Course Instructor

Programme objectives

This 3-day workshop provides participants with a comprehensive and practical analysis of options – pricing, risk characteristics and risk management. The agenda also provides a practical focus on the varied applications of options in corporate exposure management, portfolio hedging and tactical asset allocation, trading and investment applications, and in the engineering of structured products.

The programme evaluates options from a number of different perspectives – from a trader or risk manager’s point of view, focusing on the dynamic risks of options and the implications for their management, as well as from a sales and end user perspective, to gain understanding of the many strategies in which options are used to efficiently manage risk or monetise specific views and expectations, or achieve specific objectives.

The agenda covers all of the main asset classes – FX, equity, rates and commodities, and in addition examines closely related volatility products – variance swaps and listed volatility futures.

The course assumes a general familiarity with derivative instruments and, whilst not based upon detailed theoretical or mathematical approach, it does require basic mathematical fluency.

Course highlights

Attend this practical three day programme and learn how to:

• Build option pricing and valuation models
• Gain practical understanding of option risks and dynamic hedging
• Design option strategies for hedging and risk management
• Understand how options can be used to monetise market views
• Examine volatility trading and strategies used to exploit volatility expectations
• Using options in financially engineered structured products
• Understand FX, interest rate, equity and commodity options

Training Methodology

The training will comprise a combination of classroom based teaching combined with computer based simulations and computer based exercises, based upon utilising a range of spreadsheet-based software.

We believe that technical knowledge and skills are best achieved through active participation, via individual or group case studies and simulations. Delegates will spend a significant fraction of the course duration carrying out a number of computer based case studies and exercises, replicating the day to day realities of financial markets and market behavior.

You will enhance your practical skills with computer-based simulations and workshop case studies on option pricing, risk management and designing option strategies.

PLUS: Delegates will receive free copies of option pricing and risk management software for their own use after the programme.

Who should attend?

This course has been specifically designed for the benefit of:

• Traders and dealers
• Derivatives sales personnel
• Structurers
• Risk managers and risk controllers
• Audit managers
• Corporate account officers
• Asset managers
• Corporate treasury personnel

The course assumes a general understanding of ‘vanilla’ derivative instruments and, whilst not based upon a detailed theoretical or mathematical approach, does require basic mathematical fluency.