Essays in Derivatives

There is no shortage of highly technical books on derivatives.  Contrary to popular belief, however, there is a great deal that one can learn about derivatives without much math knowledge.  This must be true because the vast majority of people who work in derivatives are not mathematicians.  This book caters to beginners and those who would like to learn about derivatives without relying on math.  It is a collection of 70 short, non-technical essays on a variety of topics (see below) in derivatives. 

The average length of an essay is 1,300 words. There is a minimum of mathematics and virtually no graphs. Everything is in plain and simple English.

Copyright: New York:  John Wiley (1998)
323 pages
ISBN: 1-883249-46-5
Retail price: $40 - $50, depending on whom you are ordering from

If you want to order a copy, the publisher is John Wiley, which you can reach at this link and order from there. Or you can order it using the following links:

• Amazon.com
• BarnesandNoble.com

While you're looking around here, check out my other book An Introduction to Derivatives and Risk Management, 6^th edition.

Table of Contents (You can download several sample essays)

Preface

• Derivatives and Their Markets
  • The Structure of Derivative Markets
  • Forward Contracts and Futures Contracts
  • Options
  • Swaps
  • A Brief History of Derivatives
• The Basic Instruments
  • Interest Rate Derivatives: FRAs and Options
  • Interest Rate Derivatives: Swaps
  • Currency Swaps
  • Structured Notes
  • Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities
  • Equity Swaps
  • Equity-Linked Debt
  • Commodity Swaps
  • American vs. European Options
  • Swaptions
• Derivative Pricing
  • Put-Call Parity for European Options on Assets
  • Put-Call Parity for American Options on Assets
  • Call Options as Insurance and Margin
  • A Non-Technical Introduction to Brownian Motion
  • Building a Model of Brownian Motion in the Stock Market
  • Option Pricing: The Black-Scholes Model
  • Option Pricing: The Binomial Model
  • Option Pricing: Numerical Methods
  • Dynamic Option Replication
  • Risk Neutral Pricing of Derivatives: I
  • Risk Neutral Pricing of Derivatives: II
  • It's All Greek to Me
  • Implied Volatility
  • American Call Option Pricing
  • American Put Option Pricing
  • Forward and Futures Pricing
  • Swap Pricing
• Derivative Strategies
  • Asset Allocation with Derivatives
  • Protective Puts and Portfolio Insurance
  • Misconceptions About Covered Call Writing
  • Managed Futures
  • Spreads, Risk Reversals, and Collars
  • Box Spreads
• Exotic Instruments
  • Barrier Options
  • Straddles and Chooser Options
  • Compound and Installment Options
  • Digitla Options
  • Geographic Options
  • Multi-Asset Options
  • Range Forwards
  • Break Forwards
  • Lookback Options
  • Deferred Start and Contingent Premium Options
• Fixed Income Securities and Derivatives
  • Duration
  • Limitations of Duration and the Concept of Convexity
  • The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Basic Concepts
  • Theories of the Term Structure: I
  • Theories of the Term Structure: II
  • Simple Models of the Term Structure: Vasicek and Cox-Ingersoll-Ross
  • No-Arbitrage Models of the Term Structure: Ho-Lee and Heath-Jarrow-Morton
  • Tree Pricing of Bonds and Interest Rate Derivatives: I
  • Tree Pricing of Bonds and Interest Rate Derivatives: II
  • Tree Pricing of Bonds and Interest Rate Derivatives: III
  • Tree Pricing of Bonds and Interest Rate Derivatives: IV
  • Tree Pricing of Bonds and Interest Rate Derivatives: V
• Other Topics and Issues
  • The Value of Risk Management
  • Value at Risk
  • Stock as an Option
  • Credit Risk in Derivatives
  • Credit Derivatives
  • Delivery Options
  • Accounting for Derivatives
  • Derivatives Disclosure
  • Losing Money with Derivatives
  • The Revolution in Derivatives and Risk Management: A Perspective
  • The Strange Relationship Between Academics and Practitioners in Derivatives and Risk Management
• Recommended Reading List

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