The stock market plays one of the most essential roles in the economy of the United States. The best investment firms have their secret strategies and analysis tactics to win at this game. The nonfiction book “Black Edge,” by Sheelah Kolhatkar, shows the in depth methods that the notorious hedge fund, Steven A. Cohen Capital (SAC Capital),  implemented to make billions in the stock market. 

The book details the variety of ways that portfolio managers and analysts communicated insider information to have “black edges,” over other investment vehicles. A black edge refers to information that a company has, that is not knowledgeable to the majority. As a result of SAC Capital’s culture, headed by billionaire and Wall Street legend Steven A. Cohen, the company rose to the top investment fund in the world. From the start of the book to the end, Sheelah Kolhatkar, presents one of the most interesting reads about how some financial corporations were able to develop such high rates of return on investments. 

“Black Edge” presents the FBI’s, and the SEC’s investigation of SAC Capital’s insider trading scandals of 2013. From both the investment bankers perspective and the federal perspective, Kolhatkar depicts how the cases evolved against the SAC firm. Kolhatkar introduces the insider trading speculation through the multitude of evidence the FBI found after arresting and interviewing small corporations that took part in the trading of illegal, non-public information. Eventually, the FBI found traces of communication between the portfolio managers at SAC and outside sources, showing suspicion of what information was being talked about.

As a highschool student intrigued with the financial business sector, this was an eye-opener into the unfair advantages many investment firms have over retail brokers and other legal funds. There are many times in “Black Edge,” where I was blown away at the extent portfolio managers would go to, to hide and or destroy insider information. Some of what is covered in “Black Edge,” compares to the movie The Wolf Wall Street. Both  show that the culture of the business is very intense, and solely profit driven. Many of these firms go to great lengths of communication and data mining, for any piece of information, that could be traded.

I would definitely recommend this book for those who want to read about finance, and or for fun. Even for a person who does not know much about finance, this book is an intriguing read, because it will change the way you think about the financial industry. Aside from the jaw-dropping facts of the book, Kolhatkar also does a good job of writing fluently which makes “Black Edge” an easy, interesting read, and a book I would definitely recommend.