Details

<p>List of Illustrations ix</p> <p>Acknowledgments xiii</p> <p>Introduction 1</p> <p>What Is Alternative about Alternative Investments? 5</p> <p>The Plan of This Book 11</p> <p><b>PART ONE | ANALYTIC TOOLS</b></p> <p>1 Risk and Return 17</p> <p>2 Return Enhancement 37</p> <p>3 Some Features of the Quantitative Toolkit 59</p> <p>4 Risk Estimation 81</p> <p><b>PART TWO | SOME EXAMPLES</b></p> <p>5 Long/Short Equity 103</p> <p>6 Direct Lending 123</p> <p>7 Merger Arbitrage 141</p> <p>8 High-Frequency Trading 161</p> <p>9 Holding Private Assets for Their Cash Flows 183</p> <p>10 Fixed-Income Arbitrage 199</p> <p>11 Event-Driven Investment 217</p> <p><b>PART THREE | POSITION MANAGEMENT</b></p> <p>12 Investment Strategies in Practice 237</p> <p>13 Optionality 253</p> <p>14 Trade Capacity 271</p> <p>15 Institutional Liquidity 287</p> <p>16 Tactical Allocation 305</p> <p>17 Portfolio Liquidity 323</p> <p>18 Alternative Investments and Information Theory 343</p> <p><b>PART FOUR | PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION</b></p> <p>19 Classification of Investments 361</p> <p>20 Diversification among Strategies 381</p> <p>21 Multi-Dimensional Risk 403</p> <p>22 Filling Out the Allocation 419</p> <p>23 Time and Tide 433</p> <p>24 Managing the Allocation Decision 451</p> <p>25 Concluding Remarks 469</p> <p>Bibliography 477</p> <p>Index 487</p>

<p><b>JOHN B. ABBINK</b> has twenty-nine years' experience in investment firms, including Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank, and was formerly a senior vice president and director of manager research at National City Corporation. Abbink received his BA from Michigan State University and his PhD from Yale University.

<p><b>Alternative Assets and Strategic Allocation</b></br> <i>Rethinking the Institutional Approach</i> <p>The usual approaches to asset allocation no longer suffice. Market turmoil has revealed the need for fresh ideas and innovation. Institutional investors have for too long relied upon strategies that are poorly equipped to deal with the unexpected metrics that volatility creates. To fulfill their fiduciary mandates and remain competitive, investors must look to the tools of the new investment age. <p>In this much-needed resource, alternative and portfolio management expert John Abbink demonstrates new ways of analyzing and deploying alternative assets and explains the practical application of these techniques. <i>Alternative Assets and Strategic Allocation</i> clearly shows how alternative investments fit into portfolios and the role they play in an investment allocation that includes traditional investments as well. This book also describes innovative methods for valuation as applied to alternatives that previously have been difficult to analyze. <p>Engaging and informative, <i>Alternative Assets and Strategic Allocation</i> contains an analytical toolkit that gives investors new ways to assess any investment product and provides criteria by which commonality or distinctiveness among them can be detected. In addition, Abbink reviews some of the latest alternatives that are increasing in popularity, for better or worse, such as high-frequency trading, direct lending, long-term investment in real assets, and more. <p>Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this important resource offers a new approach and vision for alternatives as they relate to institutional investors who want to allocate their assets strategically and who may not have been previously invested in these products.

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