Dr. Chang's Learning Guides

to

Financial Futures and Options

(always under construction and innovation)

If you have any questions and comments regarding this website, please contact Professor S. J. Chang at sjchang@ilstu.edu.

Welcome to the World of Financial Futures and Options!

As the world economy becomes more sophisticated and complex in every aspect, we encounter increasing volatility in many important economic factors, such as commodities prices, securities prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and so forth.  Such increasing volatility then translates into greater risks and uncertainties for economic units at all levels from individual investors to business corporations and to governments. 

Financial derivatives are created and traded to actively cope with those risks and uncertainties.  However, due to their relatively complex and unfamiliar nature, financial derivatives are yet to become a friendly subject for many people.  We thus hope that these learning guides can help you better understand the most fundamental features of financial futures and options.  Good luck!

Learning Guides

Introduction

Futures (PowerPoint)

Options (PowerPoint)

Introduction to Financial Engineering

Myths about Derivatives (PowerPoint)

Glossary

Links

This website is made possible by a grant from State Farm Insurance Companies Foundation under the faculty development program of Katie Insurance School of Illinois State University.