1. 1.1
Introduction
What are Derivatives?
• Derivatives are zero net supply bilateral
contracts deriving their values from some
underlying asset, reference rate, or index.
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2. 1.2
Examples of Derivatives
• Futures Contracts
• Forward Contracts
• Swaps
• Options
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3. 1.3
Ways Derivatives are Used
• To hedge risks
• To speculate (take a view on the future
direction of the market)
• To lock in an arbitrage profit
• To change the nature of a liability
• To change the nature of an investment
without incurring the costs of selling
one portfolio and buying another
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4. 1.4
Forward Contracts
• Obligates one party to buy (the long position) and the
other party to sell (the short position) an asset or
commodity in the future for an agreed-upon price.
• Physical delivery contract
• Cash-settled contract
• Trade only in an over-the-counter (OTC) market
• communication among traders is over the phone
• Examples:
• buy 5,000 oz. of gold @ US$400/oz. in one year
• sell £1,000,000 @ 1.5000 US$/£ in six months
• earn a 4% rate of interest on a US$ deposit for a 3-
month period starting in six months
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5. 1.5
How a Forward Contract Works
• The contract is a private agreement between
two counterparties
• Normally, the price in the contract is chosen
so that the contract’s initial market value is
zero
– => no money changes hands when first
negotiated & the contract is settled at maturity
– Think about a forward contract as the decision to
delay the sale or purchase of an asset three
months, for example, from today.
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6. 1.6
Futures Contracts
• Like a forward:
– Obligates one party to buy (the long position) and
the other party to sell (the short position) an asset
or commodity in the future for an agreed-upon
price.
• Physical delivery contract
• Cash-settled contract
• Unlike a forward:
– Trade on a futures exchange and are subject to daily
settlement
• Evolved out of forwards and possess many of the
same characteristics
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7. 1.7
Exchanges Trading Futures
• Chicago Board of Trade
• Chicago Mercantile Exchange
• LIFFE (London)
• Eurex (Europe)
• BM&F (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
• TIFFE (Tokyo)
• and many more (see list at end of book)
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8. 1.8
Options
• An option gives its owner the right to
purchase or sell an asset on or before some
date in the future.
– Call versus Put options
– American and European Options
– Physical delivery versus cash-settled options
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9. 1.9
Exchanges Trading Options
• Chicago Board Options Exchange
• American Stock Exchange
• Philadelphia Stock Exchange
• Pacific Exchange
• LIFFE (London)
• Eurex (Europe)
• and many more (see list at end of book)
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10. 1.10
Main Differences between Options and
Futures: Hedging Strategies
Feature Futures
(or Forwards)
Options
Type of strategy Symmetric Asymmetric
Up-front costs $0.00 Option premium
Flexibility Less than option More than futures
Contract obligation
w.r.t. transacting
Obligated to buy or
sell at
predetermined price
Have the right to
buy or sell at
predetermined price
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11. 1.11
OTC vs. Exchange-Traded Derivatives:
Contract Characteristics
Exchange-Traded
• Terms specified by “listing
agents” (i.e. exchange)
• The main non-standard
item in most exchange-
traded derivatives is the
price, which is determined
in the market place
– Pure open outcry (CME)
– Physical delivery mkt (CBOE)
– Electronic dealer market
(AMEX)
– Electronic limited order book
(Sydney Futures Exch.)
OTC
• Specific terms defined
exclusively by the two
counterparties
• General terms set forth in
pro forma documentation
called “master
agreements”
– Can be customized through
annexes to master agreements
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12. 1.12
OTC vs. Exchange-Traded Derivatives:
Market Characteristics
Exchange-Traded
• Organized market with
specific and detailed
trading rules
• Exchange defines the
rules of the game and
enforces them
• Highly transparent
• Quotes and prices are
available very rapidly by
numerous services
OTC
• Deals are negotiated in
opaque “market”
• Dealer market where
brokers and dealers make
two-way markets
• Sometimes brokered
• Often lacks
“transparency”, esp. for
customized and new
transaction prices
• “Plain vanilla” products
are more standardized
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13. 1.13
Types of Traders
• Hedgers
– mainly interested in protecting themselves against
adverse price changes
– want to avoid risk
• Speculators
– hope to make money in the markets by betting on
the direction of prices
– “accept” risk
• Arbitrageurs
– arbitrage involves locking into riskless profit by
simultaneously entering into transactions in two or
more markets
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14. 1.14
Hedging Examples
• A US company will pay £10 million for
imports from Britain in 3 months and
decides to hedge using a long position
in a forward contract
• An investor owns 1,000 Microsoft
shares currently worth $73 per share. A
two-month put with a strike price of $63
costs $2.50. The investor decides to
hedge by buying 10 contracts
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15. 1.15
Speculation Example
• An investor with $4,000 to invest feels
that Amazon.com’s stock price will
increase over the next 2 months. The
current stock price is $40 and the price
of a 2-month call option with a strike of
45 is $2
• What are the alternative strategies?
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16. 1.16
Arbitrage Example
• A stock price is quoted as £100 in
London and $172 in New York
• The current exchange rate is 1.7500
• What is the arbitrage opportunity?
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17. 1.17
1. Gold: An Arbitrage
Opportunity?
• Suppose that:
– The spot price of gold is US$390
– The quoted 1-year futures price of gold
is US$425
– The 1-year US$ interest rate is 5% per
annum
• Is there an arbitrage opportunity?
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18. 1.18
2. Gold: Another Arbitrage
Opportunity?
• Suppose that:
–The spot price of gold is
US$390
–The quoted 1-year futures price
of gold is US$390
–The 1-year US$ interest rate is
5% per annum
• Is there an arbitrage opportunity?
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19. 1.19
The Futures Price of Gold
If the spot price of gold is S & the futures price is
for a contract deliverable in T years is F, then
F = S (1+r )T
where r is the 1-year (domestic currency) risk-
free rate of interest.
In our examples, S=390, T=1, and r=0.05 so that
F = 390(1+0.05) = 409.50
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20. 1.20
Derivative Resources on the Web
• Exchange information
and contract
specifications are
available for all major
exchanges
• Real-time pricing and
volume data
• Educational tools
• Futures Exchange or Gov’t Agency Internet
Site
• New York Mercantile Exchange
http://www.nymex.com
• Kansas City Board of Trade
http://www.kcbt.com
• Chicago Mercantile Exchange
http://www.cme.com
• Chicago Board of Trade
http://www.cbot.com
• Chicago Board Options Exchange
http://www.cboe.com
• Minneapolis Grain Exchange
http://www.mgex.com
• New York Cotton Exchange
http://www.nyce.com
• Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange
http://www.csce.com
• CFTC
http://www.cftc.gov
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21. 1.21
Forward, Futures, and Swaps
• The first section of the course will cover
forward, futures and swaps.
• Relevant Chapters in Textbook (4th edition)
– Mechanics of Futures and Forward Markets (Ch.
2)
– The Determination of Forward and Futures Prices
(Ch. 3)
– Hedging Strategies using Futures (Ch. 4)
– Interest-Rate Futures (Parts of Ch. 5)
– Swaps (Ch. 6)
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