The Practical Guide to Wall Street - Hardcover

by Matthew Tagliani (Author)

The Practical Guide to Wall Street is an indispensable resource for anyone who aspires to a front-office sales or trading position on Wall Street and an essential desk reference for market practitioners and those who interact with this exciting but widely misunderstood industry. Written by an experienced trader in a clear, conversational style and assuming no previous background in finance, The Practical Guide to Wall Street provides a thorough schooling in the core curriculum of the equity and equity derivatives sales and trading business - exactly what you would learn from sitting beside the traders at a tier-one Wall Street investment bank (except that in practice, traders rarely have time to provide such detailed explanations!) Topics covered include:

• Clear, detailed and intuitive explanations of all major products, their function, pricing and risks (several of which are unavailable anywhere else despite producing billions of dollars in annual revenue for Wall St.)
• The layout of the trading floor, the roles and responsibilities of the different sales and trading groups and how they interact to service the client business
• An overview of the structure of the macro-economy and the trader's perspective on the significance of economic data releases and their impact on the financial markets
• A review of those concepts from fundamental valuation and financial statement analysis of greatest relevance on the trading floor (as opposed to abstract valuation models)
• Practical details of the structure and functioning of the equity and derivative markets including translations of trader jargon, Bloomberg tips, market conventions, liquidity and risk considerations and much more...

This book provides the first comprehensive explanation of all aspects of the functioning of the equities division, with information, details and insights previously only available to those who already worked on a trading floor. The availability of this material in a format accessible to non-professionals fundamentally changes the level of industry knowledge employers in the financial services industry can expect of new hires.

Front Jacket

Your guide to the institutional equity and equity derivatives business

Despite countless financial books on many different specialties and methods, no one has taken a comprehensive look at the professional trading floor. The Practical Guide to Wall Street fills this gap, serving both as an essential go-to for new hires and as a helpful reference for more experienced traders and salespeople.

Written by a seasoned practitioner in a clear, conversational style and assuming no previous background in finance, The Practical Guide to Wall Street provides a thorough schooling in the core curriculum of the equity and equity derivatives sales and trading business. Starting with the basics, it gives you exactly what you would learn from traders at a tier-one investment bank.

In this guide, you'll find:

• Clear, detailed, and intuitive explanations of all major products, their structure, pricing, and risks--many of which are unavailable elsewhere

• The layout of the trading floor, the roles and responsibilities of the different sales and trading groups, and how they interact to service the client business

• An overview of the structure of the macroeconomy with explanations of economic data releases as seen from Wall Street's perspective

• A review of the concepts, from fundamental valuation and financial statement analysis, with the greatest applicability and rele-vance on the trading floor

• Practical details of the structure and functioning of the equity and deriva-tive markets, including translations of trader jargon, Bloomberg tips, mar-ket conventions, liquidity and risk considerations, and much more. . .

The first comprehensive explanation of how an equity division functions, The Practical Guide to Wall Street is packed with detailed information previously available only to those already working on the trading floor. This invaluable resource is your key to a successful career in finance.

Back Jacket

Praise for The Practical Guide to Wall Street

"An extraordinary accomplishment. This clear, well-written, and insightful book is an indispensable resource for any new entrant to the business and an enormously useful reference for more experienced practitioners as well. Books on finance come and go, this one will stay the course."
--Sam Kellie-Smith, Managing Director, Global Head of Equity and Equity Derivative Trading, Morgan Stanley

"The Practical Guide to Wall Street is an excellent introduction to the wide range of products traded in an equities business today. I'd enthusiastically recommend it to any new hire in the sales or trading business."
--Simon Yates, Managing Director, Global Head of Equity Derivatives and Co-Head of European Securities, Credit Suisse

"Since 2002 I have been teaching MBA courses on equity markets and equity derivatives. Prior to that, I worked for eighteen years at Goldman Sachs in equity derivatives. Until now, I have never found a textbook that combines practical wisdom with academic rigor. Matthew Tagliani's book, The Practical Guide to Wall Street, provides that unique combination. I hope to use it in the classroom immediately."
--Mark Zurack, Professor and Visiting Lecturer, Columbia Business School and Johnson School of Management, Cornell University

"Mr. Tagliani has done what few have managed to do before--demystify the machinery of the financial industry in plain and accessible language. A hands-on introduction to what happens on the Street--if you are entering or thinking of joining the financial industry; or even if you simply want to understand what your next door neighbor does, this book is a must."
--Nikunj Kapadia, Associate Professor, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst

"This book will provide a great head start for?anyone considering joining an equities trading floor. It contains a wealth of detail and covers the issues that traders, salespeople, and their customers deal with on a day-to-day basis.? It spares the reader unnecessary technicalities and focuses on the points that matter to finance professionals."
--Sandy Rattray, Portfolio Manager, GLG Partners

Author Biography

Matthew Tagliani, CFA, has more than ten years of trading and risk management experience in equity swaps, ETFs, futures, and program trading. He has worked at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse and holds a master's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.