Active Portfolio Management
A Quantitative Approach for
Producing Superior Returns and Controling Risk
Mathematically rigorous and
meticulously organized, Active Portfolio Management broke new ground when it first
appeared in 1994. By outlining an innovative process to uncover raw signals of asset
returns, develop them into refined forecasts, then use those forecasts to construct
portfolios combining exceptional return and minimal risk i.e., portfolios that
consistently beat the market this hallmark book helped thousands of investment managers.
Active Portfolio Management,
Second Edition, now sets the bar even higher. Like its predecessor, this volume details
how to apply economics, econometrics, and operations research to solving practical
investment problems and finding superior profit opportunities. It outlines an active
management framework that begins with a benchmark portfolio, then defines exceptional
returns as they relate to that benchmark. Beyond the comprehensive treatment of the active
management process covered previously, this new edition expands to cover asset allocation,
long/short investing, information horizons, and other topics relevant today. It revisits a
number of discussions from the first edition, shedding new light on some of today's most
pressing issues, including risk, dispersion, market impact, and performance analysis,
while providing empirical evidence where appropriate.
The result is an updated,
comprehensive set of strategic concepts and rules of thumb for guiding the process of and
increasing the profits from active investment management. Organized into four
sections Foundations, Expected Returns and Valuation, Information Processing, and
Implementation that walk you step-by-step through the entire process. Active Portfolio
Management introduces:
The appropriate framework
for active management, and how to use basic portfolio theory to navigate within that
framework
Techniques to transform
market insights into specific, profitable investment strategies
Long/short strategies when
to use them, when to avoid them, and why
Proven rules for evaluating
investment strategies
Methods to estimate
transaction costs plus proven ways to reduce them
Historical and empirical
information on the accuracy of risk models
Technical appendixes with
more detailed explanations of each chapter's mathematics
Unique, real-world exercises
to provide nuts-and-bolts understanding of new concepts
Active Portfolio Management
covers both the basic principles and foundations, as well as the practical details, of the
process of active investment management. It provides a proven approach to active
investment that is designed to beat not only unman-aged indexes but also competing, less
rigorous management approaches.
About the Authors
Richard C. Grinold, Ph.D., is
Managing Director, Advanced Strategies and Research at Barclays Global Investors. Dr.
Grinold spent 14 years at BARRA, where he served as Director of Research, Executive Vice
President, and President; and 20 years on the faculty at the School of Business
Administration at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as the chairman
of the finance faculty, chairman of the management science faculty, and director of the
Berkeley Program in Finance.
Ronald N. Kahn, Ph.D., is
Managing Director in the Advanced Active Strategies Group at Barclays Global Investors.
Dr. Kahn spent 11 years at BARRA, including over seven years as Director of Research. He
is on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Portfolio Management and the Journal
of Investment Consulting.
Both authors have published
extensively, and are widely known in the industry for their pioneering work on risk
models, portfolio optimization, and trading analysis; equity, fixed income, and
international investing; and quantitative approaches to active management.
596 pages