Table of Contents

Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. Part I Getting Started in Consumer Discretionary. Chapter 1 Consumer Discretionary Basics. Consumer Discretionary 101. Getting to Know the Consumer Discretionary Sector. Chapter 2 The History of the Consumer Discretionary Sector. The Earliest American Consumers. The Birth of the Modern Consumer Discretionary Sector. Chapter 3 Consumer Discretionary Sector Drivers. Economic Drivers. Political Drivers. Sentiment Drivers. Part II Next Steps: Consumer Discretionary Details. Chapter 4 Consumer Discretionary Sector Landscape. Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). Global Consumer Discretionary Benchmarks. Automobiles & Components Industry Group. Retailing Industry Group. Media Industry Group. Consumer Durables & Apparel Industry Group. Consumer Services Industry Group. Chapter 5 Challenges in the Consumer Discretionary Sector. Challenge 1: Growing Profits in Mature Markets. Challenge 2: Managing Volatile Demand. Case Study: Callaway Golf. Chapter 6 Household Debt?Myths and Opportunities. Household Debt in Developed Markets?Basically a Very Useful Tool. Tremendous Opportunities in Emerging Markets. Case Study: Brazil?s Credit-Driven Consumption Boom. Part III Thinking Like a Portfolio Manager. Chapter 7 The Top-Down Method. Investing Is a Science. Einstein's Brain and the Stock Market. The Top-Down Method. Top Down Deconstructed. Managing Against a Consumer Discretionary Benchmark. Chapter 8 Security Analysis. Make Your Selection. A Five-Step Process. Important Questions to Ask. Chapter 9 Consumer Discretionary Investment Strategies. Strategy 1: Adding Value at the Industry and Sub-Industry Level. Strategy 2: Adding Value at the Security Level. Strategy 3: Adding Value in a Consumer Discretionary Sector Downturn. How to Implement Your Strategy. Notes. About the Authors. Index.

About the Author

Erik Renaud is a Consumer Discretionary Research Analyst at Fisher Investments. Renaud graduated from Santa Clara University with a bachelor's degree in finance. Hailing from Minnetonka, Minnesota, he currently resides in San Francisco, California. Andrew S. Teufel has been with Fisher Investments since 1995, where he currently serves as a Co-President and the Director of Research. Prior to joining Fisher Investments, he worked at Bear Stearns as a corporate finance analyst in its Global Technology Group. Teufel also instructs at many seminars and educational workshops throughout the United States and United Kingdom, and has lectured at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He is also the Editor in Chief of MarketMinder.com. Teufel is a graduate of UC Berkeley.