DURATION HEDGING

A zero-coupon bond that lasts 5 years has a duration of …. years

• 3.6

• 4.6

• 5.0

• 4.8

The duration is …..of the times when payments are made, with the weight applied to time t(i) being equal to the proportion of the bond's total present value provided by the cash flow at time t(i).

• An arithmetic average

• An weighted average

• An total

• An product

The short position in a T-bond futures contract will receive:

• (Most recent settlement price * Conversion factor) + Accrued interest

•    Most recent settlement price * Conversion factor

•   Quoted bond price - Most recent settlement price * Conversion factor

• None of them are correct

Duration hedging basically involves …. treasury bonds or using futures, options, and other derivatives to target a much …..duration than what the portfolio actually has

• Longing, higher

• Shorting, lower

• Shorting, higher

• Longing, stable

An assumption in duration hedging:

• The yield curve is steep

• Few bonds in the portfolio have the same YTM.  

• A change in interest rates will only result to a parallel shift of the yield curve

•   No assumptions are used

  You will exercise duration-based hedging with T-bonds if basically, you want to sell (“short”) Treasury bond futures when rates …

• Decrease

• Increase

• Remain unchanged

• None of them are correct

The modified duration of a bond with the price of $86.80 is 4.256, the effect on the bond’s price of a 0.2% decrease in its yield (in dollars)

• 0.47

• 0.85

• 0.74

• 0.58

Answer explanation

86.80 x 4.256 x 0.002 = 0.74

A pension fund has a $25 million portfolio of Treasury bonds with a portfolio duration of 6.1. The cheapest to deliver bond has a duration of 4.7. The six-month treasury bond futures price is $127,000.  What is the number of futures contracts to fully hedge the portfolio?

• 255

• 265

• 275

• 285

Answer explanation

(25,000,000*6.1)/(127,000*4.7)

On August 1 a portfolio manager has a bond portfolio worth $10 million. The duration of the portfolio in October will be 7.1 years. The December Treasury bond futures price is currently 91-12 and the cheapest-to-deliver bond will have a duration of 8.8 years at maturity. How should the portfolio manager immunize the portfolio against changes in interest rates over the next two months?  

• 88 futures contracts should be longed

• 86 futures contracts should be longed

• 86 futures contracts should be shorted

• 88 futures contracts should be shorted

Answer explanation

(10,000,000 x 7.1) / (91,375 x 8.8) = 88.30

Suppose that the Treasury bond futures price is 101-12. Which of the following four bonds is cheapest to deliver?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• cannot determine

   

Answer explanation

Answer: