Risk Management and Derivatives [Hardcover]

Rene M. Stulz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0538861010 | ISBN-13: 978-0538861014 | Publication Date: November 27, 2002 | Edition: 1

In direct contrast to most existing derivatives books which emphasize issues related to the pricing and hedging of derivatives and are intended more to train traders, not managers, this groundbreaking book is designed for those who want to learn how to use derivatives to maximize firm value through risk management. This book presents the crucial tools necessary for executives and future derivatives players to effectively hedge with derivatives in order to protect firms from losses. Coverage includes all the pricing tools that are necessary for those who seriously intend to use derivatives as well as the necessary tools to evaluate how to use a particular derivative to reduce risk. Rather than focusing on an array of possible derivatives, the book is much more concerned about teaching a general approach to use derivatives so that readers know how to use existing derivatives for risk management as well as derivatives that do not yet exist.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

René M. Stulz is the Everett D. Reese Chair of Banking and Monetary Economics at the Ohio State University and the Director of the Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics at the Ohio State University. He previously taught at the University of Rochester and held visiting appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago. He was a Marvin Bower Fellow at the Harvard Business School for the 1996-1997 academic year. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland and is a Fellow of the Financial Management Association. René M. Stulz was editor of the Journal of Finance for twelve years and a co-editor of the Journal of Financial Economics for five years. He edits the corporate finance and banking abstracts for the Social Sciences Research Network. He is also on the editorial board of several academic and practitioner journals. Further, he is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: South-Western College/West; 1 edition (November 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0538861010
• ISBN-13: 978-0538861014
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst book i've ever read, April 17, 2006

By 

TPH_MBAE "huynhmbae" (st. louis, mo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Risk Management and Derivatives (Hardcover)

Do not buy this book. It's one of the most poorly written book i've ever read. The author likes to use long winded sentenses to explain simple concepts and he does a piss poor job at it. In addition, this book lack quality example problems to help you learn the concepts. When there are examples, they are deeply burried in text rather than clearly shown in a designated area. Imagine an algebra or calculus book with examples explained in text rather than numbers. (.i.e two plus two equals four ... as opposed to 2+2=4) This is how bad this book is. This book is not worth the money. The only way that it's worth the price I paid is if I get a chance to throw it that the author.

If anyone out there know of a well written risk management book, please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Borderline waste of time, April 20, 2008

By 

CJH (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Risk Management and Derivatives (Hardcover)

This book was assigned reading for an MBA course I took in risk management. It is horrible. As mentioned in an earlier review, the author explains the fundamental equations and ensuing examples all in words, almost as if it were meant to be an audio book. I have a PhD in one of the physical sciences and usually tear through and get a lot out of finance books. Not this one.

The table of contents makes this text look wonderful. In reality, this book is sad - although every chapter is about something important, it wastes 50 pages to ramble about something that could be covered succintly in half that. The organization of relevant maths is also extremely disappointing. I suspect one of the glowing reviews was by someone who hasn't actually read it - it sounds more like publisher's marketing.
I expected far more.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst textbook I have ever worked with, September 21, 2010

By 

Mike - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Risk Management and Derivatives (Hardcover)

I am an MBA student and my class requires the use of this book (Risk Management and Derivatives, Stulz, 2003).
I completely agree with other's negative comments regarding this book. Equations are written within a paragraph rather than separated out to clarify. The text is written purely on theory - even the "real world" examples are relatively impossible to understand.
My professor, after reviewing the assigned exercises from the book, canceled all future assignments noting that the wording of the problems and the text were so confusing that they were almost impossible to work. My professor noted that he refuses to teach this class again until the school uses a different textbook.
This book has made a relatively difficult subject impossible to learn.

Mike