Product Description

Critical Praise . . .

"The Alchemy joins Reminiscences of a Stock Operator as a timeless instructional guide of the marketplace." – Paul Tudor Jones from the Foreword

"An extraordinary . . . inside look into the decision–making process of the most successful money manager of our time. Fantastic."– The Wall Street Journal

"A breathtakingly brilliant book. Soros is one of the core of masters . . . who can actually begin to digest the astonishing complexity . . . of the game of finance in recent years."– Esquire

"A seminal investment book . . . it should be read, underlined, and thought about page–by–page, concept–by–idea. . . . He′s the best pure investor ever . . . probably the finest analyst of the world in our time." – Barton M. Biggs, Morgan Stanley

George Soros is unquestionably the most powerful and profitable investor in the world today. Dubbed by BusinessWeek as "The Man Who Moves Markets," Soros has made a billion dollars going up against the British pound. Soros is not merely a man of finance, but a thinker to reckon with as well. Now, in The Alchemy of Finance, this extraordinary man reveals the investment strategies that have made him "a superstar among money managers" (The New York Times).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34117 in Books
• Published on: 1994-05-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 367 pages

From the Back Cover
Critical Praise . . .

"The Alchemy joins Reminiscences of a Stock Operator as a timeless instructional guide of the marketplace." — Paul Tudor Jones from the Foreword

"An extraordinary . . . inside look into the decision–making process of the most successful money manager of our time. Fantastic."— The Wall Street Journal

"A breathtakingly brilliant book. Soros is one of the core of masters . . . who can actually begin to digest the astonishing complexity . . . of the game of finance in recent years."— Esquire

"A seminal investment book . . . it should be read, underlined, and thought about page–by–page, concept–by–idea. . . . He′s the best pure investor ever . . . probably the finest analyst of the world in our time." — Barton M. Biggs, Morgan Stanley

George Soros is unquestionably the most powerful and profitable investor in the world today. Dubbed by BusinessWeek as "The Man Who Moves Markets," Soros has made a billion dollars going up against the British pound. Soros is not merely a man of finance, but a thinker to reckon with as well. Now, in The Alchemy of Finance, this extraordinary man reveals the investment strategies that have made him "a superstar among money managers" (The New York Times).

About the Author
GEORGE SOROS runs Soros Fund Management with its flagship vehicle, Quantum Fund, a Curaçao–based investment firm headquartered in Manhattan. Quantum gained 68.6% in 1992 and 61.5% in 1993, and has $6 billion in net assets. Quantum Fund also spawned several other very successful funds. In addition to being a master financier, George Soros sponsors major philanthropic efforts under the umbrella of The Soros Foundations, which operate in 22 countries and spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Customer Reviews

A masterwork from a master investor
In The Alchemy of Finance George Soros describes the intellectual framework on which his remarkable investment success is based. Soros explains all aspects of this framework in a clear and understandable manner using examples ranging from the rise and collapse of Real Estate Investment Trusts in the 1970s to the international debt problem of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Soros also provides a detailed description of how he translates the intellectual underpinnings of his approach into actual investment decisions. In doing so, he offers a rare view into the inner workings of the most successful hedge fund in history during its most successful period.

The final part of the book is perhaps the most fascinating. In it Soros deals with several subjects, including systemic reform and the stock market crash of 1987.

George Soros is a brilliant, knowledgeable and experienced human being. By reading The Alchemy of Finance readers can profit from those three attributes.

Amazing thesis from a brilliant thinker.
As the synopsys says, this a book about how Soros views the market and current (at the time he wrote) economic theory, rather than a get-rich-quick guide.
It is massively complex in the ideas presented, necessarily so. I did find my self re-reading certain pages, sections two or three times to get my head around the points he was trying to make. Having said that, I think that the ideas were as simplified and accessible as they could get, whilst retaining the points the author was trying to put across.
George Soros is essentially presenting an opposite theory of how markets work to that of Scholes et al. As Soros's fund is a practical application of his theories, the successes of that may be equated with the value of what he says. However, Soros is pushing a theory that markets are unpredictable and irrational and that models are a straw man ... really saying his speculation is largely an exploitation of that knowledge.
The opposing view (from around the same time) was being implemented practically by Scholes, Meriweather and others in LTCM (See "When Genius Failed"). To see how both sides where successfully exploiting more naive market participants see "All that Glitters".
After the dramatic failure of LTCM, more sway was given to Soros' point of view, largely as his successful fund had been battered but survived more or less in tact. Some time in more recent history that fund also took a big kicking. Bizarrely this does give some more credence to to the theory Soros puts forward .... he is saying that one makes money in markets by being maverick and ignoring popular theory, so once people started copying him it is time to change the game plan or face the consequences!
All in all a very interesting thesis, especially to anyone with any knowledge of the man or the markets. Although it is economic theory and market psychology, etc, it is written more as manifesto and so engaging and accessible.
Not for the newcomer though, it would probably pay to have read a bit about trading, derivatives etc before attempting this one.

A very theoretical account - no practical recommendations.
Basically Mr Soros is expounding his theories on the market but gives no practical advice. For those out there who are of a financial/economic background and want to write a thesis, this would give a good example. For those wishing to make money from the stockmarket by following what others do then THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU! Soros basically states that this book is an intellectual study and not about learning to make money - pity I didn't know this when I bought it. His ideas are very interesting but provide no useful tips to actually apply to the market (in my oppinion)!