Fractal Market Analysis: Applying Chaos Theory to Investment and Economics / Edition 1

by Edgar E. Peters

Overview

A leading pioneer in the field offers practical applications of this innovative science. Peters describes complex concepts in an easy-to-follow manner for the non-mathematician. He uses fractals, rescaled range analysis and nonlinear dynamical models to explain behavior and understand price movements. These are specific tools employed by chaos scientists to map and measure physical and now, economic phenomena.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471585244
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	02/08/1994
Series:	Wiley Finance , #24
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.59(h) x 1.09(d)

About the Author

EDGAR E. PETERS is an expert on chaos theory and its financial applications. He is Chief Investment Strategist and Director of Systematic Asset Allocation for PanAgora Asset Management, Inc., a global investment management firm. He is a frequent lecturer on market theory, and has taught investment and portfolio management at Babson College, Boston College, and Bentley College. In addition to the first edition of Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets, he is the author of Fractal Market Analysis and numerous articles in professional journals.

Table of Contents

FRACTAL TIME SERIES.

Failure of the Gaussian Hypothesis.

A Fractal Market Hypothesis.

FRACTAL (R/S) ANALYSIS.

Measuring Memory—The Hurst Process and R/S Analysis.

Testing R/S Analysis.

Finding Cycles: Periodic and Nonperiodic.

APPLYING FRACTAL ANALYSIS.

Case Study Methodology.

Dow Jones Industrials, 1888-1990: An Ideal Data Set.

S&P 500 Tick Data, 1989-1992: Problems with Oversampling.

Volatility: A Study in Antipersistence.

Problems with Undersampling: Gold and U.K.

Inflation.

Currencies: A True Hurst Process.

FRACTAL NOISE.

Fractional Noise and R/S Analysis.

Fractal Statistics.

Applying Fractal Statistics.

NOISY CHAOS.

Noisy Chaos and R/S Analysis.

Fractal Statistics, Noisy Chaos, and the FMH.

Understanding Markets.

Appendices.

Bibliography.

Glossary.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

The average investor is usually unaware of the theoretical bases and academic underpinnings of various investment strategies. Investment books and popular reference guides barely mention efficient market or random walk theory, and the mathematical aspect of portfolio management theory appears as little more than a footnote. Little actually new has been added to the field of investment and market theory for the last 30 years, but recently Peters introduced the landmark "Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets" (1991). Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics that, despite its name, attempts to make order out of seemingly random events and that has found application in the natural sciences. Market chaologists, as they have come to be known, have marshaled an array of formulas and computer models but have been criticized for not being able to explain their ideas in practical terms or to demonstrate how to apply these ideas. Fractals are the main mathematical tool of chaos theory, and Peters now shows how these can be applied to financial markets and trading. This book is unquestionably complex and relatively expensive, but all libraries with investment collections should consider purchasing at least one copy.

David Rouse