designing a hedging strategy using a derivative contract of currency pairing(CAD/CHF = Canadian Dollar / Swiss Franc)
Assessment Brief/ Task
The detailed requirements for this task are as follows:
You will be assigned a currency pairing(CAD/CHF = Canadian Dollar / Swiss Franc). For your assigned currency paring you will be tasked with examining its performance over the period of 1st October to 1st November 2015. Based upon your examination of its performance, you are now tasked with designing a hedging strategy using a derivative contract of your choice (you are only allowed a single class of derivative contract, for example you are allowed to use both a put and a call option but not a combination of options and futures). The design process should include a consideration of your selected hedging strategy against alternatives (i.e. the contracts that you have not used) and an indication for the selection of your contract of choice.
You are required to critically evaluate the hedging strategy that you have used in relation to your assigned currency pair. Your critical evaluation should show extensive consideration for the current state of the FOREX markets and arguments should include both academic and practical support. All work should be complied into a 3000 word (maximum) report
Note: Going extensively over the word limit could result in a penalty of up to 10% of the overall assessment mark.
this is a report not an essay, please follow report structure.The reference should be around 20 and cited by Harvard style.
UWBS038g Assessment Briefing for Students
Assessment brief number (and title where applicable):
Module leader:
Academic Year: 2014 / 15
PG Sem 1
Module assessment detail (approved at validation as amended by module modification)
Module code & title 7FC002 International Finance
Module Learning outcomes: Tick (?)
if tested here
LO1 Critical evaluation of International Financial Markets
LO2 Critical evaluation and application of International Financial Instruments ?
LO3 Critical evaluation and application of International Financial strategies ?
LO4
Assessment types Weightings (%)
Group Report and Oral Presentation 30
Individual Report 70 ?
Assessment type, weighting and LOs tested by this assessment indicated in the shaded area above by a ?
Important requirements
Mode of Working: Individual
Presentation Format: Report
Method of Submission: Paper Submission to MX student Office
Mark required to pass this coursework: 50%
(Complete following detail)
Hand in date& time
Friday 15th January 2016 @1600hrs
Date & method by which you will receive feedback
Electronic feedback on request
Resit/retrieval date
w/c 11th July 2016
Assessment limits (in accordance with UWBS assessment tariff)
No more than: 3000 words,excluding appendices
Do clearly state your student number when submitting work but do not indicate your name.Always keep a copy of your work.Always keep a file of working papers (containing, for instance, working notes, copied journal article and early drafts of your work, etc.) that show the development of your work and the sources you have used.You may need to show this to tutor at some point so notes should be clear and written in English. This is an important requirement. There may be circumstances where it is difficult to arrive at a mark for your work. If this is so you may be asked to submit your file within 3 working days and possibly meet with your tutor to answer questions on your submission.
Explanation of submission requirements and further guidance
• Assessmentsare subject to a word limit to ensure consistency of approach across all modules. Your work should not exceed the limit indicated (excluding references and appendices). Do not feel that you have to “achieve” this word count in your work. What is important is that the work satisfies the stated learning outcomes which are articulated through the assessment criteria (see following page).
• Care is taken to ensure that work has been marked correctly. Checks are conducted by both a second lecturer and an independent expert from outside the University on batches of work.
• Your work will not be returned to you but you will receive detailed feedback explaining how your mark has been arrived at and how your work could have been improved upon.
• Always use the Harvard style referencing system. The University’s Learning Information Services have produced a series of guides covering a range of topics to support your studies and develop your academic skills including a guide to Harvard referencing http://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/skills_for_learning/study_guides.aspx
• Expensive or elaborate bindings and covers for submissions are not required in most instances. (Refer to guidelines however in the case of dissertations).
• The Business School has a policy of anonymous marking of individual assessments which applies to most modules. You should not identify yourself directly in the work you submit and you may need to use phrases such as “the author of this assignment ….”in the detail of your submission.
Avoid academic misconduct
Warning: Collusion, plagiarism and cheating are very serious offences that can result in a student being expelled from the University. The Business School has a policy of actively identifying students who engage in academic misconduct of this nature and routinely applying detection techniques including the use of sophisticated software packages.
• Avoid Collusion. The Business School encourages group working, however to avoid collusion always work on your own when completing individual assessments. Do not let fellow students have access to your work at any stage and do not be tempted to access the work of others. Refer to your module tutor if you do not understand or you need further guidance.
• Avoid Plagiarism. You must use available and relevant literature to demonstrate your knowledge of a subject, however to avoid plagiarism you must take great care to acknowledge it properly.Plagiarism is the act of stealing someone else’s work and passing it off as your own. This includes incorporating either unattributed direct quotation(s) or substantial paraphrasing from the work of another/others. For this reason it is important that you cite all the sources whose work you have drawn on and reference them fully in accordance with the Harvard referencing standard. (This includes citing any work that you may have submitted yourself previously). Extensive direct quotations in assessed work is ill advised because it represents a poor writing style, and it could lead to omission errors and a plagiarism offence could be committed accidentally.
• Avoid the temptation to “commission” work or to cheat in other ways. There are temptations on the internet for you to take “short cuts”. Do not be tempted to either commission work to be completed on your behalf or search for completed past academic work.
When you submit your work you will be required to sign an important declaration that the submission is your own work, any material you have used has been acknowledged and referenced, you have not allowed another student to have access to your work, the work has not been submitted previously, etc.
Assessment Brief/ Task
The detailed requirements for this task are as follows:
You will be assigned a currency pairing. For your assigned currency paring you will be tasked with examining its performance over the period of 1st October to 1st November 2015. Based upon your examination of its performance, you are now tasked with designing a hedging strategy using a derivative contract of your choice (you are only allowed a single class of derivative contract, for example you are allowed to use both a put and a call option but not a combination of options and futures). The design process should include a consideration of your selected hedging strategy against alternatives (i.e. the contracts that you have not used) and an indication for the selection of your contract of choice.
You are required to critically evaluate the hedging strategy that you have used in relation to your assigned currency pair. Your critical evaluation should show extensive consideration for the current state of the FOREX markets and arguments should include both academic and practical support. All work should be complied into a 3000 word (maximum) report and submitted MX Student Centre on the (Friday 15th of January 2016 @1600hrs).
Note: Going extensively over the word limit could result in a penalty of up to 10% of the overall assessment mark.
The following information is important when:
• Preparing for your assessment
• Checking your work before you submit it
• Interpreting feedback on your work after marking.
Assessment Criteria
The module learning outcomes tested by this assessment task are indicated on page 1. The precise criteria against which your work will be marked is as follows:
• Content and theory
• Secondary research
• Critical analysis
• Academic writing
• Presentation and referencing
Performance descriptors
Performance descriptors indicate how marks will be arrived at against each of the above criteria. The descriptors indicate the likely characteristics of work that is marked within the percentage bands indicated.
90-100% Outstanding understanding, analysis and application of international finance theories and concepts. Outstanding evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Outstanding argument comprehensively supported by the evidence. Exceptional conclusion and recommendation thoroughly supported by the evidence provided. Exceptionally structured and written piece of work fully referenced using the Harvard System.
80-89% Excellent understanding, analysis and application of international finance theories and concepts. Excellent evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Excellent argument fully supported by the evidence. Excellent conclusion and recommendation fully supported by the evidence provided. Excellently structured and written piece of work fully referenced using the Harvard System.
70-79% Very good understanding, analysis and application of international finance theories and concepts. Very good evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Very good, sound argument largely supported by the evidence. Very good conclusion and recommendation largely supported by the evidence provided. Very well structured and written piece of work fully referenced using the Harvard System.
60-69% Good understanding, analysis and application of internationalfinance theories and concepts. Good evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Good argument generally supported by evidence. Good conclusion and recommendation largely supported by the evidence provided. Well-structured and written piece of work fully referenced using the Harvard System.
50-59% Competent understanding, analysis and application of internationalfinance theories and concepts. Competent evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Competent argument reasonably supported by evidence. Competent conclusion and recommendation variably supported by the evidence provided. Competently structured and written piece of work fully referenced using the Harvard System.
40-49% Basic understanding, analysis and application of international finance theories and concepts. Basic evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Basic argument with limited supporting evidence. Basic conclusion and recommendation with limited supporting evidence provided. Basically structured and written piece of work fully referenced using the Harvard System.
30-39% Weak/superficial understanding, analysis and application of internationalfinance theories and concepts. Weak evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Weak argument insufficiently supported by evidence. Weak conclusion and recommendation with little support from the evidence provided. Weakly structured and written piece of work poorly referenced using the Harvard System.
20-29% Poor understanding, analysis and application of international finance theories and concepts. Poor evaluation and synthesis of theory and evidence. Poor argument not supported by the provision of evidence. Poor conclusion and recommendation with no support from the evidence provided. Poorly structured and written piece of work poorly referenced using the Harvard System.
10-19% Little to no attempt to engage with the assignment brief
0-9% No real attempt to address the assignment brief
To help you further:
• Refer to the WOLF topic for contact details of your module leader/tutor, tutorial inputs, recommended reading and other sources, etc. Resit details will also appear on WOLF.
• The University’s Learning Information Services offer support and guidance to help you with your studies and develop your academic skills http://www.wlv.ac.uk/lib/skills_for_learning/study_guides.aspx
Recommended Reading
Brown, G. W. (2001) Managing Foreign Exchange Risk with Derivatives, Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 60, No. 2 – 3, pp. 401 – 448
Chong, L., Chang, X. and Tan, S. (2014) Determinants of Corporate Foreign Exchange Risk Hedging, Journal of Managerial Finance, Nol. 40, No. 2, pp. 176 – 188
Fama, E.F.(1970) “Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work.”, Journal of Finance, vol. 25, pp. 383-417.
Harvey, C. R. and Huang, R. D. (1991) Volatility in the Foreign Currency Futures Market, The Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 543 – 569
Hau, H. and Rey, H. (2006) Exchange Rates, Equity Prices and Capital Flows, The Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 273 – 317
Madura, J and Fox, R. (2011) International Financial Management, 2nd Ed, Cengage Learning, U.K.
Pilbeam, K. (2013) International Finance, 4th Ed, Palgrave Macmillian, U.K.
Wickens, M.R. and Smith, P. N. (2002) Macroeconomic Sources of FOREX Risk, Paper presented to the Metu-Erc conference, Ankara, Turkey