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Quest for Alpha : The Holy Grail of Investing by Larry E. Swedroe (2011, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherWiley & Sons, Incorporated, John
ISBN-100470926546
ISBN-139780470926543
eBay Product ID (ePID)99645200
Product Key Features
Book TitleQuest for Alpha : the Holy Grail of Investing
Number of Pages208 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2011
TopicInvestments & Securities / Portfolio Management, Investments & Securities / Analysis & Trading Strategies, Investments & Securities / General
GenreBusiness & Economics
AuthorLarry E. Swedroe
Book SeriesBloomberg Ser.
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height0.8 in
Item Weight12.8 Oz
Item Length8.8 in
Item Width5.8 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2010-034716
TitleLeadingThe
Reviews'As I noted recently, success in investing is somewhat counterintuitive, and requires most investors to set aside their pre-conceived notions of how to build a portfolio that will allow them to reach their goals. The task is made all the harder because the vast majority of the participants in the financial services industry spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually reinforcing the myth of active management. Fortunately for investors, experts like Larry Swedroe are hard at work pointing out the fallacies of those myths, while also detailing the undeniable logic and mathematics that underpin a passive approach. The Quest for Alpha is a wonderful addition to that effort, and investors will be well-rewarded by reading it and acting upon its wisdom.' ? Nathan Hale, moneywatch.com, March 2011
Dewey Edition22
Series Volume Number130
Dewey Decimal332.6
Table Of ContentAcknowledgments xi Introduction xiii The Holy Grail xiv The Quest Begins xvi Chapter 1 Mutual Funds: The Evidence 1 When You Wish upon a Morningstar 2 Focus Funds 4 Active Management of Bond Funds 6 Skill versus Luck 8 Who Cares about the Average Fund? 12 With Active Managers, How Long Is Long Enough? 12 Advice from Professional Investors and Academics 15 Admissions from Industry Practitioners and the Financial Media 17 Chapter 2 Pension Plans: The Evidence 23 Counterproductive Activity 25 The Value of Consultants 27 The Performance of Funds Offered by 401(k) Plans 27 Fund Selection Skills 29 Please Don't Do Something, Stand There 30 Advice from Professional Investors 30 Admissions from an Industry Practitioner 31 Chapter 3 Hedge Funds: The Evidence 33 The Problems with Hedge Funds 36 Advice from Professional Investors and Academics 40 Chapter 4 Private Equity/Venture Capital: The Evidence 43 Characteristics of Private Equity Returns 46 Bias in the Data 48 Advice from a Professional Investor 49 Chapter 5 Individual Investors: The Evidence 51 Investment Returns versus Investor Returns 54 Advice from Professional Investors and Academics 56 Admissions from Industry Practitioners and the Financial Media 59 Chapter 6 Behavioral Finance: The Evidence 61 There Is Smoke, but No Fire 62 The Tyranny of the Efficient Markets 63 Further Evidence 64 The Failed Quest 65 The Value of Behavioral Finance 66 Even Smart People Make Mistakes 66 Admissions from Industry Practitioners 68 Summary 69 Chapter 7 Why Persistent Outperformance Is Hard to Find 71 The Quest for Alpha Is a Game Played on a Different Field 72 Successful Active Management Sows the Seeds of Its Own Destruction 74 Closet Indexing 76 Concentration and the Role of Trading Costs 77 The Role of Trading Costs 78 Drifting Out of Small Caps 79 Encore Performances 79 Who Gets the Money to Manage? 81 The Value of Economic and Market Forecasts 83 The Value of "Expert" Judgment 86 We All Want to Believe 89 The Value of Security Analysis 90 Buy, Sell, or Hold? 92 The Hurdles Are Getting Higher 93 Advice from Professional Investors and Academics 94 Admissions from Industry Practitioners and Academics 96 Chapter 8 The Prudent Investor Rule 103 The Prudent Investor Rule 106 The American Law Institute 106 The Uniform Prudent Investor Act 108 Chapter 9 Whose Interests Do They Have at Heart? 113 Advice from Professional Investors 114 Admissions from Industry Practitioners and Academics 115 A Triumph of Hope over Experience 120 The Arithmetic of Active Management 121 The Math Is Always the Same 123 The Costs of Active Investing 124 The Cost of Cash 126 An Expensive Quest 127 Summary 129 Chapter 10 How to Play the Winner's Game 133 Indexing Is More than the S&P 500 Index 135 Does Passive Investing Produce Average Returns? 140 Enough 141 Needs versus Desires 144 Pascal's Wager 145 Conclusion 147 The Yale Endowment Fund 148 The Way to Win Is Not to Play 149 The Quest for the Holy Grail 150 The Winner's Game 151 Appendix A: Rules of Prudent Investing 153 Appendix B: Doing It Yourself 159 Notes 165 Sources of Data 176 About the Author 177 Index 179
SynopsisThe final word on passive vs. active investing The debate on active investing-stock picking and market timing-versus passive investing-markets are highly efficient and almost impossible to outperform-has raged for decades. Which side is right? In The Quest for Alpha: The Holy Grail of Investing , author Larry E., The final word on passive vs. active investing The debate on active investing-stock picking and market timing-versus passive investing-markets are highly efficient and almost impossible to outperform-has raged for decades. Which side is right? In The Quest for Alpha: The Holy Grail of Investing , author Larry E. Swedroe puts an end to the debate, proving once and for all that active investing is likely to prove futile as the associated expenses-costs, fees, and time spent analyzing individual stocks and the overall market-are likely to exceed any benefits gained. The book Presents research, data, and quotations that reveal it's extremely difficult to outperform the market Explains why investors should focus on asset allocation, fund construction, costs, tax efficiency, and the building of a globally diversified portfolio that minimizes, if not eliminates, the taking of idiosyncratic, uncompensated risks Other titles by Swedroe: The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You'll Ever Need and The Only Guide You'll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan Investors are on a never-ending search for a money manager who will deliver returns above the appropriate risk-adjusted benchmark, aka the "Holy Grail of Investing." The Quest for Alpha demonstrates that it's a loser's game-while it's possible to win, it's so unlikely that you shouldn't try., "In a world where many investment books promise surefire techniques to earn extraordinary returns, it is refreshing to have Larry Swedroe remind us that there are no such techniques in short, there is no holy grail. This delightful book will help investors win by teaching them how to avoid losing." Burton G. Malkiel, author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street "Larry has written an extremely readable book that you will find hard to put down. I find this to be the best book Larry Swedroe has written, both due to its general readability and its content. One thing is certain: this book will not be found on the bookshelves of brokerage houses it puts the lie to just about everything they claim they can do." Edward R. Wolfe, PhD, Professor of Finance, Western Kentucky University "If your crystal ball is working, don't read this book. But if it's cloudy and you care about your or your clients' investments, you must read The Quest for Alpha. You may not discover the holy grail, but you will be a far better investor." Harold Evensky, President, Evensky && Katz Wealth Management "Over the last forty years, researchers have produced a mountain of evidence documenting the advantages of a simple, lowcost, diversified approach to investing. Larry Swedroe has climbed this mountain and condensed their wisdom into a manageable volume that offers onestop shopping. Anyone setting off on the path of managing their own money would do well to consult this comprehensive guidebook." Weston Wellington, Vice President, Dimensional Fund Advisors "With his entertaining and easytoread writing style, Larry presents a clear and concise message that is supported by decades of research: hold a globally diversified portfolio of lowcost index funds and ETFs; harvest tax losses; and periodically rebalance. This winning strategy is how I manage my money, and it can help you prudently manage your portfolio, too." Dr. William Reichenstein, CFA, Professor of Finance, Baylor University "Larry Swedroe uses his inimitable style with research findings to convey the message most investors do not want to hear and certainly do not want to believe the search for alpha is dominated by the 'wizards of advertising' and, for relatively sophisticated investors, by the 'wizards of overconfidence.'" John A. Haslem, Professor Emeritus of Finance, University of Maryl∧ Editor of Mutual Funds: Portfolio Structures, Analysis, Management, and Stewardship "Caution active investors: after reading this book, you'll probably never be able to buy another active fund. In The Quest for Alpha, Larry Swedroe provides the most thorough and compelling evidencebased case for passive investing I've ever read." Mel Lindauer, Forbes.com columnist and coauthor of The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing and The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning, The final word on passive vs. active investing The debate on active investing-stock picking and market timing-versus passive investing-markets are highly efficient and almost impossible to outperform-has raged for decades. Which side is right? In The Quest for Alpha: The Holy Grail of Investing , author Larry E. Swedroe puts an end to the debate, proving once and for all that active investing is likely to prove futile as the associated expenses-costs, fees, and time spent analyzing individual stocks and the overall market-are likely to exceed any benefits gained. The book Presents research, data, and quotations that reveal it's extremely difficult to outperform the market Explains why investors should focus on asset allocation, fund construction, costs, tax efficiency, and the building of a globally diversified portfolio that minimizes, if not eliminates, the taking of idiosyncratic, uncompensated risks Other titles by Swedroe: The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You'll Ever Need and The Only Guide You'll Ever Need for the Right Financial Plan Investors are on a never-ending search for a money manager who will deliver returns above the appropriate risk-adjusted benchmark, aka the Holy Grail of Investing. The Quest for Alpha demonstrates that it's a loser's game-while it's possible to win, it's so unlikely that you shouldn't try.
LC Classification NumberHG4527.S944 2011
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