Capital Ideas

By Peter L. Bernstein,

Book cover of Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street

Book description

Capital Ideas traces the origins of modern Wall Street, from the pioneering work of early scholars and the development of new theories in risk, valuation, and investment returns, to the actual implementation of these theories in the real world of investment management. Bernstein brings to life a variety of brilliant…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Capital Ideas as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Peter Bernstein was one of the great investment writers.

This book is where I got my first taste into the great theorists whose works revolutionized Wall Street such as Harry Markowitz, Bill Sharpe, Myron Scholes, and Bob Merton, all of whom I later had the pleasure of getting to know. I had read about their theories, but hadn’t appreciated the impact they had on the investment industry. Bernstein showed how these luminaries changed the way we think about investments.

From Stephen's list on developing your investment philosophy.

Peter Bernstein’s Against the Gods – a history of how humans used mathematics to tame risk – is arguably his best work, but Capital Ideas is the deep-cut that deserves much broader appreciation.

It vividly explores the intellectual underpinnings of modern finance formed by the work of the titans of financial economics: Louis Bachelier, Harry Markowitz, William Sharpe, Fischer Black, Myron Scholes, Robert Merton, Franco Modigliani, and Merton Miller.

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The team attempts a new route up…

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