Equity-derivative

The book is a collection of disjointed but interesting essays on the general topic of equity derivatives. There is a heavy US bias in the material and none of the topics are covered in much depth. Nor does there seem to have been much in the way of editorial control over the way that essays are linked to form a theme (the treatment of covered warrants is a clear case here).

One to get if the company are paying since, in a book this big on a sparsely covered topic, there is some interesting stuff here.

This is an excellent Anthology of an often maligned and misunderstood subject. The forward is written by Fischer Black who is a pioneer in the derivatives industry. These are clearly written essays on the multiple and intelligent methods of using derivatives in varying investment environments. This is a book about financial choices and the opportunities that abound for end users of these products to hedge, diversify, insure against disaster and customize investment positions. This book should be on the desk of every Treasurer or Money Manager who is entrusted with fiduciary responsibilities.

I had to read this book as a requirement for a postgraduate level finance course which I took this year. I found it extremely insightful and easy to understand.

I believe (keeping fingers crossed!) that there are a lot of highly technical books out there for those with several years of experience in structured derivatives and the so called rocket scientists. But what about those who don't fall under this category? Where should those new to this field ( structured derivatives) or students who want to grasp a better understanding of derivatives after reading books such a Hull's , start with? This is exactly where Dr. Kat's book comes to picture, with a claim to offer an through understanding of structured derivatives, nothing more or less.

Reading criticism such as the one from "reader from Seattle" (below) is surprising to me, specially when he says: "I bought this book with high hopes, but I found little knowledge in it that I couldn't get from my own colleagues. And now, where is the value of reading a long book if all your colleagues know it from the word go?" Well, let me tell you something, it's for those who are not surrounded by "colleagues who know it from the word go"! And, there are a lot of us out there.

I bought it with little hopes as a text book for my course, but I found insightful knowledge of derivatives in it, which I couldn't get from a lot of my teachers let alone my colleagues!

I highly recommend it to all those who have had an introductory course on derivatives covering books such as Hull's, and want to progress further.

Suggestion: Check your colleagues first, if they know the subject, drop the book!! : )

I don't know what the occupation of the reader from Seattle is (Anonymous?), but for students of finance, like myself, who are looking for an easy understanding of how the derivatives industry works and what are the more common products traded on it, beginning with the less complex like calls, puts, followed by more complex derivatives structures and how to hedge the exposure of each of those products with out the use of complex maths, the Structured Equity Derivatives is a well written book that has help me to understand much better the world of the derivatives industry. Actually it has help me much more than other books talking about the same subject but in a different way.

This book has clearly shown me how all the theory I learnt from books such as Hull, Natenberg and Taleb gets applied in practice.
Prof. Kat ingeniously makes the reader understand many option strategies such as risk-reversals, call-spreads, rainbow options, alternative options etc... without throwing them at the reader. He makes the reader figure them out by himself; and this guarantees they will never be forgotten.
Prof. Kat's book also includes an excellent overview of how to structure and market derivative products to the retail investor.
All in all, I strongly recommend this book... It is EXCELLENT!

Good solid introduction to the subject - but wont leave you as a "master". All of the fundamental concepts are set out - and as you would expect from an introductory text they are all explained well but there is a real lack of depth in terms of pricing, market operations and dealing with real world issues - eg how do you cope with derivatives on dividend paying stocks? How do you model vol smiles etc.

Good as a first reader - or for a person who wants to "blag the interview" - but you will need to buy another book sooner or later.

Tom