Fundamentals Of Futures & Options (& applicable to NFA Series 3 Exam)
About This Course:
The IFM has consistently provided industry professional and market users with a solid understanding of futures and options markets and trading including terminology, risk management, pricing, and basic trade strategies.
This virtual course is delivered in two-hour sessions over five days. The program is delivered by an engaging instructor with extensive real-world expertise, and the class discussion is supported by case studies, practice exercises, and print materials. The course fee includes two must-read industry books - Futures and Options and the Guide to U.S. Futures Regulation.
Who Should Attend?Anyone requiring an in-depth understanding of futures, options and swaps markets.
- Prospective and new markets users
- Commercial commodity producers and suppliers
- Companies that provide financial, energy, industrial and food products
- Asset managers
- Pension fund managers
- Corporates
- Legal and compliance staff
- Support staff: IT, risk management, operations, marketing, sales, supply and distribution, treasury, and accounting
- New hires and interns
- Industry vendors
- Exchange personnel
- Regulators and public policymakers
What You'll Learn:After the course you will be able to:
- Describe trading and uses of futures and be able compare and contrast futures to securities and cash market products
- Understand futures trading theory, basic functions, characteristics, pricing and terminology
- Interpret problems faced by those who are either long or short the market and understand how using listed contracts alleviates those problems by calculation of profit or loss with/without futures implementation
- Explain the principles of margins, offset, settlement
- Understand the strategy used in different order types
- Describe the nature of "basis risk" and how it may impact normally robust hedging results
- Describe the nature of future spreads as "relative positions"
- Identify the principles of hedging and cash-futures price relationships as well as the importance of the basis
- Understand the use of futures to hedge exposure to an underlying commodity or to speculate on a future price
- Enumerate the uses of stock-indexes, foreign exchange, energy, metals and other futures-based commodities
- Understand options nomenclature including premiums, exercise, assignment and settlement
- Describe option price determinants of option price and how they affect the option premium
- Understand use of option spreads to focus on a given market forecast; implementing vertical spread, horizontal spread, straddle, strangles, butterfly and condor strategies
- Compare futures and options on futures as risk management tools
- Understand portfolio management strategies and tactics using various futures and options products to modify the risk characteristics of a given portfolio
Note to Series 3 Exam Candidates:This course is well-suited for those preparing for the Series 3 Exam - the National Commodities Futures Examination - the set of basic proficiency standards established by regulators for industry professionals. The course covers all the market knowledge section (85 questions) of the Series 3 Exam and major aspects of the regulation section (35 questions). Additional test taking tips are covered at the end of the class.
The course fee also includes a 6-month Web subscription to IFM's PassMaster - a comprehensive, tutorial with Q&A that helps exam candidates focus and streamline study time. Also included is a Series 3 Exam Simulator with unlimited timed test that mimics the test-taking experience.