Description of a methodology and a prototype tool, Building Blocks To Composite Options Tool (BCOT), for identifying investment options for defense capability areas. It ensures that a broad range of options is considered initially, then uses a screening technique to narrow the range to those meriting more-extensive assessment in a fuller portfolio-analysis framework. BCOT extends classic economics and operations-research techniques and suggests pragmatic approximations, particularly in capabilities-based planning.
This report describes a methodology and prototype tool, the Building Blocks to Composite Options Tool (BCOT), for identifying good candidate options to use in investment analysis.
Department of Defense (DoD) installations rely on the commercial electricity grid for 99 percent of their electricity needs, but extensive energy delivery outages in 2012 have reinforced that the U.S. electricity grid is vulnerable to disruptions from natural hazards and actor-induced outages, such as physical or cyber attacks. In the event of a catastrophic disaster--such as a severe hurricane, massive earthquake, or large-scale terrorist attack--DoD installations would also serve as a base for emergency services. To enhance energy security, DoD has identified diversifying energy sources and increasing efficiency in DoD operations as critical goals. But how to enhance energy security across the portfolio of installations is not clear and several questions remain unanswered: Energy security for how long? Under what conditions? At what cost? The underlying analytical questions are, what critical capabilities do U.S. installations provide, and how can DoD maintain these capabilities during an energy services disruption in the most cost-effective manner? Answering these questions requires a systems approach that incorporates technological, economic, and operational uncertainties. Using portfolio analysis methods for assessing capability options, this paper presents a framework to evaluate choices among energy security strategies for DoD installations. This framework evaluates whether existing or proposed installation energy security strategies enhance DoD capabilities and evaluates strategy cost-effectiveness.
The real secret to finding "big winners" lies in self-discipline, and this book provides everything needed to follow its proven techniques, including long- and short-range plans and step-by-step worksheets that keep the investor "honest".
Strategies, tools, and solutions for minimizing risk and volatility in option trading An intermediate level trading book, The Option Trader Handbook, Second Edition provides serious traders with strategies for managing and adjusting their market positions. This Second Edition features new material on implied volatility; Delta and Theta, and how these measures can be used to make better trading decisions. The book presents the art of making trade adjustments in a logical sequence, starting with long and short stock positions; moving on to basic put and call positions; and finally discussing option spreads and combinations. Covers different types of underlying positions and discusses all the possible adjustments that can be made to that position Offers important insights into more complex option spreads and combinations A timely book for today's volatile markets Intended for both stock and option traders, this book will help you improve your overall trading skills and performance.
The research reported in this monograph is part of RAND's continuing work on practical theory and methods for capabilities-based planning in the Department of Defense (DoD) and other organizations. Its particular contribution is to describe and illustrate in some detail an analytic framework and methodology for defensewide capability-area reviews including DoD's experimental Concept Decision Reviews and related evaluations of alternatives (Krieg, 2007). The monograph also describes newly developed enabling tools -- one for generating and screening preliminary options and one for evaluating in a portfolio-analysis structure those options that pass screening. Variants of the methods can be applied for analysis across capability areas or for strategic-level defense planning, i.e., force planning to establish the overall mix and balance of capabilities. Finally, the monograph illustrates concepts with applications to the capability areas of Global Strike and Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD).
A guided journey revealing hidden values and buried treasures while negotiating the investing landscape. A metaphorical journey through the hot, shifting sands of the capital markets ‘desert’ to awaken readers to the urgency of the "Behavior Gap"—a chronic gap of under-performance relative to the markets experienced by investors worldwide. This is a roadmap of portfolio management concepts and contrarian tactics that can turn misbehaviors, undue risks, and short-term gambles into longer-term strengths. Through 27 chapters and four tiers, the author progressively introduces more powerful tools & techniques used in the founding and ongoing management of the Oasis Growth Fund, a North American Hedge Fund.
A priceless resource for seasoned as well as first-time executives, this is the playbook that explains how to recruit better people and build stronger, more effective teams. Executives are highly motivated to get better at hiring because they know the ability to consistently identify and recruit the right people is critical to the success of their businesses—and their personal advancement. But hiring people isn't taught in business schools or executive development programs. This book provides the sorely needed and essential practical instruction that executives are not receiving elsewhere, supplying a step-by-step guide for those who want to excel at attracting and identifying talent. Covering everything from the basics of defining a job to the intricacies of managing internal politics, this no-nonsense book provides a clear roadmap through the often-daunting and pitfall-laden recruiting process. In addition to explaining how to get it right, the book provides the information and guidance readers need to identify and fix the most common problems that doom hiring efforts to failure. Debunking the idea that "some people are just great recruiters and some aren't," the author clearly identifies the steps that anyone can take in order to master the art—and science—of recruiting.
Presents a risk-management process would help senior Air Force leaders to (1) focus planning on the most salient threats, (2) gain greater clarity on the risks associated with alternative courses of action across multiple futures, (3) maintain a sense of the persistent uncertainties associated with any policy choice, and (4) effectively communicate their judgments about risk to key audiences.
Whether you are a seasoned professional looking to explore new areas within the alternative investment arena or a new industry participant seeking to establish a solid understanding of alternative investments, Alternative Investments: An Allocator's Approach, Fourth Edition (CAIA Level II curriculum official text) is the best way to achieve these goals. In recent years, capital formation has shifted dramatically away from public markets as issuers pursue better financial and value alignment with ownership, less onerous and expensive regulatory requirements, market and information dislocation, and liberation from the short-term challenges that undergird the public capital markets. The careful and informed use of alternative investments in a diversified portfolio can reduce risk, lower volatility, and improve returns over the long-term, enhancing investors' ability to meet their investment outcomes. Alternative Investments: An Allocator's Approach (CAIA Level II curriculum official text) is a key resource that can be used to improve the sophistication of asset owners and those who work with them. This text comprises the curriculum, when combined with supplemental materials available at caia.org, for the CAIA Level II exam. "Over the course of my long career one tenet has held true, 'Continuing Education'. Since CalSTRS is a teachers' pension plan, it is no surprise that continuing education is a core attribute of our Investment Office culture. Overseeing one of the largest institutional pools of capital in the world requires a cohesive knowledge and understanding of both public and private market investments and strategies. We must understand how these opportunities might contribute to delivering on investment outcomes for our beneficiaries. Alternative Investments: An Allocator's Approach is the definitive core instruction manual for an institutional investor, and it puts you in the captain's chair of the asset owner." —Christopher J. Ailman, Chief Investment Officer, California State Teachers’ Retirement System "Given their diversified cash flow streams and returns, private markets continue to be a growing fixture of patient, long-term portfolios. As such, the need to have proficiency across these sophisticated strategies, asset classes, and instruments is critical for today's capital allocator. As a proud CAIA charterholder, I have seen the practical benefits in building a strong private markets foundation, allowing me to better assist my clients." —Jayne Bok, CAIA, CFA, Head of Investments, Asia, Willis Tower Watson
