Question 1

You are the fund manager of an equity portfolio worth RM5,000,000 with an annualised standard deviation of changes in the value of the portfolio being 30%. Due to RussianUkraine war, you are bearish on the market and expect the war will take the market down by 5%. You wish to hedge this position over a two-month horizon and the FBMKLCI futures contract with three months to expiration is priced at 1675 with a multiplier of RM50. The FBMKLCI futures has an annual standard deviation of 20%. The correlation between the portfolio and FBMKLCI futures annual changes is 0.8. The risk-free rate is 4% pa and a dividend yield on the index is 2% pa.

Calculate the minimum-variance hedge ratio. How can you advantageously use your bearish expectations to hedge your long position in the stock market? Calculate the gain or loss on the futures position if the futures price turns out to be 1586 at the end of two months. Demonstrate how you accomplish your goal of converting the equity portfolio to a risk-free position for a period of two months.