A Practical Guide to Financial Services


Book Description

Financial services are an ever increasing part of the infrastructure of everyday life. From banking to credit, insurance to investment and mortgages to advice, we all consume financial services, and many millions globally work in the sector. Moreover, the way we consume them is changing with the growing dominance of fintech and Big Data. Yet, the part of financial services that we engage with as consumers is just the tip of a vast network of markets, institutions and regulators – and fraudsters too. Many books about financial services are designed to serve corporate finance education, focusing on capital structures, maximising shareholder value, regulatory compliance and other business-oriented topics. A Practical Guide to Financial Services: Knowledge, Opportunities and Inclusion is different: it swings the perspective towards the end-user, the customer, the essential but often overlooked participant without whom retail financial services markets would not exist. While still introducing all the key areas of financial services, it explores how the sector serves or sometimes fails to serve consumers, why consumers need protection in some areas and what form that protection takes, and how consumers can best navigate the risks and uncertainties that are inherent in financial products and services. For consumers, a greater understanding of how the financial system works is a prerequisite of ensuring that the system works for their benefit. For students of financial services – those aspiring to or those already working in the sector – understanding the consumer perspective is an essential part of becoming an effective, holistically informed and ethical member of the financial services community. A Practical Guide to Financial Services: Knowledge, Opportunities and Inclusion will equip you for both these roles. The editors and authors of A Practical Guide to Financial Services: Knowledge, Opportunities and Inclusion combine a wealth of financial services, educational and consumer-oriented practitioner experience.




A Practical Guide to Paying off Your Mortgage Early


Book Description

Owning a property is a dream for many people, and borrowing from banks is often essential to achieve this. However, having a mortgage can cause real anxiety because of the latent fear of losing our home if we cannot keep up with mortgage payments. Traditionally, homeowners repay their debt over 25 years, but high house prices have made it necessary to increase the term up to 40 years to make monthly payments affordable. Spreading the debt over a longer period of time not only means that borrowers have to pay more interest, but they are also exposed to other risks such as potential interest rate rises and changes in personal circumstances affecting their mortgage eligibility. These can lead to financial worries, financial stress, and reduced well-being. There are few practical guides available to show borrowers how to manage their mortgage debt more effectively, and how to repay their mortgage quickly so that they are debt-free. This book seeks to empower consumers, young and old, by providing a roadmap to help borrowers achieve financial security through planning for the future, insuring their income, and setting up an emergency fund. It also outlines simple strategies for an early repayment of debt, including paying off the capital, making extra payments, and monitoring their mortgage debt. In doing so, it aims to help readers improve their general well-being, enhance their financial security, reduce their financial worries, and eliminate their ‘mortgage insomnia’.
















Medicine for Life: A Practical Guide for Success


Book Description

Deciding on a career path is difficult for many people. Deciding of the best university, of an interesting and challenging subspecialty, of where to get established, are just a few of the vast challenges you will face in preparing for a successful medical career. Whether you are a medical student, a resident, a family practitioner or a specialist, this book is an essential guide for many if not every facet of your medical career. It is a valuable resource because it covers a wide variety of topics such as choosing a medical school, a residency training program, a type of practice, establishing your practice, surrounding yourself with experts ( accountants, financial advisors, banker and others ), understanding the realities, challenges and up-coming changes in medical practice, preparing for retirement and retiring. Browse to the book as often as you want to refresh your memory, to look at a specific subject.




The Investment Assets Handbook


Book Description

Investors who build diversified, multi-asset portfolios, have an ever increasing range of investment assets at their disposal. In order to invest effectively - and build a solid, performing portfolio - it is essential for investors to understand each of these single asset classes and how to use them in portfolios. The Investment Assets Handbook covers the full spectrum of different asset classes and investment types available today, providing investors with the definitive information they need to reach an understanding of the broad range of investment assets. The Handbook is divided into four parts: 1. An introduction to asset classes, including how they should be defined, the main features that can be used to characterise asset classes and the roles that different assets fulfil within a multi-asset portfolio. 2. Traditional assets, including global equities, fixed income and cash. 3. Alternative assets, including real estate, commodities, private equity and hedge funds. 4. New alternative investments, including currency, infrastructure, structured finance, leveraged loans, structured products, alternative or smart betas, volatility, art, insurance-linked securities and timber. Each asset chapter within these sections provides a description of the asset and its characteristics, its historic performance, how to model its future long-term performance, the role it performs in a multi-asset portfolio, its risks, how to access it, and other relevant topics. Long-term investment themes that may impact the future behaviour of assets and investing generally are also highlighted and discussed. The Investment Assets Handbook is the essential guide that investors need as they navigate the universe of investment assets and build multi-asset portfolios.




Risk Less and Prosper


Book Description

A practical guide to getting personal investing right Somewhere along the way, something has gone very wrong with the way individuals save and invest. Too often, households are drawn in by promotional suggestions masquerading as impartial investment advice. Consumers get saddled with more risk than they realize. Authors Zvi Bodie and Rachelle Taqqu understand the dilemma that today's investors face, and with Risk Less and Prosper they will help you find your financial footing. Written in an accessible style, this practical guide skillfully explains why personal investing is all about you—your goals, your values and your career path. It shows how to understand investment risk and choose the particular blend of risk and safety that is right for you. And it lays out several simple yet powerful ways for small investors to cast a reliable safety net to achieve their financial goals and truly prosper. Coauthors Bodie and Taqqu challenge the myth that all investments require risk, then highlight some important risks that families often disregard when deciding where to put their money. Later, they connect the dots between investment and investor, showing us all how to grasp our own investment risk profiles and how we may use these insights to make more fitting investment choices. Outlines a straightforward way to invest by aligning your investments with your goals and the risk levels you can bear Provides basic investment abc's for readers who are otherwise literate Lays out a simple, actionable plan for achieving your goals Explains the role of risk-free assets and investment insurance in assuring that you reach your most essential goals Contrary to popular belief, investing doesn't have to be complicated. You can build wealth without taking great risks. Risk Less and Prosper will show you how to make investment decisions that will make your financial life less stressful and more profitable.