introduction to nadex

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An Introduction to Nadex

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A brief introduction to the North America Derivatives Exchange (NADEX).

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  • An Introduction to Nadex

  • An Introduction to Nadex, June 2013 Page 2 of 8North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.

    AN INTODUCTION TO NADEX MULTIPLY YOUR TRADING OPPORTUNITIES, LIMIT YOUR RISK Discover a product set that:

    Allows you to trade in very small size (risking no more than a few dollars)

    Gives you the security of trading on a CFTC-regulated US derivatives exchange

    Caps your risk under all circumstances

    Provides you with multiple trading opportunities every day, no matter how quiet the markets are

    ABOUT US Nadex, the North American Derivatives Exchange, is a retail-focused futures exchange subject to regulatory oversight by the CFTC

    We offer easy to understand contracts which expire on very short time horizons (hourly, daily and weekly) and have a very small notional value (as little as $100)

    Our contracts are based on the worlds major stock market indices, FX rates, commodities and economic events

    No other regulated exchange offers a product set like ours. Nadexs unique contracts are designed to combine small size and limited risk with a high degree of price action

    Nadex traders get the best of both worlds: multiple real-world trading opportunities combined with an absolute cap on risk

    ABOUT OUR PRODUCT SET We offer two classes of product: Binaries and Bull Spreads

    Both these classes of products have been designed to comply with the following core principles:

    Intuitive pricing. Our Binary prices can be thought of as percentage probabilities of market events occurring. Our Bull Spread prices are referenced to the underlying market, not to net premiums

    Very small contract size. The notional sizes of our contracts can be as small as $100, allowing you to scale in and scale out of positions with high precision

    Strictly limited risk. You can trade most of our contracts with collateral of less than $100, and you can never lose more than the collateral you have put down

    HOW DO OUR BINARY CONTRACTS WORK? Simple, easy-to-understand yes/no propositions, e.g. EUR/USD to be greater than 13000 at 3pm ET

    Intuitive pricing. At any point the price of a Binary is simply the markets perception of the percentage likelihood of the contract settling as a yes

    Very small contract size. At expiration each lot settles at $100 for a yes, $0 for a no. The maximum collateral required is always less than $100 per lot, often much less. And you can never lose more than your collateral

    Strictly limited risk. At no point can the contracts be priced outside the range 0-100, regardless of volatility in the underlying market. You always know your absolute worst case risk for any position you take, regardless of whether you are going long or short the contract

    Markets are open right up until the moment of expiration, allowing you to place orders to enter and exit a given Binary position multiple times as the market moves. Even though the contracts have an all or nothing payout, you are not restricted to an all or nothing trading strategy

    WHAT FACTORS MAKE BINARIES SO COMPELLING? Binaries are intuitive the Binary price is simply the markets view on the percentage probability of a given outcome happening.

    Because of this, Binaries can multiply the size of price action in a quiet market.

    If a Binary is at-the-money as expiration nears, small moves in the underlying can create large percentage swings in the price of the Binary.

    Despite these large swings, the design of our contracts means your risk is always known and strictly capped. You are always in control of your exposure.

    The following example illustrates this effect.

  • An Introduction to Nadex, June 2013 Page 3 of 8North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.

    A HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE: EUR/USD TO BE ABOVE 13000 AT 3PM ETThe chart below shows a hypothetical example of price action for spot /$, and a Binary based on spot /$, during the 20 minute run-in to the Binarys expiration.

    As spot /$ moves through the strike price of the Binary (13000, shown as the thick red line in the top chart), the price of the Binary changes dramatically

    From point A to point B, /$ rallies by 0.18%

    The Binary rallies from a price of 4 to a price of 82, a 2000% increase in price

    From point B to point C, /$ falls by 0.09%, back through the strike price

    In response, the Binary price declines by 83%

    From point C to point D, /$ edges back up by 0.06%

    The Binary price rallies by 500%, from 14 to 84, in response You could trade in and out of this price action continuously as the situation unfolds. But at no point do you face unbounded risk and at no point do you face any demands for additional margin A trader buying one lot of a Binary at, say, 40 can never lose more than $40*. A trader going short of one lot at 40 can never lose more than $60* (100 minus 40)

    12975

    12980

    12985

    12990

    12995

    13005

    13010

    13000

    0

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    A

    B

    C

    D

    Spot /$ Rate

    Binary Price

    * Excluding commissions and fees

  • An Introduction to Nadex, June 2013 Page 4 of 8North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.

    WHAT FACTORS MAKE BINARIES SO COMPELLING (CONTINUED)?Nadex offers a range of hundreds of different Binary contracts each day, with dozens of strike prices for each underlying market

    This variety of strike prices multiplies the trading strategies open to you

    The diagrams below show a typical subset of Nadexs US 500 contracts, which settle basis an Expiration Value calculated by reference to the CME E-mini S&P 500 Futures, together with representative prices before and after a major positive shock to the underlying market

    A trader interested in taking a long-shot on a rally could buy the >1255 at 2, risking $2 to potentially make $98*

    A trader interested in selling volatility and backing a rally could buy the >1237 at 75.5, risking $75.5 to potentially make $24.5*

    A trader interested in taking a bearish view, but with no strong view on volatility, might sell the >1240 at 56.5, risking $43.5 to potentially make $56.5*

    These are just simple examples. There are many other possibilities and many other trading strategies that can be built with these contracts.

    1234

    1236

    1238

    1240

    1242

    1244

    1246

    1248

    1250

    1252

    1254

    1256

    * Excluding commissions and feesS&P 500 is a registered mark of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. CME and E-mini are registered marks of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Nadex is not affiliated with these organizations and neither they nor their affiliates sponsor or endorse Nadex or its products in any way.

    Contract Bid Offer

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1255 - 2

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1252 2 5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1249 8.5 11.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1246 20.5 24

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1243 37.5 41.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1240 56.5 60.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1237 72 75.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1234 85 87.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1231 93 95.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1228 96 98.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1225 98 -

    Contract Bid Offer

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1255 21 23

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1252 38 41

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1249 55 59

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1246 72 75

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1243 86 88

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1240 92 94

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1237 95 97.5

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1234 98 -

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1231 99 -

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1228 - -

    Daily US 500 (Mar) > 1225 - -

    BEFORE AFTER

  • An Introduction to Nadex, June 2013 Page 5 of 8North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.

    HOW DO OUR BULL SPREAD CONTRACTS WORK? A simple option strategy, packaged as a single contract

    A Nadex Bull Spread is equivalent to a vertical call spread constructed out of very short term (intraday) calls. Each contract is a combination of a long position in a call with a low strike (the Floor) and a short position in a call with a higher strike (the Ceiling)

    Intuitive pricing. Contracts are not priced as net premiums but instead are referenced to the underlying

    Very small contract size. Our contracts have a per-point value of as little as $1, and the gap between Floor and Ceiling can be as little as 100 points. The maximum collateral required is always less than the Floor-Ceiling range, often much less. And you can never lose more than your collateral

    Strictly limited risk. At no point can the contracts price outside the Floor-Ceiling range, regardless of volatility in the underlying market. You know your absolute worst case risk for any position you take, regardless of whether you are going long or short of the contract

    The Floor and Ceiling cap risk without exposing you to the risk of being stopped out by a temporary adverse move in the underlying market

    The next few pages give an example of a typical network of Bull Spread contracts on spot /$

    100PT /$ FX BULL SPREADS EXAMPLE

    At 7am ET, /$ stands at 12750 and the following overlapping 2hr FX Bull Spreads are created:

    /$ 12750-12850 (9am)

    /$ 12700-12800 (9am)

    /$ 12650-12750 (9am)

    Economic figures are expected at 8:30am ET.

    This network gives an FX trader several possible strategies for taking advantage of a market move caused by the 8:30am figures.

    Some strategies are very close to OTC spot FX trading, some are more sophisticated and option-like. All offer a high level of effective gearing*, all are strictly limited risk and none can result in a trader being stopped out by an intermediate adverse move.

    In the examples that follow, commissions, fees and bid-ask spreads are omitted for the sake of simplicity. In practice Nadex traders typically see bid-ask spreads of 2 pips for /$ FX Bull Spreads.

    12750

    12800

    12850

    12700

    12650

    12770

    12780

    12730

    12830

    12720

    12670

    Spot /$ level at 7am

    2 hours to expiry

    Total range covered by network = 200 pips

    Spread Contract

    Key

    Zone of linearity (price of FX BullSpread is same as, or within 1-2 pips,of underlying spot market in this range)

    * within each contracts Floor/Ceiling range

  • An Introduction to Nadex, June 2013 Page 6 of 8North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.

    100PT /$ FX BULL SPREADS EXAMPLE (CONTINUED)

    The X against each contract shows the trading price of each Bull Spread at 7am.

    The 12700-12800 contract is centered on the current market level of 12750. The price of this contract is also 12750 it is the same as the underlying spot market and generally will remain so within approximately a 60-pip range.

    A trader buying or selling this contract has both his potential maximum profit and his potential worst-case loss capped at 50 pips. Note that the position cannot be stopped out if the underlying market moves adversely beyond the range of the contract the contract remains live until expiry, regardless of underlying market movement.

    12750

    12800

    12850

    12700

    12650

    12770

    12780

    12730

    12830

    12720

    12670

    X12750

    12740X

    12760X

    Spot /$ level at 7am

    2 hours to expiry

    Total range covered by network = 200 pips

    Spread Contract

    Key

    Zone of linearity (price of FX BullSpread is same as, or within 1-2 pips,of underlying spot market in this range)

    12750

    12800

    12850

    12700

    12650

    12770

    12780

    12730

    12830

    12720

    12670

    Spot /$ level at 7am

    X12750

    12740X

    12760X

    2 hours to expiry

    Total range covered by network = 200 pips

    Spread Contract

    Zone of linearity (price of FX BullSpread is same as, or within 1-2 pips,of underlying spot market in this range)

    Key

    The 12750-12850 contract has a floor at the current market level of 12750. The price of this contract is 12760 it is 10 pips higher than the spot rate, reflecting the optionality inherent in its design.

    For a trader buying this contract, potential profits are capped at 90 pips but losses are capped at just 10 pips.

    The 12650-12750 contract has a ceiling at the current market level of 12750. The price of this contract is 12740 it is 10 pips lower than the spot rate, reflecting the optionality inherent in its design.

    Again, a trader selling this contract has potential profits capped at 90 pips but losses capped at 10 pips.

    Note again that, in either case, the trader cannot be stopped out if the market moves adversely against them beyond the range of the contract the contract remains live until expiry, regardless of underlying market movement.

  • An Introduction to Nadex, June 2013 Page 7 of 8North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.

    100PT /$ FX BULL SPREADS EXAMPLE (CONTINUED)

    12750

    12800

    12850

    12700

    12650

    12753

    12797

    12747

    12847

    12703

    12652

    X12798

    12749X

    12825X

    25 minutes to expiry

    Total range covered by network = 200 pips

    Spread Contract

    Zone of linearity (price of FX BullSpread is same as, or within 1-2 pips,of underlying spot market in this range)

    Key

    Spot /$ level at 8:35am

    Five minutes after the release of the economic figures, and after considerable whipsawing in the market, spot /$ is trading higher at 12825.

    The 12750-12850 Bull Spread is trading at 12825, exactly the level of the underlying market. A trader who had bought this at 12760 would be sitting on a 65 pip profit as a result of the 75 pip favorable move in the underlying. But at no point in that move would he have risked more than 10 pips, and at no point would he have been in danger of being stopped out.

    The 12700-12800 Bull Spread is trading close to its maximum value, at 12798. A trader who had bought this at 12750 would be sitting on a 48pip profit; a trader who had sold this at 12750 would be sitting on a 48pip loss.

    The 12650-12750 Bull Spread is also trading close to its maximum value, at 12749. A trader who has sold this at 12740 would be sitting on a loss of just 9pips, even though the underlying spot moved against him by 75pips.

  • An Introduction to Nadex, June 2013 Page 8 of 8North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.

    FX BULL SPREADS WHY SO MANY CONTRACTS?

    Nadex offers networks of FX Bull Spreads of varying widths and with varying expiry times. Each network, when created, is centered on where the spot market is at time of creation.

    In total, Nadex offers 70 Bull Spread contracts per currency pair per day.

    The fact that there are so many contracts, and that they have floor/ceilings governed by the level of the underlying spot rate when they were established, means that traders can almost always find a contract floor/ceiling in the vicinity of the current spot rate. This means that sophisticated traders are assured of the opportunity to generate high leverage on a directional view.

    It also means that traders familiar with the OTC spot FX market can almost always find contracts that behave linearly and are priced in line or very close to the underlying spot rate.

    Whatever the style of the trader, Nadex Bull Spreads will tend to have a high level of effective gearing (compared to conventional spot FX), will always be strictly limited risk and will never cause that trader to be stopped out by an intermediate adverse move.

    RANGE OF MARKETSWe offer contracts on:

    Equity Indices: US 500, Wall Street 30, US Tech 100, US SmallCap 2000, Germany 30, Japan 225, FTSE 100

    Spot FX: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, GBPJPY, EURJPY

    Energies: Crude Oil, Natural Gas

    Metals: Gold, Silver, Copper

    Agriculturals: Corn, Soybeans

    Economic Events: Initial Jobless Claims, Fed Funds, Nonfarm Payrolls

    T (end of Timeday expiry)

    Spot/$

    Single Daily FX Bull Spread,range = 600 pips

    Network of 3 8-hour FXBull Spreads, range = 250

    pips each

    Network of 3 2-hour FXBull Spreads, range = 100

    pips each

    Path of spot /$ over day

    North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc.311 South Wacker Drive Suite 2675 Chicago, IL 60606Phone: 312-884-0100 Fax: 312-884-0940 Email: [email protected]

    Futures, options, and swaps trading involves risk and may not be appropriate for all investors. Any trading decisions that you may make are solely your responsibility. The information presented herein is for informational purposes only. The contents hereof are not an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any particular financial instrument offered on Nadex.