System and method for flexible spread participation

• US 8,121,926 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2009
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (CME Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (CME Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Glinberg, Dmitriy, Yoo, Tae S., Michaels, Dale A., Gogol, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Hammond, III, Thomas M
• Application Number:
  US12/403,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20090177592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 45
• US Class Current: 705/36.R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A system and method for risk analysis of a portfolio of derivative products is disclosed which is conducted based on a set of flexible rules. The system and method allow creating predefined sets of products for the purpose of future risk offsets. If a futures trade as a subset of that set of products that met a threshold level, then the subset is assigned the offset value (or a pro rata or other portion of the offset value) of the predefined set. For example, assume that the predefined set consists of one S&P 500 futures, one NASDAQ futures, one S&P Midcap 400 futures and one Russell 1000 futures and the threshold is three. If the futures trader holds any three of those four futures, the three futures can be grouped, assigned an offset value, and this group can be used as one asset for purpose of further risk offsets.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of computing a risk offset for a portfolio for adjusting a margin requirement therefore, the portfolio comprising a first subset of three or more products of a plurality of products traded on an exchange, the method comprising:

identifying, by a computer processor, a second subset of two or more products of the plurality of products traded on the exchange and determining a risk offset thereof, the identifying being independent of the first subset;

determining, by the computer processor, a third subset of two or more products consisting of two or more products contained in both the first and second subsets and a fourth subset of one or more products consisting of one or more products included in the first subset of three or more products and not included in the second subset of two or more products;

treating by the computer processor, the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the third subset of two or more products as a single product characterized by at least a portion of the risk offset of the second subset of two or more products, whereas each of products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products are treated individually;

computing, by the computer processor, a risk offset based on the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products; and

computing, by the computer processor, a risk offset for the portfolio based on at least the portion of the risk offset of the second subset of two or more products characterizing the third subset of two or more products and the computed risk offset of the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises determining that the third subset of two or more products identifies a minimum number of products, the treating further comprising treating each of the products identified by the third subset of two or more products individually, when the third subset of two or more products identifies less than the minimum number of products, for computing the risk offset for the portfolio.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises determining that the third subset of two or more products identifies a minimum number of products, the treating further comprising treating the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by third subset of two or more products as a single product characterized by the risk offset associated with the second subset of two or more products, when the third subset of two or more products identifies more than the minimum number of products, for computing the risk offset for the portfolio.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products are characterized by an associated risk offset for computing the risk offset for the portfolio.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the risk offset associated with the second subset of two or more products is computed based on a number of products identified by the third subset of two or more products.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the products comprise conventional futures contracts.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, where in the products comprise over the counter products.

8. A system for computing a risk offset for a portfolio for adjusting a margin requirement therefore, the portfolio comprising a first subset of three or more products of a plurality of products traded on an exchange, the system comprising:

a parameter set, stored in a memory, which identifies, independent of the first subset of three or more products, a second subset of two or more products of the plurality of products traded on the exchange and a risk offset thereof;

a risk processor coupled with the memory so as to access the stored parameter set and operative to execute a computer program stored in the memory, the computer program being operative to cause the risk processor to determine a third subset of two or more products which consisting of two or more products contained in both the first and second subsets and a fourth subset of one or more products consisting of one or more products included in the first subset of three or more products and not included in the second subset of two or more products; and

wherein execution of the computer program is further operative to cause the risk processor to treat the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the third subset of two or more products as a single product characterized by at least a portion of the risk offset of the second subset of two or more products, whereas each of products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products are treated individually, and based thereon, the execution of the computer program is further operative to cause the risk processor to compute a risk offset based on the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products and compute of a risk offset for the portfolio based on at least the portion of the risk offset of the second subset of two or more products characterizing the third subset of two or more products and the computed risk offset of the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the computer program is further operative to cause the risk processor to determine that the third subset of two or more products identifies a minimum number of products, and further cause the risk processor to treat each of the products identified by the third subset of two or more products individually, when the third subset of two or more products identifies less than the minimum number of products, for the computation of the risk offset for the portfolio.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the computer program is further operative to cause the risk processor to determine that the third subset of two or more products identifies a minimum number of products, and further cause the risk processor to treat the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by third subset of two or more products as a single product characterized by the risk offset associated with the second subset of two or more products, when the third subset of two or more products identifies more than the minimum number of products, for the computation the risk offset for the portfolio.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the products of the first subset of three or more products identified by the fourth subset of one or more products are characterized by an associated risk offset for the computation of the risk offset for the portfolio.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the portion of the risk offset associated with the second subset of two or more products is computed based on a number of products identified by the third subset of two or more products.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the products comprise conventional futures contracts.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the products comprise over the counter products.