Advanced Investments

By: Steve L. Slezak, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Steve L. Slezak

Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

This is an advanced course for investors in the market, covering cutting-edge investment principles and practices used by professionals. You learn hands-on techniques for analyzing the central problem of investing: How to determine if a potential investment is a good deal. Employing concepts from probability and statistics, you learn how to measure risk accurately. Then you explore methods for determining if a given security, such as a stock or bond, will generate returns that compensate for its risk.

Throughout these 24 in-depth lectures, you weigh the relative advantages of active and passive investment strategies. An active approach takes advantage of mispriced securities that can be traded for a profit. A passive strategy seeks to build a well-diversified portfolio that can be put on automatic pilot. Many investors combine these strategies, and Professor Slezak takes you through a wide range of cases that show how to devise a balanced approach.

His many useful tips include how to avoid the most common mistakes that investors make, why you should think in terms of net present value in evaluating a company, how to combine securities in order to control risk, and the importance of analyzing an investment before you act.

Professor Slezak is an expert who knows how to communicate effectively. He enlivens his presentation with colorful anecdotes and object lessons from the recent history of Wall Street. His parting advice: Don't be afraid of the market. Nothing is a sure thing, he stresses, but the market has performed consistently over the long term.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2014 The Great Courses (P)2014 The Teaching Company, LLC

Excellent content, but you need to watch the video

What did you like best about Advanced Investments? What did you like least?

The course content was excellent. However, because there's a lot of math/statistics involved, listening to equations being spoken leaves you missing out. I'm a long-time Teaching Company (aka The Great Courses) customer and I wish I had purchase this item directly from them in the video format. Although I was excited to see it on Audible (where it is also cheaper), it was just too hard to follow without actually seeing anything.

25 of 26 people found this review helpful

Hard To Follow Without Documentation

Would you try another book from The Great Courses and/or Professor Steve L. Slezak, PhD?

This is a great course with a lot of great information and that is the problem. Without the documentation, that Audible does not provide, this is a very very hard course to follow by just listening.

Would you be willing to try another one of Professor Steve L. Slezak, PhD’s performances?

Yes once you starting providing the documentation/text he would be using with the course.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

good course content wise but not for audible

support materials are mandatory - the audio content is not sufficient, too many formulas and graph references.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Yes its Advanced!

Would you consider the audio edition of Advanced Investments to be better than the print version?

No, and the PDF can be printed out. I strongly suggest you print sections as you go if you want to get the most out of this audiobook/ lecture.

Would you be willing to try another book from The Great Courses? Why or why not?

Yes, they are the best!

Any additional comments?

Some of these reviews are bias! Yes its heavy in mathematics because valuation formulas, derivative pricing and every other mathematical example used in this audiobook/lecture that is used by professionals is mathematics heavy! My advice is brush up on your statistics. I am not a math person but I'm trying to learn to better my skills in finance. I have listened to this book a few times and it was not until I took a basic statistic class that I actually began to understand some of the terminology used in this book.

This information is essential if you are out to master investing, even for the novice investor.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Really not what I spected

Would you try another book from The Great Courses and/or Professor Steve L. Slezak, PhD?

I am a fan of The Great Courses, but I would not purchase another audiobook from Prof. Slezak. I would read a book and do the math or the exercises. My opinion is that he spends way too much time calculating rates of return, yield curves, etc. This is simply put, too much detail. It is really difficult to listen to someone doing math as opposed to following along on a piece of paper or a blackboard. I quit halfway through the program.

Would you be willing to try another one of Professor Steve L. Slezak, PhD’s performances?

No. I would buy his book or attend a lecture, but will not spend time listening to him doing math to four significant digits.

Any additional comments?

I hope you do not misunderstand me. I am not saying this in a disrespectful way. However I believe this program would be a lot better if he gave more insight into the the world of investment as opposed to doing financial math.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Certainly Advanced, Portfolio Theory

The audiobook goes over elements of 'portfolio theory' with detailed discussions of bond pricing, risk and returns as beta and alpha, and then some options/futures investing. Most of it went over my head, but for those who are comfortable with the basic terms, it is sufficiently advanced as a next step.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

NOT great as an audiobook

Too complex and multiple formulas that might be easier to follow on paper vs audio.

Not advanced at all

It's a basic course. Disappointing to pay for something that should be advanced and it's not

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Detail and descriptions

Very knowledgeable although to Hard to follow without notes or examples on paper. Generally like the great course content. This course is one that you need to engage with with example. This is especially that case if you don't have foundation in the subject.

An insight into financial mathematical tools

The deeper end of financial theory. This particular course bears the word 'Advanced' in its title for a reason. You really need to print out the pdf file and work through it while you are listening to the lectures. A demanding course, that requires your full attention, but whose completion will give you a good overview of the financial theory and practice that underlies much of modern investment practice.

Not the most interesting subject, but made worse

I have a keen but amateur interest in investments and the stock market. This audiobook was so dull I couldn't finish it unfortunately.

I've listened and read a lot of audiobooks and normal books on the subject and this is the only one that I found 'boring' - I appreciate it's a dry subject but it's one that many others have got far more out of.

About as technical as could be for an Audible

There were difficult bits to listen to without seeing the formulates eg. the chapters on bond pricing and standard deviation. I would have struggled if I wasn't already familiar with the material. There was lots on the CAPM model. I would have liked more on the 3-factor and 5-factor equity return models but at least they were mentioned. There are few useful internet sites of analysis mentioned which I will check out.
Overall, stay in the equity market over the long term and be prepared for large drawdowns (but don't panic and sell), and stay diversified.

Great course ! Professional approach to investing.

Love the chapters about fixed income with all calculations. I highly recommend to download notes from the course which are available in PDF format.