Investments + S&P Card + Powerweb + StockTrak discount coupon

Author: Zvi Bodie, Alex Kane
List Price: $138.45
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0072503661
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Irwin (23 July, 2001)
Sales Rank: 43,827
Average Customer Rating: 4.45 out of 5

Customer Reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5
Comprehensive, student-friendly, and extremely helpful
The book by Bodie et al is unquestionably, the best introduction to Investment Theory available today. Please note that there is an emphasis on the word introduction, because there is much that can be covered after the book ends. This book provides a springboard from which the student can take off in different directions viz. Derivatives, Risk Management, Portfolio Management etc.

The language is simple, and there are no mathematical demons in the book. The Concept Check questions are extremely valuable and should be attempted before the reader delves into the equally challenging exercises at the end of the chapters. The book starts with an introduction to the different types of markets and financial instruments present today, and then moves into investments, risk etc. The book touches upon a number of topics including bonds, financial statement analysis, security valuation, derivatives and hedging. Like other multipurpose book, it does not go in-depth into any of these, but provides the reader a brief introduction to each of them for help in further studies. It does dwell a lot on portfolio theories which are described in detail, with numerous examples. The chapter-ending exercises are graded with easier questions in the beginning, and extremely challenging ones in the end.

All in all, a great book!


Rating: 5 out of 5
Excellent text book on investments & basic portfolio theory
I am a lecturer in Finance for a university in the UK. I evaluated this book for use in an Executive MBA course in portfolio management after previously using "Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management" by Reilly and Brown. The Reilly book takes a more quantitative approach to the valuation of various assets and is more comprehensive than "Investments" in terms of its coverage of securities and markets but I ultimately opted for "Investments" due to its clarity, organization, and quality writing style. The authors do an excellent job of communicating fairly complex concepts to a student with little or no background in finance.

If you are studying for the CFA or need a more advanced text, I can recommmend the Reilly book. If you are a practitioner or looking for a very mathematically rigorous text in portfolio management, I can recommend "Active Portfolio Management" by Grinold. But for an undergraduate or graduate student looking for an excellent primer on stocks, bonds, options, futures and the workings of the markets they are traded on, look no further than "Investments".

One note: we were able to obtain a paperback copy of the text at much reduced cost.


Rating: 5 out of 5
Well begun is half done!!
Anyone embarking upon a study of investments should begin with this book. From an explanation of market structure to intuitive analyses of all core concepts in investments (like Markowitz Theory, CAPM, Black-Scholes, Fixed Income concepts), this book has everything. Newer editions of the book also have very good instructions on how to implement the tools in MS-Excel. Obviously, this book is not meant for those pursuing a PhD. Rather it is meant for MBAs and aspiring CFAs who want to learn and implement investment tools and analysis.

Similar Products

Real Estate Finance and Investments (Real Estate Finance and Investments, 11th Ed)
Principles of Corporate Finance(R) + Student CD + Corporate Governance Trade Book + Standard & Poor's + Ethics in Finance PowerWeb
Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives (5th Edition)
Corporate Finance
The Handbook of Alternative Assets


Book Index