Quantitative Finance for Dummies

If you are looking for a good basic explanation of concepts, then this is the book

I'm not going to comment on the subject matter, because I knew what content to expect when I ordered the book, and that expectation was met. My disappointment is with the quality (or lack thereof) of the print on many pages in the book. I have found dozens of pages on which parts of words are literally missing, requiring me to closely scrutinize each word to determine what it's supposed to be. In many cases, I can ascertain what word is supposed to be there, but sometimes I literally cannot. My vision isn't the best, anyway, but that's beside the point; the font size is fine, but having parts of words literally missing, on at least half of the pages in the book, is unacceptable. Unfortunately, I'm apparently stuck with the purchase. Thankfully, it cost only $30, but I suggest that you go to a bookstore instead. At least you'd be able to look through the book before buying, to assess whether you can read the words. I posted two pictures as examples, but the book is filled with this. If you're like me, you'll be able to identify most - or even all - of the words based on the print that appears, but you might also imagine becoming frustrated with this, as you experience it throughout the book.I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Wiley ships the defects to Amazon who, in turn, ships them to us, the customers. The copies with the defects wouldn't get sold in any bookstore, so Wiley's best move is to ship them to Amazon, to force the buyers to return it if they want a good copy.

The “For Dummies” series exists to explain complicated subjects in a simple way. This is hard (I speak from experience). Also the more complex the subject, the harder it will be to write this kind of book. It probably doesn't get much harder than Quantitative Finance (unless you're currently trying to read Quantum Physics for Dummies). Author Steve Bell, who has brought us “Quantitative Finance for Dummies” (Wiley, 2016), clearly relishes a challenge. He has risen to it admirably.Let's start with what this book is not. It's not an attempt to replace text books such as those by the likes of John Hull and Paul Wilmott which cover this subject in more advanced detail. Nor is it for the lay reader who is curious about this weird discipline but has no interest in getting any deeper understanding (something like Scott Patterson's book “The Quants”, Gillian Tett's Fools Gold, or "The Predictors" by Tom Bass would suit them better). Instead it's aimed at two groups – aspiring or potential quants, and those working close to quants who want to better understand what they do.As well as covering the usual pricing models there also sections on risk and portfolio management, and on market trading and strategy. It's great to see these here – there is much more to being a Quant than pricing exotic derivatives (especially post 2008).Some maths is inevitable in this subject, but this is kept to a minimum, and interspersed with plenty of more intuitive explanations. Real world examples are plentiful, and make the maths more palatable.If you've read a “for dummies” before you'll know what to expect in terms of structure and layout. This isn't to everyone's taste but there is no denying that they get the information across effectively.More than anything, this book helps you to think like a Quant; or at least understand how Quants think.“Quantitative Finance for Dummies” is a highly readable and accessible book which does a great job of introducing a wide range of topics to non specialists working in the industry, and readers considering a career or academic course in the discipline.Robert Carver, ex-quantitative hedge fund manager, independent trader, and author of “Systematic Trading” (Harriman House, 2015)

Well, if this is writtem for dummies, I must be dummer than dum. I find it quite hard to follow, mainly because technical terms are often used and step-by-step guides miss important steps. For example, buying futures starts off with some basic calculations, but then introdcues some numbers the origin of which is unclear.

The book is an easy read from start to finish. A definite read for someone new to quantitative finance, but seasoned professionals can also find value in the book. Its a good supplement to a finance course.

The first thing you ask from a book is to be readable. The printing is terrible ! I have to guess some of the letter in order to read it. Every pages of the book has such issue.

The text is riddled with typographic typeface errors. Just check out the front or first page on the backside.It is a zoo of typical typeface errors. These kinds of errors are riddled (or found) throughout the book. Any decent author and/or seller should be embarrassed. I have tried to seek relief - to no avail and an implied FYou.I would think the author, Steve Bell, would be embarrassed by this publisher.Bill Warea significant amazon purchaser over many years.

Great content. Great quality. Highly recommended to anyone interested in finance. This text was very detailed and content appropriate for syllabus. It also has accompanying essential fundamentals to understand basics. It might be used as a short summary to Finance exams at University or the well known certificates such as CFA level 1, ACA or exams for technical analysts. Overall, great text, with appropriate level of content!

Don't bother reading this book until you have re studied A level pure maths , especially calculus

First of all, the printing of the book is really bad, many letters are not even readeable. Contentwise, the book provides an arithmetic but non exhaustive glimpse of where the main elements of quant finance come from. After reading it, I had the feeling of not having learnt anything useful. Other books on algorithmic trading provide better and to the point actionable information, this one does not, it just tells you where the formulas come from after algebraic manipulation. Another thing very anoying is the fact that sometimes spends time in explaining very simple concepts like an average or the variance and others gets into very sophisticated mathematical manipulations that you cannot follow easily (or at all). This is not for real dummies, actually, it makes you feel dummy....

Great book! Fluent introduction in complicate financial matter, that requires heavy mathematics, statistical processing and numerical methods. For limited volume of a single book, excellent introduction into the matter!

The authors idea of writing a dummies book seems to be to skip derivations of formulas but present their results alone. One is left wondering how a jump from one sentence to the next takes place. You've just got to take the authors word for it. The intuition definitely doesn't come through. For a sample read chapter 3 and decide for yourself. Now compound this with the fact that the kindle version seems to have errors in some of the formulas. Undermines your confidence that you can rely on anything said in the book.

As the previous reviewer has commented I would agree that what Steve Bell has achieved in this book is to be applauded. To attempt to write a book that is accessible on a subject as complex as quantitative finance is no mean feat. The author has written a book that is easy to read yet gives a thorough treatment of this interesting but intricate area of finance. Some maths is necessary but the author introduces this gradually in order to explain the key finance concepts. I would suggest this book could be read as a primer to both practitioners and advanced undergraduate or early postgraduate students looking for an accessible introduction to the subject. In addition chapters on risk/portfolio management and market trading/strategy would be of interest to private investors looking to improve their understanding of modern portfolio theory. I would highly recommend this book.