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Beta Weighting a Portfolio for Futures | Fundamentals of Futures Trading Course - YouTube
Channel: TD Ameritrade
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Many investors manage their portfolios using
notional value because it's easy to understand
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the cash value of their positions.
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For example, if your portfolio is worth $500,000
and you want to hedge 30% of it using equity
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index futures, it may be easier to calculate
how many contracts you'd need using notional
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value.
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However, notional value doesn't account
for how various types of positions in your
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portfolio may respond to market movement differently.
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For example, if you have the same amount of
money invested in technology stocks as you
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have in utility stocks, you could have similar
notional values.
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Technology stocks tend to be much more volatile
than utility stocks, so you would need a technique
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that allows you to measure the differences.
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The problem with using notional value is that
it treats all assets the same.
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This can make hedging difficult because it's
hard to know how much protection you need
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if you don't know how much risk you're
actually carrying.
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One alternative to using notional value is
a technique called beta weighting.
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Beta represents how volatile one asset is
compared to another.
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Beta weighting allows you to measure your
portfolio's risk relative to a single asset
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or index like comparing apples to apples.
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So, for example, if you want to hedge your
portfolio with the E-mini S&P 500, you can
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beta weight your portfolio to the ES and see
all your positions' risk relative to the
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movement of the S&P 500.
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This can make it easier to determine how your
portfolio might respond to a downswing.
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Determining how much to hedge based on risk
exposure rather than just notional value may
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help you to more precisely calculate how much
protection you actually need.
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Now let's look at how beta weighting works
and how to use it on thinkorswim paperMoney.
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You can find the beta-weighting tool in the
Position Statement section on the Monitor
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tab.
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To activate it, I'll select the Beta Weighting
box.
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Next, I'll enter the instrument I want to
use as my benchmark.
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For this example, we'll assume our portfolio
generally tracks the S&P 500 and that we'd
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want to use the E-mini S&P 500 futures contract
to hedge, so I'll enter /ES.
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To see the results, you'll need to have
a Delta column in your Position Statement.
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If you don't, it's easy to add one using
the gear icon.
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When you're beta weighting, delta indicates
how much you stand to gain or lose, all else
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being equal, if your selected benchmark changes
1 point.
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Basically, it's a measure of risk exposure.
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If you're bullish, you'll want to see
more positive deltas.
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If you're bearish, you'll want fewer positive,
or even negative, deltas.
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Now, on the Position Statement, each security
has a delta.
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If a position has positive deltas, it'll
gain value if the benchmark goes up and lose
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value if the benchmark goes down.
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Positions with negative delta will do the
opposite drop when the benchmark rises,
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and rise when the benchmark falls.
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This is one of the main benefits of beta weighting.
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You can see the risk associated with each
of your positions expressed in the same unit.
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Here, you can see the total delta for the
whole portfolio.
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This sample portfolio has a delta of 447,
which means the portfolio is estimated to
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rise about $447 for every point our benchmark,
the ES, rises.
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It also estimates that the portfolio will
fall $447 per point the benchmark falls.
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So, how can we apply this to hedging a portfolio?
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When beta weighting, think of hedging as an
attempt to reduce your portfolio's delta.
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If your portfolio has positive delta but you
think the market might drop, consider reducing
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your delta exposure.
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You can do this by adding a position with
negative delta, for example, a short index
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futures contract.
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If you know how many positive deltas your
overall portfolio has and how many negative
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deltas a short futures contract has, you can
determine how many contracts to sell to hedge
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your portfolio.
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Let's walk through this calculation with
our sample portfolio.
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We can see here that our portfolio has 447
deltas.
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So if I wanted to hedge my portfolio, one
E-mini S&P 500 futures contract would add
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negative 50 deltas.
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Based on these numbers, if the S&P 500 fell
one point, the original portfolio would be
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expected to fall an estimated $447.
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However, the portfolio with the hedge would
only fall $396.
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Of course, beta weighting doesn't stop the
risk of timing the market that comes with
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hedging.
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You still have to determine when to close
the hedge to avoid the drag that the contract
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causes.
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Remember, having higher deltas when the market
turns bearish could also result in higher
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losses.
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Whereas, lower deltas when the market turns
bullish could reduce your gains.
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So, follow your investing plan to know when
to open your hedge and when to close it.
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You can see that beta weighting on thinkorswim
paperMoney can be a valuable tool for determining
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how much to hedge your portfolio.
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Measuring your portfolio in terms of market
exposure may help you hedge more effectively.
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