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The cost of hedging and the optimal hedge ratio

The cost of hedging and the optimal hedge ratio Hedging benefits offered by the futures market come at a cost. This article develops a concept of hedging costs, shows how it impacts the hedging decision, and derives an optimal hedge ratio in the context of the cost concept. The hedging cost of using futures is comprised of two components. The first component represents the fixed costs of setting up and managing a hedging program. The second component is the result of spot/futures arbitrage and the fact that the futures contract is an imperfect substitute for a commercial transaction.' It is shown that arbitrageurs drive the expected futures return equal to the spot risk premium. Thus as hedgers take a short futures position, expected return is reduced by the amount of futures shorted times the spot risk premium. Hedgers can seldom create a perfect hedge due to mismatches between spot and futures delivery dates and contract specifications. Thus, the hedger faces the situation of paying full cost (i.e., reducing expected return by the amount of the fixed costs plus the spot risk premium) while receiving less than the full benefits (i.e., the elimination of all risk). The hedger, therefore, is required to make a risk/return decision since, as http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Journal of Futures Markets Wiley

The cost of hedging and the optimal hedge ratio

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References (24)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
0270-7314
eISSN
1096-9934
DOI
10.1002/fut.3990140208
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Hedging benefits offered by the futures market come at a cost. This article develops a concept of hedging costs, shows how it impacts the hedging decision, and derives an optimal hedge ratio in the context of the cost concept. The hedging cost of using futures is comprised of two components. The first component represents the fixed costs of setting up and managing a hedging program. The second component is the result of spot/futures arbitrage and the fact that the futures contract is an imperfect substitute for a commercial transaction.' It is shown that arbitrageurs drive the expected futures return equal to the spot risk premium. Thus as hedgers take a short futures position, expected return is reduced by the amount of futures shorted times the spot risk premium. Hedgers can seldom create a perfect hedge due to mismatches between spot and futures delivery dates and contract specifications. Thus, the hedger faces the situation of paying full cost (i.e., reducing expected return by the amount of the fixed costs plus the spot risk premium) while receiving less than the full benefits (i.e., the elimination of all risk). The hedger, therefore, is required to make a risk/return decision since, as

Journal

The Journal of Futures MarketsWiley

Published: Apr 1, 1994

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