Finance
A Quantitative Introduction

An introduction to modern finance designed for students with strong quantitative skills.

Nico van der Wijst (Author)

9781107029224, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 January 2013

445 pages, 64 b/w illus. 73 tables
25.2 x 19.4 x 2.4 cm, 1.11 kg

'Over the past few decades there is a growing trend towards the use of quantitative methods for decision making and analysis in the field of finance, as a result of the increasing complexity in the globalized markets. This book covers well selected, major areas in modern finance in a clear and comprehensive way, and succeeds in providing a very balanced presentation of elementary material related to the fundamental theories and concepts, as well as more advanced topics. I really enjoyed this unique approach of the book as it makes the underlying ideas of the finance theory and the increasing sophistication of its quantitative aspects much more accessible to a large audience of students and practitioners.' Constantin Zopounidis, Technical University of Crete and Audencia Group, School of Management

By providing a solid theoretical basis, this book introduces modern finance to readers, including students in science and technology, who already have a good foundation in quantitative skills. It combines the classical, decision-oriented approach and the traditional organization of corporate finance books with a quantitative approach that is particularly well suited to students with backgrounds in engineering and the natural sciences. This combination makes finance much more transparent and accessible than the definition-theorem-proof pattern that is common in mathematics and financial economics. The book's main emphasis is on investments in real assets and the real options attached to them, but it also includes extensive discussion of topics such as portfolio theory, market efficiency, capital structure and derivatives pricing. Finance equips readers as future managers with the financial literacy necessary either to evaluate investment projects themselves or to engage critically with the analysis of financial managers. Supplementary material is available at www.cambridge.org/wijst.

1. Introduction
2. Fundamental concepts and techniques
3. Modern portfolio theory
4. Market efficiency
5. Capital structure and dividends
6. Valuing levered projects
7. Option pricing in discrete time
8. Option pricing in continuous time
9. Real options analysis
10. Selected option applications
11. Hedging
12. Agency problems and governance
Solutions to exercises
Glossary
Index.

Subject Areas: Finance [KFF], Finance & accounting [KF]