Customer Reviews

How The U.S. Securities Industry Works, Second Edition

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been using this book on the job in an IT shop
for a large US brokerage house. I have found it an
excellent resource. Very clear and accurate descriptions
of every aspect of the US securities business.

The book contains a nuts and bolts review of all the elements of the US securities industry. It's a good tool to learn how every part of the system operates, who the key players are (or at least were when the book was written), how the technology works, etc. It's put together in outline format, so it doesn't contain much of a logical development--it's a handbook instead.

My one frustration is the sloppy editing. The book was clearly pasted together from many sources, a lot of which were the companies, agencies, and organizations themselves. Sometimes the text is written in first person, as if copied directly from the e-mail answer from a company. Similar information is repeated from section to section because two respondents from different companies gave similar responses. Finally, there are a number of typos and even pages that are repeated.

Overall--good content, but both the editor and the proofreader must have been asleep at the wheel.

I found 'How the US Securities Industry Works' to be an excellent review of the entire securities industry. It explained the industry with more depth and clarity than other books I have read on the same subject. I also found the author's 'Securities Operations Glossary' to be useful.

Most books on the securities industry are focused on recommending investment strategies. This one actually explains the processes behind how the market works. I highly recommend it for someone new to the securities industry or anyone in a sales or marketing role that is selling to firms in the capital markets. It is long, 700 pages, but the chapters are written in such a way that you can easily jump around the book to learn what you need to know. I was disappointed with the chapters on "Buying and Selling Securities" and "Post Trade Processing, Clearing and Settlement", but the sections on "Bank Processing" and "Investment Manager Processing" are some of the best content out there.