FIN 4533 · Florida Gulf Coast University
Derivative Securities
How futures, forwards and options are priced, hedged and combined. The course follows Hull and builds every model in Excel, in class, on real market prices.
Course
About the course
WhenFall 2026 · on campus, Tue/Thu · runs each fall
TextHull, Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives, 11e
ToolsExcel, and an Interactive Brokers paper-trading account
CoversFutures markets and hedging; forward and futures pricing; options markets and option properties; put-call parity and early exercise; option trading strategies; binomial trees; Black-Scholes-Merton; the Greeks and volatility; swaps; credit as an option.
Concept notes
Notes
Short write-ups of the ideas that carry the course, each built on real market data. Each one stands on its own.
Ch 2How a futures market makes strangers safe to trade withMargin accounts, daily settlement and margin calls, worked on real November 2026 crude oil futures.PDF · 4 pp
Ch 3Hedging with futures, and how much to hedgeBasis risk and the minimum-variance hedge ratio, on a real jet fuel hedge and an S&P 500 index hedge.PDF · 4 pp
Ch 5Where the forward price comes fromThe cost-of-carry argument in both directions, read off real gold, euro and crude oil futures curves, and where it breaks.PDF · 4 pp
Ch 10A right for the buyer, an obligation for the writerHow options work: the four basic positions, moneyness, contract adjustments and margin, on a real Apple option chain.PDF · 4 pp
Ch 11Put-call parity, and the bounds that fall out of itOne equation for the price relationship, both lower bounds and the arbitrage trade, on real Netflix quotes.PDF · 4 pp
Cheat sheets
Quick references
Ch 12Option strategies, and why they matterWhy combining options matters and who uses it, then sixteen strategies from covered calls to iron condors and principal-protected notes: construction, view, payoff diagram and break-evens.PDF · 4 pp
Excel
Workbooks
The models we build in class. Blank, to build along; complete, to check your work.
What is here, and what isn't. This page keeps my own notes and workbooks that stay useful after the term. Textbook slides and figures belong to the publisher and are on Canvas for enrolled students. Assignments and exams stay on Canvas.