Goldman Sachs’ Visual Structuring tool streamlines FX options pricing and analysis, helping traders visualise complex strategies and react quickly to market volatility The FX options market remains complex, with traders still relying on spreadsheets and spreadsheet-inspired pricers to juggle multiple variables and model payoffs. While technology has transformed execution, the ideation and price discovery process […]
The largest counterparties for complex foreign exchange options are typically the leading multi-strategy and macro hedge funds that place big bets on the direction of currency pairs. But there is one corporate whose use of FX options is so extensive that it is connected to most of the top dealers on the Street, regularly buying
Like many dealers, NatWest has for years had a tool that automatically trades in the underlying spot or forwards markets to replicate and hedge its foreign exchange options sensitivities. Recently, though, the bank has given clients access to this tool – not to hedge their options but to replicate them in spot for those such
LSEG adds market risk optimisation for FX options – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content Tool attracts eight dealers and could be expanded to rates and equity options London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) post-trade division has launched its first market risk optimisation tool, initially aimed at helping foreign exchange options
Dealers might be nearing their capacity for Turkish lira options-based carry trades, as liquidity pressures, market risk and unwind concerns begin to constrain the amount of new trading they can support. The lira carry trade has been a favoured strategy among hedge funds and institutional investors this year, owing to the whopping 40% carry on
e-FX awards 2025 – the winners – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content Barclays, DB and State Street take two wins each, while Citadel, Citi, JPM and BNP also take top slots FX Markets is proud to announce the winners of the e-FX Awards for 2025. The roll of honour
Pimco piled into euro put options in Q2 – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content Counterparty Radar: EUR/USD buying spree takes Pimco’s FX options book to $7 billion Pimco has typically been a light user of foreign exchange options. But as the tariff turmoil raged in Q2 this year, the
When Citi’s global head of foreign exchange, Flavio Figueiredo, took on the top role in Citi’s global FX unit in the summer of 2023, priority number one was a strategic reset for the business. An internal review had identified gaps with peers in FX options and electronic trading, as well as with specific client segments
Foreign exchange sales desks may have taken solace in the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) recent report showing a surge in FX turnover this year. With average daily volumes exceeding $9 trillion a day, this new representation of the status quo marks a milestone for the market. The desks may be less enthusiastic further down
Hedge funds switch yen bets after Japan election shock – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content Takaichi victory forces unwinds and a move to topside trades, while barriers give dealers a headache The surprise outcome of the Japanese election has led to a U-turn among many macro hedge funds that
The surge of activity in Hong Kong dollar foreign exchange trading this year offers a reminder of the potential perils when pricing and trading derivatives linked to pegged currencies, traders say. “Of course, the Hong Kong dollar market is a huge options market for the investor community, for hedge funds, like us, and for corporates,”
Political turmoil rattles Turkish lira carry trade – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content Echoes of March crackdown that sparked market rout leave traders on alert Fears of further political turmoil in Turkey have sparked nervous reactions from foreign investors who had piled back into the lira carry trade after
Entering 2025, the prevailing macro theme throughout the investment community was that the US dollar would continue its dominant path. Years of US exceptionalism – driven by a booming equity market and a resilient labour market – had cemented the dollar as a must-have hedging tool in most portfolios. For example, if there was a
Hedge funds are reloading their short dollar bets – with a few new twists – ahead of US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated keynote speech at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole conference on Friday, August 22. Garth Appelt, head of derivatives, FX and emerging markets macro trading at Mizuho Americas, says
Niche FX crosses pop up in mutual fund options activity – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content Counterparty Radar: Fund filings reveal unusual FX options crosses – some never repeated, many with unclear strategies Over the five years of Counterparty Radar analysis, we’ve typically tracked the biggest trading firms, the
HSBC, Goldman prevail in shake-up of FX Markets’ Dealer Rankings – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content The pair thrived serving US retail funds, while Morgan Stanley retained title with life insurer clients The third edition of FX Markets’ annual exercise in identifying the top dealers in foreign exchange derivatives
Macro hedge funds like Rokos Capital Management and Bridgewater may have profited from foreign exchange volatility during the second quarter, but for options dealers the market has become increasingly precarious. Since US president Donald Trump’s explosive tariff policy announcement in April, positioning has been firmly geared towards US dollar weakening across G10 currencies. A July
