Restart to return home

Start-up Screen

In the opening display screen to the left you can see two primary buttons:  Restart and Analytics. 

Restart always takes you back to the base case.  Analytics lets you take control of your position by providing you with a set of powerful financial engineering tools.  

Start-up Screen

In this lesson we will work with the default IBM example first.  Immediately below the ticker symbol you will see three buttons:  Get Option Data, Get Rates, Get Div Yields.

The objectives of the following three steps are: 

i. to get the latest option prices into the module for a set of options that you are interested in working with;

ii.  to get latest interest rate data into the module; and

iii. to get the latest dividend yield data into the module.

We can do this by clicking on the buttons in the following three steps:

Step 1:  Get Option Data

In order to become familiar with the software we will work with the set of Near Options Only (the default case).  This is the set of shorter maturity options that are near at-the-money.  This set is generally the most liquid set of options.

Click on the button labelled Get Option Data and observe the latest set of IBM option prices being retrieved.

Step 2:  Get Rates

Clicking on this button will automate the retrieval of interest rate information.  In the option pricing problem this is the risk free rate which varies by maturity.  This module automates working the current yield curve for you.

Step 3:  Get Dividends

The option contract does not provide protection against dividends paid by the underlying asset.  Thus, it is important to take this into account when valuing and working with option prices.  By clicking on the button labelled Get Div Yields important dividend information will be automatically retrieved for you from the web.   Option analytics will then take this information into account.

To reach the next screen click on the top button titled Analytics.

OS Financial Trading System, PO Box 11356, Pittsburgh, PA 15238 USA, Phone 1-800-967-9897, Fax 1-412-967-5958, Email fts@ftsweb.com,