Читать книгу Fundamentals of Financial Instruments - Sunil K. Parameswaran - Страница 32

Derivative securities, more appropriately termed as derivative contracts, are assets which confer upon their owners certain rights or obligations, as the case may be. These contracts owe their availability to the existence of markets for an underlying asset or a portfolio of assets, on which such agreements are written. In other words, these assets are derived from the underlying asset. If we perceive the underlying asset as the primary asset, then such contracts may be termed as derivatives, as they are derived from such assets.

The three major categories of derivative securities are:

 Forward and futures contracts

 Options contracts

 Swaps