Finance in a Nutshell: A no-nonsense companion to the tools and techniques of finance [Paperback]

Javier Estrada (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2006

No other book is a comprehensive toolkit of financial issues, instructive, and so easy to read, all at the same time – this is an easy-to-read guide to the hard-to-understand stuff of business finance.

•  The author regularly gives talks, seminars, and courses for executives and is very aware of their lack of understanding (or their inability to remember) simple but key financial concepts and tools. He is continually asked to recommend a simple book that helps them to refresh key financial concepts and tools. 
• Self-contained: Other than some elementary algebra, no other previous knowledge will be necessary to understand the concepts discussed.
• Comprehensive: It will contain most or all topics, concepts, and tools that executives can easily forget, find hard to understand, and/or would like to know more about.
• Simple and easy to read: Many well-educated executives have all but forgotten their finance and are regularly put off by books that are far more academic than they need. This book will be written in a simple and conversational style.
• Concise with short chapters throughout: This is critical as many executives are put off by long books or never ending chapters.
• Essential elementary theory and many real-world examples. All concepts and tools will be illustrated with catchy and factual examples.
• Excel: Spreadsheets have become an inseparable part of working in Finance and this book will show readers how to use Excel to simplify their work.
• Test Yourself: problems with worked numerical solutions throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

 

 

“Javier Estrada delivers the essential concepts and tools of modern finance clearly and concisely.  Estrada avoids abstract symbolism and jargon, and instead relies on insightful, practical examples, making this the perfect book for practitioners who seek an efficient and engaging learning experience.   My advice: buy this book and keep it close at hand!”

Mark Kritzman, President & CEO, Windham Capital Management, LLC

 

“With Finance in a Nutshell, Javier Estrada has succeeded in several difficult tasks: to make an investment and corporate finance guide concise and useful; conceptually comprehensive and correct, but also written in a readable and engaging style.  Academics, as well as practitioners, will want to refer to this book and recommend it to others.

Edward I. Altman, Max L. Heine Professor of Finance, NYU Stern School of Business

 

“Professor Estrada has written a summary of basic financial topics that should appeal to all levels of students and practitioners.  It is concise and readable, but still manages to address the key issues in finance in a manner that is both useful and insightful.  As a former academic and current practitioner of finance, I will use this book and recommend it to my colleagues.”

 Jack D. Glen,Lead Portfolio Officer, Corporate Portfolio Management Department, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

 

 

"This is a valuable companion for the practising manager and student.  In one brief volume we have a succinct presentation of the important tools and concepts of modern finance.  The discussion is direct and practical.  Estrada is to be commended for translating deep economic ideas into terms that are immediately usable, compelling, and valuable."
Robert F. Bruner, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia

 

"In exceptionally clear and concise language, Javier Estrada explains the concepts of modern finance. Each chapter is up-to-date, well-presented and contains useful problem sets. I recommend this book to practitioners and students alike."

George Hoguet, CFA, FRM Global Investment Strategist, State Street Global Advisors

 

“This is a compact handbook of the key concepts that we teach in finance. You can dip into any chapter for a quick briefing or a fast refresher. This is corporate finance served in bite-sized and digestible portions.”

Elroy Dimson, BGI Professor of Investment Management, London Business School.

 

About the Author

IESE Business School, Madrid

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (March 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0273675400
• ISBN-13: 978-0273675402
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific handbook to have on your shelf for a quick refresher or as supplementary reading, May 15, 2006

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Finance in a Nutshell: A no-nonsense companion to the tools and techniques of finance (Paperback)

This is a terrific book that I wish had been available when I was taking my finance courses in b-school. The core topics in finance are well known and fairly standardized. However, students just learning can find the subject a bit counterintuitive and bewildering, no matter how normalized it becomes with familiarity. This book would be a great supplement for students struggling through huge textbooks and trying to get a handle on the basics. Of course, they should have the basic math required to execute these formulae or it won't be very helpful.

Another group that will benefit greatly from a handbook like this are people whose job is focused in an area that uses a narrow portion of the subject matter, but occasionally need or want to refresh themselves in matters not part of their everyday work. Picking this book off the shelf and reading a few pages on the relevant topic will put you right back in the swing of things.

The book has thirty clearly focused chapters that are broadly organized into four parts: Risk and Return, Valuation, Other Important Topics (such as NPV, IRR, Real Options, Corporations and Value Creation, Options, Futures and Forwards, and Currencies), and Statistical Background. Another really nice feature of the book is that, where relevant, the author includes material to help you implement the chapter material in Excel. Using spreadsheets is the way to go in finance, and this material is most useful. However, it is basic information and there are other books to help you with advanced topics and Excel. There are also a few problems provided in each chapter for you to work through and develop more intuition on the subject matter.

The author writes clearly, has chosen good intuitive symbols for the equations, and is clear where there are differences of opinion, problems with certain models, and cautions the reader on certain aspects of investment (such as currencies). Yes, this is NOT a substitute for more in depth reading on these topics, but it is a wonderful handbook and great for a quick refresher.

I am quite happy to have this on my finance shelf.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most comprehensive books out there., June 27, 2008

By 

W. A. IBRAHIM (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Finance in a Nutshell: A no-nonsense companion to the tools and techniques of finance (Paperback)

I approached this book with mixed feelings of suspicion and doubt. One question stood at first, how will anyone cover all subjects in finance in a single book with fewer than 400 pages ? I thought I'd get a book filled with old concepts of finance and no depth in discussions and on top of that accompanied by a minuscule font to fit the 400 pages!

To my surprise the book was amazingly concise, coherent and well structured. Mr. Estrada accomplished a difficult task in managing to write a well-balanced book which unites major theories in finance and its application (with emphasis on the latter). In fact, the author goes the extra mile in explaining how different point of views of a single model leads to different results. (i.e. CAPM and how investors approach it).

The book is divided into 4 parts.

Part 1: Risk and Return - ( 12 chapters ). Subjects covered include: Risk Adjusted, Diversification, Portfolios, Systematic risk, CAPM, Optimal portfolios.

Part 2 Valuation - ( 8 Chapters ). Subjects covered include: WACC, Reverse valuation, Market risk and Default risk, Duration and Convexity.

Part 3 Other Important Topics - ( 6 Chapters ). Subjects covered include: Real Options, Currencies, Options, Futures and Forwards, NPV, IRR.

Part 4 Statistical Background.- (4 Chapters ). Subjects covered include: Normality, Non-Normality, Regression analysis.


Pros:
*Short and independent chapters
*The consistent level of discussion. (leaning towards practicality rather than academic)
*The Problems section
*The Humorous style of Mr. Estrada which cracked the intensity of some chapters (two thumbs up for that)




Cons:

*Some tables and models are referenced in other chapters which requires flipping back and forth between chapters. And sometimes you end up reading the whole chapter, however I think this is a small price to pay for self-contained chapters.

*Part 3 which covers the futures and options could have been expanded a bit.

*The excel sheet (solution for the challenge problems at the end of each chapter) do not contain the formulas, only the numbers. Which misses the whole point of excel (it's all about formulas!) However if you followed the book you shouldn't face any problems it would just be a bit time-consuming.



Overall it's a great book with excellent presentation. nonetheless, it IS a nutshell which plainly means it does not cover topics as same as a book with 800 pages dedicated for a single subject.


I'd recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject from professional to students.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book: An Unplugged Version of Finances, August 4, 2008

By 

Juan C. Patiño Peralta (Cidra, PR Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finance in a Nutshell: A no-nonsense companion to the tools and techniques of finance (Paperback)

I hope that any of my finance professors find and read this review at least until I finish my MBA. :) Why? Well because this book fills a lot of gaps that most finance books or finance professors never fill. Finance can be a scary subject but with this book is like discovering the myth behind the terrible Wizard of OZ. Remember the movie?

This author really knows how to transform the most complex subject into a pleasurable walk in the park. This book is a perfect complement for your "academic" textbook. When the "academic" textbook fails to clear out the jargon, this book disentangles the mess made up by the "academic tone". If you are studying a BBA or an MBA in Finances this book fits perfectly beside the large and boring class "tome". With this book you will really learn about finances. Sorry Profs...