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The Theory and Practice of Rational Investing, Harry M. Markowitz worries about a "great confusion" that reigns in finance - namely, "the confusion between necessary and sufficient conditions for the use of mean-variance analysis." This is a serious matter. Mean-variance analysis has been the cornerstone of portfolio construction since Markowitz's seminal 1952 article. Meanwhile, academics and practitioners have been in constant search of the next holy grail that will guide the allocation of capital. Consider the endless stream of articles proposing enhancements to mean-variance analysis or substitutes for it. Substantial bodies of literature discuss optimizers that incorporate higher moments or attempt to replace variance with alternative risk measures. Another takes account of investors' so-called irrational tendencies. I recall a former colleague saying, "Let's not re-implement Harry Markowitz's PhD thesis for the millionth time. We can do better." But we have not. What are the objections to mean-variance analysis, and are they well grounded? Markowitz has devoted Risk-Return Analysis to these questions, concluding that mean-variance analysis is central to finance for good reason. This book proceeds in unhurried steps from a set of incontrovertible premises to the conclusion that mean-variance analysis is the best tool available for addressing a wide range of portfolio-construction problems.

Book Reviews Dyman Associates Publishing Inc - In "The Wealth of Nations," Adam Smith wrote, "The sole use of money is to circulate consumable goods." Truer words have rarely been written, but the remarkable thing about Smith's passage was that it was a throwaway line in what remains to this day one of the most important books on economics ever written. Smith's line about money was throwaway simply because it was a tautology. The world is round, the sun sets in the west, and yes, money's sole purpose is to facilitate exchange. Money is not wealth, it's merely what we use to measure our production so that we can exchange it for that which we don't have, not to mention place a value on investments representing the production of future wealth. Precisely because money is a measure, much like a foot and minute are, it's essential that its value be as stable as possible. Gold has historically been used to define money not because it's nice to look at, but simply because its stability renders it "money, par excellence," in the words of Karl Marx.