Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is the financial system comprised of?
Financial market, financial intermediaries and other financial institutions
What are the 4 sectors of Lenders and borrowers
Household, business, government or foreign
What are financial intermediaries?
They are institutions that expedite the flow of funds from lenders to borrowers. (Bank, insurance companies, pension funds and collective investment schemes)
What are the characteristics of a good financial market?
Accurate pricing
Liquidity
Internal efficiency
Informational efficiency
What is a broker?
A broker is an entity that act as conduits between lenders and sellers in return for a commission
What are the elements of the cash market
FX, Money, Bond, Equity, Commodities, Property Markets
What is the primary market?
It is the market for the original sale (or issue) of new securities. Issuers may be raising capital for new investment or they may be going public
What is the secondary market?
It is the market where previously issued securities are resold. The proceeds from the sale does not go to the issuer but to the seller
What is an interbank market?
It is a wholesale market for the offering of deposits between banks in a range of currencies ( usually for periods not exceeding 12 months )
What are the different financial market rates?
1) Exchange rates
2) Interest rates
3) Holding Period Return
What is fundamental analysis?
It is analysis that estimates the intrinsic value of a share by examining the companies characteristics
What is technical analysis?
It is analysis that predicts the share prices from the study of graphs on which prices and (sometimes) trading volumes are plotted.
What are the 3 forms of EMH (Efficient market hypothesis)
Weak: All past market prices and data are fully reflected in asset prices
Semi-Strong: All publicly available information is fully reflected in asset prices
Strong: All information (public and private) is fully reflected in asset prices. Implies that not even insider information can be used to beat the market
What is the definition of the financial system?
The financial system is a system that performs the essential economic function of channelling funds from those with a surplus to those who wish to borrow.
It is comprises the financial markets, financial intermediaries and other financial institutions.
What is the role of financial markets?
It is a platform where instruments are sold and traded
What is the role of financial intermediaries?
They act as a middle man between borrowers and savers
What is the role of financial instruments?
They represent the claim on assets or future cash flows
What are the different participants in the financial markets?
1) Borrowers - issue securities
2) Lenders - buy/invest in securities
3) Financial intermediaries - expedite the flow of funds from lenders to borrowers
4) Brokers - act as conduits between lenders and borrowers in return for a commission
5) Financial advisors - provide investors with recommendations, guidance or proposals for purchase of instruments
6) Dealers - buy and sell securities for their own account
7) Market makers - ready to buy or sell certain securities at all times
8) Hedgers - exposed to the risk adverse market price movements and mitigate risk by using hedging instruments
9) Speculators - try to make a profit by taking a view on the market
10) Arbitrageurs - attempt to make profits by exploiting inefficiencies in market prices
What are cash markets?
Cash markets are markets where financial and physical assets trade
What are foreign exchange markets?
Foreign exchange markets are global decentralised markets for trading and exchange of currencies
What is the money market?
A marketplace for trading short-term debt instruments
What is the bond market?
A marketplace for trading long-term debt issues
What is the main difference between the money market and the bond market?
The difference in maturities of the instruments sold on each of the markets
What is the commodity market?
A marketplace where physical assets are traded