Cl,apter 34: Futures and Futures Options 6S3 
are traded in order to receive complete details. However, whenever examples are 
used, full details of the contracts used in those examples are given. 
FUTURES CONTRACTS 
Before getting into options on futures, a few words about futures contracts them­
selves may prove beneficial. Recall that a futures contract is a standardized contract 
calling for the delivery of a specified quantity of a certain commodity at some future 
time. Future contracts are listed on a wide variety of commodities and financial 
instruments. In some cases, one must make or take delivery of a specific quantity of 
a physical commodity (50,000 bushels of soybeans, for example). These are known as 
futures on physicals. In others, the futures settle for cash as do the S&P 500 Index 
futures described in a previous chapter; there are other futures that have this same 
feature (Eurodollar time deposits, for example). These types of futures are cash­
based, or cash settlement, futures. 
In terms of total numbers of contracts listed on the various exchanges, the more 
common type of futures contract is one with a physical commodity underlying it. 
These are sometimes broken down into subcategories, such as agricultural futures 
(those on soybeans, oats, coffee, or orange juice) and financial futures (those on U.S. 
Treasury bonds, bills, and notes). 
Traders not familiar with futures sometimes get them confused with options. 
There really is very little resemblance between futures and options. Think of futures 
as stock with an expiration date. 
That is, futures contracts can rise dramatically in price and can fall all the way 
to nearly zero (theoretically), just as the price of a stock can. Thus, there is great 
potential for risk. Conversely, with ownership of an option, risk is limited. The only 
real similarity between futures and options is that both have an expiration date. In 
reality, futures behave much like stock, and the novice should understand that con­
cept before moving on. 
HEDGING 
The primary economic function of futures markets is hedging - taking a futures 
position to offset the risk of actually owning the physical commodity. The physical 
commodity or financial instrument is known as the "cash." For index futures, this 
hedging was designed to remove the risk from owning stocks (the "cash market" that 
underlies index futures). A portfolio manager who owned a large quantity of stocks 
could sell index futures against the stock to remove much of the price risk of that