Customer Reviews

The Complete Investment and Finance Dictionary

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Finally someone answers the call for us little people who would like to know about investing and finances. For the first time we have a book that will tell us what is a mid-cap and a large-cap and what is the difference. Most people think they know what it means, but to they really? Probably not. Of course no one would dare be the first to say, "I don't know what that means. After all I am a college grad and I should know these things." Well now we have a book that will answer our questions with out any guilt.
Someone has taken the long road and put into simple terms all those questions that we were to afraid of asking. In this book you can find any term that is used on Squak Box, Market Watch, Power Lunch, and Market Wrap on CNBC. Plus for the first time you might even know what they are squaking about.
I found my self taking it on trips so I could read and look up words or terms I did not know. It gives you power to be able to make sound decisions with your investments. Now when we meet with our financial planner I don't sit there and wonder what in the world is going on. I can take part and set clear financial goals.
After all if you are going to be in the game you must know who is a bat and what is the score. This little book is a grand slam with the bases loaded in the bottom of the nineth. Don't leave home without it.

A little over a year ago we bought our first house. We also began a serious look at our investment portfolio. One of the tools that we have found invaluable in our financial education has been The Complete Investment & Finance Dictionary by Howard Bryan Bonham, CFA.

This easy-to-use dictionary proved to be a great resource as we examined several possibilities for our 401(K) plans, invested in real estate, and considered market risks. This impressive dictionary cuts to the chase, and we found the cross-references particularly helpful. We also appreciated Mr. Bonham's humor as he speaks to the novice and experienced investor (i.e. consider a potential investment in Sour Grapes Vineyard).

No longer is the Business section of the daily paper a hassle or challenge to read with this handy resource by our side. We highly recommend Mr. Bonham's insightful dictionary to all students of investment and finance, in offices, a classrooms or homes. We continue to purchase copies as gifts for friends, family and associates.

At last, a wonderfully user-friendly resource for gaining an understanding of investments and the financial market. Many folks consider the language of Wall Street to be intimidating jargon. This book, step by step, clearly explains concepts and phrases found within the financial world. Due to the author's discerning manner of writing, the reader is able to follow along without difficulty. Here is a book I am both proud to own, and lucky to have come across. It sits within easy access.

At first I was so excited about a new and updated Investment & Finance Dictionary that I bought two of them and gave one as a gift to the library in China where I sometimes teach. How I quickly came to regret it. This is the worst investment & finance dictionary that I have seen. For example, how can you not have words like "correlation" , "R-squared" or "covariance" in a dictionary about investments? How can you say that "beta value [is] the percentage return ..." and then in the next sentence say that it moves between zero and one. Last I looked, stocks have returned several percentages from zero to hundreds or even thousands of %, or for that matter dropped 90-95% or even 100% in last few years. The definition is simply wrong. The Barron's Dictionary and the Gastineau/ Kritzman Dictionary are much better and more accurate if you are looking for investment and finance terms.

This book is a waste of money. The definitions are sometimes incorrect and it is outdated - Do not buy this book, it is missing critical information.

This is a response to Karin B. Bonding's review of September 2, in which she criticizes certain aspects of "The Complete Investment and Finance Dictionary." While I appreciate her taking the time to review the book, her review could have been more useful had it not misquoted the text; and also recognized any attributes of the book. But, perhaps I dream on that score. Readers should find it useful to read the review by Booknews.com and "Financial Analysts Journal".

* As to the omission of certain topics she mentioned, they are statistical concepts, more applicable to sophisticated capital market theory. However, some of those she noted do appear in other topics in the dictionary.

* The dictionary does not say, as she suggests, "beta value [is] the percentage return ..."
It does say, "In the statistical analysis of stock prices, (the Beta is) the percentage return experienced by a stock during a period attributable to general stock market activity." That means that a regression analysis estimates that the S&P 500 Index influenced the return of the stock by an amount that is represented by the Beta coefficient.

* The dictionary does not say, as she suggests, that the Beta moves between zero and one.
It does say, "The closer to "one" the value is, the more it moves with the stock market. Conversely, the closer to "zero" the value is, the less it moves with the stock market."

The Complete Investment and Finance DictionaryI have used this reference before, but wanted to own it.

Excellent ornament for the affluent office. Certainly cheaper than a "blot person".

Hope this helps.

-Richie Etwaru