Financial Engines Investment AdvisorSM® Service available with text for a 25% discount—(Located at www.prenhall.com/alexander).

  • Allows students a real-world view of how to review, forecast, and monitor their investments. Also, specific recommendations on investments are provided. Ex.___

• NEW - Latest developments in investments updated throughout text—Completely revised discussions, tables, graphs, and illustrations incorporate current market information and academic research.

  • Provides students with the most current information. Ex.___

• NEW - Statistical concepts review section has been added after Chapter 7.

  • Serves as a refresher and ensures that students have a grounding in basic statistics. Ex.___

• NEW - Increased international content— Chapter 26 deals directly with international investing. Expanded coverage of international securities and securities markets throughout the text. Also includes new discussions of currency management and interest rate parity.

  • Reflects the increasing role of globalization in investments and provides students valuable information about international topics related to investments. Ex.___

• NEW - Coverage of efficient markets is expanded and improved (Chapter 4).

  • Emphasizes how this concept plays a central role in current ideas. Ex.___

• NEW - Updated “Money Matters” articles —Provided throughout each chapter.

  • Provides students a sense of how various investment issues and techniques are used by practitioners. These articles have been updated throughout to reflect the latest real-world developments. Ex.___

• NEW - More focused and streamlined material.

  • Outdated topics have been removed which help the students focus on the most important topics of investments. Ex.___

• Balance of presentation between theory and practice.

  • Allows students to see how and when theory is applied. Ex.___

• Mathematical notation kept to a minimum, and includes numerous examples.

  • Allows the text to be clear and concise. Ex.___

• Modular organization.

  • Allows professors to rearrange the text according to their preference. Ex.___

• Discussions on stocks, bonds, and other securities such as options and futures.

  • Covers an array of investment tools. Ex.___

• International content throughout—Includes two new “Money Matters” on China, the world's largest emerging market.

  • Provides international examples that are recent and relative to students. Ex.___

• Increased number of end-of-chapter problems, and where appropriate, adds questions from past CFA exams—Answers to selected problems are provided at the end of the book.

  • Allows students to prepare for the CFA exam and practice what they have learned. Ex.___

• Chapter summaries redesigned so that they appear in a point-by-point format.

  • Provides a checklist of key concepts. Ex.___

DIFFERENCES WITH INVESTMENTS 6/E

• Both are comprehensive—Cover all major aspects and theories of investing. However Investments is written primarily for students with stronger backgrounds in economics, statistics, and accounting; Fundamentals is less theoretical and less technical; Fundamentals has less mathematical content; Fundamentals is more modular; and Investments has a more integrated presentation.

• Financial Engines Investment AdvisorSM® Service available with text for a 25% discount—(Located at www.prenhall.com/alexander).

  • Allows students a real-world view of how to review, forecast, and monitor their investments. Also, specific recommendations on investments are provided. Ex.___

• Latest developments in investments updated throughout text—Completely revised discussions, tables, graphs, and illustrations incorporate current market information and academic research.

  • Provides students with the most current information. Ex.___

• Statistical concepts review section has been added after Chapter 7.

  • Serves as a refresher and ensures that students have a grounding in basic statistics. Ex.___

• Increased international content— Chapter 26 deals directly with international investing. Expanded coverage of international securities and securities markets throughout the text. Also includes new discussions of currency management and interest rate parity.

  • Reflects the increasing role of globalization in investments and provides students valuable information about international topics related to investments. Ex.___

• Coverage of efficient markets is expanded and improved (Chapter 4).

  • Emphasizes how this concept plays a central role in current ideas. Ex.___

• Updated “Money Matters” articles —Provided throughout each chapter.

  • Provides students a sense of how various investment issues and techniques are used by practitioners. These articles have been updated throughout to reflect the latest real-world developments. Ex.___

• More focused and streamlined material.

  • Outdated topics have been removed which help the students focus on the most important topics of investments. Ex.___

I. INTRODUCTION.

II. THE INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT.

III. MODERN INVESTMENT THEORY.

IV. COMMON STOCKS.

V. FIXED-INCOME SECURITIES.

VI. OTHER INVESTMENTS.

Undergraduate Investments  [CORE TEXTS]   (Finance)

GORDON J. ALEXANDER is professor of finance at the University of Minnesota, having recently completed a two-year consultancy to the Office of Economic Analysis at the Securities and Exchange Commission that followed a two-year stint as an in-house senior research scholar. Alexander has published articles in Financial Management, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Business, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Journal of Portfolio Management. He received his Ph.D. in finance, M.A. in mathematics, and M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, and his B.S. in business administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

WILLIAM F. SHARPE is the STANCO 25 professor emeritus of finance at Stanford University, and chair of the board of Financial Engines, Incorporated, a firm that provides investment advice to individuals via the Internet. He has published articles in a number of professional journals, including Management Science, Journal of Business, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Portfolio Management, and the Financial Analysts Journal. Sharpe is past president of the American Finance Association, and in 1990 he received the Nobel Prize in economic sciences. He received his Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

JEFFERY V. BAILEY is director of benefits finance at Target Corporation. Previously he was a principal at the pension fund-consulting firm of Richards & Tierney., Inc. Before that he was the assistant executive director of the Minnesota State Board of Investment. Bailey has published articles in the Financial Analysts Journal and the Journal of Portfolio Management. He has contributed articles to several practitioner handbooks and has co-authored a monograph published by the Research Foundation of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts. Bailey received his B.A. from Oakland University and his M.A. in economics and his M.B.A. in finance from the University of Minnesota. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.