There always seems to be two points of view on everything and derivatives are no exception.
Derivatives don't kill people, people kill people.
Derivatives don't kill companies. People kill companies.
Blaming derivatives for financial losses is akin to blaming cars for drunk driving fatalities.
"Derivatives.' That's the 11-letter four-letter word.
They're here, they're weird, and they're not going away. Yes, these beasties bite, but companies that tame them have a competitive edge.
We use a number of tools to manage our investment portfolio for the highest return, while minimizing risk. Some of these tools happen to be called derivatives.'
Derivatives are like NFL quarterbacks. They get too much of the credit and too much of the blame.
The world seems to be dividend into two camps: those who embrace financial derivatives as the Holy Grail of the new investment area, and those who denigrate derivatives as the financial Antichrist.
Derivatives are not the devil incarnate. But they may not be the Holy Grail either.
Derivatives are nothing more than a set of tools. And just as a saw can build your house, it can cut off your arm if it isn't used properly.
Derivative products have undoubtedly allowed management to achieve significant gains in the efficiency of their businesses, so much so that the successful use of derivatives has become an essential component of product management.
People are not apologizing anymore for using derivatives. They've realized that they are not the evil instruments they have been made out to be.
The beauty of derivatives is that they self-destruct every month and you get another commission.