"Most markets share a fundamental structure that can be managed with a common set
of mechanics. Our objective in writing this book is to provide the reader with a
self-contained, accessible guide to the mechanics and risks of hedging in various
markets."From Chapter
Businesses today are exposed to systematic price risk in many forms. Because this risk
exposure can impact the ability to forecast, plan, or even operate a business in an
efficient and competitive manner, most financial decision-makers turn to hedging to
neutralize this risk so they can focus on core business opportunities.
Hedging Instruments (5 Risk Management provides a comprehensive and results-oriented
approach to making informed and profitable hedging decisions. Focusing on practical
details of key hedging instruments as well as insights into the real-world application of
these instruments, it covers information including:
Basic concepts of valuation, including how to accurately calculate present value of
future cash flows
Mathematics of bond pricing and risk measurement, including volatility, duration, and
convexity
How to extract spot and implied forward rates from coupon bonds, as well as construct a
swap zero-coupon yield curve from market prices
Structure and uses of the futures markets, including specifications of major contracts
in commodity, fixed income, and equity markets
Basic knowledge of binomial option pricing, along with Black-Scholes options pricing
models and extensions
Techniques for hedging exposure to commodity price fluctuations and foreign currency
risk
Effective ways for corporations to establish fixed rate financing in the current market
using swaptions along with forward delivery bonds and swaps
Swap contract structure, pricing, and volatility, including descriptions of not only
plain vanilla interest rate swaps but also currency, equity, basis, credit default, and
total rate of return swaps
Hedging allows financial professionals to accomplish a number of risk management
objectives, from decreasing cash flow volatility and offsetting interest rate fluctuations
to minimizing price risk, default risk, and more. In a world of razor-thin margins, the
challenge is to select a hedge that provides the most protection while incurring the least
expense. Hedging Instruments 5 Risk Management compiles the information, data,
definitions, and examples hedgers need to consistently meet this challenge, and develop a
stable, long-term, and cost-effective hedging strategy.
About Authors
Patrick Cusatis is a professor of finance at Penn State University.
Martin Thomas is principal of financial services consulting firm Penn Data Mining.