Derivatives: The Three Types Of Financial Risks

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here are three types of financial assets, stocks, bonds and derivatives. Stocks and bonds are financial assets that are used by companies and organizations to gain and raise capital. Derivatives are also another type of financial assets or which are usually used to hedge and manage the financial risks that companies could face. Derivatives are financial instruments whose return is derived from the return on another instrument. That’s mean their performance depends on how other instruments perform. Derivatives are traded in both in the organized exchange market and in over the counter market. Companies use derivatives as a risk reduction instrument. Also, they give the chance to earn more money and raise the profit because it allow to enter…show more content…
However, the financial risk is considered as a pivotal threat to the profitability of the company since it would increase the inconsistency in net income of the companies. Therefore, managers of the companies use some of the risk management techniques to face the wild fluctuation of interest and exchange rates. Derivatives are the most common technique that companies use to hedge these risks. Foreign exchange risk is the risk of foreign currency and exchange rates vacillations. The risk of foreign exchange risk can be hedged through a variety of derivative tools such as options, forwards, and SWAPS. Historically, forward contracts were firstly used to manage the risk of foreign exchange. Forward contracts are an agreements for the future that permit a firm to choose a predetermined exchange rate to purchase or sell a specified amount of foreign currency. For instance, if a company expects that foreign exchange rate would increase in the future and reach to a higher amount than it used to pay overtime. So, the company can avoid this by entering a forward contract as a seller. The foreign currency option is another way used to hedge and manage the risk of foreign exchange risk. It gives a company the option to buy or sell a foreign currency at a predetermined exchange rate at a date agreed upon.…show more content…
Each company must measure the risks of their derivatives portfolios. However, companies must be aware of these risks and they must know how to reduce these risks that are associated with the derivatives they use. There are some approaches that can help in measuring the risk. One of these approaches is called value-at-risk (VaR). This is a statistical technique that measure the level of the financial risk in a portfolio of investments. The second approach is called stress tests. This technique will let a firm to determine the value of their derivatives portfolio through scenarios of interests. Anyway, these approaches do not always work well. So what else can mitigate the risks of derivatives? It can be mitigated by creating effective public policies and regulations. It will require the firms to make an accurate assessment of the risks that are associated with the derivatives instruments that they use. One example of these regulations can be disclosure requirements. When companies disclose effectively and provide sufficient information about their derivatives activities to investors, this will reduce the uncertainty and therefore will reduce the big losses that invests can

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