This book is based on a series of seminars delivered over a period
of many years to people
working in the global financial markets. The material has expanded and evolved over that
time. Participation on the seminars has covered the widest possible spectrum in terms of
age, background and seniority, ranging all the way from new graduate entrants to the financial
services industry up to very senior managing directors. What all these many and varied
individuals had in common was a strong desire to understand how derivative products are
used in practice, without becoming too involved in the more complex mathematics of the
subject.
The seminars (and this book) originated from the conviction that bankers, fund managers and
other professionals in the mode financial markets must have a grasp of derivative products.
In fact the target audience broadened out over the years to include technology specialists, operations
experts, finance professionals working in the corporate environment and their business
advisers. It is estimated that over 90% of theworld’s largest 500 companies nowuse derivatives
to help to manage their exposures to the risks arising from factors such as currency fluctuations,
interest rate changes and unstable commodity prices.
Derivatives are everywhere in the mode world, but sometimes are not easily detected
except by those in the know. If you have the option to extend a loan or redeem a mortgage
early, then you have a derivative product. If a company has the opportunity to increase its
production facilities or exploit some new technology, then it has what is known in the world
of derivatives as a real option. This has a value, and given certain assumptions its value can be
measured.
It is my view that with a little application anyone can achieve a working knowledge of the
key derivative products. It is not widely appreciated that many people in the financial markets
who handle derivatives regularly are not specialists in higher mathematics. Nor is it important
for them to be so, but they do need to understand how the products can be used in practice to
create risk management, investment and trading solutions that are appropriate for particular
organizations in certain market circumstances. The real strength of derivatives is that they
offer a new set of tools with which to solve real-world problems. They are not a substitute for
thought or creativity; quite the reverse. Human beings have to analyse the problems and lea
how to use the appropriate tools to design the best possible solutions.
Anumber of excellent textbooks are available that take a quantitative approach to this subject
and explain in detail the pricing models used to value derivative products. At the end of this
book there is a list of further reading for those who wish to delve more deeply into this subject.
There is also an appendix covering some of the basic financial calculations, and although this
material provides a useful background to the main text, it is not absolutely essential reading.
The primary objective of this book is to help readers to develop a solid working knowledge of
the key derivative products through a range of practical examples, case studies and illustrations,
using the minimum amount of mathematics.
It is important, however, not to gloss over the significant developments that have occurred
in the derivatives industry in recent years. Without this background it is difficult to appreciate
how derivatives are radically changing the way risk is managed and investments are structured.
For this reason the book includes details of what are sometimes known as ‘exotic options’ –
products with arcane names such as barriers, cliquets and choosers. It is perfectly possible
to achieve a respectable understanding of such products without knowing how the pricing
models are constructed, and I hope to show that the effort is well worth while. There are
also discussions of highly versatile new instruments called credit default swaps, and a final
chapter is devoted to the creation of structured securities using standard and exotic derivative
products.
The book is constructed as follows. Chapter 1 provides additional background about the
derivatives industry and explains the basic building blocks used to create a myriad of derivatives
solutions and structured products. Chapters 2 and 3 consider forward contracts, including
forwards on shares, currencies and interest rates. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss futures contracts,
which are the exchange-traded relatives of forwards. They explore futures on commodities,
bonds, interest rates, equity indices and individual shares. Chapters 6 and 7 conce a key
product in mode finance, the swap transaction. The focus is on real-world applications of
interest rate, cross-currency, equity and credit default swaps.
Chapter 8 begins the discussion on option contracts by introducing the fundamentals of the
subject. Some readers may already be familiar with this material although the chapter provides
a useful platform of knowledge for the later development. Chapter 9 provides a wide range
of examples of the practical applications of options in hedging and risk management. The
discussion is not confined to standard or ‘plain vanilla’ options but explores some of the newer
products created in recent years. Chapter 10 covers exchange-traded equity options, on single
shares and on indices, while Chapters 11 and 12 consider the applications of currency and
interest rate contracts, including products such as caps, floors, collars and swaptions.
Chapters 13 and 14 outline the basic concepts involved in option valuation and risk management,
but the treatment here is intuitive rather than mathematical. They explain the idea of
the expected payout of an option; and introduce the industry standard Black–Scholes option
pricing model and its sensitivities, the so-called ‘Greeks’: delta, gamma, theta, vega and rho.
Later, in Appendix A, there is an explanation of how the model can be set up on a simple
Excel spreadsheet. Chapters 15 and 16 build on this discussion to consider how option traders
manage the risks on their positions; and some key trading applications of options, including
volatility trades and certain applications of non-standard or ‘exotic’ contracts, are presented.
These chapters are especially aimed at people who are likely to be involved with options from a
dealer’s perspective rather than that of the ‘end-users’ who are simply using options to manage
risk or enhance investment retus.
Chapter 17 explores convertible and exchangeable bonds – securities whose retus are
linked to the value of a share or a portfolio of shares. Chapter 18 contains an extended case
study on structuring new types of investment products using standard and exotic options, and
concludes with a discussion on a process known as securitization – one of the most significant
developments in mode finance. The chapter also presents an example of how credit default
swaps are being used to create new families of securities. For those who wish to explore
the mathematical aspect of the subject, Appendix A gives a brief review of the fundamental
financial calculations that form the background to derivative products. Appendix B contains an
extensive glossary of the terms used in the industry, and Appendix C gives some suggestions
for further reading, together with a list of useful websites.
In writing this book, I have benefited enormously from the ideas, comments and suggestions
made by many seminar participants over the years. I also owe a debt of gratitude to all the
derivatives market practitioners who have deepened my understanding of the subject by allowing
me to observe how they work and by sparing the time to discuss their activities. My hope
is that some portion of their creativity and enthusiasm is transferred to the book, although, of
course, I take full responsibility for all errors or omissions in the finished product. Finally, I
give special thanks to Sir George Mathewson and John Davie who (no doubt inadvertently)
started me off on this road so many years ago.
working in the global financial markets. The material has expanded and evolved over that
time. Participation on the seminars has covered the widest possible spectrum in terms of
age, background and seniority, ranging all the way from new graduate entrants to the financial
services industry up to very senior managing directors. What all these many and varied
individuals had in common was a strong desire to understand how derivative products are
used in practice, without becoming too involved in the more complex mathematics of the
subject.
The seminars (and this book) originated from the conviction that bankers, fund managers and
other professionals in the mode financial markets must have a grasp of derivative products.
In fact the target audience broadened out over the years to include technology specialists, operations
experts, finance professionals working in the corporate environment and their business
advisers. It is estimated that over 90% of theworld’s largest 500 companies nowuse derivatives
to help to manage their exposures to the risks arising from factors such as currency fluctuations,
interest rate changes and unstable commodity prices.
Derivatives are everywhere in the mode world, but sometimes are not easily detected
except by those in the know. If you have the option to extend a loan or redeem a mortgage
early, then you have a derivative product. If a company has the opportunity to increase its
production facilities or exploit some new technology, then it has what is known in the world
of derivatives as a real option. This has a value, and given certain assumptions its value can be
measured.
It is my view that with a little application anyone can achieve a working knowledge of the
key derivative products. It is not widely appreciated that many people in the financial markets
who handle derivatives regularly are not specialists in higher mathematics. Nor is it important
for them to be so, but they do need to understand how the products can be used in practice to
create risk management, investment and trading solutions that are appropriate for particular
organizations in certain market circumstances. The real strength of derivatives is that they
offer a new set of tools with which to solve real-world problems. They are not a substitute for
thought or creativity; quite the reverse. Human beings have to analyse the problems and lea
how to use the appropriate tools to design the best possible solutions.
Anumber of excellent textbooks are available that take a quantitative approach to this subject
and explain in detail the pricing models used to value derivative products. At the end of this
book there is a list of further reading for those who wish to delve more deeply into this subject.
There is also an appendix covering some of the basic financial calculations, and although this
material provides a useful background to the main text, it is not absolutely essential reading.
The primary objective of this book is to help readers to develop a solid working knowledge of
the key derivative products through a range of practical examples, case studies and illustrations,
using the minimum amount of mathematics.
It is important, however, not to gloss over the significant developments that have occurred
in the derivatives industry in recent years. Without this background it is difficult to appreciate
how derivatives are radically changing the way risk is managed and investments are structured.
For this reason the book includes details of what are sometimes known as ‘exotic options’ –
products with arcane names such as barriers, cliquets and choosers. It is perfectly possible
to achieve a respectable understanding of such products without knowing how the pricing
models are constructed, and I hope to show that the effort is well worth while. There are
also discussions of highly versatile new instruments called credit default swaps, and a final
chapter is devoted to the creation of structured securities using standard and exotic derivative
products.
The book is constructed as follows. Chapter 1 provides additional background about the
derivatives industry and explains the basic building blocks used to create a myriad of derivatives
solutions and structured products. Chapters 2 and 3 consider forward contracts, including
forwards on shares, currencies and interest rates. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss futures contracts,
which are the exchange-traded relatives of forwards. They explore futures on commodities,
bonds, interest rates, equity indices and individual shares. Chapters 6 and 7 conce a key
product in mode finance, the swap transaction. The focus is on real-world applications of
interest rate, cross-currency, equity and credit default swaps.
Chapter 8 begins the discussion on option contracts by introducing the fundamentals of the
subject. Some readers may already be familiar with this material although the chapter provides
a useful platform of knowledge for the later development. Chapter 9 provides a wide range
of examples of the practical applications of options in hedging and risk management. The
discussion is not confined to standard or ‘plain vanilla’ options but explores some of the newer
products created in recent years. Chapter 10 covers exchange-traded equity options, on single
shares and on indices, while Chapters 11 and 12 consider the applications of currency and
interest rate contracts, including products such as caps, floors, collars and swaptions.
Chapters 13 and 14 outline the basic concepts involved in option valuation and risk management,
but the treatment here is intuitive rather than mathematical. They explain the idea of
the expected payout of an option; and introduce the industry standard Black–Scholes option
pricing model and its sensitivities, the so-called ‘Greeks’: delta, gamma, theta, vega and rho.
Later, in Appendix A, there is an explanation of how the model can be set up on a simple
Excel spreadsheet. Chapters 15 and 16 build on this discussion to consider how option traders
manage the risks on their positions; and some key trading applications of options, including
volatility trades and certain applications of non-standard or ‘exotic’ contracts, are presented.
These chapters are especially aimed at people who are likely to be involved with options from a
dealer’s perspective rather than that of the ‘end-users’ who are simply using options to manage
risk or enhance investment retus.
Chapter 17 explores convertible and exchangeable bonds – securities whose retus are
linked to the value of a share or a portfolio of shares. Chapter 18 contains an extended case
study on structuring new types of investment products using standard and exotic options, and
concludes with a discussion on a process known as securitization – one of the most significant
developments in mode finance. The chapter also presents an example of how credit default
swaps are being used to create new families of securities. For those who wish to explore
the mathematical aspect of the subject, Appendix A gives a brief review of the fundamental
financial calculations that form the background to derivative products. Appendix B contains an
extensive glossary of the terms used in the industry, and Appendix C gives some suggestions
for further reading, together with a list of useful websites.
In writing this book, I have benefited enormously from the ideas, comments and suggestions
made by many seminar participants over the years. I also owe a debt of gratitude to all the
derivatives market practitioners who have deepened my understanding of the subject by allowing
me to observe how they work and by sparing the time to discuss their activities. My hope
is that some portion of their creativity and enthusiasm is transferred to the book, although, of
course, I take full responsibility for all errors or omissions in the finished product. Finally, I
give special thanks to Sir George Mathewson and John Davie who (no doubt inadvertently)
started me off on this road so many years ago.