The Dog and the Frisbee (Handling a Financial Crisis)
This reading is a part of the syllabus for FRM Part 2 Exam in the section ‘Current Issues in Financial Markets’. Catching a crisis, like catching a frisbee, is difficult. Doing so requires the...
View ArticleCalculate and Interpret Covariance and Correlations
Covariance defined In probability theory and statistics, covariance measures the comovement between two variables i.e. the amount by which the two random variables show movement or change together. If...
View ArticleCase Study: Equity Derivative Losses at UBS
In 1997, United Bank of Switzerland lost heavily in the equity derivatives market, with estimated losses pegged between $400 and $700 million. It is said to have lost $700 million in long positions in...
View ArticleSensitivity Analysis (Duration and Convexity)
The sensitivity analysis of fixed-income instruments refers to how the price moves in relation to each of sensitivity estimates such as price, duration and convexity. The relationships are mainly...
View ArticleExchange-Traded Funds, Market Structure and the Flash Crash
This reading is a part of the syllabus for FRM Part 2 Exam in the section ‘Current Issues in Financial Markets’. The “Flash Crash” of May 6, 2010 saw some stocks and exchange-traded funds traded at...
View ArticleContango and Backwardation in Commodity Markets
In the commodity markets, the relationship between spot prices and futures prices is explained using the concept of contango and backwardation. Contango: Refers to the situation where the futures...
View ArticleHow Commodity Investments Can Help a Portfolio
There are several benefits that commodities offer to a portfolio manager as a potential long-term investment option. Some of these points are highlighted below: Commodities have negative correlation...
View ArticleWhy Commodity Index Strategies are Active Investments
In the equity portfolio management, indexing strategies are considered to be passive portfolio management strategies, since a portfolio manager just needs to follow the index and no active management...
View ArticleProperties of Uniform Distribution
Definition The most basic form of continuous probability distribution function is called the uniform distribution. It is a rectangular distribution with constant probability and implies the fact that...
View ArticleProperties of Bernoulli Distribution
Definition The Bernoulli distribution is a discrete probability distribution which consists of Bernoulli trials. Each Bernoulli trial has the following characteristics: There are only two outcomes a 1...
View ArticleProperties of Normal Distribution
Definition It is one of the most important continuous probability distributions which finds wide applications in real life by describing variables that display randomness. The distribution is...
View ArticleJPMorgan Chase: Out of Control
This new report from GrahamFisher focuses on the risk management and internal control environment at JPMorgan Chase. The report kind of describes JPMorgan Chase as mostly a Criminal Enterprise. Since...
View ArticleParamteric vs Non-Parametric Distributions
Definitions Parametric Distribution: A parametric distribution is used in statistics when an assumption is made of the way the underlying data is distributed. An example would be when a variable is...
View ArticleProperties of Log-Normal Distribution
Definition If the logarithm to the power of the variable x is normally distributed then the variable itself is said to be lognormally distributed. In other words if ln(x) is normally distributed then...
View ArticleTypes of Commodity Investment Strategies
A portfolio manager can use several approaches to make commodity investments. There are three broad approaches: index fund, index-plus strategy, and active long-only strategy. Let’s look at each of...
View ArticleUnderstanding Inverse Price/Yield Relationship in Bonds
The investors in bonds face interest rate risk because the price of the bond is inversely proportional to the changes in interest rates. So, if interest rates rise, the bond’s price will fall and if...
View ArticleBond Features Affecting Interest Rate Risk
We know that a bond’s price is inversely related to the yield. How sensitive a bond price is to yield depends on the various features of the bond such as its maturity, coupon rate, and any embedded...
View ArticleImpact of Yield Level on Bond’s Price Sensitivity
In the previous article we learned about how maturity, coupon, and embedded options impact interest rate risk in bonds. Apart from this, the price sensitivity of a bond to interest rate change is also...
View ArticlePrice of a Callable Bond
The debt securities issued in the market can have many features; one such feature is an embedded option such as a call option. The call option gives the issuer the right to but the bond back from the...
View ArticleInterest Rate Risk of Floating-rate Bonds
In case of fixed-rate bonds, the coupon is set as a reference rate plus a margin. Since the reference rates changes periodically, the coupon rate for the bond is also reset periodically, such as...
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