During 1999, a number of major Australian insurance companies reported substantial losses flowing from the re-insurance of earthquake, hurricane and tornado risk. This article explains the structure of catastrophe-risk securitisations and other capital market alternatives to the reinsurance of...

This article explains the nature of hedge funds and, in particular, the main investment strategies followed by hedge funds. It also provides an overview of the Australian hedge fund sector. The article, in contrast to the majority of the legal commentary on hedge funds, examines hedge funds from...

This article discusses new index-based investments known as quot;geared betaquot; strategies. These strategies employ derivative instruments to achieve dramatic outperformance of market returns.Mutual funds which use enhanced indexing strategies can be classified as follows: those that employ...

This research paper provides a brief introduction to Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and describes the features that distinguish ETFs from other investment instruments (such as index mutual funds, active mutual funds, listed investment companies/trusts and share baskets).The paper explains how...

This article discusses an innovative enhanced indexing strategy known as quot;portable alphaquot;. A portable alpha strategy, in essence, involves overlaying the return from an external fund or internal strategy that has consistently generated alpha with a derivatives-created index exposure. A...

This paper reviews 'Building the Global Market: A 4000 Year History of Derivatives' by E J Swan (published in 2000).'Building the Global Market' focuses on the use of derivatives in the ancient Middle East (Chapter 2), ancient Greece and Rome (Chapter 3), Bruges and the Italian city states...

Credit derivatives have, to date, mainly been used to disaggregate and lay-off the static credit risk on loan portfolios (including residential mortgage loans, commercial loans, car loans, credit card receivables, and margin lending receivables), and manage syndication and subparticipation...

The security interest is one of the most important devices used by financiers to manage credit risk. A financier that holds a security interest over the assets of a debtor enjoys considerable advantages over those creditors of the debtor who do not - since the security interest confers on the...

This book provides an extensive analysis of the equitable doctrine of marshalling as it applies to secured debt. There is detailed and systematic reference to the application of marshalling in the United Kingdom, in particular the conditions that must be satisfied before marshalling will assist...