The City: Inside the Great Expectation Machine : Myth and Reality in Institutional Investment and the Stock Market

The landscape of our financial system is dominated by institutional investment. The funds move markets when they act, and corporate empires can rise, fall or change hands on the tide of institutional opinion and the flow of equity. Today, in many ways, these institutions are the City, such is their influence over the whole financial process. They are at the heart of the expectation machine; the Capital of capital. These all-powerful financial players cast a long shadow over the worlds of investment, corporate and venture finance, and yet City outsiders - from private investors to company directors - many of whose expectations and fortunes are tied to the flow of equity, know little about them. They may glimpse parts of the process through the, frequently distorted, lens of the press; they may find their activities and fortunes affected by the movements of institutional players, but rarely do they understand the subtle and complex relationships that drive behaviour of the City.

It is remarkable, in view of the power wielded by the big investment institutions, how little has been written about them, especially from an analytical rather than anecdotal standpoint. The financial world, and the business world it drives, need a better understanding of the City and the behaviour of equity - the "visible" part of what the City does. In The City; Inside the Great Expectations Machine , Investment Analyst Tony Golding takes you inside the equity market and explains its structure, dynamics and behaviour. An easy-to-read, comprehensive analysis of the big investment institutions who dominate the stock market, with key insights into their impact on the City, industry and the private investor. This book will explain how the institutions achieved their ascendancy, acquire their funds, invest those funds and significantly influence other City activities and the corporate world in the process. The book will trace the flow of funds through the City and offer valuable insights into how fund managers behave, what drives their performance, the pressures they are under and the effects of their actions on the investment and corporate worlds. The behaviour of the investment institutions - pension funds, insurance companies, unit trusts, investment trusts - touches, in one way or another, the great majority of those living in the UK. To an extent that few outside the City appreciate, they dominate the London stock market, both in terms of ownership and activity.

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