October 2019 Newsletter Explore our October newsletter and discover the latest blog posts and insights from FX Initiative. We help finance, accounting, treasury, and sales professionals stay up to date with new training content, CPE webinars, and helpful tips & resources. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training > View Newsletter October 1, 2019By FX Initiative Examples, General accounting, balancesheet, call, CPE, currency, derivatives, development, economics, education, examples, finance, forecasting, foreignexchange, forex, fundamental, fxcpe, fxinitiative, gain, hedging, incomestatement, insights, learning, loss, management, newsletter, options, policy, professional, put, risk, technical, training, treasury, updates, videos 0 0 Comment
Pricing FX Put & Call Options (Video) Pricing FX Put & Call Options (Video): Learn the 6 variables that are used to price foreign exchange (FX) options in the Garman-Kohlhagen option pricing model. This video is a preview of FX Initiative’s FX Spot & Derivatives course as part of Learning Objective #2. To learn more, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com. Start FX Training September 17, 2019By FX Initiative FX Spot & Derivatives, General accounting, base, call, corporate, currency, derivatives, example, expiry, finance, forex, fxcpe, fxinitiative, Garman-Kohlhagen, instrisic, interest, management, maturity, options, premium, price, put, risk, strike, terms, training, treasury, volatility 0 0 Comment
September 2019 Newsletter Explore our September 2019 newsletter and discover the latest blog posts and insights from FX Initiative. We help finance, accounting, treasury, and sales professionals stay up to date with new training content, CPE webinars, and helpful tips & resources. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training > View Newsletter September 3, 2019By FX Initiative Examples, General accounting, call, CPE, currency, demand, derivative, development, education, examples, exchange, finance, foreign, forex, gain, hedging, insights, learning, lifecycle, loss, management, newsletter, options, profeesional, put, risk, supply, trade, training, treasury, updates, videos, volatility 0 0 Comment
Discover the Different Types of FX Derivatives Do you want to discover the different types of FX derivatives in detail? FX Initiative’s FX Spot & Derivatives course will help you distinguish the different type of FX derivatives firms employ to effectively hedge FX risk. This program provides a comparative analysis of FX derivatives with simulated examples to demonstrate the instruments your firm can use. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training > Download the PDF February 12, 2019By FX Initiative FX Spot & Derivatives, General accounting, bestpractices, collars, cpe, currency, derivatives, economics, education, forex, forwards, fxcpe, fxinitiative, hedging, learning, management, options, payoff, professional, profile, risk, training 0 0 Comment
How to Price Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) Derivatives? Bitcoin (BTC) broke through to a record high of $11,831 over the weekend as volatility in the cryptocurrency continues to rise. Amidst these large and recent price fluctuations, the CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange & Chicago Board of Trade) announced that its new bitcoin futures contract will be available for trading on December 18, 2017. While the valuation of traditional currency and equity derivatives is well established among professionals working in the financial industry, the introduction of the first cryptocurrency bitcoin derivative poses valuation questions as it relates to a new pricing model. Simply put, how are cryptocurrency derivatives priced? Financial engineering is a continuously evolving discipline designed to introduce and test new products, pricing models and hypotheses. Currently, equity futures are typically priced using variables such and the risk free interest rate and dividends, and currency forwards are priced based on the foreign and domestic interest rate differential between the two currencies in the pair. Additionally, equity options are typically priced using the Black–Scholes option pricing model, and currency options are priced using the Garman–Kohlhagen option pricing model. All of these equations take into account variables such as dividends and/or interest rates. However, bitcoin as an asset class does not pay dividends nor is it tied to a specific risk free, domestic or foreign interest rate. As a result, a new or modified version of a derivative pricing model for cryptocurrency that accounts for the unique nature of this new digital asset class will likely be used to value the first bitcoin futures contracts. Many academics and practitioners are sharing their thoughts on the best approach for pricing bitcoin derivatives. A couple of commonly raised questions include: (1) How are dividends removed from the traditional pricing models? and (2) What interest rate(s) should be used? As the financial industry navigates a new frontier with cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, how do you think bitcoin derivatives should be priced? Ready to learn more about currency and derivatives? Click here to take the FX Initiative today! December 4, 2017By FX Initiative General Bitcoin, Blockchain, BTC, Continuing Professional Education, CPE, Cryptocurrency, Derivative, Ethereum, Futures, FX Initiative, Hedging, Management, Options, Risk, Trading, Currency 0 0 Comment
How to Compare Currency Derivatives & Credit Considerations Foreign exchange risk management involves the use of currency derivatives, which are financial contracts between two parties whose value is derived from the exchange rate of one or more underlying currencies. In order to use currency derivatives to achieve foreign exchange risk management objectives, companies must be able to deal or trade with a credit worthy counterparty such as a bank or financial institution. Counterparty credit risk is the risk that the counterparty to a contract does not perform, and is involved in any banking activity, including trading currency derivatives. Therefore, both parties in the transaction need to consider the financial condition of their counterparty by quantifying their creditworthiness. It can be helpful to compare key credit considerations between the three most common currency derivatives, which include forward contracts, vanilla options, and zero cost collars. Forward contracts involve the exchange of two currencies at an agreed upon rate on the date of the contract for settlement on a date more than two business days in the future. A forward contract will almost always finish in either an asset or liability position at maturity depending on the ending spot rate. From a credit perspective, forward contracts usually do not require an upfront exchange of funds, but almost always requires a payment at maturity to settle the asset or liability position of the contract. Option contracts are financial contracts that give the buyer the right, not the obligation, to buy or sell a quantity of a particular currency at a specific exchange rate, called the strike rate, on or before a pre-arranged date. A purchased option begins its life as an asset in the amount of the option premium paid to the counterparty at inception, and will expire with either a positive value or zero fair value. In other words, options require an upfront payment, but do not require the option holder to make a payment at maturity. A zero cost collar is a combination of two vanilla options, whereby the premium paid on the purchased option is offset by the premium received from the sold option to create a zero cash outlay. This structure enables the holder to buy or sell a quantity of a particular currency within a specified range of exchange rates between the two option strikes on or before a pre-arranged date. In turn, collars do not require an upfront exchange of funds, but may require payment at maturity if the structure finishes in an asset or liability position. The two key credit variables to consider are (1) the upfront exchanges of funds and (2) the obligation to make a payment at maturity. Since a forward contract is a firm obligation for a future settlement to be made with no upfront exchange of funds, this derivative has a higher credit risk than a purchased option where upfront premium is paid and there is no obligation for the option holder to make a payment at maturity. Similarly, since a collar may require a payment at maturity to settle the contract, collars are more credit intensive than vanilla options. Conterparty credit risk became a prominent headline during the financial crisis of 2007–2008, and remains an important factor to consider as credit limits may prohibit a firm or entity from entering into a derivative transaction, particularly in a tight credit economy. When credit constraints inhibit business decisions, firms may need to consider alternative means to transact such as posting collateral. When trading FX derivatives, the acronym KYC, which traditionally stands for Know Your Customer, can be modified to Know Your Counterparty. If you are interested in learning more about foreign exchange derivatives, credit considerations, and how to hedge using financial instruments, sign up for FX Initiative’s Currency Risk Management Training today. Our educational videos, interactive examples, and webinar events use real world companies such as Apple, Inc. to illustrate aspects of their world class foreign exchange risk management policies and procedures. Mitigating currency risk is a top priority for global businesses, and you can benefit your firm’s bottom line by taking the FX Initiative! Ready to learn more about FX Risk Management? Click here to get started! The FX Initiative Team support@fxinitiative.com August 28, 2017By FX Initiative FX Spot & Derivatives, General , Collars, Continuing Professional Education, Counterparty, CPE, Currency, Derivative, Foreign Exchange, Forwards, FX, Hedging, Options, Risk Management, Trading, Credit 0 0 Comment
Check Your FX Knowledge: Take Our Pre-Test Evaluation Are you a foreign exchange expert? Take the FX pre-test evaluation to see how you perform using our scoring brackets! 100% Excellent Job! Ready to earn your certification? 90% Good Start! Complete your FX Risk Management Training! 80% About Average. Let’s close your FX knowledge gaps! <70% Room for Improvement! It’s time to take the FX Initiative! Whether you’re an experienced professional or brand new to foreign exchange, FX Initiative’s Currency Risk Management Training helps you learn currency risk management best practices using a video based on-demand format with real-world examples. Complete your FX training today in 4 simple steps: Select Your FX Risk Management Training Program Complete Your FX Risk Management Training Education Track Your FX Risk Management Training Progress Download Your Certificate of Completion Ready to take the FX Initiative? Click here to get started! Cheers, The FX Initiative Team support@fxinitiative.com June 26, 2017By FX Initiative General Collars, Continuing Professional Education, CPE, Currency, Economics, Evaluation, Financial Reporting, Forwards, Hedging, Options, Policy, Qualitative, Quantitative, Risk Management, Spot, Strategy, Trading, Treasury, Derivatives, FX, Pre-Test 0 0 Comment
Done Your Derivative Due Diligence? Foreign exchange risk management involves mitigating currency risk to an acceptable level by understanding when and how to hedge using financial instruments or derivatives. In order to effectively use currency derivatives to achieve foreign exchange risk management objectives, firms must recognize their differences and similarities and how they work in practice. While there are a large number of currency derivatives available in the marketplace, very few of these instruments are employed in routine foreign exchange risk management. The most common currency derivatives include forward contracts, vanilla options, and option combinations. By selecting a derivative from a hedge objective perspective, the confusion often experienced from the endless products available in the market can be avoided. The following introduction video to the "FX Spot & Derivatives" course addresses the three main learning objectives that are covered throughout this highly informative hour long educational program, which include (1) to explore the concept of forward contracts and recognize their forward point premium or discount and symmetrical payoff profile, (2) to explore the concept of option contracts and recognize their pricing variables and asymmetrical payoff profile, and (3) to explore the concept of option combinations and recognize how structures such as a zero cost collar create a unique payoff profile. Want full access? Click to subscribe today! If you are interested in learning more about foreign exchange spot & derivatives and how they are used in routine foreign exchange risk management, sign up for our Foreign Exchange Risk Management Training today and access our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Managing FX risk has become a higher priority for many firms for 2017 and it is now easier than ever to learn the fundamentals of currency risk management. Make this the year to reduce FX risk and reap rewards abroad by taking the FX Initiative for your international business today! Click here to start your FX Risk Management Training today! Cheers to your global organization's continued success in the new year, The FX Initiative Team support@fxinitiative.com March 13, 2017By FX Initiative FX Spot & Derivatives , Collars, Continuing Professional Education, CPE, Foreign Exchange, Forwards, Hedge, Options, Risk Management, FX 0 0 Comment