The text is composed of seven sections that are fairly inde- pendent and may be studied in a variety of sequences. Because there is enough material in the book for a two- semester course, clearly a one-semester course will require the instructor to decide which parts to include.
Part One is introductory and contains important institutional material focusing on the financial environment. We discuss the major players in the financial markets, provide an overview of the types of securities traded in those markets, and explain how and where securities are traded. We also discuss in depth mutual funds and other investment companies, which have become an increasingly important means of investing for individual investors. Perhaps most important, we address how financial markets can influence all aspects of the global economy, as in 2008.
ZVI BODIE
Boston University
Zvi Bodie is the Norman
and Adele Barron Professor of Management at Boston University. He holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has served on the finance fac- ulty at the Harvard Business School and MITโs Sloan School of Management. Professor Bodie has published widely on pension finance and investment strategy in leading professional journals. In cooperation with the Research Foundation of the CFA Institute, he has recently produced a series of Webcasts and a monograph entitled The Future of Life Cycle Saving and Investing.
ALEX KANE
University of California, San Diego
Alex Kane is professor of finance and economics at
the Graduate School of International Relations
and Pacific Studies at the University of California,
San Diego. He has been visiting professor at the Faculty
of Economics, University of Tokyo; Graduate School of Business, Harvard; Kennedy School of Government, Harvard; and research associ- ate, National Bureau of Economic Research. An author of many articles in finance and management journals, Professor Kaneโs research is mainly in corporate finance, portfolio management, and capital markets, most recently in the measurement of market volatility and pricing of options.
ALAN J. MARCUS
Boston College
Alan Marcus is the Mario J. Gabelli Professor of Finance in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. He received his PhD in economics from MIT. Professor Marcus has been a visiting professor at the Athens Laboratory of Business Administration and at MITโs Sloan School of Management and has served as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Professor Marcus has published widely in the fields of capital markets and portfolio management. His consulting work has ranged from new-product development to provision of expert testimony in utility rate proceedings. He also spent 2 years at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), where he developed models of mortgage pricing and credit risk. He currently serves on the Research Foundation Advisory Board
of the CFA Institute.
