Sold Short : Uncovering Deception in the Markets

Sold Short is the story of Manuel Asensio, a successful but controversial securities broker whose claim to fame is aggressive short selling--a widely disparaged (and sometimes wildly profitable) investment technique that realizes success only if stocks decline in value. Since the larger financial community is overwhelmingly comprised of long sellers who profit when prices rise, the shorts' contrarian position is always at odds and usually portrayed as an unscrupulous, backdoor attack on all things good and holy. Asensio sees it quite differently, of course, and with the help of Jack Barth, he reveals how a young boy who barely escaped Cuba before the revolution could come to be viewed as the devil incarnate by corporate honchos and Wall Street analysts whose professional paths he has crossed. After explaining how his firm uncovered some of their "grossly overvalued" companies, and what happened when he bet against them in the market, Asensio details the process so interested readers can theoretically profit from similar moves. Some of the material here is much too technical to interest casual investors, and Asensio's philosophy will still be scorned by those who don't abide it. Fellow shorts and those interested in all the machinations of the market, though, should find it an absorbing and informative read. --Howard Rothman