Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments

by Harry M. Markowitz

Overview

This is a classic book, representing the first major breakthrough in the field of modern financial theory. In effect, it created the mathematics of portfolio selection in a model which has turned out to be the indispensable building block from which the theory of the demand for risky securities is constructed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557861085
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	08/26/1991
Series:	Cowles Foundation Monograph Series
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.42(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Professor Markowitz has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics 1990.

Table of Contents

Preface.

Part I: Introduction and Illustrations:.

1. Introduction.

2. Illustrative Portfolio Analysis.

Part II: Relationships Between Securities and Portfolios:.

3. Averages and Expected Values.

4. Standard Deviations and Variances.

5. Investment in Large Numbers of Securities.

6. Return in the Long Run.

Part III: Efficient Portfolios:.

7. Geometric Analysis of Efficient Sets.

8. Derivation of E, V Efficient Portfolios.

9. The Semi-Variance.

Part IV: Rational Choice Under Uncertainty.

10. The Expected Utility Maxim.

11. Utility Analysis Over Time.

12. Probability Beliefs.

13. Applications to Portfolio Selection.

Bibliography.

Addendum.

Appendix A: The Computation of Efficient Sets.

B: A Simplex Method for the Portfolio Selection Problem.

C: Alternative Axiom Systems for Expected Utility.

Index.

Part V: Notes on Previous Chapters.

Note on Chapter IV.

Note on Chapter V.

Note on Chapter VI.

Note on Chapter VII.

Note on Chapter VIII and Appendix A.

Note on Chapter IX.

Note on Part IV and Appendix C.

Appendix: Personal Notes

Editorial Reviews

"Modern portfolio theory gives a rigorous mathematical justification for the time honored investment maxim that diversification is a sensible strategy for individuals who wish to reduce their risks. Invented in the 1950s by Harry Markowitz in this book, the theory provides a firm foundation for the intuition that you should not put all your eggs in one basket and shows investors how to combine securities to minimize risk." Butron G Malkiel, author of "A Random Walk Down Wall Street"

"In every field of study it is possible to look back and identify a person or event that caused a major change in the direction or development of the field. In investments it is clear that the seminal work by Harry Markowitz on portfolio theory changed the field more than any other single event." Frank K. Reilly, University of Notre Dame, Indiana

From the Publisher