Question

A mutual fund manager anticipates shareholder redemptions of about $32 million per quarter as the market continues its slump over the next six months. She would like to hedge the future sale of stocks from the portfolio necessary to meet the redemptions, while maintaining the current characteristics of the fund. The portfolio is primarily composed of large-cap technology stocks. It has a high correlation with the Nasdaq 100 index, and the portfolio has a beta of 0.9 with this index. The manager plans to hedge using CME Nasdaq 100 futures. This contract has a multiplier of 100 and delivery months of March, June, September, and December. Contracts expire in the middle of the delivery month. Assume that the June Nasdaq 100 futures index value currently is 3,741 and the September Nasdaq 100 futures index value is 3,468. Suppose that today is late March. How many September Nasdaq 100 futures should the manager use in the hedge?

Answer 1

Number of September Nasdaq 100 futures to use = (value of portfolio to hedge * beta of portfolio) / (September Nasdaq 100 futures index value * contract multiplier)

Number of September Nasdaq 100 futures to use = ($32,000,000 * 0.9) / (3468 * 100)

Number of September Nasdaq 100 futures to use = 83.04

This is rounded off to 83

Number of September Nasdaq 100 futures to use = 83