Financial Modeling 3rd Edition

I first borrowed Simon Benninga's book from a Professional Library, but was so impressed I decided to buy it via Amazon..As a non intuitive IT person I particularly liked the 3 pronged approach taken by Simon.He lays out the spreadsheet as follows:a)display of the input and resultsb) text displays of the formulaec) commentary on the functions used and logic and alternativesA CD comes enclosed with the book which I downloaded but am not as yet trying to use.Instead I am manually recreating the spreadsheets and adding some supplementary comments and markers of my own -this is how I best learn.I hate p= r/n formulae - Simon quotes these but then lists them as actual formulae.All in all a very clear explanatory book - readily able to be interpreted and I am rapidly gaining enhanced Excel skills..With over 1000 pages of examples of functions the book is a bargain. I thoroughly recommend it.Neil Fitzjames, Auckland, New Zealand

As a retail investor and trader of securities, options and futures, I've used Benninga's book to help create and test rules-based portfolio investing and hedging strategies.After reading several theoretical books on portfolio optimization, option pricing and volatility, and linear algebra, I found Financial Modeling to be a very practical start for implementing the theory and developing more sophisticated models.Benninga's explanations are very clear and intuitive. He provides a wide range of easily implementable Excel-based tools for creating efficient portfolios, insurance and arbitrage programs, option prices, and real time stock returns and co-variances to mention just a few.Unlike others, this author has produced seemingly error-free text - particularly when he references details of his spreadsheets and Visual Basic code. Same goes for his accompanying CD and spreadsheet models. And that boosts confidence that his overall presentation is just as thorough.Excellent resource and practical guide. Helps in gaining a more consistent edge in today's volatile markets.

Dr. Simon Beninga's textbook should be used by all universities. It is the most informative and well written textbook I have read.Professor Beninga uses real-life historical data and case studies throughout the book making it easy to follow and stay engage. Plus, he interjects with specific accounting principles/tax codes and explaining how they relate to the exercise at hand. I had an easy time transferring the skills/knowledge I attained from the text to my personal and professional life (a common obstacle I encounter with academic textbooks). The chapters on financial analysis of leveraged leases and VBA were extremely helpful.Any review of this textbook must applaud the professor's uncanny sense of humor as it relates to advanced financial concepts and accounting principles.Thank you, Dr. Beninga!

This was a secondary textbook in a graduate financial modelling course, and years later I now even more fully appreciate how useful it is. Extraordinary detail for a huge number of types of models. There are no other references like this that I have found. even covers some visual basic even though that isn't its main focus. The book is thorough and rigorous in its approach.

I purchased this book as a companion to another excellent book on Valuation by Prof. Damodaran. While the latter is a thorough non-nonsense exposition on the principles of asset valuation, Simon Beninga's book takes a different approach. There is very little classical finance theory however the book is heavy on techniques that describe the conception and construction of financial models using Excel. An intermediate to advanced level of Excel is recommended. The author provides several examples on how to dissect a problem and convert it into Excel inputs. He also provides a lot of templates on standard templates that would make an investment banker proud. There is some coverage of investments instruments like Black Scholes and Monte Carlo techniques, however the book does not go in too much depth in this area. The reader is referred to other specialized texts for this purpose. The section on Visual Basic programming was also a little light and assumes a fairly advanced user. Thos should not be the first book you pick up for learning VB programming.The book is more of a desk reference and crystallizes key concepts and practical tips very well. I strongly recommend this for any current or aspiring finance professional.

This book is nonpareil: there's nothing presently on the market that can compare in coverage, lucidity, and pedagogical skill. This is a must-have for both MBA and MFE students. For portfolio theory, option theory, and the use of (naive) Monte Carlo methods for pricing exotic options, this book should be the first port of call. Also included in portfolio theory is an intelligible treatment of the Black-Litterman model -- the first I've seen that's clear to understand -- given with spreadsheet models (this alone justifies the price of the book). Eveything is done using Excel, and the last 300+ pages give a clear exposition of various features of this spreadsheet program, including macros and VBA.

This extremely useful book gives detailed instructions for carrying out a number of tasks which are of daily use to those working in the finance industry. Each chapter contains a theorectical description of the topic, a step-by-step description of the why to set up a financial model, and the actual set-up for an Excel worksheet to solve the problem, invoking programming methods as necessary. The topics covered include different aspects of portfolio optimization, option pricing and bond analysis. A CD included with the book contains examples and templates of all the calculations.