Book excerpt: Modern Portfolio Theory explores how risk averse investors construct portfolios in order to optimize market risk against expected returns. The theory quantifies the benefits of diversification.Modern Portfolio Theory provides a broad context for understanding the interactions of systematic risk and reward. It has profoundly shaped how institutional portfolios are managed, and has motivated the use of passive investment management techniques, and the mathematics of MPT is used extensively in financial risk management.Advances in Portfolio Construction and Implementation offers practical guidance in addition to the theory, and is therefore ideal for Risk Mangers, Actuaries, Investment Managers, and Consultants worldwide. Issues are covered from a global perspective and all the recent developments of financial risk management are presented. Although not designed as an academic text, it should be useful to graduate students in finance.*Provides practical guidance on financial risk management*Covers the latest developments in investment portfolio construction*Full coverage of the latest cutting edge research on measuring portfolio risk, alternatives to mean variance analysis, expected returns forecasting, the construction of global portfolios and hedge portfolios (funds)