Since the first edition of the Handbook of Alternative Assets was published, significant events-from the popping of the technology bubble and massive accounting scandals to recessions and bear markets-have shifted the financial landscape. These changes have provided author Mark J. P. Anson with an excellent opportunity to examine alternative assets during a different part of the economic cycle than previously observed in the first edition. Fully revised and updated to reflect today's financial realities, the Handbook of Alternative Assets, Second Edition covers the five major classes of alternative assets-hedge funds, commodity and managed futures, private equity, credit derivatives, and corporate governance-and outlines the strategies you can use to efficiently incorporate these assets into any portfolio. Throughout the book, new chapters have been added, different data sources accessed, and new conclusions reached. Designed as both an introduction to the world of alternative assets and as a reference for the active investor, the Handbook of Alternative Assets, Second Edition will help you match alternative assets with your various investment goals.

Mark J. P. Anson, PhD, CFA, CAIA, CPA, JD, is CEO of Hermes Pension Management Ltd. in London, which has over ?65 billion in assets under management, and is the former CIO of CalPERS, where he oversaw the growth of assets from $127 billion to $210 billion. Anson has more than twenty years of investment experience in fixed income, equities, private equity, real estate, commodities, hedge funds, corporate governance, and credit derivatives.