- CFA Exams
- 2025 Level I
- Topic 7. Derivatives
- Learning Module 2. Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments
- Subject 1. Forward Commitments
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Subject 1. Forward Commitments PDF Download
Based on the rights and obligations of the parties that enter into the contract, derivatives can be classified into two groups: forward commitments and contingent claims.
A forward commitment is an agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to buy and the other agrees to sell an asset at a future date at a price agreed on today. In essence, a forward commitment represents a commitment to buy or sell.
There are three types of forward commitments.
Forward Contract
A forward contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a specified time in the future for a specified price.
Futures Contract
A futures contract is created and traded on a futures exchange. It is a variation of a forward contract that has essentially the same basic definition but some additional features. Futures and forwards are essentially similar contracts; the principles for pricing and the applications of futures and forwards are almost identical. They differ only in the institutional settings in which they trade.
- The contract is based on a U.S. Treasury bond with a maturity of at least 15 years.
- The contract covers $100,000 par value of U.S. Treasury bonds.
- The expiration months are March, June, September, and December.
- Prices of the contract are quoted in points and 32nds of part of 100. That is, a price of 103 18/32 equals 103.5625. With a contract size of $100,000, the actual price is $103,562.50.
- The minimum price fluctuation, or tick size, is 1/32. With a contract size of $100,000, the actual minimum size is $31.25.
- With standardized contracts, all market participants know exactly what is being offered for sale and what the transaction terms are.
- Thus, people can quickly transact without wasting time examining contracts.
- In addition, standardization makes it much easier for traders to find buyers and sellers.
- The clearinghouse acts as the intermediary counterparty to the buyer and seller in each trade.
- The clearinghouse adopts the position of buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer.
- Every trader in the futures markets has obligations only to the clearinghouse, and the clearinghouse guarantees the fulfillment of the contract of the trading parties.
- Since the clearinghouse is well-capitalized, its default risk is very small.
- This is called daily settlement or marking to market.
- Every day, the gain and loss incurred by each trader is computed based on the market price of the futures contracts.
- After the contracts are marked-to-market, funds are transferred from the traders who have sustained losses to traders who have incurred gains.
- The practice of daily settlement is equivalent to terminating a futures contract at the end of each day and reopening it the next day at the settlement price.
- the futures exchanges
- the clearinghouse
- at least one regulatory agency
Swap
A swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange a series of future cash flows.
The most commonly used swap is a fixed-for-floating interest rate swap, also referred to as a "plain vanilla swap." The notional principal is the loan balance on which the interest rate payments are determined. As with futures and forwards, no money changes hands at the start of the contract, and the swap value is zero. However, as market conditions change, the value of the swap will change, being positive for one party and negative for the other.
User Contributed Comments 10
User | Comment |
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wenny | Forward and Futures trading place: over the counter; organized exchanges. terms and conditions: customized; standardized. default risk: yes; no. settlement date: expiration date; settled on a daily basis, and a party can offset his position by entering into an opposite transaction. regulations: private unregulated; regulated. |
achu | Units of futures contract price are standardized (though what you pay for a future can be negotiated.) |
prachirp | well summarised by wenny |
jainrajeshv | thanks wenny |
BunnyBaby | Attempted to create a summary :s Types of forward commitments 1. Forward contract -Bought/Sold in the over the counter market -Negotiated now, settled at future date, no money exchanges until then -Parties specify contract terms & conditions, when and where of delivery, precise indentity of the underlying security (unlimited customization) -More risk involved, must trust the other party, harder to evaluate others' credit profile/risk -Private and unregulated -Little to no liquidity ? Are there any advantages to trading in forward contracts vs futures 2. Futures -Committment to buy or sell at a specific price at a future (haha) date -Highly standardized, dare I say generic? -Detailed yet standard specifics with *probably* no customization -Terms are set by the exchange such as minimum values and price changes -Must accept the terms to trade on the Exchange *(my way or the highway) -Advantage to futures, since standardized active secondary market, makes the contracts more liquid; less risk since contracts are guaranteed by the clearinghouse which acts as intermediary -Downside to futures exchanges, each trader must post margin (barrier to entry for traders without a lot of capital), all gains and losses must be "marked to market" settled at the end of the trading day. therefore money changes hands every day -Information about trades and prices are publicly available and reported to at least one regulatory agency. ? Will we need to know how specific exchanges function ? Do all exchanges have clearinghouse 3. Swaps -Agreement between two parties to exchange a series of future cash flows; series of forward contracts -Lots of customization available -Private and avoids regulation ? |
omya | clearing house acts as a intermediary to buyers and sellers. performance for the futures exchange is promised by clearing house. practice of daily settling of futures contarct means they are terminated everyday and the fresh contract is started on the next day. |
fenix | I believe the practice is EQUIVALENT = doesn't mean they are actually terminated and reopened each day |
floydbite | can someone please explain to me how the minimum price is $31.25 in the above example for tick size :( |
To-be-CFA | Types of Forward Commitments: I. Forward Contract  Legally binding agreement to buy/sell an asset in the future at a specified price. - Buyer/seller is obligated to perform. - Each party is subject to default risk. - Private and largely unregulated. II. Futures Contract  Similar to forward, but traded on exchanges. - Everything standardized. - Active secondary market. - Guaranteed by a clearinghouse. Highly capitalized and backed by credit lines. - Requires that traders post margin in order to date (Daily Settlement/Marking to Market) - Regulated by at least one regulatory agency. III. Swap  Series of forward contracts. |
enetis | $100,000 par x 1/32% (1 tick) |
I used your notes and passed ... highly recommended!
Lauren
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