The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance (Mathematics, Finance and Risk) [Hardcover]

Mark S. Joshi (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521514088 | ISBN-13: 978-0521514088 | Publication Date: November 17, 2008 | Edition: 2nd

An ideal introduction for those starting out as practitioners of mathematical finance, this book provides a clear understanding of the intuition behind derivatives pricing, how models are implemented, and how they are used and adapted in practice. Strengths and weaknesses of different models, e.g. Black-Scholes, stochastic volatility, jump-diffusion and variance gamma, are examined. Both the theory and the implementation of the industry-standard LIBOR market model are considered in detail. Each pricing problem is approached using multiple techniques including the well-known PDE and martingale approaches. This second edition contains many more worked examples and over 200 exercises with detailed solutions. Extensive appendices provide a guide to jargon, a recap of the elements of probability theory, and a collection of computer projects. The author brings to this book a blend of practical experience and rigorous mathematical background and supplies here the working knowledge needed to become a good quantitative analyst.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The book is intended as an introduction for a numerate person to the discipline of mathematical finance. In this, Mark Joshi succeeds admirably - an excellent starting point for a numerate person in the field of mathematical finance.' Risk Magazine

' ... ideal for those who want to learn or deepen their knowledge about Quantitative Finance ... The breadth of the book particularly impressed me. It went from theoretical to practical, while covering implementation-related issues. It makes concepts such as Martingales, Measures and Numéraires look so natural and easy. Pricing Quantos or Spread-Options becomes an innate result of these concepts.' Wilmott Magzine

The author allows the reader as often as possible to get an intuition for the models and concepts. Helpful information is given on how to use and implement these models and concepts in practical terms. This practice-orientation makes this book different from others belonging to this category ... the text is also well suited as a textbook for a quantitative-oriented introductory course on finance at universities or other academic institutions ... one can say that this introductory book in offering a well balanced and up-to-date introduction to the theory and practice of mathematical finance overshadows many other books available on the same subject.' Zentralblatt MATH

'The book has been very nicely produced by Cambridge University Press. I would certainly recommend that anyone teaching an introductory or intermediate course on this topic seriously consider this book as a potential course text.' International Statistical Institute

'Very few books provide a balance between financial theory and practice. This book is one of the few that strikes that balance ... certainly a good addition to your collection of financial mathematics books.' SIAM Review

'The set-up of this book certainly meets the needs of the audience for whom this book is written. Moreover, the author brings the material in a very comprehensive way leading to new or better insights in several aspects of the material. An innovation is that besides worked out examples and exercises, a list of computer projects are included which encourage the reader to implement the models. This certainly adds to the learning process.' Kwantitatieve Methoden

Book Description

Second edition of successful text providing the working knowledge needed to become a good quantitative analyst. An ideal introduction to mathematical finance, readers will gain a clear understanding of the intuition behind derivatives pricing, how models are implemented, and how they are used and adapted in practice.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2nd edition (November 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521514088
• ISBN-13: 978-0521514088
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Joshi obtained a B.A. in mathematics (top of year) from the University of Oxford in 1990, and a Ph.D. in pure mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. He was an assistant lecturer in the department of pure mathematics and mathematical statistics at Cambridge University from 1994 to 1999. Following which he worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland from 1999 to 2005 as a quantitative analyst at a variety of levels, finishing as the Head of Quantitative Research for Group Risk Management. He joined the Centre for Actuarial Studies at the University of Melbourne in November 2005 as an associate professor and is now a full professor.

His latest book: "More mathematical finance" was published in September 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction, should be supplemented, July 3, 2010

By 

Grad Student - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance (Mathematics, Finance and Risk) (Hardcover)

I am writing this review from the perspective of a physicist (w/ Ph.D.) looking to start a career in finance. Currently, I have spent about a month studying the book, and can say that I have a good grasp of the first half.

Overall, I feel that this is a very good introduction to the field of mathematical finance. The canonical suggestion for people of my background is to start with Hull's book (Options, Futures & Other Derivatives with Derivagem CD Value Package (includes Student Solutions Manual for Options, Futuresd Other Derivatives) (7th Edition)). I disagree---not only is that book too expensive, if you have an advanced degree I feel that you should start with a more advanced textbook. I feel that this book is written at an advanced undergrad/intro grad level text, and should keep the reader interested. Moreover, Joshi does a very good job of explaining things from many different angles, which is very helpful if you're just learning the field. The problems tend to be easy, and you can work through this book in two or three months without much effort, except in Chapters 6 and 8 (see below).

There are a dozen or so longer computer projects in the back, and Joshi recommends his readers complete all of the projects before starting to look for a quant job. I think this is probably a good idea, and one should supplement their C++ coding with Joshi's other book (C++ Design Patterns and Derivatives Pricing (Mathematics, Finance and Risk)). Before attempting either the projects or Mark's other book, you should be familiar with classes and inheritance and all the associated goodies (virtual functions, etc.). This will allow you to get the most out of both of Joshi's books.

Another wonderful resource associated with this book is Mark's discussion forum (see the Preface), where he answers questions personally (or, perhaps, has a graduate student to do his dirty work). Either way, this is an invaluable tool for self study, as Joshi (or his ward) answer questions there regularly, and I've never had to wait more than a day or two for a response.

That being said, I do find the writing style to be too prosaic at times. For me, I feel that the author belabors some points while leaving others unaddressed. Other notational/stylistic issues really bugged me---for example, the author has a habit of writing expressions instead of equations (i.e. writing just the right hand side of an equation). This drove me nuts, as it diminishes the value of the text as a reference because you can't scan through to find an equation. (If you think I'm crazy for mentioning this, I warned you!) I also felt that Chapters 6 and 8 took a lot of work and seemed needlessly complicated, though this may represent my own shortcomings as opposed to the author's. I felt as if I was thrown into the pool, so to speak, in Chapter 6, which didn't provide enough background for understanding what is going on in Chapter 8. Readers who have a solid background in real analysis and probability theory will probably fare better. Chapter 6 is rife with typos, so careful reader should keep the errata from Joshi's website close at hand.

In summary, this book is a cross between a formal mathematical introduction to the subject, and a primer on practical application, tending more towards the former than the latter. It distinguishes itself from other purely mathematical introductions in its style: instead of the ``theorem-proof-corollary-proof-useless example'' format of a math book, Joshi thoughtfully examines the important concepts from complementary angles. And while I feel that it is a very good introduction to the field, you simply cannot learn all there is to learn about the field from one introductory textbook, so I suggest that interested readers supplement their study with a more qualitative/less math-y reference (I'm reading Tim Crack's Basic Black-Scholes: Option Pricing and Trading) and a textbook which focuses more on the mathematical tools (I particularly like Baxter and Rennie's Financial Calculus : An Introduction to Derivative Pricing). By combining this textbook with a few other references, and taking Joshi's Table of Contents as the syllabus, I feel that the interested reader should be able to develop a very full understanding of the rudiments of this interesting field.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly for a beginner, May 30, 2009

By 

Maximillian (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance (Mathematics, Finance and Risk) (Hardcover)

I had a hard time understanding this book's explanations of financial concepts. Some things are just not crystal clear. I would learn some of this first from a book that has a more cut-and-dried 'textbook' approach like Hull and then read this. Aside from this I think it looks like a solid work worth reading and studying. ...But again, not as the first pick for the absolute beginner. What I do like is that it is heavier on the mathematical "meat" than a book like Hull.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and rigorous, May 23, 2011

By 

jchen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Concepts and Practice of Mathematical Finance (Mathematics, Finance and Risk) (Hardcover)

I am a math finance student who will soon start a summer internship on Wall Street. I want to leave feedback for the best and worst books that I used in my studies so far.

This is a very comprehensive book, written by a former practitioner and covering material the way a practitioner would. For example, it starts by talking about Risk, and not about options like most other books would. It covers a vast number of topics, from numerical methods (trees) to stochastic calculus. It is more of a reference book then a textbook, but an excellent one!