The Right to Buy or Sell
Options
The holder of an option has the right to buy, or sell, a specified commodity or financial instrument, at a predetermined price, on a specified date (European-type option), or throughout a specified period (American-type option). A key word in the definition is ‘right’. The buyer, or holder, of the option has no obligation to exercise the option. Therefore, an option allows a risk manager to protect the downside of a risk exposure while at the same time leaving open the opportunity to gain from any positive price movements.
Options can be distinguished on the basis of whether they provide the holder, or long party, with the right to buy (call) or sell (put) the specified underlying asset at the predetermined exercise price. The party that sells or writes the option is identified as the short party. Short calls can further be divided into covered and uncovered (naked) options. With a covered option, the writer must lodge the underlying stock, or securities to that value, with an approved trust or the clearing-house of the options exchange. In the case of naked calls, the writer must deposit an initial margin with the options exchange clearing-house and may be required to make further maintenance margin payments if adverse market price changes occur during the period of the contract.
There are exchange-traded option contracts and over-the-counter option contracts. For example, in Australia, exchange-traded options are offered through the ASX, which trades options on a number of listed companies, LEPOs and warrants, and the SFE, where options are available on futures contracts. Contracts traded on the organised exchanges are highly standardised. Banks provide an over-the-counter market where options may be written and bought based on financial instruments which the formal exchange markets do not cater for. Over-the-counter options contracts are flexible in that they enable the buyer to negotiate conditions such as amount and term.
A range of variables
The holder of an option has the right to buy, or sell, a specified commodity or financial instrument, at a predetermined price, on a specified date (European-type option), or throughout a specified period (American-type option). A key word in the definition is ‘right’. The buyer, or holder, of the option has no obligation to exercise the option. Therefore, an option allows a risk manager to protect the downside of a risk exposure while at the same time leaving open the opportunity to gain from any positive price movements.
Options can be distinguished on the basis of whether they provide the holder, or long party, with the right to buy (call) or sell (put) the specified underlying asset at the predetermined exercise price. The party that sells or writes the option is identified as the short party. Short calls can further be divided into covered and uncovered (naked) options. With a covered option, the writer must lodge the underlying stock, or securities to that value, with an approved trust or the clearing-house of the options exchange. In the case of naked calls, the writer must deposit an initial margin with the options exchange clearing-house and may be required to make further maintenance margin payments if adverse market price changes occur during the period of the contract.
There are exchange-traded option contracts and over-the-counter option contracts. For example, in Australia, exchange-traded options are offered through the ASX, which trades options on a number of listed companies, LEPOs and warrants, and the SFE, where options are available on futures contracts. Contracts traded on the organised exchanges are highly standardised. Banks provide an over-the-counter market where options may be written and bought based on financial instruments which the formal exchange markets do not cater for. Over-the-counter options contracts are flexible in that they enable the buyer to negotiate conditions such as amount and term.
A range of variables