Derivatives & Risk Management Interview Questions

The price of a futures contract is determined by the spot price of the underlying asset, the cost of carry (which includes storage costs, interest rates, and dividends), and the time to maturity. The basic formula for pricing a futures contract is Futures Price = Spot Price + Cost of Carry. If there are no dividends or storage costs, the futures price should be approximately equal to the spot price adjusted for interest rate differences.

The main difference between a forward contract and a futures contract lies in their structure. A forward contract is a private agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specific price at a future date. It is customizable but involves counterparty risk. A futures contract is standardized and traded on an exchange, which helps mitigate counterparty risk through clearinghouses. Futures also have daily settlement and margin requirements, whereas forwards settle at maturity.

Delta measures the sensitivity of an option's price to changes in the price of the underlying asset. Gamma is the rate of change of delta with respect to changes in the underlying asset's price. Theta represents the sensitivity of an option’s price to the passage of time (time decay). Vega measures the sensitivity of an option's price to changes in the volatility of the underlying asset. These Greeks are essential in understanding and managing the risks of options positions.

An interest rate swap hedge involves exchanging a fixed interest rate for a floating interest rate (or vice versa) to reduce the risk of interest rate fluctuations. For example, if a company has a floating-rate debt and is concerned about rising interest rates, it may enter into an interest rate swap to receive floating rates and pay fixed rates. This swap effectively locks in the interest cost, providing a hedge against interest rate movements.

Value at Risk (VaR) is a risk management tool that measures the potential loss in the value of an asset or portfolio over a defined period for a given confidence interval. It is typically calculated using historical simulation, variance-covariance, or Monte Carlo simulation methods. The most common approach is the variance-covariance method, where VaR is calculated as the product of the asset's standard deviation and a confidence factor over a specific time horizon.

A call option gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy an asset at a predetermined price before the option expires. A put option gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to sell an asset at a predetermined price before expiration. The primary difference is that call options are used when expecting the asset price to rise, while put options are used when expecting the price to fall.

Credit Default Swaps (CDS) are financial derivatives used to manage credit risk by transferring the risk of default on a debt instrument from the buyer of the CDS to the seller. The buyer of a CDS pays periodic premiums to the seller, and in return, the seller agrees to compensate the buyer if the underlying debt defaults. CDS are often used by investors to hedge or speculate on the creditworthiness of debt issuers.

Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) are structured financial products that pool together various types of debt instruments, such as loans and bonds, and divide them into tranches with different levels of risk. CDOs allow investors to gain exposure to a diversified pool of assets, while the structure provides higher returns for investors in higher-risk tranches. They played a key role in the 2008 financial crisis, where poor asset quality and inadequate risk management led to widespread defaults.

Currency swaps are used to manage exchange rate risk by allowing two parties to exchange cash flows in different currencies. In a typical currency swap, one party may exchange a fixed amount of one currency for a fixed amount of another currency, based on agreed exchange rates. This helps businesses and investors hedge against fluctuations in exchange rates that could affect cash flow or asset values.

The transition from LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) to SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) is significant because LIBOR was historically used as the benchmark for pricing a wide variety of financial derivatives, loans, and bonds. SOFR is based on actual transaction data from the U.S. Treasury repo market, making it a more reliable and transparent rate. The transition helps reduce systemic risk in financial markets, but it requires market participants to adjust contracts and systems to reflect the new benchmark.