This book introduces readers to the financial markets, derivatives, structured products and how the products are modelled and implemented by practitioners. In addition, it equips readers with the necessary knowledge of financial markets needed in order to work as product structurers, traders, sales or risk managers. As the book seeks to unify the derivatives modelling and the financial engineering practice in the market, it will be of interest to financial practitioners and academic researchers alike. Further, it takes a different route from the existing financial mathematics books, and will appeal to students and practitioners with or without a scientific background. The book can also be used as a textbook for the following courses: • Financial Mathematics (undergraduate level) • Stochastic Modelling in Finance (postgraduate level) • Financial Markets and Derivatives (undergraduate level) • Structured Products and Solutions (undergraduate/postgraduate level)

This second edition, now featuring new material, focuses on the valuation principles that are common to most derivative securities. A wide range of financial derivatives commonly traded in the equity and fixed income markets are analysed, emphasising aspects of pricing, hedging and practical usage. This second edition features additional emphasis on the discussion of Ito calculus and Girsanovs Theorem, and the risk-neutral measure and equivalent martingale pricing approach. A new chapter on credit risk models and pricing of credit derivatives has been added. Up-to-date research results are provided by many useful exercises.

Although the pricing and hedging of derivatives contracts has been the subject of a large number of books, hardly any books exist on the actual design of derivatives contracts. Structured Equity Derivatives fills this gap in a remarkable way. The book introduces an approach to the structuring and practical application of derivatives that allows the reader to create his own derivatives solutions to an endless variety of problems. The approach is extremely natural - the only limit is the reader's own creativity. Since it clearly explains the reasons why derivatives exist and why there is such a large variety, this is the book that should be read before picking up any other book on the pricing and hedging of derivatives. As the book concentrates on product design instead of pricing, there are no complex pricing formulas or numerical procedures. The emphasis is on intuition and common sense rather than complex formal results, which makes the book accessible to people from many different backgrounds.

"Financial Derivatives" - Jetzt neu in der 3. komplett überarbeiteten Auflage! Dieses umfassende Nachschlagewerk bietet eine gründliche Einführung in das Thema Finanzderivate und ihre Bedeutung für das Risikomanagement im Unternehmensumfeld. Es vermittelt fundierte Kenntnisse zum Thema Finanzderivate, und zwar mit einem verständlich gehaltenen Minimum an Finanzmathematik, was Preisbildung und Bewertung angeht. Mit einer breitgefächerten Übersicht über die verschiedenen Arten von Finanzderivaten. Mit neuem Material zu Kreditderivaten und zur Kreditrisikobewertung bei Derivaten. Mit neuen und ausführlicheren Informationen zu den Themen Finanztechnik und strukturierte Finanzprodukte. "Financial Derivatives" - Ein unverzichtbarer Ratgeber für alle Finanzexperten im Bereich Risikomanagement.

This book is essential in understanding, investing and risk managing the holy grail of investments - structured products. The book begins by introducing structured products by way of a basic guide so that readers will be able to understand a payoff graphic, read a termsheet or assess a payoff formula, before moving on to the key asset classes and their peculiarities. Readers will then move on to the more advanced subjects such as structured products construction and behaviour during their lifetime. It also explains how to avoid important pitfalls in products across all asset classes, pitfalls that have led to huge losses over recent years, including detailed coverage of counterparty risk, the fall of Lehman Brothers and other key aspects of the financial crisis related to structured products. The second part of the book presents an original approach to implementing structured products in a portfolio. Key features include: A comprehensive list of factors an investor needs to take into consideration before investing. This makes it a great help to any buyer of structured products; Unbiased advice on product investments across several asset classes: equities, fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities; Guidance on how to implement structured products in a portfolio context; A comprehensive questionnaire that will help investors to define their own investment preferences, allowing for a greater precision when facing investment decisions; An original approach determining the typical distribution of returns for major product types, essential for product classification and optimal portfolio implementation purposes; Written in a fresh, clear and understandable style, with many figures illustrating the products and very little mathematics. This book will enable you to better comprehend the use of structured products in everyday banking, quickly analyzing a product, assessing which of your clients it suits, and recognizing its major pitfalls. You will be able to see the added value versus the cost of a product and if the payoff is compatible with the market expectations.

Structured products are sold to a wide range of retail, high net worth and institutional investors, with over £15bn of structured investments sold in the UK in 2009. Based on a non-specialist graduate lecture course given at University College London (UCL), this book provides an invaluable introduction to the fast growing world of derivative investments and the technology used in their design, pricing and structuring. The book gives a comprehensive overview of structuring and trading products based on the author's extensive international experience in structuring investment products across a range of underlying asset classes, including equities, interest rates, credit and hybrids. The product coverage ranges from equity investments such as reverse convertibles and basket correlation products, to credit products such as first-to-default notes and the notorious “CDO2”.Written in a simple and accessible manner, this book will be of interest to students, bankers, investors and other finance professionals./a

"Risk Management and Financial Derivatives: A Guide to the Mathematics meets the demand for a simple, nontechnical explanation of the methodology of risk management and financial derivatives." "Risk Management and Financial Derivatives provides clear, concise explanations of the mathematics behind today's complex financial risk management topics. An ideal introduction for those new to the subject, it will also serve as an indispensable reference for those already experienced in the field."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The recent financial crisis brought to light many of the misunderstandings and misuses of exotic derivatives. With market participants on both the buy and sell-side having been found guilty of not understanding the products they were dealing with, never before has there been a greater need for clarification and explanation. Exotic Options and Hybrids is a practical guide to structuring, pricing and hedging complex exotic options and hybrid derivatives that will serve readers through the recent crisis, the road to recovery, the next bull market and beyond. Written by experienced practitioners, it focuses on the three main parts of a derivative’s life: the structuring of a product, its pricing and its hedging. Divided into four parts, the book covers a multitude of structures, encompassing many of the most up-to-date and promising products from exotic equity derivatives and structured notes to hybrid derivatives and dynamic strategies. Based on a realistic setting from the heart of the business, inside a derivatives operation, the practical and intuitive discussions of these aspects make these exotic concepts truly accessible. Adoptions of real trades are examined in detail, and all of the numerous examples are carefully selected so as to highlight interesting and significant aspects of the business. The introduction of payoff structures is accompanied by scenario analysis, diagrams and lifelike sample term sheets. Readers learn how to spot where the risks lie to pave the way for sound valuation and hedging of such products. There are also questions and accompanying discussions dispersed in the text, each exploited to illustrate one or more concepts from the context in which they are set. The applications, the strengths and the limitations of various models are highlighted, in relevance to the products and their risks, rather than the model implementations. Models are de-mystified in separately dedicated sections, but their implications are alluded to throughout the book in an intuitive and non-mathematical manner. By discussing exotic options and hybrids in a practical, non-mathematical and highly intuitive setting, this book will blast through the misunderstanding of exotic derivatives, enabling practitioners to fully understand and correctly structure, price and hedge theses products effectively, and stand strong as the only book in its class to make these “exotic” concepts truly accessible.

This text provides a thorough treatment of futures, 'plain vanilla' options and swaps as well as the use of exotic derivatives and interest rate options for speculation and hedging. Pricing of options using numerical methods such as lattices (BOPM), Mone Carlo simulation and finite difference methods, in additon to solutions using continuous time mathematics, are also covered. Real options theory and its use in investment appraisal and in valuing internet and biotechnology companies provide cutting edge practical applications. Practical risk management issues are examined in depth. Alternative models for calculating Value at Risk (market risk) and credit risk provide the throretical basis for a practical and timely overview of these areas of regulatory policy. This book is designed for courses in derivatives and risk management taken by specialist MBA, MSc Finance students or final year undergraduates, either as a stand-alone text or as a follow-on to Investments: Spot and Derivatives Markets by the same authors. The authors adopt a real-world emphasis throughout, and include features such as: * topic boxes, worked examples and learning objectives * Financial Times and Wall Street Journal newspaper extracts and analysis of real world cases * supporting web site including Lecturer's Resource Pack and Student Centre with interactive Excel and GAUSS software