Financial Derivatives are 'Weapons of Mass Destruction"

"WMD = Weapons Of Mass Destruction " !


This might be the reason why Warren Buffett sold all his shares of GS( Goldman Sachs) and reducing his holding in JP Morgan in recent portfolio rebalancing.


Warren Buffett still says derivatives are 'weapons of mass destruction' <source:Furtune.com>


But why is he increasing his stake in BA ( Bank Of America )? This video may give you some ideas or clues.


                                                                <Video Credit: C&K GO!>


Further reading :


This corner of Wall Street is making a mint for JPMorgan and Goldman as the 

stock market tanks. <source:cnn.com>


"Amid the wreckage in global stock markets this week as panic over the spread of coronavirus wiped out $6 trillion in value, one corner of Wall Street has been making a mint.

Equity derivatives desks at JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have thrived as a furious correction in U.S. stocks took hold in the past six days, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The desks sell options and futures to trading clients as protection against losses or to allow them to speculate on price movements."



What Is a Derivative? <source:Investopedia.com>


What Are the Main Risks Associated With Trading Derivatives?

<source:Investopedia.com>






Derivatives are a double-edged sword <source: dailypioneer.com>


Derivative trading relies heavily on "leverage" and it may post a "systemic" risk when everything suddenly collapses. One may still remember vividly the "MBO" Mortgage Back Securities saga during "subprime crisis " in 2009/08 where liquidity suddenly "halt" when nobody seems to trust each other or the so-called "counter-party risk" without knowing what is inside the underlying asset of these MBOs.

How about SG banks? a quick check on DBS's annual report indicates that the total derivative/asset value is around 0.03x as compared to 10-20 x of Big 4 US banks ( Goldman Sachs / JP Morgan / Bank Of America / City Bank). Of course, these are the so-called "too big to fail" type of financial institution where FED may come to the rescue if anything happens, but shareholders may need to bear some consequence in their portfolio value as any recure plan comes with "price ".


Cheers !


STE



"Quote Of The Day "

"Derivatives, lend themselves to huge amounts of speculation," by Warren Buffett






Comments

  1. BK24 August 2020 at 07:00

    Nice write up STE thanks:) The video helps to explain why Buffet sold JPMORGAN, Goldman Sach and bought BoA recently it is very interesting in mandarin.All the best to you ! Regards,BK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. STE24 August 2020 at 14:15

      Thanks BK , all the best and stay safe!
      Cheers !! :D

      Delete

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