Derivatives

The objective of this course is to provide the students with the necessary skills to value and to employ options, futures and related financial contracts at a technical level. Topics covered include the valuation of futures contracts on stock indices as well as commodities and treasury instruments, the valuation of options using binominal trees and Monte Carlo simulation, the relation between puts and calls, the different asset allocation strategies such as portfolio insurance, hedging techniques for Page 18 national and international investors, and the use (and misuse) of derivatives in the context of corporate applications.