Mortgage-Backed Securities: Securitization and Processing Introduction

In this article, we will learn about the Mortgage-Backed Securities, the Securitization process and Introduction to Securitization process . Though this article may not be covering the full minute details about entire Securitization process, but it will give you a clear introduction about the process and steps involved in the Securitization Process for Mortgage-Backed Securities. It will also talk about the various market participants, the types of Mortgage-Backed Securities, the models to be followed and related topics.

-- Participants in the Securitization and Processing of Mortgage-Backed Securities: Who all participate in the Securitization and Processing of Mortgage-Backed Securities? Here is the list of market and process participants
  -- Investors of Securitization Processing
  -- Originators in Securitization Processing: These are typically Banks, institutional investors, funding partners or Lenders
  -- Issuers: Something similar to the BRLM or Book running lead managers of a fresh issue. They are typically Agencies, Banks, Lenders
  -- Guarantor of Securitization Processing
  -- Dealers of Securitization Processing
  -- Servicers Organizations in Securitization Processing

-- Basic Mortgagle Facts about the Securitization and Processing of Mortgage-Backed Securities:
  -- Lien
  -- Amortization schedule
  -- Residential
  -- Commercial
  -- Characteristics of mortgages
  -- Types of mortgages
  -- Mortgage cash flows

-- Guarantees provided by the Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) in the Securitization and Processing of Mortgage-Backed Securities:
  -- Government National Mortgage Association
  -- Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
  -- Federal National Mortgage Association

-- Fundamental Types of Mortgage Backed Securities: Basics of Mortgage Backed Securities
  -- Conforming
  -- Non-Conforming

-- Securitization Process Model in the Securitization and Processing of Mortgage-Backed Securities:
  -- Origination
  -- Securitization
  -- Secondary Market
  -- Investors
  -- Servicers
  -- Mortgage Rates versus MBS Coupon
  -- Cash Flows

-- Characteristics of the Mortgage Backed Securities:
  -- Types of mortgage pass-through securities
  -- Characteristics of pass-through securities
  -- Demographics
  -- Seasonal patterns
  -- Home sales
  -- Availability of money
  -- WAC - WAM - WALA
  -- Prepayments - PSA benchmark

-- An introduction to the MBS Marketplace (Securitization and Processing of Mortgage-Backed Securities):
  -- Over The Counter
  -- Trade Types
  -- Transaction Size
  -- Variance
  -- Settlement Periods

-- Process Lifecycle of a MBS Trade in the (Securitization and Processing of Mortgage-Backed Securities):
  -- Execution of Securitization Processing
  -- Risk Assesment and Management Process in Securitization Processing
  -- Trading and Allocation of capital and resources in Securitization Processing
  -- Settlement Processing of Securitization Processing

Fixed Income Trade Lifecycle: Introduction, Example, Process & Functions

In this article, we will explain the Fixed Income Trade Lifecycle. All topics, examples, introductions, steps and processes involved in Fixed Income Trade Lifecycle are explained.

Related: Fixed Income Securities Market: Introduction & Example
-- Fixed Income Products of Fixed income Market : What makes up a particular market? It's the assets that are traded (bought or sold) in that market. Hence, a good starting point for Fixed income Market Introduction will be the Fixed income Security types. Let's begin with the introduction of the assets traded in the Fixed Income Security Markets. Here is the list:

-- US Government Fixed Income Securities

-- Municipal Fixed Income Securities

-- Corporate Fixed Income Securities

-- MBS Fixed Income Securities

-- CMO Fixed Income Securities

-- ABS Fixed Income Securities

-- Participant of Fixed income Market :

-- Buy-side Fixed Income Market Participants: These are the typical big investors, which may include Insurance Companies, Investment firms, Portfolio Management companies, func houses, etc.

-- Sell-side Fixed Income Market Participants: These are the typical market makers. They act as broker dealers and maintain required liquidity in the market.

-- Industry Utilities Fixed Income Market Participants

-- Industry Service Organizations Fixed Income Market Participants

-- Fixed income Markets : Different products are traded differently. For e.g. though these is a lot of online shopping, but people still prefer to purchase fresh vegetables from the farmers in the local vegetable market. Similarly, most of the Fixed Income Securities being the OTC (Over the Counter) Securitites, are having different kinds of markets for them.

-- Marketplaces for Trading Fixed Income Market

-- Electronic Trading for Fixed Income Market

-- Telephonic Trading for Fixed Income Market

-- Inter-dealer Brokers Trading for Fixed Income Market, where trading is done between 2 brokers or dealers

-- Order Processing & Execution of Fixed income Market :

-- Order Receipt & acknowledgement

-- Routing to the clearing & settlement agency

-- Middle Office Functions of Fixed income Market :

-- Trade Entry into the system for enrichment and validatiopns

-- Trade Reporting to counterparty, custodian, regulators, etc.

-- Inventory Management - involves book keeping, margin requirements, etc.

-- Confirmation/Affirmation - Instructions sent electronically or snail mail for confirmation of trades and acknowledgements.

-- Trade Comparison in Fixed income Market :

-- Real Time Trade Matching

-- Industry Utility

-- Processing of Trade

-- Clearance Function in Fixed income Market :

-- Trade Guarantee

-- Central Counterparty

-- Novation

-- Industry Utility

-- Settlement in Fixed income Market :

-- Environments

-- Exchange of Value

-- Federal Reserve/Clearing Banks

-- Depository Trust Company

-- Fail Control & Financing Opportunities in Fixed income Market :

-- Fails

-- Financing

-- Securities Borrow/Loan

-- Inventory Control in Fixed income Market :

-- Depository Trust Company

-- Federal Reserve/Clearing Banks

-- Physical Securities

-- Stock Record in Fixed income Market :

-- Books & Records

-- Income or Money Collection & Income Distribution in Fixed income Market :

-- Interest

-- Principal Repayments

-- Corporate Action Processing of Fixed income Securities Market :

-- Types of Events

-- Event Processes

-- Trends Identifiers of Fixed income Market Trading:

-- Fixed Income Trading – On an Exchange?

-- The Impact of Credit Rating Agency Optimism

Interest Rate Futures: Introduction, Examples & Tutorials to Interest Rate Futures

Interest Rate Futures IRF are something that are gaining real good popularity. They are a kind of derivatives, which are based on interest rates, and offer hedging, arbitrage and speculative opportunities for various market participants.

Typically, it will be the banks which will get into Interest Rate Futures Contracts. However, with the invent and opening up of the Interest Rate Futures & other derivatives as listed products on leading stock exchanges of the world, now even the retail investors and traders can also put in their money into Interest Rate Futures & Derivatives.

In this article, we will talk about the various interest rates futures and derivatives. We will cover examples of Interest Rate Futures, Interest Rate Derivatives and provide a guideline to the topics covered as a course content for Interest Rate Futures & Derivatives.

Related How Interest rates affect stock prices

With the high volatility in the interest rates market and its negative correlation with the stock market returns (though debatable) and the recent recession, it has become clear that nothing in this world can remain stable and the same applies to the interest rate markets. Hence, just because you've bought a 20 year long bond which promised 10% annual return, it does not mean that the interest rates will remain the same during the whole 20 year period, and the price of the bond will also fluctuate because of the variation in the interest rates markets. Hence, it is very very important, not only for the traders and banks, but also for the retail investors like you and me, to be aware of the interest rates fluctutations and its affect on the overall market and the various financial instruments.

Here are the contents of any course on the Interest Rate Futures:

-- Interest Rate Futures terminology and definitions
-- Characteristics & Types of interest rate futures
-- Interest Rate Futures contracts as against the securities
-- Interest Rate Futures Risk management Methods and Procedures
-- Treasury Bond and Note for Interest Rate Futures Contracts

-- Interest Rate Futures - Underlying/deliverable instrument

-- Interest Rate Futures Basket delivery
-- Interest Rate Futures Conversion factors
-- Cheapest to deliver Interest Rate Futures and
-- Interest Rate Futures with regard to the implied repo rate
-- Implied put option for Interest Rate Futures
-- Trading in Interest Rate Futures
-- Risk management methods & applications for Interest Rate Futures
-- Interest Rate Futures and the Eurodollar Futures

-- Underlying instrument - Eurodollar deposit

-- Libor (London Inter Bank Offered Rate) - its affect on Interest Rate Futures
-- Methods of Interest Rate Futures Price Valuations - Index or discount pricing method, point values method and basis points method
-- Cash settlement only contracts
-- Cash market basis of final settlement price
-- Swaps for Interest Rate Futures


-- Terminology and definitions
-- Swap contract features for Interest Rate Futures
-- Interest rate swap contract cash flows and risks
-- Other types of interest rate swaps - amortizing, accreting and basis swaps
-- Risk management applications
-- Swaptions and Interest Rate Futures

CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE: Euro USD Forex ETF Product: Review, Analysis & Details

Since the introduction of Euro in the European region, the Euro-USD Forex Exchange rates has been fluctuating widely. However, since the last 2 years or so, Euro has really becoming strong as compared to USD dollar (Forex Rate) and if you go by the recession that had hit primarily the US markets, it has led to Euro becoming more and more stronger.
Moreover, there have been some news items mentioning that some countries (like in Middle-East) are reportedly attempting the get rid of the Dollar Dependence and trying to sell oil contracts in their own respective currencies. All this is leading to a lot of volatility in the USD FOrex Exchagne Rate.
This fluctuations in forex rates have severly hit the exporters, importers, MNC companies across the globe and now everyone is attempting to look for a Forex Risk Management and Forex Hedging.

Wont it be nice if we can have a product which allows us to make investments in the Euro-USD forex, like a mutual fund or an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which is traded on an exchange and enables enough liquidity for investing, trading and hedging purposes for Forex Rates Fluctuations?
In this article, we will talk about such Forex Rate ETF or FOrex Exchange Traded Prodcuts, which offer enough liquidity for investing, trading and hedging purposes for Forex Rates Fluctuations

The CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE from Rydex Investments is one such good option available to investors who can benefit from investing or trading in the units of this exchagne traded product and achieve the aim of hedging against forex rates fluctuations.

What is CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE?
CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE, is an exchange traded product tracking the price of the euro, in USD. Hence, it can be easily used for arbitrage traders or market makers who are betting their money on EUR-USD forex contracts or by traders (exporters/ importers) who want to hedge themselves from the fluctuations in EUR-USD forex prices.

Which Benchmark does the CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE follow?
The benchmark product followed by CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE is the WM Reuters Euro Closign Spot rates, which are quoted in USD.

What is the unit for investment in CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE?
The no. of EUR per share for CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE is 100.

What are the trading benefits of Currency Shares Euro Trust FXE?
For traders, it allows short selling, which means that traders can also go short on the EUR-USD contracts and benefit from them.
-- Protects against wide currency flcutuations and hence reduces the risk
-- Enables short term trading benefits
-- Allows easy trading in Forex Contracts without an overseas brokerage account
-- Low brokerage and transaction costs
-- CurrencyShares will be backed by the assets of the Trust

What has been the historical performance of CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE?
This graph below will illustrate how the EUR-USD has been fluctuating for this CurrencyShares Euro Trust FXE product. Also note that there appears to be a perfect correlation of this EUR-USD Forex Product with the EUR-USD forex rates.



Is this product risk free?
Nothing in this world comes for free and the same goes for this product. Check the ups and downs in the graph above for this product. It will tell you that there is no one direction for this product. EUR-USD price fluctuations can go either way.

Fixed Income Securities Market: Introduction, Example, Market Participants & Types of Fixed Income Securities

In this article, we will discuss about Fixed Income Securities Market, The types of Fixed Income Securities, The Market Participants for Fixed Income Securities and how the market for Fixed Income Securities workds?

-- Participants of the Fixed Income Securities: :
? Investors of the Fixed Income Securities: These may be long term or short term investors and may inlcude retail investors (small amount investments) to large investors (million-billion dollar amount investments)

? Issuers of the Fixed Income Securities: The banks, organizations, governments who actually issue new Fixed Income Securities

? Sell-side of the Fixed Income Securities: These are broker dealers who make the markets and fulfill the demands of

? Service Organizations of the Fixed Income Securities:

-- Bond Concepts or Fixed Income Securities Concepts: There are certain concepts on which any product is based, same goes for the financial products. The Fixed Income Securities are based on the concepts of Interest Rates(heavily) and minutely on other factors like inflation, other macro-economic factors, etc.

? Interest Rates

o Conventional Yield Measures

? Ratings

? Term

? Yield Curves

-- Fixed Income Securities : In this section, we cover the basic types and characteristics of the Fixed Income Securities.

? Types & Characteristics of Fixed Income Securities

o Government securities

? Treasury bills

? Notes

? Bonds

? Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS, I- bonds)

? Agency securities

o Mortgage backed securities

? Agency

? Non-conforming

o Asset backed securities

? CMO

? Cash Flow

o Credit card receivables: Not for individuals, but this is for the banks issuing the credit cards and have an outstanding receivable from the credit card holders.

o Auto loans:

o Receivables:

o State and local government

? General obligation;

? Revenue

o Corporate bonds

? General obligation

? Indentures

-- Trading MarketPlaces:

? Traditional Exchanges

? Over the Counter

? Electronic Markets

? Quotes

-- Risks/Reward:

? Risks

o Default

o Interest Rate

o Inflation

o Liquidity

? Rewards

o Capital Gains

o Interest Income

o Entitlements

? Remedies in the Event of Default

Portfolio Management: Introduction, Types, Risks and Services of Portfolio Management

In this article, we will present the basic overview and ingredients of the concepts, process and tools of portfolio management. Every portfolio management task should begin with a well defined aim, and looking at the aim of the portfolio, the investors take a call whether they wish to invest in the portfolio or not. So basically, the aim and objective of a portfolio management scheme is very important.

The discussion will consider how these factors vary across investors for various types of institutional as well as individual investors. Asset allocation decisions and their implications are also important parameters for an investor to decide whether to put his hard earned money into these portfolio schemes or not.

We present a broad level overview of the topics which will be discussed in portfolio management. They include: Portfolio management styles; performance of active versus passive strategies; measuring risk and calculating risk adjusted returns; performance attribution; selection of appropriate benchmarks, etc.

Topics for portfolio management includes the following:
? Introduction to Portfolio Management
o Investment Objective Setting
o Modern Portfolio Theory
o Risk and Return - Definition, Sources and Quantification
o Asset Allocation - Definition, Importance, Tactical versus Strategic

? Fixed Income Portfolio Management
o Active versus Passive Fixed Income Portfolio Management
o Active Portfolio Management Styles
o Indexed Portfolios
o Assessing Performance

? Equity Portfolio Management
o Active versus Passive Equity Portfolio Management
o Active Portfolio Management Styles
o Indexed Portfolios
o Assessing Performance

After going through these topics in detail, a financial consultant, a portfolio manager or anyone should be able to:
? Describe the characteristic features of various portfolio management styles (active, passive, semi-active/passive, indexing, etc.) and implications for security selection and portfolio construction of the different styles
? Discuss basic issues in assessing investment management performance including defining, differentiating and relating to one another: measurement of investment returns, performance assessment, and return attribution
? Identify key elements of MPT (Modern Portfolio Theory) and CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) and recognize how particular aspects of each are used in quantifying risk and assessing returns
? Discuss investor rationale for adopting indexing strategies, including types of indexing (full portfolio replication, enhanced indexing, etc.), impact on expected risk and return as well as fee and expense related issues
? Define commonly used risk measures (standard deviation of return, Beta & duration) and describe their use in quantifying and expressing risk as well as assessing performance

BMO ETF: Bank of Montreal ETF Review, Analysis and Details

The Bank of Montreal has come out with its ETF's or Exchange Traded Funds in the month of February 2009. Though the time is not that long duration to provide an overview and performance monitoring of these ETF's launched by BMO or Bank of Montreal, still these ETFs are worth considering. Given their diversified nature and the broad category of index and sectors which these ETF's are based on, it is surely worth considering to check with these ETF of Bank of Montreal.

BMO Canadian Government Bond Index ETF?? ZGB : Primarily, this ETF focuses on the Government Bond issued by the Canada Government. Investors who are looking to benefit from the stability in Canada and hence returns from these Canada Govt Bonds, can opt for this ETF.

BMO Dow Jones Canada Titans 60 Index ETF?? ZCN :
This ETF attempts to replicate the Dow Jones Canada Titans 60 Index. Since this is specific to Canada, it means that the underlying index will have only the top 60 stocks of Canada. A good option for investors to benefit from the top titans of Canadian stock markets.

BMO US Equity Index ETF?? ZUE :
This can be a good hedging option - for individal traders who wish to play arbitrage between US and Canada stocks.

BMO Dow Jones Diamonds Index ETF?? ZDJ :
Dont go by the name Diamonds, as this fund really has nothing to do with Diamonds. It replicates the Dow Jones Industrial Average (CAD hedging) Index.

BMO Short Federal Bond Index ETF?? ZFS :
This fund tracks the performance of the DEX Short Term Federal Bond Index. A safe bet for investor who have faith in the Federal bonds.

BMO Short Provincial Bond Index ETF?? ZPS :
This fund tracks the performance of the DEX Short Term Provincial Bond Index. A good option for investors who prefer bond investments with less risk appetite.

BMO Short Corporate Bond Index ETF?? ZCS :
Tracks the performance of the DEX Short Term Corporate Bond Index. Investors who trust corporate bonds can opt for this ETF investments.

BMO High Yield US Corporate Bond Hedged to CAD Index ETF?? ZHY :


BMO S&P/TSX Equal Weight Banks Index ETF?? ZEB :
Another ETF from BOM, specific to Canadian banks. It offers a diversified and equal weighted investments in various Canadian bank stocks.

BMO S&P/TSX Equal Weight Oil & Gas Index ETF?? ZEO :
This Oild and Gas ETF offers exposure to the diversified set of investments in equal weighted proportion in a portfolio that consists of common shares of Canadian oil and gas companies. A good option for investors looking for investing in Canada based Oil and Gas companies.

BMO Emerging Markets Equity Index ETF?? ZEM :
Tracks the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Total Stock Market Specialty Index.

BMO International Equity Hedged to CAD Index ETF?? ZDM :

BMO S&P/TSX Equal Weight Global Base Metals Hedged to CAD Index ETF?? ZMT :