Trading & Derivatives
The Trading and Derivatives division covers the Company’s proprietary trading in equity securities, as well as the development, sales and risk management of equity derivatives.
With the introduction of more financial instruments and improved market mechanisms, both the profit model and risk profile of the trading business of securities companies are faced with fundamental changes. As such, the division defined its goal as “expanding the low-risk business; strengthening the high-risk business; and conducting trading business”, aiming at progressively realizing a good match with the Company’s sell-side business and becoming a team with strong competitiveness and reputation. “Expanding the low-risk businesses” means developing the low-risk derivatives, trading strategies and overseas investments, making it a business that can bring stable income and one that could be comparable to the equity investment business; “strengthening the high-risk business” means building up a strong equity investment team to break the business bottlenecks through integration of the Company’s resources at the buy-side and sell-side; “conducting trading business” means the conduct of private placement and block trading businesses. The diversified growth of the business will effectively optimize the risk-return profile of trading business, so as to obtain a high return while taking limited risks.
2010 was a critical year for the implementation of the above goals. In respect of the traditional high-risk equity investment, the division has reinforced its team building, optimized the investment research framework, improved the decision-making mechanism and established an effective account management system. The division made prompt realignment of its share positions, having achieved a positive return by careful industry screening and stock picking, regardless the decline of the market index. The division has also expanded its revenue sources by aggressively seeking for the opportunities of private placement and block trading.
It has carried out a great deal of works in relation to the stock index futures in recent years, making itself well-prepared in terms of system development, business process and trading simulation. Following the release of stock index futures by China Financial Futures Exchange in April 2010, the division became one of the first securities firms granted the qualification for proprietary trading of the stock index futures, as well as the investor with the largest quota for stock index futures trading in the market.
The release of the stock index futures provided a basis for expanding our low-risk business. The division developed a market-neutral trading strategy based on the stock index futures, which was targeted at absolute return, and obtained outstanding investment return. With regard to the derivatives, a number of structured products were successfully introduced in our cooperation with the banks and a stable investment return was achieved; the division also participated in the research and development of innovative products at the exchange to prepare for the introduction of new business and products in the future. With regard to cross-border investment, the division stably advanced its overseas trading business to effectively spread the investment risks, by using Hong Kong as a platform; it also actively explored the international cooperation with the overseas professional investment institutions as a means to draw on and develop a variety of trading strategies.