Schweser QBank 2017 derivatives 01 risk management

Explanation Using risk budgeting in enterprise risk management, a firm will allocate capital and the associated VAR to each managerdepending upon management's desired exposure to each se

Test ID: 7428229Risk Management

For a firm that uses enterprise risk management, how should a deviation from a risk budget be dealt with?

The manager should not hedge the position that caused the violation of the

risk budget

Each portfolio manager should have the discretion to determine the correct response

The deviation should be reported immediately to upper management

Explanation

Using risk budgeting in enterprise risk management, a firm will allocate capital and the associated VAR to each managerdepending upon management's desired exposure to each sector An effective enterprise risk management system shouldmonitor violations of a risk budget so that any violations are immediately reported to upper management

Stress testing approaches are not constrained by many of the constraints associated with the traditional distribution based value at risk(VAR) approaches Which of the following is an example of a constraint associated with the traditional VAR approach but NOT the stresstesting approach? The traditional VAR approach:

places too small a probability on extreme events

ignores extreme events

places too high a probability on extreme events

Explanation

Common probability distributions (i.e., normal distributions) tend to place extreme low probabilities on extreme events

Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between computing internal capital requirements using a stress testingapproach versus a value at risk (VAR) capital strength approach? Stress testing approaches:

can never be combined with VAR approaches because they are based on different

probability distributions

complement VAR approaches since they account for scenarios that may not be properly

considered in VAR approaches

are substitutes for VAR approaches since they better measure the entire spectrum of potential

outcomes

Explanation

Question #4 of 100 Question ID: 466433

Which methodology for computing value at risk (VAR) relies on the assumption of normally distributed returns?

Binomial VAR

Variance/Covariance VAR

Historical VAR

Explanation

The variance/covariance VAR methodology relies on the assumption that returns are normally distributed

Which of the methods for calculating Value At Risk (VAR) do asset managers most commonly use?

Variance/covariance

Historical

Monte Carlo simulation

Explanation

The variance/covariance (or parametric) method is most commonly used by asset managers

John Nicholson is in charge of the risk management committee for Beta Portfolio Managers Beta has a variety of bonds intheir portfolio of differing durations, call features, and coupons He is worried about the impact on the firm's bond portfolio fromsimultaneous changes in interest rates, the shape of the yield curve, and interest rate volatilities Which of the following forms

of stress testing is he most likely to utilize?

Factor push analysis

Question #7 of 100 Question ID: 466476

The practice that imposes current credit risk on a periodic basis to lower potential credit risk is called:

Risk management has evolved into:

a series of small sets of independent activities

a broad set of interrelated activities

a government mandated set of standards

Explanation

Risk management was once simply thought as hedging risk Now managers must look at it from several perspectives Varioustypes of risks must be defined, measured and selectively managed A desired level of risk must be selected and the actual riskmonitored to see if it is in line with that selected level

Increasing the relative weight on OTC derivatives relative to the weight on exchange-traded derivatives in a portfolio will:

increase credit risk and financial risk

have no affect on credit risk or financial risk

increase credit risk but decrease financial risk

Market risk can be caused by changes in: interest rates, exchange rates, equity prices, and commodity prices.

When describing the risk exposures that an analyst should examine as part of an enterprise risk management system, whatterms describe the risks pertaining to the factors that directly affect firm or portfolio values and the risks associated withexternal capital markets?

Firm/Portfolio Value External Capital Market

Systematic risk Financial risk

Market risk Factor risk

Market risk Financial risk

Explanation

Financial and non-financial risk factors are general terms Financial risk factors are those associated with external capitalmarkets and the transactions within external markets Non-financial risk factors capture other types of risk Financial riskfactors include market risk, liquidity risk, credit risk, and sovereign risk Market risk pertains to the factors that affect firm orportfolio values (e.g interest rates, exchange rates, equity prices, commodity prices, etc.) Non-financial risk factors includesettlement (Herstatt) risk, operations risk, model risk, sovereign risk, regulatory risk, and other miscellaneous risk factors Notethat sovereign risk has both financial and non-financial risk components

Assuming that adequate daily data is available, a criticism of the Monte Carlo value at risk (VAR) methodology, but not theother VAR methodologies is that it:

requires a normal distribution of returns

Which of the following is NOT a practical benefit of the value at risk framework?

Hedging

Comparability across asset classes

Identification of risk factors

Explanation

While value at risk may indicate risks that need to be hedged, it is not a hedging tool as such

Which of the following statements best describes the uses of stress analysis?

Stress analysis can be used to enhance VAR analysis by focusing on the extent of loss

in an extreme event

Scenario analysis, which is a special case of stress analysis, suffers from limitations on

implementing a consistent and manageable approach

Stress analysis has several advantages over a value at risk (VAR) only approach that

includes: highlighting inappropriate assumptions, hidden vulnerabilities, and the ability to be

able to forecast probability of rare but damaging events

Monte Carlo simulations

Derivative valuation models

Legal risk analysis

Explanation

A useful analytics system for an ERM is used for assessing risk, not valuing individual assets The useful system would include severalVAR methodologies including historical VAR and Monte Carlo simulation, credit risk analysis, liquidity risk analysis, operational riskanalysis, and legal risk analysis

Which of the following is NOT a use of stress testing?

It can be used for capital allocation across business units

Stress testing complements value at risk (VAR)

It enables the risk manager to eliminate all risk from a portfolio

Explanation

Stress testing cannot be used to eliminate all risk from a position It only highlights the extent of losses in different states and enablescontingency planning, which is one of its benefits

Which of the common methods of computing value at risk relies on the assumption of normality?

Monte Carlo simulation

Variance/covariance

Historical

Explanation

The variance/covariance method relies on the assumption of normality

Which of the following is NOT a damaging consequence of not conducting proper stress analysis?

Inability to proactively alter assumptions about correlation structures

Exposure to risk of being taken over

Risk of exposure to potential big hits to a portfolio due to second order (gamma) effects of

large market moves

Explanation

Stress analysis makes the risk manager become aware of the consequences of market moves, liquidity crises, and other factors thataffect the business of a firm As a result, the manager can be prepared with proper hedges and advance contingency planning to combatadverse situations The analysis also highlights the extent of the potential loss so that the manager can decide the extent of exposure tosuch risk Risk of being taken over as a target is usually not a concern of this analysis

Jenny Rouse has been a portfolio manager for Theta Advisors for the last five years The performance of her portfolio has hadfew returns below its benchmarks since its inception Which of the following risk measures best measures Rouse's

performance?

Standard Deviation

A portfolio manager determines that his portfolio has an expected return of $20,000 and a standard deviation of $45,000 Given a 95%confidence level, what is the portfolio's VAR?

All of the following are advantages in Monte Carlo simulation approach to VAR estimation EXCEPT:

no assumption needed regarding normality

A property that is usually necessary for a risk source to be considered financial is that it involves:

money and interest rates only.

a transaction with a party outside the firm

money only

Explanation

Financial risks are usually associated with transactions with other parties

Frank Meinrod is in charge of the risk management committee for Alpha Portfolio Managers Recently, the value of one of thecompany's bond positions has decreased due to a potential steep rate hike by the Federal Reserve Meinrod believes that therate hike will be moderate and that the decline in the bond portfolio value is temporary Which of the following is the best actionfor Meinrod to take? Meinrod should advise the risk management committee that they should:

hedge the position by buying interest rate futures

hedge the position by selling interest rate futures

take no action at all

Explanation

Meinrod should advise the risk management committee that they should take no action at all In most cases, when there is arisk management problem that is viewed as temporary, the best course of action is often to take no action at all

Which of the following is NOT an appropriate application of VAR for portfolio managers?

Setting portfolio risk limits

Peer group risk evaluation

Identification of key portfolio risks

Explanation

Value at risk (VAR) is useful to compare performance of different business units with different asset classes and risk

characteristics because VAR is interpreted the same regardless of the assets in question VAR can be used in risk budgetingwhere upper management allocates VAR across the different business units and the goal is to maximize return for the

allocated VAR Comparing managers based on return for a given level of risk utilizes the Sharpe ratio and not VAR

Which of the following describes the best way to resolve the differences between the stress testing approach to computing capitalrequirements and the value at risk (VAR) approach?

Use both approaches and then use the larger of the two capital requirements

Ignore the VAR approach since it ignores extreme events.

Integrate the two approaches by using an optimization algorithm

Explanation

Where the stress testing approach is weak, the VAR approach is strong and vice versa A possible way to combine the two approacheswould be to compute the capital requirements using each method and then use the larger of the two values This ensures that the capitalrequirement meets the needs of both approaches

With respect to value at risk (VAR), regulatory agencies:

have mandatory requirements in all financial industries

are studying it, but none have adopted its use

in some industries require its computation and reporting

Explanation

The regulation in some industries address VAR, but many do not

Which of the following is the final step in the risk management process?

Monitoring the process and taking any necessary corrective actions

Identifying and measuring specific risk exposures

Reporting risk exposures (deemed appropriate) to stakeholders

Explanation

The risk management process is a continual process of:

1 Identifying and measuring specific risk exposures

2 Setting specific tolerance levels

3 Reporting risk exposures (deemed appropriate) to stakeholders

4 Monitoring the process and taking any necessary corrective actions

All of the following are considered to be weaknesses of the variance/covariance value at risk (VAR) methodology EXCEPT:

the variance/covariance matrix may not be stable over time

the VAR computation becomes complex as portfolio complexity increases

market data necessary to compute VAR is often not available

Questions #29-34 of 100

Explanation

One of the strengths of the variance/covariance VAR is that the required market data is readily available in most cases

Shilton Capital, owned by flamboyant billionaire Travis Shilton, has a reputation for managing risk well The firm operatesseveral hedge funds and partnerships, generating huge returns with risky strategies that always seem to pay off Shilton hiresthe most creative portfolio managers he can find, then jets off to Switzerland or Brazil to be seen in the presence of the world'sglitziest people Paul Miller, as staid as Shilton is flighty, handles the day-to-day operations at Shilton Capital

The bulk of Shilton Capital's assets are invested in five portfolio strategies: a hedge fund that seeks to profit from currencyfluctuations, a market-neutral hedge fund, a real estate partnership, an enhanced index hedge fund, and a partnership thatbuys bonds of companies in financial distress All five strategies have generated excellent returns over the last year

The following discusses one hour at Shilton Capital:

Charlene Hatchett manages a hedge fund focusing on foreign currencies She buys currencies she considers undervalued,mostly those in countries whose economic growth potential is not reflected in the global market, and sells overvalued

currencies in forward contracts in an effort to cash in on the fluctuations During her first hour at work, Hatchett has beenbuying up the drang, a currency used in Extralatia, a small African country with a booming economy and an increasinglytalented and educated workforce she believes is not acknowledged by the global business community At 5 p.m Extralatiantime, or 10 a.m Eastern time, a military coup in Extralatia's neighboring country, Warmongaria, sends a flood of refugeesrunning toward the Extralatian border The new military governor of Warmongaria immediately threatens to invade Extralatia'scapital if the country allows in the refugees, many of whom are of Extralatian descent With a few quick phone calls, Hatchettlearns that two multinationals near to announcing large development projects in Extralatia are rethinking their plans because ofthe unrest The political situation in Extralatia is dodgy at the best of times, and Hatchett is concerned that recent

developments will wreak havoc with the currency

Mitchell Stone runs a market-neutral sector hedge fund that takes long positions in securities Stone considers undervaluedand short offsetting positions in expensive stocks in a couple of key industry groups within the industrial sector Stone expectsthe stock market to decline, so he wants to seek alpha through stock selection and wash out market returns Most of the longpositions represent companies with increasing market share and strong finances, while the short positions generally representcompanies with weak balance sheets, which have been punished by a choppy, volatile market in recent weeks Today, themarket opens up strong on higher-than-expected growth of the gross domestic product and optimistic news about industrialactivity from the Federal Reserve The entire industrial sector rallies, with the weakest companies those most heavilypunished in recent weeks leading the way Stone's long positions are doing well, but his short positions are getting killed,more than offsetting gains in the long positions

Carter Wainwright's real-estate partnership owns a mix of industrial and retail properties across the Eastern Seaboard.Vacancy is low, and rental rates are rising But at 10 a.m., Wainwright learns that the state legislature just passed a newinventory tax that will make it more expensive to store goods in Massachusetts Several large industrial concerns immediatelystart trying to back out of contracts to use a half-dozen huge, newly constructed warehouses in Boston, properties expected toprovide the bulk of the partnership's revenue growth over the next year

Lisa Cline's partnership owns bonds issued by a number of troubled industrial and consumer companies, all of which payyields well above the market average At 10 a.m., Canton Metals files for bankruptcy, and Cline's preliminary analysis suggeststhe company will default on its bonds, which represent about 10 percent of the partnership's holdings

Max Campbell is having a fine day He attempts to beat market returns by using leverage during periods when he expects themarket to rise, and using futures contracts to hedge market risk during periods when he expects the market to fall He targets

Question #29 of 100 Question ID: 466408

a return of 150 percent of the index in up markets Campbell is bullish at the moment and highly leveraged, and the solideconomic news has sent the market soaring

Hatchett, Stone, Wainwright, and Cline arrive at Miller's door at roughly the same time, panicking because they do not knowhow to address the risks He meets with each one and recommends the following, in turn:

To Hatchett: Since trading in Extralatian currency has been temporarily suspended, she should buy the currencies ofneighboring countries in the region in an effort to hedge her risk

To Stone: He should sell some of his long positions and use the proceeds to cover the worst of the short positions

To Wainwright: He should do nothing

To Cline: She should liquidate her Canton bond position immediately for whatever price she can get before demand dries

up altogether

In attempting to fix the problems in Shilton Capital's risk-management system, which issue warrants the least attention?

Inadequate stress testing

Failure to hedge away risks

Shilton's absentee ownership

Explanation

As long as Shilton has a man he believes is competent in charge and a comprehensive plan in place, his presence at the office

is not required Many people own businesses and let others run them The issue here is the process, not the company owner.Good ERM systems will select the best possible risk models and decide in advance which risks to ignore and which to hedge.The Shilton Capital system did neither A good risk-management system will have a committee to oversee the process andensure that proper stress testing is performed on all risky investments (Study Session 14, LOS 27.b)

All of the risky events discussed above could recur Current mitigation efforts aside, going forward, which analyst's risk would

be most difficult for Shilton Capital to hedge away?

To best prepare for events like those faced by Hatchett, Shilton Capital should have:

addressed sovereign risk through credit derivatives.

set up a currency swap

calculated an incremental VAR

Explanation

Nonfinancial risks are difficult to measure, and a VAR is only as good as the estimates used to derive it Sovereign risk is notrelevant here because it reflects only the government's willingness to make good on its debts The best option among thosepresented would be a currency swap, which could be used to hedge against declines in the value of Extralatian currency.(Study Session 14, LOS 27.i)

Which of Miller's proposed solutions makes the least sense? Miller's instructions for:

Stone isn't happy with Miller's advice on how to manage the increased risk of his portfolio, and he has several ideas of his ownregarding how to manage such risks in the future Which of Stone's proposed solutions would be least effective?

Establishing notional position limits for each security in the portfolio

Purchasing out-of-the-money call options on the shorted stocks

Doing nothing, because the company's risk is already partially hedged

Explanation

Purchasing out-of-the-money call options would presumably allow Stone to cover his short positions at below-market rates inthe event of a major rally Doing nothing is a counterintuitive solution, but it has merit because of Campbell's investmentstrategy In the event that unusual increases in stock prices overwhelm Stone's market-neutral model, Campbell's investmentsare likely to rise Campbell's portfolio is not as concentrated as Stone's, but it does have some risk-reduction features in thecontext of Stone's portfolio However, notional position limits on securities would be unlikely to help, because Stone's portfolio

is concentrated in one sector, and in the situation portrayed above, all of the stocks moved in the same direction When all ofthe stocks tend to move in the same direction, assigning limits to the size of each stock position will have little effect on theoverall risk of the portfolio (Study Session 14, LOS 27.m)

Question #34 of 100 Question ID: 466413

Wainwright's current problems are best explained as:

The accuracy of a value at risk (VAR) measure:

is one minus the probability level

can only be ascertained after the fact

is included in the statistic

Explanation

This is a weakness of VAR The reliability can only be known after some time has passed to see if the number and size of thelosses is congruent with the VAR measure

An investor hires a portfolio manager and stipulates a maximum value at risk for the portfolio This is an example of the use of the value

at risk framework to:

build portfolios

set risk limits

measure performance

Explanation

The investor has used the value at risk framework to set risk limits for the portfolio

Tom Andrews is in charge of the risk management committee for Sigma Portfolio Managers Interest rates have recentlyincreased and the firm's model has predicted a substantial decline in the value of the firm's bond portfolio However, the actualvalue of the bond portfolio has not decreased as much as expected because the firm has large holdings of callable bonds

Which of the following is the best action for Andrews to take? Andrews should advise the risk management committee thatthey should:

revise the model in light of its shortcomings

take no action at all

hedge the position by buying a series of interest rate call options (caps)

Explanation

Andrews should advise the risk management committee that they should revise the model Recall that callables will outperformnoncallables when interest rates rise and the callable bonds were previously priced to call In this case, Sigma should revisetheir model so it accounts for the option-like features of their bonds and provides a more realistic assessment of bond

performance in various interest rate scenarios

A company has a portfolio composed of several securities with large bid/ask spreads This is an indication that the portfoliohas:

high liquidity risk, but the financial risk is not affected

low liquidity risk, but the financial risk is not affected

high liquidity risk, which means high financial risk

Explanation

The bid/ask spread is a good measure of liquidity The larger the spread the greater the liquidity risk Liquidity risk is a subset

of financial risk-the larger the liquidity risk, the larger the financial risk

A disadvantage of the Monte Carlo method for calculating value at risk is that:

it is computationally intensive

all of these choices are correct

it requires the normality assumption

Explanation

For the Monte Carlo method, the advantages are that it does not require the normality assumption, and it is flexible insofar as

it can accommodate a variety of assumptions regarding complex relationships The main disadvantage is that it is oftencomputationally intensive

The LDC Bank specializes in foreign exchange transactions and lending to emerging market countries They have provided aloan to the country of Tinia so that Tinia can install a water irrigation system in the interior of the country The LDC Bank is

very careful with their lending practices, calculating the probability of a country's default through the use of simulation Theyhave also entered into a currency swap that allows them to receive Mexican pesos in exchange for paying U.S dollars Which

of the following risk is NOT explicitly mentioned in these series of transactions by the LDC Bank?

The long position of a forward contract bears the credit risk if the market price of the underlying is:

less than the exercise price

equal to the exercise price

greater than the exercise price

Explanation

This is true because the long position will be in-the-money, which means there is a possibility of not being paid what is owed

A subsidiary of a parent company that is capitalized in a way that results in a high credit rating, with the objective of allowingthe subsidiary to engage in activities where a high credit rating is an advantage would be called:

a collateral mortgage obligation

a special purpose vehicle

collateralization

Explanation

Special purpose vehicles are subsidiaries set up by a parent company to engage in certain transactions Generally, they areseparate from the parent organization and not liable for the debt of the parent company They are capitalized in a way thatresults in a high credit rating, and can, therefore, engage in transactions that the parent cannot

Which of the following would NOT be a characteristic of an effective enterprise risk management system?

Using a model that accounts for changing risk factor sensitivities

Identifying all relevant external and internal risk factors

Allocating capital according to the returns generated

Explanation

An effective enterprise risk management system would allocate capital on a risk-adjusted basis Capital should not be

allocated solely according to returns without accounting for risk Both remaining responses above are all components of aneffective enterprise risk management system

The method for calculating value at risk that is the simplest and rests heavily on means and variances is the:

Question #47 of 100 Question ID: 466468

Monte Carlo simulation is subject to model risk

Using the following information from a firm that uses enterprise risk management, which portfolio manager has superiorperformance and why?

Manager A Manager B

Capital $150,000,000 $590,000,000

VAR $7,500,000 $21,000,000

Profit $2,000,000 $7,000,000

Manager A because they had a higher return on capital

Manager B because their return is higher in a risk budgeting context

Manager A because they used less VAR

So although the percentage return generated is higher for Manager A, we would conclude that Manager B has better

performance when risk is considered

Which of the following is a source of financial risk?

Risk management is a continuous process; therefore addressing it more frequently is better.

Which of the following is the most widely accepted definition of market risk?

Duration

The potential loss from investing in stocks and bonds

The potential change of value in an asset or derivative in response to a change in

some basic source of uncertainty

Explanation

Risk is generally equated with uncertainty, which includes both positive and negative changes in value

John Dumas is in charge of $100 million of equity portfolio He expects a return of 10% with a standard deviation of 8% What will be theminimum value of portfolio at 95% probability Z scores from standard normal distribution are:

Maximum possible loss at 95% probability = 10 − 1.65 × 8 = −3.2 million

Minimum value of portfolio at 95% probability = 100 − 3.2 = 96.80 million

Mark Stober, William Robertson, and James McGuire are consultants for a regional pension consultancy One of their clients,Richard Smitherspoon, chief investment officer of Quality Car Part Manufacturing, recently attended a conference on riskmanagement topics for pension plans Smitherspoon is a conservative manager who prefers to follow a long-term investment