This book targets people who need a rapid orientation in finance:

• Finance professionals need a quick refresher on a market that they do not deal with regularly.
• Professionals with qualifications in other disciplines continue to look to switch careers into finance.
• Students with prior background in another discipline often join a Mastersdegree program, specializing in finance (MBA, quantitative finance, etc.)
• Advanced undergraduate students want to decide whether finance is right for them.
• Mid-career professionals in another industry, serving financial services clients, need to understand the basics of financial markets better. For example, Fintech professionals with a technology background are looking to connect more with mainstream finance companies.
• Or, it may be a curious individual who simply wants to understand the financial periodicals better, and possibly make more sensible investment decisions!

Practitioners currently employed in the finance profession will find this book useful in refreshing basic concepts in a part of the market they do not deal with regularly. Students of finance will find the book useful in teaching them preliminary/ intermediate ideas, putting facts in context and ❝connecting the dots.❞

Because of the book❜s introductory nature, it is heavy on principles, mechanics, details, etc. and light on perspective. This book gives readers the tools to formulate opinions and evaluate the opinions of others, but it does not offer opinions on a platter. The best way to form opinions on the market is to read and assess commonly offered opinions, and assimilate them yourself. This book helps, but the hard work has to be yours.

• Self-published by a professor at a top institution and an industry veteran, thus providing inexpensive access to distilled content.
• Meant to help students and practitioners understand the essentials of capital markets, quickly.
• The book emphasizes brevity and compactness, ideally suited to current learning and pedagogy styles.
• Discusses the structure of various financial institutions, and the roles they play in the allocation of capital.
• Requires no specific prerequisites, except possibly some fluency in high school/ undergraduate math.
• Basic information on financial statements, macroeconomics, statistics and Bloomberg are included in self-contained annexures at the end. The annexures can help bridge any gaps in background that readers may have to understand the content in the body of the book thoroughly and build on it.