Chapter 1 Flashcards

(197 cards)

1
Q

4 main functions of financial services industry

A

Financial intermediary

Pooling and managing risk

Payments and settlement services

Portfolio management

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What do financial intermediary provide channels for

A

To move funds from savers to borrowers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How do financial intermediaries reduce info and transaction costs

A

Providing services that allow savers to become investors

Ensuring adequate provision of info

Allowing borrowers to access range of savers that can meet variety of terms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q
A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

How can savers supply funds

A

Directly - holding debt or equity

Indirectly - through banks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Who performs financial intermediary roles

A

Banks
Building societies
Insurance
Pensions
Open ended investment companies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Benefits of pooled investments

A

Allow investment into wider variety of investments than they would be individually which reduces overall individual risk

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

How can people manage risk

A

Insurance allows transfer of risk in return for premium

Derivatives market management risk exposures

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Who are settlement services provided by

A

Clearing houses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is central bank 3

A

Sets monetary framework for which financial organisations operate

Set short term i rates

Lender of last resort in illiquidity crisis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q
A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Surplus agents

A

Typically households

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Deficit agents

A

Those who need to borrow - firms and governments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Deposit institutions and what happen sand examples

A

Accept deposits from economic agents and deposits become liabilities for these institutions

Commercial Banks and building socs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What types of assets do general and life insurnace firms hold

A

Life - Tend to cover longer periods to hold long term assets

General - shorter term assets due to greater need for cash

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q
A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q
A
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Four gov functions?

A

Providing services that private firms cannot

Regulating firms and markets to protect consumer

Interveni`no in the wealth distribution of private transactions

Stabilising the economy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Two types of financial asset

A

Debt and equity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Characteristic of bank deposits and normal loans

A

Not trade able

Most other loans are tradeable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Benfit of indirect investment

A

Greater diversification

Less transaction costs

Access to specialist expertise

Ability to invest in assets otherwise not investbale

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Three parties in unit trust

A

Manager

Trustee - unconnected from manager

Unit holders

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Main role of trustee in unit trust

A

Ensure fund manager runs funds to its objectives and goals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Characteristic of unit trust

A

Open ended - new units created when investors want to invest

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Use of derivative s
To speculate Use to access difficult to access assets
26
What are money markets and capital markets
Money market shave securities of less than a year Capital markets- maturities of greater than a year
27
What do security markets do
Raise capital Transfer risk - derivatives markets Price discovery - Creating liquidity
28
Examples of sell side and buy side
Sell side - IB, Banks, brokers Buy side - investment managers
29
Two types of price dissemination and explain them
Pre trade transparent - publishes real time data about quotes and orders Post trade transparent - publishes trade prices and sizes shortly after trades occur
30
What do buy side traders value
Transparency - better understand trades
31
What do sell side traders value
Opaqueness bc they have info advantage over counterparties
32
What rule requires pre and post trade transparency
MiFID II
33
What happens to spreads of bid ask prices in times of transparency and opaqueness
Widen in opaque Narrow in transparent
34
In order driven markets, how can liquidity be judged
Differences between the best buy and sell prices in order book
35
What can make a market liquid
Large number of buyers and sellers
36
Why illiquid assets difficult to sell
Uncertainty about future market value and lack of market depth
37
Liquidity risk?
Not being able to sell asset quick enough resulting in loss of value
38
What characteristics mean high operational efficiency and and what is a a buy product of operational efficiency
Transparent market that are liquid with low transaction costs Leads Informational efficiency as prices reflect all info about asset
39
Other implicit trading costs
Bid ask spread Price of impact at trade - usually costs go down with larger trades, or large buys can lead to further demand Opportunity cost (cost of waiting) - buy trade spread over two days to prevent significant adverse price impact
40
Explicit costs of trading and examples
Brokerage commission 10-20bps for large trades 100-150 for smaller trades
41
42
Taxes on commission made by brokers …
Do not currently attract VAT
43
Stamp duty reserve tax
Payable on all transactions by the purchaser and is levied at a rate of 0.5%
44
What is crest
Allows investors to hold shares in electronic format rather than paper
45
For crest and no crest transactions, how is stamp duty reserve tax done
For crest settled transactions, rounded to nearest 1p Otherwise it is rounded to nearest £5
46
What is the PTM Levy
Levy of £1 on all purchases and sales in excess of£10,000 is charged to finance takeover panel
47
Purchasing rates for gilts
0.5%-1% for purchases below £5000 Purchases in excess of 1 million have no charges
48
When are gilt transactions settled
The next day
49
What are gilt purchases exempt from
Stamp duty reserve tax
50
Purchases that are stamp duty reserve tax exempt
Gilt purchases Loan stocks Foreign securities registered outside uk Bearer securities Traded options through ICE Futures Europe
51
Two costs for unit trusts and OEICs
Entry cost Ongoing charges figure
52
What is the average ongoing charges cost for active and passive funds
Active = 0.9% Passive = 0.15%
53
What do retail customers usually pay per trade
5-12.50 pounds
54
How can people reduce transaction costs s
Employ skillfull brokers Electronic algorithms to manage trading Hidden orders to hide their size
55
What rule harmonised uk equity trading with Europe
MiFID
56
Three type of order execution venues permitted under MiFID
Regulated markets Multi lateral trading facilities Systematic internalisers
57
What was the fourth execution venue and when introduced
Organised trading facility MiFID II
58
What two market models does the LSE offer
SETS and SETSqx
59
What’s is SETS What is traded on them
Electronic limit order book used to trade stocks FTSE shares AIM ETFs ETPs
60
How is liquidity of sets underpinned and what does it ensure
Underpinned by provision of market maker electronically executable quotes Ensure traders trade at least one exchange markets size (EMS)
61
What is the exchange markets size (EMS)
Market maker is obliged to quote bid/offer prices that are firm for orders up to the EMS
62
What is the call period
Matching bid/offer executed in a limited timeframe (ten minutes at opening, 5 minutes at close)
63
What is an uncrossing
When most popular price has been found at the end of call period, orders that can be matched are executed
64
What’s SETSqx and what does it combine
Stock trading platform that is less liquid than those covered by SETS Combines periodic electronic trading book with non electric quite driven market making
65
66
What occurs during the day for SETSqx
Multiple uncrossing at 8am, 9am, 11am , 2pm and close
67
What do market makers in SETSqx do
Have wide spreads to mitigate risk from being in illiquid market s
68
What is SEAQ
Quote display system used as the price reference point for telephone execution between market participants and registered market makers
69
What is SEAQ used for
Fixed interest securities and AIM securities that aren’t traded on SETS and SETSqx
70
What is LCH
Central counterparty to all SETS, SETSqx trades
71
What does LCH aim to do
Clearing members acting on behalf of firms tradin on SETS and SETSqx are not exposed to any risk of default
72
How does LCH manage risk
Collecting margin from members
73
74
What is the international order book
Electronic order book that trades international securities in form of depository receipts on LSE
75
What is the European quoting service
Quote driven market making and trade reporting platform that supports all liquid EU securities
76
How do market makers work with European quoting service
Non electronically executable quotes during mandatory quote period
77
What is the current settlement characteristics for LSE and US markets
Equity transactions settle T+2 working days for LSE, Settlement is made through CREST T+1 for US
78
How are gilts settled
CREST, T+1
79
What does cap offer
Counter party risk clearing
80
How does LSE operate for bonds
Electronic order book for retail bonds Order driven trading service
81
82
Who issues gilts and how do they do it
Debt management office Auction
83
What must gilt edged market makers do
Continually quote bid ask prices and must trade at these prices so that investors always have liquidity
84
What are GEMMs also expected to do
Participate in primary gilt issuance Provide DMO with relevant data Accept DMO monitoring arranagemnts
85
Benefits of GEMMs
Eligible to submit cometeive bids for gilts at auction by DMO Also have opportunity to strip and reconstitute gilts
86
How are corporate bonds sold
Open offer for sale = lead bank buys bonds and then resells to investors or private placing
87
88
What is bought deal
If lead bank of bond issuance buys bonds and sells them to the syndicate
89
What is fixed price re offering
Lead manager and syndicate buy bonds together and offer them at a fixed price for certain period
90
How is market liquidity provided in corporate bonds and how are the counter parties to trading
Liquidity provided by dealers and market participants Bank or securities firm acting as dealer
91
What is a dual listed company
Corporate structure in which two corporations function as a single operating business through a legal equalisation agreement But retain seperate legal identities and stock exchange listings
92
What do legal contracts for DLC do
Specify how ownership is shared and ensures equal treatment of the two firms shareholders and cahsflows
93
Benefits of DLC
Capital gains Tax advantages
94
What do DLCs usually share
Board of dircetors
95
96
Types of communication on exchanges
Hand signal Voice Discrete electronic message Computer generated electronic commands
97
What type of trade is an OTC trade
Off the book
98
What are multi lateral trading facilities
Trading platforms organised by investment firms or market operators which bring together third party buyers and sellers like banks or pension funds
99
Why have MTFs been set up and what is largest MTF
To compete with transaction costs of exchanges BATS Chi-x Europe
100
Systematic internaliser?
Investment firm that deals on its own account by executing customer order flows in liquid shares outside either regulated market or an MTF
101
What does MiFID enforce on systematic internalisers
Requires firm to publish and honour buy and sell prices up to the standard market size
102
What is an organised trading facility
Multilateral system that is not a regulated market or MTF Where third party interest in bonds and structured products, derivatives and emission allowances are able to interact in system in a way that results in a contract
103
When was OTFs introduced
MiFID II
104
What are dark pools
Electronic crossing. Networks that provide liquidity which is not displayed on a conventional order book of an exchange
105
Benefits of dark pools
Neither price or trader is identified so useful for traders wishing to buy or sell large number of shares without revealing themselves on open market
106
What are dark pools typically
MTFs that have opted out of pre trade transparency
107
Four elements to the operation of the multilateral system
Has characteristics of a trading system or facility Includes third parties Allows trading interest to interact in he system Trading interest are in financial instruments
108
What types of markets are SEAQ and SETS
SEAQ is quote display SETS is order book (order driven system)
109
What are order driven systems used for And what are the two types of order for order driven systems
Highly liquid Market and limit
110
What are market orders
Specify quantity to be traded but not a price
111
What is a limit order
Buyers state the quantity and price willing to pay
112
What is a quote driven system How do order and quote driven system compare?
Market makers maintain liquidity and efficiency in trading. Orders driven systems Automatically gives investors best price possible which isn’t the case in quote driven
113
What are market makers
Continually quote bid and ask prices for a given security and are ready to buy and sell at those prices
114
Algorithmic trading?
Refers to electronic platform for entering orders whereby an algorithm decides on aspects of the order such as timing, price or volume
115
What is high frequency trading
Kind of algorithmic trading in which computers make decisions to initiate orders based on info that is processed more quickly than what humans can process
116
Four key HFT (high frequency trading strategies)
Market making based on order flow Market making based on tick data info Event arb Stat arb
117
What does MIfID II and SEC say about HFT
Contain info about trades up to 5 years with sufficient detail
118
Who decides is firm becomes listed and what are the rules called
FCA Listing rules
119
What’s included in listing rules
Prospective directive and transparency directive
120
What new listing rules is being implemented
Less burdensome regime that will boost IPOs
121
What is the new rule for boosting ipos Whats it replacing and explain each
One category of listing for commercial companies instead of two which are premium and standard Premium - used by large firms looking for a large profile and liquid market - more expensive Standard - meet minimum requirements to be listed
122
What was required to be a FTSE company
Needs to be premium listing
123
Most important conditions for premium listing5
Normally published accounts that cover 3 years At least £30,000,000 for shares issued and £200,000 debt issued 10% of the listed securities held by public Sufficient working capital to cover next 12 months Sponsor is required in connection with admission
124
Rules for standrd listing
£30 mill shares 200k debt 10% shares held by public
125
Uk prospectus regs require publication of prospectus when
Securities admitted to trading on regulated market in UK Firm making public offer in UK
126
What should prospectus disclose
All info investor would need, like SOFP, PnL etc Prospectus of issuer Rights attached to securities
127
What does AIM not stipulate
Minimum criteria for company size, trading record and number of shares held by public
128
What do AIM listed companies need
Nominated advisor (nomad)from an approved register who is responsible to the LSE
129
What is AIM classified as
MTF
130
How is high growth sector differ to AIM
Typically larger than AIM companies and aim to become premium listing eventually
131
What must HGS companies abide by
Incorporated by EEA Only issue Equity shares Minimum free float of 10% at IPO Demonstrate historic revenue of 20% over 3 years
132
Criteria for listing on growth market include
Appoint and retain on AQSE corporate advisor at all times At least 24 months of audited accounts At least 10% free float Good corp gov
133
Reasons for exemptions to produce prospectus
Where offer is made to qualified investors Where offer is made to fewer than 150 persons in UK Minimum consideration per investor is greater than 100k Shares representing less than 20% of the number of shares are already admitted to trading
134
Retail clients who become professional must meet at least 2 of the following
At least 10 transactions per quarter of Transactions of over 1k for past 4 quarters Portfolio greater than 500k At least on year in the financial sector
135
What does uk market abuse regs do
Sets out reporting of transactions in a companies securities, including derivatives, by persons discharging managerial responsibilities.
136
What must person discharging managerial responsibility do and then what should listed company do
Notify the listed company and FCA within three business days of transaction Listed company should notify public asap
137
When do disclosures of major interests need to be shown
When investor holds greater than 3% of the listed firms stock
138
What are concert parties
Individual owns worship of shares is less than 3% but individuals agree to combine interests so effectively their ownership combined is greater than 3%
139
What is the aim of the PSC (persons with significant control) register
Companies owners are identified AIM is got combat tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing
140
Who does PSC rules apply to
All uk companies except those subject to DTR 5
141
Who sets corp gov code in UK
FRC
142
Main principles of uk corp gov code (5)
Board leadership and purpose Division of responsibility Composition, succession and evaluation Audit and internal risk control Remuneration
143
Main principles of board leadership and company purpose
Effective board who want long term sustainable growth and generate wealth for shareholders Establish core values and act with integrity Resources in place to meet objectives Engage with shareholders Workforce policies consistent with values
144
Principles Division of repsonsibility
Chair leads the board Consist of execs and non execs such that no individual group dominates Need time and resources in order to function effectively
145
Principles of composition and succession
Appointments go through rigorous testing with effective succession plan Committee should have combination of skills and diverse
146
Principles of risk and audit controls
Establish transparent policies Provide fair assessment of company Establish procedure to mitigate risk
147
Principles of remuneration
Designed to promote growth and support strategy Linked to company performance objectives Transparent procedure for remuneration
148
How does uk corp gov code operate
Comply or explain approach
149
Shareholders rights directive aim
Aim to tackle perceived lack of shareholder engagement Shareholder engagement policies and transparency of investment policies have been put in place
150
What applies to all pension sunder £1bn AUM
Climate reporting obligations
151
What is group think?
Can occur in boards where people conform to same ideals without analysing other options to avoid conflict
152
Remuneration report of a company must be in two parts…
Remuneration policy Implementation report setting out actual payments to directors and a link between performance and pay
153
How is remuneration policy decided
At AGM and voted on by shareholders
154
What is section 172
Requires directors to act in good faith and to promote success of the firm
155
What should companies include when doing section 172 reporting
Issues and factors they consider relevant when complying with 172 Min methods used to engage with stakeholders Information of the effect of decisions
156
What does the FRC also operate
UK stewardship code
157
What are the stewardship codes aimed at
12 principles aimed at asset managers and asset owners 6 principles aimed at service providers
158
What is stewardship
Responsible allocation and management of capital
159
Hw often is stewardship report created
Annually
160
LSE requirements to keep SH informed are (2)
Approval of meetings and circulars to holders of securities Notify market of profit announcements, dividends, acquisitions, director changes, chnage in major SH,.
161
AGM rules and who made them
Companies act 2006 Companies must hold AGM within 6 months of financial year end Intervals must be no more than 15 months At least 21 days notice of meeting
162
Discussion points in AGM
Declaring dividend Evaluating financial statements, directors and Audit reports. Electing new directors if needed Appointing and remunerating auditors
163
Notice period for general meetings
14 calendar days
164
When are directors also bound to call a meeting
When 5% or more of SH request it
165
Duty of chairman
Preserve order Proceedeing are conducted Sense of meeting is aserctaiend Take questions
166
When can a poll at meeting be demanded
5 or more members who have right to vote By one or more members who have 10% of voting rights Chairman
167
Two main types of resolution at general meetings
Ordinary resolution - majority wins Special resolution - 75% of voting favour required to pass rule
168
What are the two types of proxy
General proxy - vote as they see fit Special proxy - specific vote for or against a particular resolution
169
170
One concern of overseas investment
Foreign exchange risk
171
What is the primary order processing system in NYSE
Universal trading platform
172
Challenges of investing in EM
Quality of market regs Corp gov Transparency and accounting standards Political risk
173
Eurobonds? And what are they also called
Bonds that are denominated in a currency different to that of the country its issued in Bearer bonds
174
Characteristic of Eurobonds/ bearer bonds
Not centrally registered so Eurobonds held anonymously
175
Why do people hold Eurobonds
Mitigate tax liability Diversify portfolios
176
Several participants in issuing euro bonds (3)
The issuer The bank - sells bonds to nderwriter Underwriter - keep or sell on the market
177
What is the primary and secondary market for euro bonds
The syndicate that the bonds are initially sold is the primary When underwriter sells to general public - secondary
178
What is the general rule for overseas gov, quasi gov bills, bonds and notes
Traded otc between banks and settlement system operated by central banks
179
How are corp bonds generally settled overseas
Listed and traded through central clearing depository systems associated with the exchange
180
How do South Korea settle bond transactions
Rolling basis and T+1 to facilitate a delivery vs payment settlement system
181
How does G30 settle and Thailand settle
G30= T+3 Thailand = T+2
182
What do local and global co custodians do
Local custodians - responsible for safekeeping of securities in a given national market Global co custodians - supervises the safekeeping of securities in local depositories
183
Two systems for settling Eurobonds
Euroclear and Clearstream
184
What do clear stream and euroclear provide
Securities clearance and settlement services Money transfer services Custody services Security lending Borrowing services
185
What are the ICMA rules
Eurobonds settled T+2 but confirmed T+1
186
What is agency costs
Costs that occur due to separation of ownership and control
187
Solutions to principle agent problem
Aligning incentives of owners and managers - rewards in the form of shares Monitored by board of directors Sell shares in times of bad performance to push share price down to incentise manager to work harder in order to prevent takeover Shareholder activism
188
Front running?
Broker buys shares before placing a large client order so that he benefits from the uptick on price
189
190
191
If someone holds more than 3% of the company, when should they notify company again
If percentage ownership increases by at least 1%
192
When does crest settle for equities and gilts
Equities is t+2 Gilts is T+1
193
Who is AIM regulated by
LSE
194
What is round trip transaction costs
Total costs of completing a transaction including bid ask spread, commission and taxes
195
196
How does FRC get institutional investors to engage in corp gov
Uk stewardship code
197
What org is responsible for setting rules for Eurobond market
International capital markets association ICMA