Investment-management

This book is written in a way that is easy to understand for someone who is new to investing. For those familar with investing it gives some great ideas to try. Kelly resources that he recommends are all excellent. ...This book is well worth the read, I highly recommend it.

I've read several of Jason Kelly's other titles prior to this DIY title. I have also worked in the Wall Street community as a low level hack, perhaps, but I had access to 'big gun' reports ala big name firms. Jason's writing style is head and shoulders above the rest. He grabs your interest and keeps the interest flowing from start to finish, and that's not an easy feat for someone like myself, who had been used to very dry and somewhat esoteric texts with the kind of writing one reads to fall asleep. That is definitely not the case here. I like the fact that his books are full of clear, concise and useful hints, AND there is very very little, if any, overlap from his other books. Some authors sometimes take bits and pieces from prior books to fill gaps or holes, but frankly, and I've read the Personal Investing and Stock Market books several times over, there is none of that here. I tip my hat to Jason for great style, wit and depth of information. Really quite remarkable.

Being new to the world of investing, one of the first things I bought for reference was this book. Not really knowing what to expect, I was very impressed with the wealth of information that streamed from it. As others have said, it is very easy to read, objective and entertaining. I have passed the book on to my sister who also has just begun investing on her own. I can't wait to read the next Do-It-Yourself guide from Jason.
I truly can't say enough about this great publication nor can I thank Jason enough for the skillful advice he's rendered by writing it.

Thanks,
Nolan

I never realized how easy it is to network with the high profile people. Like anythingelse, it can be learned.

Networking With The Affluent is a must read for all entrepeneurs, sales and business people. This is the book that your most successful competitors are reading, using and applying.

I work for one of the big 3 insurance companies and getting to know the affluent and working their nests is critical to my success.

In Networking with the Affluent, Dr. Stanley shows how to get into this market and offer quality financial products and services. To serve the affluent and others in their network.

You won't find any tricky techniques. But you will find some powerful ideas on how to substantially increase your production.

I have recommended this book to dozens of people over the years. And I can tell by their productivity if they have actually read it.

Get this book. It's great.

Dr Stanley goes over and above the call of duty with this great work. Networking With The Affluent will show you how to penetrate the affluent market...network with it's members and key players within their group.

This book will create relationships that many have heretofore, been unable to penetrate.

Great book by Dr. Stanley.

Having read a large number of stocks and trading psychology books and trading stocks/CFDs and moving on to Options I bought and read this and Michael Thomsetts 'Getting started in Options' book. Choose this one. Its an easy read style, clear text and graphs and makes it all understandable. As a bonus, the best thing is for new traders are the excellent chapters on Psychology and Technical Analysis which could stand alone as mini-guide on these subjects.(Intermediate/advanced traders could skip them but they are a useful reminder). There are a couple of references to his software but that is fine (in fact while this is a book review I have also benefitted from his course and using the software). At the end is also a good 'Putting it all together' section to actually DO the option trading as well as a useful strategy summary. I am now successfully trading options, initiated to a large to degree by this book.

I read dozens books about options. I only came across four, which have a real practical value about real options trading. This one - "Options made easy" - the first one. It's a very good introduction to option theory and practical approach of trading. Three others - "Options Workbook" by Tony Saliba, "Volatility" by Natenberg and "Options: Perceptions and Deceptions" by Cottle. All other books so far - theoretical garbage by people who want to make money by only selling books and useless services, but not trading options!

Having decided to trade options I read every book available on the subject and viewed a number of videos. When I finally caught up with Guy Cohen's's book I thought I do not need another book on this subject, wrong. I quickly realised that the title "options made Easy" was correct it was by far the easiest book to understand the different strategies available with the potential risks & rewards of each trade, His trading symbols are unique.

When I sent a query to Guy's website I was astonished to get an answer in hours, very impressive.

If you want a thorough grounding in options in an easy to understand format I thoroughly recommend this book

This is an essential book for anyone interested in evaluating credit risk. It is well written and one of the best in its class in the market.

For more on products, however, especially the explosively growing credit derivatives market, I recommend Tavakoli's "Credit Derivatives" 2nd Edition.

This is probably still the best book on the valuation of credit risk. It is concise, rigorous, yet with many examples and a good treatment of implementation issues.

This book discusses credit risk valuation in detail and quantitatively. The book is very strong on counterparty credit risk of derivatives. That is really the focus, though it also has stuff on general credit risk and credit derivatives (I wish it had more on credit derivatives). It also offers a chapter on general option pricing and risk-neutral valuation principles (brief but very good). What I also liked was the appendix with a short description of the more important and more advanced mathematical concepts used in the book. Although (or perhaps because) not an easy read but rather terse and demanding, I found it to be an extremely valuable resource. It really helped me understand the subject matter and gave me a good idea of how to model such risks.

lots of information, good for starter!! cool book!

I ran across this book in the early sixties, when one million was in the title, not five million. I used this book to make several million dollars for myself, and taught two friends to use the book, and they also made substantial money. It isn't magic: it simply shows you how real estate wealth is made, and shows you step by step how to do it for yourself. A young friend has just asked me to show him how to do it , and I went to Amazon to see if the book was still available, so that I could steer him to it. That's why I'm here. I am now, at age 62, a real estate developer, and the same rules still apply. The book is simple, basic, and absolutely true. By a strange cooincidence, I knew the appraiser hired by Simon & Shuster to verify that Nickerson had made five million. The appraiser told me that he believed Nickerson had understated his wealth!

If you are starting out in residential real estate investment, this book is a must read. Nickerson presents a conservative, realistic scenario for starting small and steadliy building wealth. This is not a get-rich-quick book or one that relies on gimmicks or nothing-down strategies. It shows you stepwise how to build a solid financial foundation in real estate, and how to leverage current assets into more valuable ones. Nickerson's strategy relies on hard work and persistence, not luck, deceit, or the greater-fool theory. There's no need for an updated version of this book; it's principals and approaches to developing wealth are as timeless as compounded interest.

Reviewer: The author, Charles M. Cottle *** charles@RiskDoctor.com
Although this original text was written for professional market makers, it proved to be a valuable resource for sophisticated retail investors and hedgers. I therefore created a new book, "Coulda Woulda Shoulda" (available for free download at www.riskdoctor.com) which borrowed about 80% of the original text and added more tools for non-professionals including an email dialogue with a relative novice, spanning 2 months. Most of the strict market making tools have been removed but will be resurrected in book 3; "Taming Your Portfolio" due out later this year.

There are basically two types of options books: mathematical
books on valuation that tend to be filled with solutions
for ever more exotic contracts, and books for traders that
go over the practical workings of positions in various
concrete scenarios. Cottle is definitely of the second type.
There's not really much math in it, unless you're intimidated
by three-dimensional graphs. What it does have is an incredible
wealth of insight, from experience, into the tricks and the

exceptions--the rent-a-call, the dividend plays, contract
risk and post-expo deltas, complicated synthetics, the
interrelations between greeks.

That said, what moved me to write a review was to take
exception with a previous reviewer's comment: "No lazy
editing or prose here". The prose is okay, but the editing
is worse than lazy--it's horrendous. Flipping my copy open
at random I come to p.151-152 on Break-Even analysis. Try
finding column 7 in exhibit 4-23, or the supposed arrow in
column 4. It's all a mess. That's an extreme case, but
throughout the text, it's hard enough trying to pick up
the bond options lingo (futures in 32nds but futures-options
in 64ths--all "ticks"; and the different multipliers for
indexes and futures), without having to deal with missing
words, inaccurate references, etc, etc. But ultimately, working
to figure it all out gets you to understand it all the better.

With five years of floor trading as an equity options market
maker, and having read and reread and rereread... Natenberg,
Baird, Hull, Connolly, Cox Ross Rubinstein, Chriss, Taleb--and
others--I'd say Cottle is clearly the best book. That said,
however, I don't know how much use a non-professional--someone
who doesn't manage a large, actively traded book of options--
will get out of it. It should be intellectually rewarding if you
can figure it out. Maybe inspire you to go look for a minimum
wage clerking job in Chicago, NY, Philly, or SF to get abused
for a year or so and then maybe get a badge.

I read Options: Perception and Deception at least 3-4 times before many of the advanced concepts began to sink in. This is not a book for an options novice; in fact, I would suggest that most people read Natenberg's book on options prior to engaging in this incredible text. While many of the advanced 3-D graphs were beyond my grasp, I particularly liked Cottle's description of "real world" options positions, how he executed them and how he managed them throughout their duration. Of particular interest to many readers should be the concept of "gamma scalping", and the section on wingspreads and adjusting positions. This text is so far beyond "mainstream" options books, that words do not describe how important this book will become.

This book is different from many other books on investing.
I have seen a lot of books which cover basic terminology but don't
give many ideas on strategy. I don't recommend it as a first
book on investing - the author explains some terminology but
generally assumes the readers know the basics. If you have
the basics down but you are not sure what to do with your
knowledge, this book is very useful. It deals with such material as
use of puts and calls as part of a conservative

investment strategy, differences in investment strategies needed
in taxable and non taxable accounts and effective use of different investment
vehicles - stocks, mutal funds, EFTs etc.
Definitely worth space on your bookshelf.

The title of this book attracted me immediately because of my concerns about my financial security in the current market. I hoped that it would give me practical tips that I would be able to put into practice. I was not disappointed. The book explained in a language that I, a not very sophisticated investor, could understand.

Practical, levelheaded strategies and advice that obviously come from experience. Not full of polemics like many investment books...every paragraph adds to the reader's understanding toward direct application. You could read many of the popular investment books and never run into the techniques she presents which are an essential part of any portfolio manager's arsenal. While the book's title might seem to be for fearful investors, the book is actually focused on returns, and the techniques should allow an investor to make more aggressive moves in line with their goals when one has some control over the risks, through hedging, negative correlations within the portfolio, appropriate investment vehicles, and using options for controlled profit-taking and safer entries and exits even when entering into more volatile positions for which the risk could otherwise be prohibitive.

If you had the opportunity to purchase only one book on stock investing, this is the one to have. I know of no other book that covers all the bases as well as Stock Market Strategem and I've purchased and read hundreds. All but 9 live in boxes in the basement. If you're new to investing or even if you've had some experience and success in the market you can improve your performance and returns. I sincerely believe that this book is destined to be a classic.

Whilst browsing the net in January 2003 I chanced upon some of Gladen Bretts concepts on investing in stocks in the US stockmarket. I emailed him seeking some elaboration and clarification. He was generous in his assistance and also advised that I obtain a copy of his latest book - Stockmarket Stratagem.Thank goodness I did so.I had read numerous books and articles on stock selection and management by US, Australian, NewZealand and British authors and "gurus" up to that point but found it difficult to distill a well reasoned, simple, pratical stratagem from their writings although ironically the authors impressed the importance of having such an approach to investing.Braden Gletts stratagem has these features. I began to apply it in the context of the Australian Stockmarket in April 2003 and to date my portfolio has exceeded my most optimistic expectations. As gratifying as this is the most valuable features of Mr. Gletts strategem are its simplicity and risk management principles which give the small private investor the wherewithal and the confidence to go it alone. By far the best stock investing book I have read - a real blueprint for investing.

I wish there was a 6 star review - this book deserves it. I came across an on-line article written by Mr. Glett some time ago. I was so thrilled by what he had written I just had to send him a complimentary email. I was delightfully surprised when he answered. That comunication lead me to discovering his book, Stock Market Stratagem. And wow, what a wonderful book it is. As a middle-aged person just finally getting around to begin investing (hey, better late than never), I had bought and read a plethora of financial investing books before I found this one. And it quickly became my favorite, my most trusted source of investment information. It's simply superb. Mr. Glett writes in a most engaging style, it almost feels as though he's talking to you, one on one. His insight and take on what many of us were raised to believe as gospel is a refreshing change from those pot-boiler books flooding the market. I would rate Stock Market Stratagem way up there on the list of books you just have to own as you travel through life. It is packed full of wonderful advise and wisdom - you will not be sorry investing in this book (no pun intended). I highly recommend it.

A powerful case for radical change to the assumptions and practices driving current organisation. Argues that the rise of the knowledge economy makes it even more urgent to organise in ways that support human cooperation and creativity. Builds from human biology to identify the social capital required to support generation of intellectual capital.

It is increasingly accepted that the only sustainable source of competitive advantage in 'the knowledge economy' is to tap the full creative potential and capacity to learn together of the humans who are the most important asset of any organisation. Yet most organisations continue to behave in ways that directly work against realisation of that potential.

The replacement of the dominant 'machine' metaphor of organisations with an 'organic' metaphor has become commonplace in the literature and its implications for organisation, culture and style of management are clear. But this is not (at least yet) having any dramatic effect on organisational behaviour. Perhaps a different metaphor is not a powerful enough tool to start the process of changed consciousness.

Charles Ehin takes a different approach to a similar end. He goes right back to the genetic and evolutionary foundations of human behaviour and our basic drives. From that he draws out conclusions about the cultural environment - the social capital - that needs to be in place to produce the high levels of collaboration needed for vigorous intellectual capital generation and market responsiveness. In effect he is offering a scientific rather than a metaphorical argument for changed behaviour by organisations. We need to understand our basic human nature so that 'we can narrow the gap between it and the organisational context rather than unknowingly widening it.' Throughout, he uses relevant and engaging examples from his personal experience to illustrate his case.

The fundamental argument rests on two sets of innate human drives: self centred and other centred (cooperative or communitarian). Each of these drives is continually present in all of us. The socio/cultural or organisational environment or context is a major factor in calling forth on or the other set of drives. What he calls 'controlled access' - or hierarchical - organisation triggers the self-centred drives: dependence, compliance, self preservation. What he calls 'shared access' - essentially reliance on self-organisation - triggers the other-centred drives: self-direction, interdependence, commitment, trust. While each set of drives can manifest itself under either style of organisation, the hierarchical form is hostile to the full flowering of the other-centred drives. Further, engagement of the other-centred drives and development self-organisation are interdependent: the development of self-organisation can only proceed through engagement of these drives in a reinforcing loop of development. The loop is driven through nurturing four fundamental interacting competencies:

common purpose (shared values and vision); sense of community (building trust, empathy and compassion); 'line-of-sight relationships' (face to face activities and interactions); visualising wholes (fostering the ability to see wholes and understand and work with whole systems)

Ehin argues that it is precisely these drives and associated competencies that are essential to organisational success in a knowledge economy.

The elements in his case are well illustrated in a series of figures through the book, particularly Fig 2.1 (P. 36), Fig 5.1 (P. 104), and the detailed two-part system chart in Figs 7.1A and 7.1B (Pp. 152-3). I found it useful to copy those charts so that they were in front of me for reference as I read the text.

The book is a valuable addition to the literature on the learning organisation ( Senge et al. The Dance of Change), on management under complexity (eg Lewin: The Soul at Work), on working with whole systems (eg Pratt et al.: Working Whole Systems) and on knowledge management and innovation (e.g. Leonard- Barton: The Wellsprings of Knowledge). I suspect that a number of readers will be willing to take the argument about human nature on trust, without reading it in depth, but the model and the relationships underpinning it deserve careful attention.

The assault on the hierarchical castle continues, and Ehin has thrown in another battalion, opening one more front. However, the walls remain unbreached. The sad reality is that most hierarchs are hooked on power and the belief that things can only go right if they personally make the decisions. The objective of retaining and expanding personal power often (even if unconsciously) outweighs the objective of achieving commercial success and blinds the hierarch to the fact that the two are often in opposition.

The acceptance of the current geological theory of tectonic plates took 25 years, when all that was at risk was the reputation and knowledge base of the then generation of geology professors. More is at stake in this shift in the way we see our organisational world; we are probably looking at generational change to achieve the shifts that Ehin advocates, but it is never too soon to start.

It is true in every corporation, in every organization, in every enterprise: one still cannot find the entity where people believe that everyone -- everyone! -- is working to their full mental potential and bringing that intellectual capital to bear on the purpose and productivity of the firm. Thus, Ehin has written a book that is part paean to the power of the human mind -- and part prescription for how management can tap into that powerful resource. Then again, perhaps the word is not "management," for Ehin boldly announces early on that "Increasing intellectual capital cannot be managed in the traditional sense." This upfront distinct point-of-view makes this book a standout. For at its core, this book is not about managing organizations; it's about human nature. Ehin argues that to tap into intellectual capital, one must "grasp the vital function of the genes. Second, we need to be aware of how our multilevel minds process information received through our senses. Finally, we should be familiar with some of our fundamental drives." Ah, now the reader starts to understand what Ehin was talking about when said in his Preface that he was going to build a case for unleashing organizational intellect by "building on the most recent research in a variety of fields, such as anthropology, palentology, molecular biology, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and sociobiology." And, guess what? He does. He does! And he does it in 183 crisply written pages that won't bore you but will, instead, fascinate you. In fact, they may electrify you. For when he closes the book talking about "human values" as "the fundamental tapestry of our organizations," you will know that you have found in this book a new way to look at intellectual capital, organizations, and yourself. More than that, it would be hard to put this book down and not feel that you have encountered an unusually-gifted author, one whom you will want to keep as a knowledgeable friend for many years to come.

"Dr. Ehin is the rarest of business authors: the subject expert whose writing is clear, focused, and actionable. Unleashing Intellectual Capital is a must read for tomorrow's business winners."

-David Stauffer, President of Stauffer Bury Inc.

"[A]n absolutely fascinating work which must be read by all contemporary managers. This book not only points the way for future global business evolution, but truly is a 'capstone work' which draws from Dr. Ehin's professsional expertise, and also incorporates all of his life's experiences into an exceptional 'common-sense approach' to the science of management for the new millenium...Personally, I believe that the elements that he sets forth provide an exceptional sound basis to guide all managers well into the future."

-Peter F. Gerity, Vice President for Research, Utah State University

"Charlie Ehin has done us all a great favor. He has clearly demonstrated that in the long run there can be no middle ground between controlled and shared access based organizations. And he has shared with us the precious knowledge that organizations flowing from a shared access foundation are those more likely to succeed in very unpredictable environments. Those who do not see a clear connection between the 'new science' and how human endeavors ought to be 'scientifically' organized should read this book."

-Ned Hamson, Senior Editor, The Journal for Quality and Participation

"In Unleashing Intellectual Capital Dr. Ehin has developed a model that will help create the necessary competitive advantage for companies through intellectual capital generation. He has provided the keys that open the best in an individual, team and a company as a whole. His book is the key to success for all change managers and anyone else interested in prospering in the Knowlege Age."

-Carl Champagne, President and CEO, Data Systems International, Inc.

"Dr. Ehin's Unleashing Intellectual Capital is a rare treasure in the evolution of management theory. Never before have we enjoyed a more comprehensive, integrated framework for managing human assets that incorporates the critical components necessary for success in the new millennium."

-Carol C. Leavitt, Sunstone Partners

"In this day and age of rapid change in both society and scientific endeavor, we all begin to see a convergence of biology, sociology, world economy, computer science, etc. I admire your courage in trying to amalgamate these diverse facets of human-kind and lead the reader to the obvious 'right and good' choice for our society and our enterprise structure."

-Donald F. Summers, M.D., Associate Director, National Cancer Institute

"Finally a book which not only brings back today's complex world of work to a human dimension, but reveals explicitly that in our basic humanness lies a source of incredible potential for building a successful business. A unique and very useful book."

-Frank Heckman, President of Van Ede Heckman, The Netherlands

"Dr. Ehin's Unleashing Intellectual Capital is thought provoking and enlightening. He built a compelling evolutionary argument demonstrating how hierarchical organizational structures stifle human social needs, thereby limiting organizational competitiveness. [Dr. Ehin] opened my eyes as to how an alternative structure, the shared access organization, affords modern organizations to compete in today's complex global society. Anyone planning to be a part of a successful 21st century enterprise should read this book and heed its advice on developing shared access organizations."

-Dr. Vicki R. Whiting, Assistant Professor, Vive and Bill Gore School of Business, Westminster College

"Unleashing Intellectual Capital showcases Dr. Ehin's great breadth of knowledge, passion and intuitive reflection. This book provides the reader with deep personal insight necessary for the development of management theory. Ehin weaves corporate principles with human behavior resulting in a unique model which will bring success to any company in the Knowledge Age."

-Tom Lyons, Senior Advisor, Irish Productivity Center, Ireland

"Most pleasing about this work is the interdisciplinary approach to explaining management. Dr. Ehin's book redistributes the balance of power so that we can all see ourselves as innately-driven, and in search of personal fulfillment. Perhaps organizations will at this point learn, grow and self-organize as the keys to productivity. The argument in Unleashing Intellectual Capital should help us get back to some basic scientific truths about human behavior so that our organizations can all move forward, in a more honest and productive manner."

-Stephen R. Baar, Academic Vice President, Dean of Faculty, Westminster College

"Dr. Ehin, a business professor and leader, weaves corporate principles with molecular biology, to reveal the many obstacles of what is considered 'traditional management.' Morality, reponsibility and understanding are essential to not only the corporate world, but to the planet at large. This book will be an innovative tool for the corporate culture."

-Jerry Kaufman, Attorney At Law, Los Vegas, Nevada

"Dr. Charles Ehin makes a logical and interesting case for understanding human behavior in knowledge organizations by focusing on our biological and evolutionary development. He provides us with another way of building "brain-rich" companies, who are the engines of progress and economic growth in modern society."

-Anu Kaljurand, Managing Director, Baltic Management Conferences, Estonia

"Unleashing Intellectual Capital combines current management theory with important observations about human biology to create an organizational construct based on bio-logic. Professor Ehin brings these theories together with a model for creating a self-organizing learnging organization that will be helpful in building and developing knowledge-age business."

-Carl Lehmann, CEO of RTW, and former President of the Store Value Group of American Express

"Organizations and individuals want a partnership where the individuals can use their ideas and skills and the organization will reward them for their contributions to the success of the business. Dr. Ehin is making a strong case that this movement is founded in recognizing and building on the positive aspects of our human nature. He has clearly explained why this is critical for satisfying the needs of both the business and the individual. A must read for successful companies of the 21st century

This is a good book with lots of good information. The book is great for persons without any knowledge of commercial real estate and is a good reference book for persons with experience in commercial real estate.

It is worth noting, however, that the much of the author's experience with investment real estate seemed to be during the 1970's decade. During that period of time there was hyper inflation in the real estate market. Often values and prices paid for real estate did not make much sense.

Some of the examples in the book refer to properties indicated to be worth several million dollars - and not exactly what you would call a small investment property.

However, the financial scenarios in this book are based on reasonably sound financial and economic theory. And the reasoning for the mathematical financial calculations seem to be fairly sound.

The book is a good buy for the price.<...

When I decided I wanted to learn more about commercial real estate investment, I bought a pile of books that claimed to be relevant and started working my way through them. This one was the ONLY one that I feel was really worth the read. It starts out by ascertaining whether the reader is truly ready to buy commercial real estate, taking a very prudent view of personal finances. It lays out everything worthwhile that any of the books on this subject lay out, and does so in a very readable manner. At the same time, it does not talk down to the reader or try to "dumb down" any of the material. I would suggest starting with only this book, and then buying other books (or talking to experts) in a more focussed manner, based upon what you find here. Incidentally, I haven't bought any commercial real estate yet, but I still intend to and I am trying to follow the advice of this book in preparing to do so.

This book was very simple to read, but jam packed with information. I not only enhanced my knowledge of real estate investing, but also got a refresher in economics. Masters discusses many tools and tips on the best way to get started and shares his experiences both good and bad. While he answered many questions that I had, he opened the doors to other questions I never thought of. I thought I was ready, but now I realize I still have some work to do.