The Practical Guide to Wall Street: Equities and Derivatives
$16.73
| Author(s) | |
|---|---|
| Format |
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| Pages |
555 |
| Published Date |
2009 |
The Practical Guide to Wall Street is an indispensable resource for anyone who aspires to a front-office sales or trading position on Wall Street and an essential desk reference for market practitioners and those who interact with this exciting but widely misunderstood industry. Written by an experienced trader in a clear, conversational style and assuming no previous background in finance, The Practical Guide to Wall Street provides a thorough schooling in the core curriculum of the equity and equity derivatives sales and trading business – exactly what you would learn from sitting beside the traders at a tier-one Wall Street investment bank.
Author’s Note:
This book provides an overview of the front office sales and trading business of a typical Wall Street investment bank or broker-dealer. In selecting and structuring the material to include, and the level of detail to present, the primary criterion has been the probability that the reader would find the information useful in practice, either in a front-office environment or as a buy-side client. Anything I would not expect of the trader or sales-person sitting next to me on the trading desk, or that would not significantly benefit his or her job performance, has been omitted to ensure the reader is not distracted from the relevant material. The presentation and pace of the book are based on my own experience explaining this material to both junior and more senior professionals over many years.
Throughout the book I have made an effort to introduce, wherever possible, the language and terminology used by traders and salespeople in practice. Not only is there a great deal of vocabulary that is unique to the trading floor, but the correct use of that language, down to the trading-specific interpretations of the prepositions “for” and “at” is essential for such a fast-paced environment where it can easily mean the difference between a successful trade and an expensive error.
So that the book is accessible and useful to the broadest possible audience, the prerequisites have been kept to a minimum. The reader is assumed to have no particular familiarity with finance or economics beyond what could be considered the commonsense understanding of the dynamics of supply and demand. (Specifically, that an increase in demand, or scarcity of supply, for any good, tends to drive the price of that good up, while a decrease in demand, or excess supply, leads to lower prices.) However, because modern finance is inherently mathematical, it is necessary that the reader understand some of the basic concepts from calculus, probability, and statistics. Fortunately, our interest is only at the conceptual level: The reader must understand, to use one example, that the mathematical definition of the derivative measures a rate of change and can be interpreted as the slope of a line. It will not, however, be necessary that the reader be able to actually calculate the derivative. An appendix is included with a brief overview of the relevant mathematical concepts for those readers in need of a refresher.
A final observation is that, while the book is written from a U.S.-centric perspective, the structure of the equity sales and trading business globally is quite consistent and the concepts presented here can be easily extended to international markets, making the book relevant for both U.S. and international readers.
Contents:
- Equity Fundamentals (Part 1): Introduction to Financial Statements
- Equity Fundamentals (Part 2): Financial Ratios, Valuation, and Corporate Actions
- Cash Market
- Equity Indices
- Program Trading
- Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
- Forwards and Futures
- Swaps
- Options
- The Trading Floor
- Macroeconomics for Trading and Sales
- Economic Data Releases
The Practical Guide to Wall Street: Equities and Derivatives By Matthew Tagliani pdf
15 reviews for The Practical Guide to Wall Street: Equities and Derivatives
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Molly Williams (verified owner) –
There are way too many books out there that talk about either mom-and-pop investing strategies or ultra-geeky complex trading. This one is exactly what I needed: a simple, precise overview of what each cog in the market machine does, from client to sales-trader to trader to exchange. It’s on the expensive side and was written before events such as the “flash crash” but overall an essential buy if you want to really understand how the trading floor works.
Belen Padilla (verified owner) –
The world of Sales and Trading is not an easy profession to learn about without working in the business. As someone who is trying to break into this fast paced environment, I have found this book to be extremely helpful. It has allowed me to better understand many of the different functions on the floor and get a grasp of the language. It is a must read for anyone who is curious about the industry or plans to interview in this field.
Alaina Salas (verified owner) –
Honestly, if you need to read this in the FO, I m pretty sure you will not be able to get into the FO in the first place, given that the quality of people in FO is improving rapidly.
Norah Walls (verified owner) –
I can’t think of more useful resource for new hires, junior traders, salespeople or aspiring students than this book. It covers all the different product areas in the division and takes the enormously pragmatic approach of an actual trader – focusing on the real issues faced by practitioners, not abstract theoretical considerations.
As for the condescending (and creatively spelled) 1-star review from William the “FINANACE ENG.” [sic], I think he’s missed the point of the book entirely. If you want someone’s opinion about the content, take a look at the back cover recommendations from the global heads of trading at Morgan Stanley (“an extraordinary accomplishment… enormously useful”) and Credit Suisse (“an excellent introduction … I’d enthusiastically recommend it to any new hire”) as well as the professor who teaches at two Ivy League universities (“a textbook that combines practical wisdom with academic rigor”).
If you’re already in the industry, this book will broaden and structure your understanding. If you’re trying to get into the industry, think of it as a solutions manual to the job interview questions. Who knows… someday it might be the author sitting across the table looking at your CV!
Buy this book.
Gracelynn Carson (verified owner) –
Great book–I used it to prepare for a few interviews on Wall Street. It’s written mostly for people starting out in finance, but can be of service to a wide range of professionals in the industry.
Watson Freeman (verified owner) –
This book provides elementary coverage of stocks, program trading,ETFs, swaps, futures as well as options with an introduction to equity analysis. While the book’s treatment of the subject may be overly simplified, it is practical and not overly detailed thus making it suitable for beginners that need to get a good initial introduction to the subject.
The focus of the book is primarily a non specialized broad knowledge of different subjects within the financial and trading industries. It is especially useful for training new traders and bankers. The author also explains in broad terms the profit and loss calculations used and the language employed without assuming a prior financial background.
This book fails in that the overly basic treatment of the subject matter makes it impossible to gain any deep knowledge of a specific area, for that other books must be consulted.
Alana Murray (verified owner) –
clear practical guide, excellent explanations and a lucid style. A few case studies might have helped but other than that a great book.
Nyla Carey (verified owner) –
This book, although dated, with new edition forthcoming, provides an excellent overview of the topic to enable a quick grasp of the essentials. I had not kept up, and it certainly refreshes and educates. Worth buying.
Oliver McMahon (verified owner) –
Great overview for new entrants to Wall Street. Even helps experienced professionals understand how the equity business is connected. A must read for new grads.
Ares Santiago (verified owner) –
Personally, this has been the book I have been searching for. Other books are too technical and very focused on only a specific topic (accounting, derivatives, debt structure) while some beginner books just don’t cut it. Really like the authors easy to follow verbage and his examples.
Zaiden Joseph (verified owner) –
Having worked on Wall Street for over 11 years I can say that this is the best hands on guide to all equity products. I have it at my desk and often use it as a quick reference to effectively get a working knowledge with a product. No other book I have come across in my career and at business school is as useful in getting a quick handle on these products and their applications. Other books are too theoretical, too formula driven unless you plan on being a structurer etc. Its a must have reference guide for anyone interested in the equity/equity derivative markets.
Ambrose Santos (verified owner) –
I’ve been on Wall Street for 6 years and have never read a book more effective at explaining equity products than this one. This book tremendously broadened my knowledge of equity products. As a result of introducing “The Practical Guide to Wall Street” to my team, the training process for analysts is both shorter and more effective, greatly simplifying my life. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a solid understanding of equity products, but not to someone who expects to be a master of any one product just by reading it. It’s a must read for junior staff and a great resource for more experienced team members.
Larry Lyons (verified owner) –
Great book. For people who are starting out in the business it’s a “must have” (especially if you’re planning on a summer internship and want to look smart). For those with more experience, it’s an incredibly useful on-desk reference for all sorts of things. Each chapter is pretty independent so you don’t have to read it cover-to-cover and can jump in wherever. One suggestion – start reading from Chapter 3. The first two chapters are fundamental analysis which is pretty dry stuff compared to the rest of it. I’d suggest going back to these in small doses to avoid being overwhelmed. Overall, very highly recommended. Can’t think of a better book for business professionals. Read this twice and skip the CFA.
Ashton Black (verified owner) –
Mr. Tagliani’s book is a must-read for the aspiring Wall St. professional and the seasoned veteran alike. For those aspiring, particularly those college grads about to enter the field, the book explains much of the terminology, calculations, and thought processes that are lacking in nearly all finance 101 type courses and major. This is the same knowledge that young Wall St. professionals scramble to pick up in the first few years in the trade as analysts and associates. And for those that have been in the business, the book covers a breadth of topics that would require months of sitting at other trading desks to acquire (and at least a book you can bring home with you.)
This book avoids much of the fluff and useless pontification often found in classrooms, and focuses on the knowledge indispensable to today’s Wall St. professional; that is, the modern Wall St. professional can rarely focus on just one product or a few stocks, and often requires both depth and breadth to cater to the ever increasing complexity of clients and to trade in the ever interconnected market that we trade in today.
The title is very fitting (it’s practical, not fluffy), and I wish I had a book like this available to me when I first started in finance. Definitely a must-read.
Kenzie Livingston (verified owner) –
Having worked on Wall Street for 7 years, this is the book I wish I had when I started. It gives exactly the right level of depth in each of the product areas you will encounter on the Equity side of Sales & Trading.
If you are an experienced trader on a particular desk the explanations will seem elementary. But as a basis for understanding all the various desks on the trading floor this is perfect.
There are also very useful sections on how to read company balance sheets and announcements and macro economic announcements. Crucially these sections concentrate on what you need to know as a salesperson or a trader and not what you need to be an accountant or an economist. Consequently a lot of unnecessary complication and depth is stripped away to make these concepts much easier to follow.
This book should not just be considered by traders and sales people – it is very relevant to anyone working in middle office or IT/Operations functions too.
Read this book cover to cover and you will finally understand in detail why it is the traders ask you to make available functions that show the future basis calculation or ask you to create or redeem an ETF.
One point to note is this book is limited to products found on an Equity trading floor. There is no coverage of Fixed Income products (Bonds, Foreign Exchange, Commodities). A similar book for those areas would be most welcome.