I have been involved in securities litigation consulting for almost a decade now. As my consulting practice has grown, I have hired many individuals, most of whom are not well-versed in securities/financial jargon. In significantly all cases, these new employees feel ill-at-ease initially when reviewing case files and documentation due to the learning ramp and educational abyss. I have found if I offer them a copy of the DICTIONARY OF FINANCE AND INVESTMENT TERMS (DFIT) on their first day, the learning curve is flattened and becomes much shorter in duration. As a matter of fact, several of my employees have taken the initiative to take their DFIT home to look for particular words/phrases common to their daily routines. By derivation, this makes the employee feel much less out of place and instills some level of motivation relative to their work (this has been a definite intangible benefit to my practice).

I keep one in my office and although I don't crack it very often, there are times when I'm not as familiar with a word/phrase and then, I rely on DFIT. This is similar to the situation of reading a book, seeing a word you can pronounce and know but aren't quite certain of its EXACT meaning. Let's face it, with over 5,000 entries in DFIT, most professionals, even those entrenched in the field, will find themselves fuzzy on certain words and phrases.

While DFIT is not a panacea, it certainly fills the void. I would recommend this book for anyone new to the finance/investment fields and most professionals who deal on the fringes of these industries. ... I don't really see how one can go wrong here (particularly given that many reference offerings go for hundreds of dollars).


Not Perfect, But Very Useful   June 21, 2000
 26 out of 27 found this review helpful

When I first got into the financial field many years ago, I kept a copy of this book (an earlier edition) close at hand at all times. As I read The Wall Street Journal and Business Week, this book proved indispensible to help me understand concepts and jargon. Today, it is dog-eared, wrinkled and dirty, but I still turn to it occasionally. Yes, some of the definitions are outdated or incomplete. Yes, some terms are missing. But this is the best dictionary of financial terms I've ever seen, and I recommend it to anyone who needs an easy-to-use reference guide.


Excellent quick reference   October 19, 1999
 16 out of 18 found this review helpful

What I do for a living full-time is train broker trainees for passing the Series 7. I give conference calls on difficult material and answer questions via the phone all day. This book is an excellent supplement for Series 7 material. I recommend this book to all of my trainees and I use it on a daily basis. I have one for work, and one for home!


An Excellent Reference   January 21, 2000
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

This dictionary is an excellent reference for both professionals and students. This dictionary contains many examples that help explain the terminologies. This is the most comprehensive finance dictionary I have seen.


More Than A Book   January 15, 2000
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Expect this little work to be exactly what it is titled, "Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms". It does not contain a story, or financial advice, or commonly used terms. It is a financial dictionary. Its binding is "professional softcover" and has very thin pages- required due to 600+ pages. I notice some reviewers' felt it was not worth the money. Where else can you find a professional dictionary of specialized terms for under $12 ? I found the book so useful, I purchased Barron's Investment Guide, which includes the dictionary. I recommend both of these books (...)

If your looking for an enthralling read, the Finance Dictionary is not that. If you're looking for an inexpensive, professional little reference book, full of pertinent terms and explanations, this one will definitely earn its keep.