Life in the Financial Markets. How They Really Work And Why They Matter To You

Praise for Great People Decisions «Fernandez-Araoz has captured the essence of building great teams with a masterful and entirely practical study of what goes into getting people selection right.» –JACK WELCH «Fernandez-Araoz does a great service with this wonderful book, teaching us how to accomplish the first task of any exceptional leader: get the right people on the bus, and into the right seats. His enduring passion, deep practical experience, and analytical methods make his approach refreshing and powerful.» –JIM COLLINS, bestselling author of Good to Great «No matter your business or product, your service or strategy, it's all done with people. Great results only come when great people fill the right roles. In Great People Decisions, Fernandez-Araoz clears away the fog of myth and fad that has long clouded people decisions, bringing passion, sound experience, and wisdom to these all-important questions.» –DANIEL GOLEMAN, bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence «Great People Decisions is a groundbreaking, myth-busting, and standard-setting work. To prepare yourself for the dramatic workforce changes that are expected in the next decade, the first thing you should do is read this book. The second thing you should do is put Fernandez-Araoz's advice into practice immediately.» –JIM KOUZES, bestselling coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and A Leader's Legacy «Too many people say 'people are our most important assets' but then don't act on it. In this important and eloquent book, Fernandez-Araoz provides compelling evidence for why making great people decisions is essential for anyone who aspires to become a great leader or build a great company. If you follow the sage advice he offers in this book, you are sure to make great people decisions.» –NITIN NOHRIA, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Harvard Business School, and coauthor of Paths to Power and In Their Time

For years, traders and investors have been using unproven assumptions about popular patterns such as breakouts, momentum, new highs, new lows, market breadth, put/call ratios and more without knowing if there is a statistical edge. Common wisdom holds that the stock markets are ever changing. But, as it turns out, common wisdom can be wrong. Offering a comprehensive look back at the way the markets have acted over the last two decades, How Markets Really Work: A Quantitative Guide to Stock Market Behavior, Second Edition shows that nothing has changed, that the markets behave the same way today as they have in years past, and that understanding this puts you in a prime position to profit. Written by two top financial experts and filled with charts and graphs that illustrate the market concepts they develop, the book takes a sometimes contrarian view of everything from market edges to historical volatility, and from volume to put/call ratio, giving you all that you need to truly understand how the markets function. Fully revised and updated, How Markets Really Work, Second Edition takes a level-headed, data-driven look at the markets to show how they function and how you can apply that information intelligently when making investment decisions.

A dramatic look at fraud's role in our financial markets-and how you can protect yourself Fraud In the Markets reveals the critical role fraud played in the global financial crisis-even as many of the perpetrators continue to go unpunished. Shedding light on the reckless conduct of the former senior executives at major Wall Street firms such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and others just before their collapse, this timely book shows how the culture of «anything goes» on Wall Street fueled the innovation of exotic but deadly asset-backed securities. A frank insider look at the most dramatic economic and business headlines in recent memory, you will find revealing discussion of The egregiously fraudulent lending practices that engulfed the entire US mortgage industry The brazenly deceptive marketing of asset-backed securities A road map to prevent similar disasters from recurring Fraud in the Markets offers forward-looking advice, with practical guidelines for protecting yourself and your company from various forms of fraud that were found to have played a role in the current economic and financial crisis.

Praise for ETFs For The Long Run «As the title of the book suggests, ETFs are going to be an increasingly important reality for a broad class of investors in coming years. This book offers the reader real understanding of this growing force in our economic lives.» —Robert J. Shiller, Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics at Yale University, Co-founder and Chief Economist at MacroMarkets LLC «ETFs for the Long Run is a fascinating read. A seasoned financial industry journalist, Lawrence Carrel does an excellent job of highlighting exchange traded funds' meteoric rise in popularity over the last few years. A terrific book for anyone looking to grasp the ABCs of ETF investing.» —Jerry Moskowitz, President, FTSE Americas Inc. "ETFs for the Long Run provides a unique combination of a detailed history of the development of ETFs, a clear explanation of the sophisticated mechanics of ETFs, an assessment of investors' choices amongst this dynamic product area, and unbiased recommendations for appropriate portfolio allocation to these efficient investment tools. Lawrence Carrel has done investors and the industry a great service in pulling these four elements together in a highly readable and often entertaining book. —Steven Schoenfeld, Chief Investment Officer, Global Quantitative Management, Northern Trust, and Editor, Active Index Investing Despite the incredible growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the fact they've been on the market for fifteen years, some investors are still either unaware of the effectiveness of ETFs or unsure of how to use them in their investment endeavors. That's why respected ETF expert and journalist Lawrence Carrel has written ETFs for the Long Run. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this reliable resource puts ETFs in perspective and reveals how they can help you profit in both up and down markets. Page by page, Carrel takes you through the ins and outs of ETFs, including their history, the tax benefits and minimal charges associated with them, and the fundamental differences between ETFs and other types of investments. He also provides you with the resources and tools needed to trade ETFs and build your own ETF portfolio. You may have heard about ETFs while researching other investments or speaking with an investment advisor. If you want to learn more about them, this book will provide you with a clear understanding of what ETFs are, how they work, and how they can be used to create a low-cost, liquid, and diversified portfolio.

Praise for Your Financial Edge «Paul McCulley is the man to heed. His knowledge of financial markets runs deep, and his experience has been the best. Beyond all his financial and economic wisdom, he is a human being with inborn instincts of kindness and thoughtfulness-attributes that bring to the reader something richer than just hard facts and sage advice. Jonathan Fuerbringer is the perfect partner for this project, a master of lucidity and a longtime observer of the best and the worst habits of investors.» -Peter Bernstein, bestselling author of Against the Gods «Paul McCulley's insightful observations on the economy and financial markets are key inputs to our investment thinking. This book provides analytical tools and actionable advice that can greatly improve your ability to navigate today's complex financial environment. Learn from a master (and maybe even future Federal Reserve Board member) and become a better investor.» -Bill Miller, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Legg Mason Capital Management «Paul McCulley is just the man to bring 'that ole-time religion' of economics into the new age of investing and help the reader to make coherent sense of just what is going on here. I should know…I listen to his counsel every day here at PIMCO, and for anyone who lacks a key to our door, this is the next best thing! Profit by the prophet-and yes-enjoy.» -William H. Gross, Managing Director, PIMCO «In this highly readable book, McCulley and Fuerbringer provide valuable insights, including how the world of policy making impacts investment decisions. Their entertaining and thoughtful analysis is accompanied by a series of penetrating real-life examples that demonstrate the choices facing investors as they seek to maximize returns and minimize risk. With its wisdom and unique perspective, this book will be of interest to both institutional investors and policymakers.» -Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian, President and CEO, Harvard Management Company, member of the faculty, Harvard Business School, and Deputy Treasurer, Harvard University «There's a reason Paul McCulley is a favorite among financial pros and journalists all over the world. He anticipates investment trends before they happen and helps both professional and amateur investors stay ahead of the curve. This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to build and protect their portfolio in the risky decades ahead.» -Consuelo Mack, Anchor and Managing Editor, Consuelo Mack WealthTrack

Research Shows Organizations That Focus on Employee Experience Far Outperform Those That Don't Recently a new type of organization has emerged, one that focuses on employee experiences as a way to drive innovation, increase customer satisfaction, find and hire the best people, make work more engaging, and improve overall performance. The Employee Experience Advantage is the first book of its kind to tackle this emerging topic that is becoming the #1 priority for business leaders around the world. Although everyone talks about employee experience nobody has really been able to explain concretely what it is and how to go about designing for it…until now. How can organizations truly create a place where employees want to show up to work versus need to show up to work? For decades the business world has focused on measuring employee engagement meanwhile global engagement scores remain at an all time low despite all the surveys and institutes that been springing up tackle this problem. Clearly something is not working. Employee engagement has become the short-term adrenaline shot that organizations turn to when they need to increase their engagement scores. Instead, we have to focus on designing employee experiences which is the long term organizational design that leads to engaged employees. This is the only long-term solution. Organizations have been stuck focusing on the cause instead of the effect. The cause is employee experience; the effect is an engaged workforce. Backed by an extensive research project that looked at over 150 studies and articles, featured extensive interviews with over 150 executives, and analyzed over 250 global organizations, this book clearly breaks down the three environments that make up every single employee experience at every organization around the world and how to design for them. These are the cultural, technological, and physical environments. This book explores the attributes that organizations need to focus on in each one of these environments to create COOL spaces, ACE technology, and a CELEBRATED culture. Featuring exclusive case studies, unique frameworks, and never before seen research, The Employee Experience Advantage guides readers on a journey of creating a place where people actually want to show up to work. Readers will learn: The trends shaping employee experience How to evaluate their own employee experience using the Employee Experience Score What the world's leading organizations are doing around employee experience How to design for technology, culture, and physical spaces The role people analytics place in employee experience Frameworks for how to actually create employee experiences The role of the gig economy The future of employee experience Nine types of organizations that focus on employee experience And much more! There is no question that engaged employees perform better, aspire higher, and achieve more, but you can't create employee engagement without designing employee experiences first. It's time to rethink your strategy and implement a real-world framework that focuses on how to create an organization where people want to show up to work. The Employee Experience Advantage shows you how to do just that.

The global financial markets are not just driven by the big investment houses and fund managers. Along with these, private banks, insurance houses, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and a range of boutique investment managers, regional institutions and brokers of different sizes and nationalities all operate and interact to form the bedrock of the global financial infrastructure. Because of this, it is essential that practitioners and observers of the markets fully understand the linkages, objectives and functions of these institutions, and the new and dynamic environment they are working in. Market Players provides a complete roadmap to the institutions and intermediaries operating in today's global financial landscape, illustrating what they are, how they work, how they interact and importantly, their motivation. It explains the core financial market business of these institutions and considers how they have become the firms that we see today, providing readers with a clear understanding of which market sectors are likely to see the most involvement from the different types of institution and, importantly, why they are involved in these market areas. Key features include: a series of case studies looking at examples of some of these institutions including an explanation of the EIB and the UK agency UKFI. They also look at the financial crisis and the impact on AIG and Northern Rock, two institutions that clearly illustrate what can go wrong and how the other market players have to step in when this happens. an international perspective looking at representative institutions from Europe, Asia and North America, showing global similarities and differences. a Post Financial Crisis perspective on the structure of international banks in today's markets. coverage of the major players on both the buy and sell side of the market Written in plain English, Market Players is an accessible and much needed guide to financial institutions, equipping readers with the knowledge to better understand how the global financial markets really work.

The global financial markets are not just driven by the big investment houses and fund managers. Along with these, private banks, insurance houses, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and a range of boutique investment managers, regional institutions and brokers of different sizes and nationalities all operate and interact to form the bedrock of the global financial infrastructure. Because of this, it is essential that practitioners and observers of the markets fully understand the linkages, objectives and functions of these institutions, and the new and dynamic environment they are working in. Market Players provides a complete roadmap to the institutions and intermediaries operating in today's global financial landscape, illustrating what they are, how they work, how they interact and importantly, their motivation. It explains the core financial market business of these institutions and considers how they have become the firms that we see today, providing readers with a clear understanding of which market sectors are likely to see the most involvement from the different types of institution and, importantly, why they are involved in these market areas. Key features include: a series of case studies looking at examples of some of these institutions including an explanation of the EIB and the UK agency UKFI. They also look at the financial crisis and the impact on AIG and Northern Rock, two institutions that clearly illustrate what can go wrong and how the other market players have to step in when this happens. an international perspective looking at representative institutions from Europe, Asia and North America, showing global similarities and differences. a Post Financial Crisis perspective on the structure of international banks in today's markets. coverage of the major players on both the buy and sell side of the market Written in plain English, Market Players is an accessible and much needed guide to financial institutions, equipping readers with the knowledge to better understand how the global financial markets really work.

The most effective sales strategies for tough economic times Today's selling environment is tough, and only getting tougher. The old tactics are no longer working, and the current economy is only making selling more difficult. You need sales tactics and strategies that work now and fast . . . even when no one wants to buy-and tactics and strategies that will work even better when they do want to buy. How to Sell When Nobody's Buying is a practical, effective guide to selling even in the toughest of times. This book is packed with new information about creating sales opportunities. Most sales strategies taught today are based on outdated information from ten, twenty, even thirty years ago and they simply don't work today. You'll find the tools and information you need to gain confidence, create powerful alliances, profitable social networks, and drive your profits to unprecedented highs. Whether you sell business-to-business or direct to the consumer, whether you sell real estate or retail, this is the sales guide for you. Features effective, simple strategies for selling in tough economic times Offers free or low-cost prospecting tools that bring in customers by the herd Includes case studies from top salespeople that reveal new ways to bring in customers From sales guru Dave Lakhani, author of Persuasion, Subliminal Persuasion, and The Power of an Hour These days, you need all the help you can get to sell effectively. If you want to increase your sales and drive your business forward-no matter what the economy or your industry does-learn How to Sell When Nobody's Buying.

Why is it so hard to beat the market? How can you avoid getting caught in bubbles and crashes? You will find the answers in Carl Futia’s new book, The Art of Contrarian Trading. This book will teach you Futia’s novel method of contrarian trading from the ground up. In 16 chapters filled with facts and many historical examples Futia explains the principles and practice of contrarian trading. Discover the Edge which separates winning speculators from the losers. Find out how to apply the No Free Lunch principle to identify profitable trading methods. Learn about the wisdom and the follies of investment crowds – and how crowds are formed by information cascades that drive stock prices too high or too low relative to fair value. Discover the power of your Media Diary – and how to use it to spot these information cascades, measure the strength of the crowd’s beliefs, and decide when the crowd’s view is about to be proven wrong. You will watch Futia apply these principles of contrarian trading to navigate safely and profitably through the last 26 tumultuous years of roller coaster swings in the U.S. stock market – a time during which Futia kept his own media diary and developed his Grand Strategy of Contrarian Trading. See how this Grand Strategy worked during the Great Bull Market of 1982-2000. Watch the Contrarian Rebalancing technique in practice during the dot.com crash of 2000-2002. Find out when the Aggressive Contrarian Trader bought and sold during the bull market of 2002-2007. Read about the causes of the Panic of 2008 and ups and downs of contrarian trading during that dangerous time. Futia shows you how the market turning points during the 1982-2008 period were foreshadowed by magazine covers and newspaper headlines that astonishingly and consistently encouraged investors to do the wrong thing at the wrong time. By monitoring crowd beliefs revealed by news media headlines – and with the guidance provided by the many historical examples Futia provides – a trader or investor will be well-equipped to anticipate and profit from market turning points.