Principles of Exchange-Traded Derivatives Flashcards
how is the price of a future derived?
From the underlying price of the asset in the cash market, plus the net cost of holding the position over the term of the contract.
what is the cost of carry?
the costs involved in holding the physical assets to the expiry dates
what are the main components of costs of carry?
- finance costs
- security costs
- storage costs
- insurance
what is the fair value?
storage and insurance costs along with any financing costs
how is the fair value of a future calculated?
cash price + cost of carry
how does the calculation of the the fair value of an equity index future differ?
only net finance costs need to be considered as all other costs are negligible. Investor forgoes interest on funds invested in shares but still receives dividend
net finance costs= interest - present value of dividends
what does it mean when a market is in contango?
there is a net cost of carry in holding the asset to delivery so future prices will be higher than cash prices
what is backwardation?
there is a net benefit in holding the asset to delivery, so future prices are lower than cash prices
where is backwardation most common (markets)?
in both the bond and short term interest rate markets when long-term interest rates are higher than short term rates
how does convergence work in relation to the cash and future prices?
at expiry the cost of carry is zero so the cash and future prices must converge over the life of the future until they meet at expiry
what is basis and how is it calculated?
measure of the differences between cash and futures prices. can also be used to describe the difference between two futures prices
basis = cash price - futures price
what will the basis be in a contango/backwardation market?
in a contango market, basis will be negative as the futures price is greater than the cash price
In a backwardation market the basis will be positive as the cash price is greater than the futures price
what can cause the basis to change?
- supply and demand
- cost of carry
- market participants having different cost bases
- time remaining to expiry
what does it mean when the basis is strengthening in a contango market?
when the cash price increases relative to futures prices, the basis is moving in a positive direction so is strengthening. expected in a contango market as the future moves to expiry and the cash/futures prices converge
what does it mean the basis is strengthening in a backwardation market?
widening gap between the cash and futures price
what is weakening of the basis in the contango/backwardation market?
weakening in contango: widening the gap between the cash and futures market, negative price differential increasing
weakening in backwardation market: narrowing of the gap, positive basis moves in a negative direction to become less positive
what should a trader to when a basis is expected to strengthen?
buy the spread: buy near dated instruments and sell far dated instruments
what should a trader do when a basis is expected to weaken?
they should sell the spread by selling the near-dated instruments and buying the far-dated instruments
what is basis risk?
risk that a futures price will move differently to that of its underlying asset
how can one eliminate basis risk?
by holding a futures contract to its expiration, until the prices converge
what is arbitrage?
traders attempt to profit by exploiting price differentials between identical, or similar financial instruments that are trading on different markets or in different forms
where is there a potential for arbitrage in futures?
when there is a mispricing between the underlying instrument and the futures available on that instrument- this exists when the future is not trading at its fair value
what is a reverse cash and carry arbitrage?
when a future is currently trading below its fair value, it means its cheap relative to the price of the underlying so to exploit the mispricing they should sell the relatively expensive underlying cash asset and buy the relatively cheap future
what is a cash and carry trade?
when a future is trading above its fair value, its expensive relative to the price of the underlying asset so the appropriate trade is to buy the relatively cheap underlying and sell a future