This course covers the major classes of derivative securities: forward contracts, futures contracts, options, and swaps. A derivative security is a financial security whose value depends on (or derives from) other more fundamental underlying financial variables, such as the price of a stock, an interest rate, an index level, a commodity price, or an exchange rate. Derivatives can be used to hedge or obtain insurance against existing risk exposures; however, derivatives do not offer a panacea in managing risk. Prerequisite: FIN 678.