Patent Application
20110295726
Futures contracts or futures are financial derivatives traded on an “exchange.” One example of an exchange is the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) or CME Group (CMEG) which provides a marketplace where futures and options on futures are traded. The exchange establishes, for each market provided thereby, a specification that defines at least the products traded in that market, minimum quantities that must be traded, and minimum changes in price, which are often referred to as the tick size. The exchange operates as either an open outcry environment or an electronic trading platform. An open outcry environment is one in which traders exchange information by either shouting or the use of hand signals. An electronic trading platform involves software used to send an order to the exchange.
Traders access an electronic trading platform using trading software that displays at least a portion of the order book for a market. The order book contains previously received orders. In this way, incoming orders are matched with previously received orders. Through the trading software, a trader provides parameters for an order for the product traded in the market.
The term “futures” is used to designate all contracts covering the purchase and sale of financial instruments or physical commodities for future delivery on a commodity futures exchange. The financial instrument or physical commodity is referred to as the underlying asset or underlying instrument. A futures contract is a legally binding agreement to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specified price at a predetermined future time. The specified price is the futures price. The predetermined future time is the expiration date. Each futures contract is standardized in terms of underlying asset, quantity, and expiration date. An open interest holder of a futures contract that calls for physical delivery may be discouraged from using futures contracts because of volatility. An example of an open interest holder of futures contracts with aversion to volatility would be a hedge fund manager who is required to keep a specific position in a specific physical commodity or financial instrument. This type of open interest holder would prefer to completely hedge against price fluctuations in either direction.
Typically, this type of trader will maintain their market position from one contract period to the next by obtaining futures contracts with a more distant expiry as the futures contracts, which make up their current position, expire. This process is referred to as “rolling.” By rolling from one contract period to the next, the trader is able to maintain a constant position in the underlying commodity of the futures contract. Conventionally, futures contracts with expiries in the nearby delivery month are called the “front-month contract.” Futures contracts with expiries in the subsequent month or time period are called “deferred contracts.” For example, futures contracts that expire at the next available time period would be first-deferred contracts and futures contracts that expire two time periods in the future from the nearby delivery month would be second-deferred contracts, and so on.
Futures contracts that call for physical delivery are especially vulnerable to costs such as financing, insurance, storage, transportation, or others. Fluctuations in these costs can dramatically impact the cost of delivery and can cause the price of futures contracts to vary dramatically. This volatility gives rise to costs to open interest holders who intend to roll their market position to the next contract time period just prior to the expiration of the front-month contract. These costs discourage open interest holders, who wish to maintain their current position, from continuing to use futures contracts that call for physical delivery.
Four strategies are available to open interest holders who wish to maintain their current positions in futures contracts that call for physical delivery. First, open interest holders may attempt to roll their current positions prior to the commencement of traditional roll periods. The roll period is the time period when the market for the first-deferred contract begins to develop. One example of the first strategy may be seen in Treasury futures.
For the 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note futures contract, as shown in
Open interest holders may attempt to roll prior to the commencement of the roll period to avoid adverse price movements in the futures calendar spread. For example, the holder of a March contract (front-month contract) could attempt to roll his position into a June contract (first-deferred contract) before the roll period begins. However, this strategy is significantly limited by the availability of a party who is willing to sell June contracts before the roll period. Trading in the second expiry is generally modest at best. Normally, open interest holders who attempt this strategy find market liquidity insufficient to roll from the current front-month contract into the first-deferred contract prior to the established roll periods.
A second strategy, available to open interest holders who wish to maintain their current positions in futures contracts that call for physical delivery, would be to attempt to roll their current positions from the front-month contract into the second-deferred contract thereby skipping or bypassing the first-deferred contract altogether. Normally, open interest holders who attempt this strategy find market liquidity insufficient to roll from the current front-month contract into the second-deferred contract prior to or during established roll periods. Rolls into the second-deferred contract may be very difficult or impossible to execute because very little futures activity occurs in the second-deferred contract during the traditional roll periods from the front-month contract to the first-deferred contract.
A third strategy, available to open interest holders who wish to maintain their current positions in futures contracts that call for physical delivery, would be to close out their positions in the front-month contract prior to the last trading day and then to re-establish their positions in the first-deferred or second-deferred contracts later in the hope that overall market conditions that cause volatility will have subsided. Open interest holders who attempt this strategy are significantly exposed to market risks because they have closed out their positions completely for a short period of time.
A fourth strategy, available to open interest holders who wish to maintain their current positions in futures contracts that call for physical delivery, would be to simply exit the futures market and move their business to the over-the-counter (OTC) market. Moving to the OTC market is not attractive because of the high administrative costs, limited market access, poor market transparency, and counter-party risk exposure of transacting in the OTC market.
It would be desirable to facilitate open interest holders who wish to maintain their current positions in futures contracts that call for physical delivery.
The present embodiments relate to calendar spread futures contracts. In one embodiment, a system is disclosed for implementing a calendar spread futures contract as an independent financial derivative. Calendar spread futures contracts are forward contracts on the intermonth spread of futures contracts. Calendar spread futures contracts can be independently traded and accounted for independent of the traditional roll periods of the complementary futures contracts. Calendar spread futures contracts may be cash settled.
A trader wishing to maintain a constant position using futures contracts is particularly adverse to volatility, and may wish to avoid fluctuations in price, both favorable and unfavorable. The volatility that occurs in futures contracts calling for physical delivery may discourage the trader from using futures contracts. One way to avoid this volatility is to lock in the current spread between front-month contract and the first-deferred contract using a calendar spread futures contract.
Buying a calendar spread futures control is equivalent to buying the spread difference between the expiring contract and the second expiry. Selling a calendar spread futures contract is equivalent to selling the spread difference between the expiring contract and the second expiry. One application of a calendar spread futures contract is to permit the holder of a calendar spread to substantially hedge against movements in the market in either direction.
Calendar spread futures contracts also allow market participants to accumulate larger position levels that are unfettered by regulatory concerns regarding limitations in the sizes of the physical stocks that underlie the futures contracts themselves.
By buying and selling calendar spread futures contracts, open interest holders will be able to lock in the spread difference prior to rolling from the expiring contract into the second expiry. By locking in the spread, open interest holders can hedge their roll costs against changes in the cheapest-to-deliver instrument and in the related carrying costs of that instrument. Carrying costs may include financing, insurance, storage, transportation, and other costs that may cause the spread to narrow, widen, or become increasingly volatile.
Calendar spread futures may be constructed to complement any futures contracts in which the underlying asset requires physical delivery. Assets that require physical delivery may be any commodity such as corn, soybeans, gold, copper, pork bellies, and many others.
The underlying asset of the calendar spread futures contract may be Treasuries, such as Treasury notes or Treasury bonds. Specific examples include the 2-Year Treasury Note futures, the 5-Year Treasury Note futures, the 10-Year Treasury Note futures, and the 30-Year Treasury Bond futures. Calendar spread futures contracts, including Treasuries futures, may permit a trader to gain or shed exposure to price movements in the calendar spreads of Treasuries futures.
Calendar spread futures contracts may be traded on the Exchange by way of a clearing house using a trading engine. Every day, all trades are confirmed, matched and settled through the clearing house. As the counterparty to each trade, the clearing house becomes a buyer to each seller and a seller to each buyer. However, in order for a trade to occur, there must be both a buyer and a seller. The clearing house protects both the buyer and seller from financial loss by assuring performance. This is facilitated by requiring performance bonds (margins) of both buyers and sellers on the Exchange.
In one embodiment, a settlement price is determined for each contract and all open positions are marked to that price. This procedure is referred to as “mark-to-market.” The mark-to-market procedure typically occurs midway or at the end of each trading period, e.g., each trading day. Every contract is debited or credited based on that trading session's gains or losses. As prices move for or against a position, funds flow into and out of the trading account.
In one exemplary procedure, each business day by 6:40 a.m. Chicago time, based on the mark-to-market of all open positions to the previous trading day's settlement price, the clearing house pays to or collects cash from each clearing member. This cash flow, known as settlement variation, is performed by settlement banks based on instructions issued by the clearing house. All payments to and collections from clearing members are made in “same-day” funds. In addition to the 6:40 a.m. settlement, a daily intra-day mark-to-market of all open positions, including trades executed during the overnight trading session on the electronic trading system, and the current day's trades matched before 11:15 a.m., is performed using current prices. The resulting cash payments are made intra-day for same day value. In times of extreme price volatility, the clearing house has the authority to perform additional intra-day mark-to-market calculations on open positions and to call for immediate payment of settlement variation.
The trading engine 105 includes a matching processor 203, an interface 201, and a database 207. Matching processor 203 comprises one or more microprocessors, micro-controllers, or digital signal processors, having an electronic erasable program read only memory (EEPROM) or flash memory, static random access memory (RAM), a clocking/timing circuit, or any typical processor utilized in an electrical device. In another embodiment, the selection processor 203 may be implemented as a combination software algorithm and hardware device.
Database 207 may be a hard disk drive, a memory, or any suitable type of computer readable medium. The database 207 may also store the order book containing previously received orders. In this way, incoming orders are matched with previously received orders.
Interface 201 includes a modem, network interface card, or other hardware components necessary for the trading engine 105 to communicate with the terminals 101 by way of communication link 102. In one embodiment, the interface 102 includes a data conversion device, such as a modem, that converts data from one form into another, e.g., converts data from one form usable with electronic equipment to another form useable over wireless or landline communication technologies.
Preferably, the communication link 102 connects the terminals 101 with the trading engine 105 over a small geographical area. Alternatively, the communication link 102 may connect the terminal 101 and trading engine 105 over a vast geographical area. In one embodiment, the communication link 102 includes a network such as a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), a metropolitan area network, a virtual area network, a wireless local network, a local bus, a direct or indirect satellite network, or combinations thereof. Further, any of the communications links 102 or network 109 may include a publicly accessible network such as the Internet, a privately accessible network such as an Intranet, or a combination of privately and publicly accessible networks. Preferably, the communication link 102 provides a high-bandwidth data communication link that achieves high transmission speeds and low latency. Further, the communications link 102 may utilize secure protocols, such as secure-Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“SHTTP”), pretty good privacy (“PGP”), etc., to ensure that communications among the devices coupled with the link 102 are authorized, authentic and/or otherwise uncompromised.
Preferably, terminal 101 includes a memory, an interface, a processor, and operating firmware/software that perform functions, such as receiving input from a user, generating and transmitting requests to the trading engine 105 and receiving responses to those requests. Terminal 101 may be a conventional computer, a hybrid personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, a mobile telephone or any other device that can receive and send information through a communication link. Terminal 101 may also include a display device, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a graphical user interface (GUI), a printer, a scanner, and/or other input/output devices associated with a computer for interacting with a user of the terminal 101. In one embodiment, terminal 101 is a personal computer having a processor, a suitable memory, hard disk and user interface and a network interface compatible with the communications link 102.
As shown in
Trading engine 105 is also a matching system, i.e., a system capable of receiving bids and offers and otherwise managing the execution of trades in a marketplace, such as the GLOBEX® trading system provided by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. or CME Group, which is located in Chicago, Ill. The trading engine 105 matches orders electronically according to one or more trade matching algorithms, such as a first-in-first-served algorithm, an allocation algorithm, or a market maker priority algorithm. An “order” can be a bid to purchase or an offer to sell. In one embodiment, the trading engine 105 is implemented as a software program which executes on a computer system capable of executing the trading engine 105 and interfacing with the communications link 102. Alternatively, the trading engine 105 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software.
In one implementation, when processor 203 of trading engine 105 receives a request from terminal 101 to buy or sell the spread difference, the trading engine 105 subsequently provides notification to the other terminals 101 or all terminals 101 that the complementary calendar spread futures contract is available for trading. When processor 203 of trading engine 105 receives a second request from another terminal 101 for the complementary calendar spread futures contract, the trading engine 105 executes a trade for the calendar spread futures contract, by matching the first request and the second request such that the first entity holds a long position in the calendar spread futures contract and the second entity holds a short position in the calendar spread futures contract.
In one embodiment, database 207 stores representative data of all available futures contracts and expiration dates. Processor 203 performs a basic Boolean, numeric, or alphanumeric search on the data stored in the database using search parameters. The database 207 may be kept up to date by the trading engine 105 as to the currently available contracts.
Trading engine 105 matches requests received from terminals 101 to define a calendar spread futures contract available for trading as an independent financial instrument. The trading engine 105 communicates the availability of the calendar spread futures contract back to terminals 101.
The trader that chooses sequence 401, including the long position in the September 2009 futures, is naturally short the calendar spread. If the calendar spread tightens before the roll is executed, the trader benefits. If the calendar spread widens before the roll is executed, the trader is exposed. The trader's post roll period position will be long December futures. However, during the roll period, the open interest holder was susceptible to volatility and price fluctuation during and before the roll period.
Sequence 402 is the hedged position available to traders through the use of the calendar spread futures contract. The open interest holder has a long position in the September 2009 futures. At some time before the September to December roll period, the open interest holder will sell September-December Calendar Spread futures contracts. During the September to December roll period, the open interest holder may move to the next expiry period by selling September 2009 futures and buying December 2009 futures as well as buying back the September-December Calendar Spread futures contract. The open interest holder's post roll period position will be long December futures.
The open interest holder in sequence 402 will be hedged against fluctuations between the September 2009 futures and the December 2009 futures. Regardless of whether the spread widens or narrows before the roll is executed, the trader's position will be hedged because the opposite movement will occur in the September-December Calendar Spread futures contract.
Sequence 502 is the hedged position available to traders through the use of the calendar spread futures contract. Regardless of whether the spread widens or narrows before the roll is executed, the trader's position will be hedged because the opposite movement will occur in the September-December Calendar Spread futures contract.
The processor 724 may be a general purpose processor configured to execute the disclosed trading methods, allocation algorithms, and other methods disclosed herein. Alternatively, the processor 724 may represent one or more application specific processor or modules, 724a, 724b, and 724c. For example, the module 724a may be a FIFO allocation module or processor; the module 724b may be a pro-rata allocation module or processor; and the module 724c may be a tracking module or processor for processing and updating the order state associated with each method and/or algorithm.
The steps, elements, and processes discussed herein may be encoded as program logic, computer readable code, and/or instructions. These encoded elements, in turn, may be stored or embedded on a computer readable medium such as, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or other storage medium. The computer readable medium may be in communication with a processor which, in response to an appropriate input or command, may execute the program logic stored on the computer readable medium. The execution of this program logic may result in the execution of the step, elements, and processes embodied and discussed herein.
The system for trading calendar spread futures contracts may alternatively be embodied using a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. Such an embodiment includes first logic stored in the memory and executable by the processor to receive a first request from a first entity to buy a spread difference between a first futures contract having a first delivery date and a second futures contract having a second delivery date, second logic stored in the memory and executable by the processor to receive a second request from a second entity to sell a spread difference between a first futures contract having a first delivery date and a second futures contract having a second delivery date; and third logic stored in the memory and executable by the processor to coupling the first request and the second request as a calendar spread futures contract such that the first entity holds a long position in the calendar spread futures contract and the second entity holds a short position in the calendar spread futures contract.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the teachings of the present invention and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
