Mega Fund
Mega Fund invests in stocks of US companies. With uncertainty in the world economy and in the US economy in particular, the US stock market has been quite volatile. The current portfolio value of Mega Fund is $120 million. Brian, the portfolio manager is concerned about the volatility of stock prices and is thinking of obtaining portfolio insurance. He also would like to diversify his holdings. With the downgrading of bonds issued in Europe, he believes that investing in bonds issued in Europe would be a good investment and also diversify the fund holdings. Accordingly, he wants to borrow $125 million and invest in bonds of European firms for 5 years. The average yield from these bonds is 10%. However, these bonds are denominated in euro and all cash flows will occur in euros. Thus, Brian is concerned about the exchange rate risk he will be undertaking if he invests in European bonds. He also would like to hedge the exchange rate risk through a currency swap. He has collected the following information:
On 1 April, S & P 500 Index is at 2,350. On the same day S & P futures are trading at 2,400 and S & P call options with exercise price of 2,400 is trading at 30. S & P put options with exercise price of 2400 are trading at 60. Futures and options have a contract multiplier of 100. The options are American options.
The exchange rate on 1 April is Euro 1 = USD1.25 and the foreign exchange rate used for the beginning and end of a currency swap is the same. The swap rates are 5% USD and 5% Euro.
Question 1
Brian would like to insure portfolio value at $120,000,000 on 1 April.
(a) Show how he can accomplish this by using S&P futures and how many futures contracts are needed.
(b) Show how he can accomplish this using S&P options and how options contracts are needed.
(c) Which of these methods is preferable? Explain why.
Question 2
If Brian enters into a currency swap contract,
(a) Explain how this helps Mega Funds from facing currency risk.
(b) Show clearly the initial cash flow, periodic cash flows, and terminal cash flow resulting from the currency swap.
Question 3
Consider the firm you work for, or another firm whose operations you are familiar with. Briefly describe its operations. What type of financial risks does that firm face?
How can you hedge against those risks? What are the constraints in hedging against those risks? Do the costs and benefits of the hedging strategy you recommend justify hedging? Substantiate your response