The concept of financial risk and the realties of financial risk management. Understanding risk and weighing risk against reward have become central to all commercial activity in particular to the financial markets.The concept of risk management used to refer to exclusively to the insurance industry but it was hijacked by wizards in financial institutions in the1980s, initially to make their gambling in the markets seem more respectable. Good risk management requires a constant sharpening of one's awareness to new risks and to the probabilities of different outcomes.This guide will increase the reader's risk awareness, by presenting concepts in a simple and entertaining way, and by explaining the endeavours, mistakes and successes of others, as they have tried to identify, measure and simplify risk, and make it work for them. It looks at swaps, futures, options, derivatives, hedging principles, formulas, Monte Carlo simulations, chaos theory, neural networks, Raron (or risk-adjusted rate of return on capital), stress tests, worst case scenarios and all kinds of games that are played in the cause of managing risk. With great panache, colour and clarity David Shirreff does a remarkable job of throwing light on one of the most complicated aspects of business and finance.

Risk is the main source of uncertainty for investors, debtholders, corporate managers and other stakeholders. For all these actors, it is vital to focus on identifying and managing risk before making decisions. The success of their businesses depends on the relevance of their decisions and consequently, on their ability to manage and deal with the different types of risk. Accordingly, the main objective of this book is to promote scientific research in the different areas of risk management, aiming at being transversal and dealing with different aspects of risk management related to corporate finance as well as market finance. Thus, this book should provide useful insights for academics as well as professionals to better understand and assess the different types of risk.

Recent market turmoil, bank runs, global equities sell-off, and the 'credit crunch' have demonstrated the sophisticated and interconnected nature of financial markets today - seemingly localized problems have quickly spread, putting at risk the solvency of both local and global financial institutions. As these markets are increasingly complex, interconnected, and embedded in the daily lives of individuals, there is a pressing need to unravel and understand the complexities and prospects of this new and transformative social, political, and geographical paradigm. This book brings together a group of leading scholars from a range of disciplines to formulate a more holistic understanding of financial risk by rooting it in different environments, spatial scales, and disciplines. The result is an all-encompassing exposition of current and future financial risk management practices, possibilities, and problems.

Discusses the risks caused by exchange rates, commodity price fluctuations, interest rates, and market volatility, and suggests a variety of risk management strategies

Take the risk out of financial risk management Written by bestselling author and past winner of the GARP Award's Risk Manager of the Year, Aaron Brown, Financial Risk Management For Dummies offers thorough and accessible guidance on successfully managing and controlling financial risk within your company. Through easy-to-follow instruction, you'll find out how to manage risk, firstly by understanding it, and then by taking control of it. Plus, you'll discover how to measure and value financial risk, set limits, stop losses, control drawdowns and hedge bets. Financial risk management uses financial instruments to manage exposure to risk within firms, large and small—particularly credit risk and market risk. From managing and measuring risk to working in financial institutions and knowing how to communicate risk to your company and clients, Financial Risk Management For Dummies makes it easy to make sense of the management of risk when working in various different financial institutions and concludes by covering the topic of how to communicate risk — how to report it properly and how to deal with and comply with all of the regulations. Covers managing risk and working as a financial risk manager Provides everything you need to know about measuring financial risk Walks you through working in financial institutions Demonstrates how to communicate risk If you work in the financial sector and want to make financial risk management your mission, you've come to the right place!

Table of contents

Managing Financial Risk is the most authoritative and comprehensive primer ever published for financial professionals who must understand and successfully use derivaties. The previous edition of this professional financial classic sold over 18,000 copies and emerged as a leading training tool in the derivatives industry. The book covers derivative products from the most basic to the most complex and explains how derivatives are used by each major player in the market: dealers, financial firms, and corporations. In addition, the book includes short contributions from a variety of experts from leading companies such as Citibank, J.P. Morgan, British Petroleum, and Ciba-Geigy. Completely updated to include new material on new products such as commodity swaps and credit swaps, this edition will cover every aspect of the derivatives marketplace with insight and authority.

Practical tools and advice for managing financial risk, updated for a post-crisis world Advanced Financial Risk Management bridges the gap between the idealized assumptions used for risk valuation and the realities that must be reflected in management actions. It explains, in detailed yet easy-to-understand terms, the analytics of these issues from A to Z, and lays out a comprehensive strategy for risk management measurement, objectives, and hedging techniques that apply to all types of institutions. Written by experienced risk managers, the book covers everything from the basics of present value, forward rates, and interest rate compounding to the wide variety of alternative term structure models. Revised and updated with lessons from the 2007-2010 financial crisis, Advanced Financial Risk Management outlines a framework for fully integrated risk management. Credit risk, market risk, asset and liability management, and performance measurement have historically been thought of as separate disciplines, but recent developments in financial theory and computer science now allow these views of risk to be analyzed on a more integrated basis. The book presents a performance measurement approach that goes far beyond traditional capital allocation techniques to measure risk-adjusted shareholder value creation, and supplements this strategic view of integrated risk with step-by-step tools and techniques for constructing a risk management system that achieves these objectives. Practical tools for managing risk in the financial world Updated to include the most recent events that have influenced risk management Topics covered include the basics of present value, forward rates, and interest rate compounding; American vs. European fixed income options; default probability models; prepayment models; mortality models; and alternatives to the Vasicek model Comprehensive and in-depth, Advanced Financial Risk Management is an essential resource for anyone working in the financial field.

A clear understanding of what we know, don't know, and can't know should guide any reasonable approach to managing financial risk, yet the most widely used measure in finance today--Value at Risk, or VaR--reduces these risks to a single number, creating a false sense of security among risk managers, executives, and regulators. This book introduces a more realistic and holistic framework called KuU --the K nown, the u nknown, and the U nknowable--that enables one to conceptualize the different kinds of financial risks and design effective strategies for managing them. Bringing together contributions by leaders in finance and economics, this book pushes toward robustifying policies, portfolios, contracts, and organizations to a wide variety of KuU risks. Along the way, the strengths and limitations of "quantitative" risk management are revealed. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Ashok Bardhan, Dan Borge, Charles N. Bralver, Riccardo Colacito, Robert H. Edelstein, Robert F. Engle, Charles A. E. Goodhart, Clive W. J. Granger, Paul R. Kleindorfer, Donald L. Kohn, Howard Kunreuther, Andrew Kuritzkes, Robert H. Litzenberger, Benoit B. Mandelbrot, David M. Modest, Alex Muermann, Mark V. Pauly, Til Schuermann, Kenneth E. Scott, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, and Richard J. Zeckhauser. Introduces a new risk-management paradigm Features contributions by leaders in finance and economics Demonstrates how "killer risks" are often more economic than statistical, and crucially linked to incentives Shows how to invest and design policies amid financial uncertainty

A concise introduction to financial risk management strategies, policies, and techniques This ideal guide for business professionals focuses on strategic and management issues associated with financial risk. Essentials of Financial Risk Management identifies risk-mitigation policies and strategies; suggestions for determining an organization's risk tolerance; and sources of risk associated with currency exchange rates, interest rates, credit exposure, commodity prices, and other related events. Examples illustrate risk scenarios and offer tips on an array of management alternatives, including changes in the way business is conducted and hedging strategies involving derivatives.