Derivative

  

A derivative is...derived. It’s a something taken from something else. Like, a derivative of hot weather is thirst. A derivative of hunger is crankiness. Ya know…that diva thing. A derivative of a 132 QB rating in the NFL is serious wealth. And a derivative of a stock or bond or other security...is a something which derives its value based on the performance of that security.

There are basically two flavors of derivative—put options...i.e. the right to sell a security at a given price over a given time period...and call options, i.e. the right to buy a security at a given price over a given time period. The price of that option is derived from the price of the security.

Example time:

Colonel Electric, the downgraded new version of General Electric, is trading for 25 bucks a share. A derivative of its share price is sold in the form of a call option with a 30-dollar strike price, expiring about 90 days from now, on the third Friday of the end month.

Investors pay a price, albeit probably a small one, for the right to then pay 30 bucks a share for Colonel Electric at any time in the next 90-ish days until that option expires. That call option is thus a derivative of the Colonel Electric primary stock price.

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What are stock options in 90 se...0 Views

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Finance allah shmoop what are stock options in ninety seconds

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or less Here's a stock ibm not the tech company

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This one makes an anti constipation drug It's trading at

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one hundred eighty bucks a share Okay so here's an

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option of buy a share of ibm anytime in roughly

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the next three months For one hundred ninety dollars a

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share it's called a call option If you really believe

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the ibm will go to say two hundred dollars a

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share in the next three months well you'd be what's

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called ten dollars in the money then or then have

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a stock option or call option with a strike price

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of one hundred ninety dollars which would then have intrinsic

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value of ten bucks a share On the other end

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of the buy sell desk is the gal willing to

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sell you that call option for three bucks Three bucks

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a premium So gut check time Would you pay three

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dollars for the right to buy a share if ibm

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for ten dollars higher than where the stock's trading now

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today Meaning that to break even in the next three

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months the stock has to trade all the way up

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from one hundred eighty dollars a share to one hundred

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ninety three dollars a share jobs for you to get

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your money back but it goes to two hundred two

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share Well if you sell that option you'll have invested

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three bucks a share for a net return of seven

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bucks in just three months or less And yes we're

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ignoring commissions and taxes here because well in problems like

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this or just a in the book but three dollars

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into seven only three months Yeah that's a great score

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You'd have more than doubled your money And on an

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annualized return basis that's over a nine hundred percent dish

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return really good score but with a much more likely

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case that you spend three bucks to buy the option

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and it expires totally worthless And then you've lost your

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entire investment in that option So that's a call option

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It's evil twin is a put option So whereas a

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call options the rightto by a security to set price

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by a certain set date a put option is the

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right to sell that option We'd go into more detail

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here but we're promised ninety seconds

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