Futures

Futures contract means a contract to buy or sell a specific amount of the financial asset (securities, currencies, equity indices, interest rates, raw materials, etc.) at an agreed price on a given future date. The client buying and selling a futures contract pays to the bank a mediation fee which depends upon the exchange where the particular futures are traded and the amount of purchased or sold contracts.
By concluding a futures contract you risk that due to unfavourable future change of the financial asset price you will have to perform the contract at a price lower than market price and will incur losses.

All conditions of a futures contract, excluding its price, are standardised:

  1. financial assets (securities, currencies, equity indices, interest rates, etc.);
  2. amount of one contract;
  3. last trading day for a futures contract.

Comparison of the Futures and Options

For the purpose of concluding a futures contract, you can:

  • assume a long position, i.e. buy a futures contract expecting that the market price of a specific financial asset will rise;

    Example of the futures contract – long position

  • assume a short position, i.e. sell a futures contract expecting that the market price of a specific financial asset will fall;

    Example of the futures contract – short position
  • you don’t need to have full amount necessary for concluding the contract, it is enough to hold funds for the submission of collateral and for mediation fee;
  • use the leverage effect – the value of collateral is smaller than the existing financial asset value and therefore you can get higher profit or incur greater loss than in case of investing into selected financial instruments.

Main conditions of provision of the service

  • You need an account with Swedbank.
  • To sign the agreements on the provision of Financial derivatives traded on regulated markets, mediation services and agreements on the provision of electronic services in the nearest Swedbank branch.
  • Futures contracts may be concluded both, by legal and natural persons. Customers, whose business is related with securities, trade in raw materials (oil products, metal, grain, wood, etc.), currencies, interest rates, etc. can obtain insurance cover against changes in asset prices.