Using Financial Futures In Trading And Risk Management

March 1995 Financial futures have become the cornerstone of financial management. The paper explains the contractual features of an array of financial futures, basic pricing relationships, and how futures can be used by investors and risk managers. Mas and Saá-Requejo explain the features of an array of futures contracts and their basic pricing relationships and describe a few applications to show how investors and risk managers can use these contracts. Futures -- and derivatives generally -- allow economic agents to fine-tune the structure of their assets and liabilities to suit their risk preferences and market expectations. Futures are not a financing or investment vehicle per se, but a tool for transferring price risks associated with fluctuations in asset values. Some may use them to spread risk, others to take on risk. Financial futures (along with options) are best viewed as building blocks. Futures have facilitated the modern trend of separating conventional financial products into their basic components. They allow not only the reduction or transformation of investment risk but also the understanding and measurement of risk. The market for derivatives has grown enormously over the past decade. The value of exchange-traded eurodollar derivatives (futures and options) is equal to roughly 13 times the value of the underlying market. The volume of trading in financial futures now dwarfs the volume in traditional agricultural contracts. As emerging markets develop, given their inherently risky nature, expect financial futures to play a prominent role in risk management. This paper -- a product of the Private Provision of Public Services Unit, Private Sector Development Department -- is part of a larger effort in the department to promote risk management techniques in emerging markets.

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Economics - Finance, grade: 1,0, University of Westminster (Westminster Business School), course: International Risk Management , language: English, abstract: Since the 1970s futures contracts have proven a real success story, but in the course of the crisis, several futures-trading businesses went bankrupt. Because of a lack of trust, futures trading volumes started decreasing. But, even though the futures market has been adversely affected, futures contracts still serve as a fundamental risk management tool. This paper provides an insight into the use of futures contracts in risk management, trading on US exchanges. After a brief introduction to the topic of futures contracts, current literature will be reviewed. The literature review focuses primarily on current issues and developments on the futures market, while the third chapter explains step by step - based on an example of foreign exchange hedging - the use of futures contracts as well as how futures transactions are processes. Finally, the third chapter summarises relevant criteria a company has to reflect when considering to invest in futures contracts.

Praise for The CME Group Risk Management Handbook "Wow! The CME Group Risk Management Handbook is a 'ten strike' and long overdue. A must-read and reference for the risk management industry!" —Jack Sandner, retired chairman of CME Group, member of the Executive Committee "This is a powerful book for its integration of futures and options markets with an understanding of the whole economy. It is an eye-opener to see how central these markets are to our economic lives." —Robert J. Shiller, Okun Professor of Economics, Yale University; Chief Economist, MacroMarkets LLC "Risk management is essential to successful investing, and The CME Group Risk Management Handbook provides the essentials for understanding risk management. In the wake of the financial turmoil of the last few years, managing risk should be part of any investment program. Among the key elements of risk management are stock index, bond, currency, and commodity futures as well as a growing number of futures, options, swaps, and other financial instruments built on indices tracking housing prices, weather conditions, and the economy. The CME Group Risk Management Handbook offers a comprehensive guide for using all of these to better manage financial risks." —David M. Blitzer, PhD, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee, S&P Indices "Dare we ignore the advice of a financial institution, the largest of its kind in the world, that navigated the recent financial crisis without the aid of a single TARP dollar or access to the Fed's cheap loans? For CME Group, risk management has meant risk minimization as it enters its 151st year of life and its 85th year of central counterparty clearing without a single trading debt unpaid. It has been, and continues to be, a leader by example." —Philip McBride Johnson, former CFTC chairman "For the first time, a comprehensive handbook outlining the futures market in today's world is available. The CME Group Risk Management Handbook covers futures basics for the novice trader, while the veterans will benefit from an in-depth look at options and hedging. This handbook is a necessity for any professional, investor, or other market participant seeking to manage risk in the perpetually changing futures market." —H. Jack Bouroudjian, CEO, Index Futures Group

Authoritative, up-to-date research and analysis that provides a dramatic new understanding of the rewards-and risks-of investing in CTAs Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) are an increasingly popular and potentially profitable investment alternative for institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. Commodity Trading Advisors is one of the first books to study their performance in detail and analyze the "survivorship bias" present in CTA performance data. This book investigates the many benefits and risks associated with CTAs, examining the risk/return characteristics of a number of different strategies deployed by CTAs from a sophisticated investor's perspective. A contributed work, its editors and contributing authors are among today's leading voices on the topic of commodity trading advisors and a veritable "Who's Who" in hedge fund and CTA research. Greg N. Gregoriou (Plattsburgh, NY) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance and Research Coordinator in the School of Business and Economics at the State University of New York. Vassilios N. Karavas (Amherst, MA) is Director of Research at Schneeweis Partners. Francois-Serge Lhabitant (Coppet, Switzerland) is a FAME Research Fellow, and a Professor of Finance at EDHEC (France) and at HEC University of Lausanne (Switzerland). Fabrice Rouah (Montreal, Quebec) is Institut de Finance Mathématique de Montréal Scholar in the finance program at McGill University.

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Banking, Stock Exchanges, Insurance, Accounting, grade: 81%, University of Westminster (Westminster Business School), language: English, abstract: This paper examines the role of currency futures contracts in risk management. The reader can find a brief introduction to the history of foreign exchange markets and under which cir-cumstances the markets appeared in 1970s. Furthermore, the question of why to use currency futures to hedge risk exposures is answered. A more in-depth analysis of how currency futures contracts are structured, especially their specifications and their advantages and limi-tations for the user. Moreover this paper addresses issue of how currency futures are used by participants. Finally, a brief use of currency futures is also examined with a case study on the FX-market.

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Business economics - Banking, Stock Exchanges, Insurance, Accounting, grade: A, Wright State University (Raj Soin College of Business), 16 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Abstract Undertaking business always involves taking risk. The future development of a company and their business is more uncertain the higher the risk that the company is facing. Risk management is a important factor in operating business. With the development of future markets entrepreneurs and investors obtained another risk management tool that made it possible to reduce risk. Futures are derivatives that can be used either for speculating or risk management. Especially in the area of financial futures, a rapid growth could be observed during the last few decades. Almost every month a new type of contract appears to meet the needs of a continuously growing corporate and institutional market. This paper considers future contracts as hedging application to reduce price risk. Futures are standardized contracts to buy or sell an asset in the future. There are various types of futures which differ in the type of the underlying asset. Futures are traded at organized exchanges. We consider the trading of future, their requirements, and market participants and their motivation. Different commercial users of future contracts hedge in different ways. A long hedge is used to reduce price risk of an anticipated purchase whereas a short hedge reduces the price risk of an asset that is already held. If there is no exact, the hedgers needs matching, contract available, the hedger should use a cross hedging strategy. With all these strategies the hedger takes, to the asset opposite, a position in the future market that is highly correlated with the change in price of the asset in the spot market. Losses in one market are offset by gains in the other market. For a successful hedge it is essential to choose an appropriate contract an

Today's fast-changing markets are forcing financial institutions, investors and corporations to bear more risk than ever before. A miscalculation or a surprise move in interest rates or foreign currencies can wreak havoc on an institution's bottom line and competitive posture. Despite these perils, there is a shroud of mystery surrounding the very instruments designed to manage these risks - financial futures. Managing Risk with Financial Futures sheds much-needed light on financial futures. It describes how financial futures work and how they can be used to manage the risks associated with today's volatile financial markets. In a logical, step-by-step approach, noted financial futures authority Robert Daigler thoroughly explains every aspect of these fascinating instruments, from pricing to arbitrage to risk management. This book is the most comprehensive and authoritative overview of the financial futures markets ever written. Broad topics addressed include: the mechanics and regulation of the futures markets; pricing and arbitrage of financial futures; characteristics of interest rate, stock index and currency futures; and hedging and risk management strategies. After explaining the principles that underlie the financial futures markets, Dr. Daigler discusses specific risk management strategies. He shows how financial futures can be used to hedge fixed income and equity portfolios, asset/liability gaps, and corporate borrowing costs. In addition, he reveals special hedging applications for insurance companies. Managing Risk with Financial Futures goes much further than any other book in explaining how futures can be used safely to reduce risk and bolster returns. Such complex topicsas duration-based hedging, immunization and hedge ratios are addressed fully, from both a theoretical and practical point of view. Financial futures are a supremely important part of the financial world. Never before have they been written about with such depth and clarity.