Fixed Income Flashcards
Give two interpretations for the following forward rate:* The two-year forward rate one year from now is 2%.*
- 2% is the rate that will make an investor indifferent between buying a three-year zero-coupon bond or investing in a one-year zero-coupon bond and, when it matures, reinvesting in a zero-coupon bond that matures in two years.
- 2% is the rate that can be locked in today by buying a three-year zero-coupon bond rather than investing in a one-year zero-coupon bond and, when it matures, reinvesting in a zero-coupon bond that matures in two years.
How do I interpret this forward rate - F1,2
F(When, Where)
2 years rate one year from now
1year from now the 2 year rate
If one-period forward rates are decreasing with maturity, the yield curve is most likely
**Decreasing **
If one-period forward rates are decreasing with maturity, then the forward curve is downward sloping. This turn implies a downward-sloping yield curve where longer-term spot rates zB–A are less than shorter-term spot rates zA.
If interest rates rise, and the future spot rates are below the forward rates, what does it mean?
Bonds are undervalued
I rates rises, and the future spot prices are above the implied forward curve
Bonds are overvalued
If rates rises, and the future spot prices are inline with the forward curve
Bonds are failry valued
Spot rises, but below the forward curve
Bonds are undervalued
We should buyer longer bonds than our Investment horizion
Spot rises, but above the forward curve
Bonds are overvalued
We should follow a maturity matching strategy
Swap rate
The rate on the fixed leg of a interest rate swap
Swap spread
The spread between the fixed rate payer of a swap (Swap rate) and the rate of a “on the run” government bond with the same maturity as the swap that pays coupons.
Swap Spread = Swap Rate - Govenment bond (on the run) that pays coupons.
Where are forward rates derived from?
Forward rates are derived from spot rates/spot curve
Where are spot rates derived from?
Spor rates are derived from par rates using bootstraping
What is the G-Spread
Difference between credit risky bond rates - Spot rates
The difference between the yield on Treasury Bonds and the yield on corporate bonds of the same maturity
What is the I-Spread
The difference between credit-risky bonds and the Swap rate
What is the Swap rate
The difference between Swap rates and Spot rates
Bear Flattener
Rates are going up more on the short end than the long end
Bear flattener refers to the convergence of interest rates along the yield curve as short term rates rise faster than long term rates and is seen as a harbinger of an economic contraction.
a situation of rising bond prices which causes the long-end to fall faster than the short-end. Bear steepeners and flatteners are caused by falling bond prices across the curve.
Bear Steepener
Rates on the short end rise less than on the long end.
Rates on the long end rise more than on the short end.
Causes: Increase in long term inflation expectation with no action of central bank/monetary policy.
Bull flattener
Rates on the long end of the curve drops more on the long end than the short end.
Causes: QE pushes capital to higher riskier assets. Or a flight to quality.
Bull steepener
Rates on the short of the curve end decreases more than on the long end.
A bull steepener is a shift in the yield curve caused by falling interest rates—rising bond prices—hence the term “bull.”
The short-end of the yield curve (which is typically driven by the fed funds rate) falls faster than the long-end, steepening the yield curve.
How much does Inflation and GDP growth influence interest rates curve for short and intemediary bond.
Inflation and GDP 1/3
How much does monetary policy influence interest rates curve for short and intemediary rates curve .
2/3
How much does monetary policy influence interest rates curve for long term rates curve .
1/3
How much does inflation influence interest rates curve for long term rates curve.
2/3
The YTM to a bond is the rate that is most likely
The weighted average of the spot rates used in the bond valuation
What is the Pure Expectation theory?
- Forward rates are unbiased predictors of future spot rates.
- It assumes investors are risk neutral.
- Also known as unbaised expectation theory
- Investors expectation that determines the shapre of the interest rate term strucutre.
- Forward rates are an unbiased predictor o future spot rates and that every maturity strategy has the same expected return over a given instrument horizion.
- Long term interest rates equal the mean of future expected short-term rates.
What is the Local Expectation theory?
- Expected returns for all bonds is equal to the risk free rate over a short period of time.
- Preserves the risk-neutrality assumption only for short holding periods.
- Over long periods, risk premium should exist.
What is the liquidity preference theory?
- Predicts upward sloping yield curve -> forward rates as an expectation of future spot rates are biased upward by liquidity preference.
- Does not have a supply and demand argument.
- Liquidity: Having to sell a bond at some unertain price.
- Since liquidity premium exist, investors are compensated for interest rate risk when lending long term.
- it increases with maturity.
- Proposes that forward rates reflect investors expectations of future spot rates plus a liquidity premium to compensate investors for exposure to interest rate risk.
- Liquidity premium is positivly related to maturity.
25 year bond should have a larger liquidity premium than a 5 year bond.
What is the Segmented Market theory?
Segmented market theory allows for lender and borrower preference to influence the shape of the yield curve. This causes yields to not be a reflection of expected spot rates or liquidity premiums, but solely a function of supply and demand for funds of a particular maturity.
- The shape of the yield curve is determined by the preference of borrowers and lenders, which drives the balance between supply and demand for loans of different maturities.
- Each maturity segment can be thought of as a segmented marketin which yields are determined independently from yields that prevail in other maturity segments.
- Forward rates are not an expectation of future spot rates or liquidity preimiums.
- Market participants are unwilling / unable to invest in anything other than securities of their prefered maturity.
What is the preferred habitat theory?
Forward rates represent expected future spot rates plus a premium, but does not support the view that the premium is directly related to maturity.
Preferred habitat theory is similar to the segmented market theory in proposing that many borrowers and lenders have strong preferences for particular maturity.
Borrowers and lenders have a preferrence for particular maturities, buy yields at different maturities are not determined independently.
Short term interest rate volatility is mostly linked to ..,
Uncertainty regarding monetary policy.
Monetary policy attributes 2/3 of the volatility
If the par curve is flat, then
The spot and the forward curves will also be flat at the same level.
Are forward rates determined by supply and demand
NO!!
YTM provides the best estimate of expected return when
The Par curve is flat and expected to stay flat until maturity.
With a flat par curve, we get flat spot and forward curve all overlaping at the same rate which will be the YTM.
What is a “Forward Rate”?
A rate set today for a single payment of security to be issued at a future date
What is the MRR-OIS Spread?
The difference between the MRR and the overnight index swap rate OIS.
MRR-OIS Spread relects risk and liquidity of money market securities.
Please name the two different types of Arbitrage in binomial tree models
Dominance & Value added
What is Dominance Arbitrage?
Arbitrage oppertunity that produces a risk-free profit with respect to future pay off.
Only produces risk free profit at payoff.
What is “Value Addiditivity” Arbitrage?
Produces risk free profit with respect to current prices.
Relies on the sum of two parts not being equal to the sum of the whole. Basically, the two asset prices must equal each other.
Interest rate tree is a visual representation of the possible values of interest rates based on
Interest rate model and assumption about volatility.
Name the 2 different equilibrium models in fixed income binomial models
CIR
(Cox-Ingersoll-Ross)
and
Vasicek models
Singel-Factor Model that uses short term interest rates to describe interest rate dynamics. Primarily focus on yield levels.
Name the 2 different Arbitrage Free models
Ho-Lee
and
Kalotay - William-Fabozzi
If off the run bonds price was arrived by using spot rates drived from the benchmark par curve.
If we price the bond on a calibrated interest rate tree, the price recovered will be …
The same as that arrived by using the spot prices.
How do we calculate the number of possible paths in Binomial trees?
2^(n-1)
Interest rate tree i2LL referes to?
The one year forward rate ar time 2, assuming the lower rates at time 1 and 2.
In determining the appropriate level of volatility to use in modeling paths interest rates, we would most likely NOT use
Implied volatility based on observed prices of option-free Government bonds.
What does the log-normal random walk volatility capture?
The volatility of the one-year rate
When are Callable Bonds more valueable?
During a downward sloping yield curve
Call Option is valuable when** yield curve flattens**
When are Putable Bonds more valueable?
When the yield curve is upward sloping
Put Option is valuable when yield curve steepens
Formula for Value of issuer call opion
Value of stright bond - Value of callable bond
Formula for Value investors Putable bond
Value of putable bond - Value of stright bond
If volatility increases, what will happen to the value of callable bond
The new value will be lower than the previous price.
Value of Call = V Stright - V Callable
If volatility increases, what will happen to the value of Putable bond
The new value will be greater than the previous value
Explain the relationship of what will happen to the value of callable and putable if volatility increases
Callable bond value decreases
Putable bond value increases
If the OAS (Option Adjusted Spread) for a bond is higher than its peers, it is considered to be…
Undervalued
OAS for a bond is higher than the OAS of its peers, it is considered to be undervalued i.e. attractive
investment meaning it offers a higher compensation for a given level of risk (cheap).
If the OAS (Option Adjusted Spread) for a bond is Lower than its peers, it is considered to be…
Overvalued!!
bonds with
low OAS relative to peers are considered to be overvalued (rich) and should be avoided.
It offers lower compenstation for a given level of risk