Equity Derivatives

Successful investing in equities markets requires more than just picking stocks given the wide array of equity products at a portfolio managers disposal. This course is intended to explain how derivative products like options, futures, ETFs, structured notes, portfolio trades, credit default swaps and convertible bonds are structured, valued and used by all types of investors globally.The course is designed from both the perspective of the trader who has to account for the real-world costs of hedging derivatives and the investor who cares primarily how the derivative can improve the return or reduce the risk of his/her portfolio. It should complement other classes you have had on derivatives.My course notes have been, developed from the experiences I have had working with institutional and private clients for 18 years at Goldman Sachs.The course is broken into three sections:Indices, Exchange Traded Funds, Futures, Swaps and Portfolio Trading The course starts with a discussion of "Delta 1" equity derivatives, or products that move one for one with the underlying security.Equity Options, Credit Derivatives and Convertibles and Structured Notes Drawing on what youve already learned in other options classes, we explore options based equity and credit products, like equity options, structured notes, credit default swaps and convertible bonds. The goal of this portion of the course is to focus on what real-world factors influence trading in these products and show how they are linked to one another.Strategies A large component of this course involves exploring how investors use these products. Some investors, like pension, mutual and hedge funds, are driven by economic and risk management needs solely in their use of equity derivatives. Corporations, individuals and insurance companies worry about accounting, legal and tax considerations, so any discussion of how they use derivatives requires we cover those issues.Investors outside the United States have unique strategies because of the way the markets developed in Europe and Asia. We discuss these strategies in the last few classes.The material will be delivered through a combination of lectures, guest speakers, case studies and readings. Guest speakers include trading and research business leaders at investment banks and pension funds, as well as investment management institutions."