A Financial Bestiary

This is an applied book, using the bare minimum of mathematics to give a good understanding of finance. It is ideal for people just starting out in their financial career or those who have some financial experience who want to broaden and refresh their knowledge. A bestiary was a medieval book containing pictures and descriptions of mythical beasts each with its own moral tale to edify the reader. This is a bestiary of finance, and as such starts with a picture book of jobs and traded instruments in finance. Then the "Foundations" section sets out the broad picture of who does what and why in financial markets. Finally there are detailed chapters on financial instruments grouped into sections on "Fixed Income," "Credit," and "Forwards, Futures and Options." The book contains many figures and fully worked exercises to clarify the concepts.