Index Indices

I am gonna be interning at a desk dealin with indices. Any insights regarding the same, how they function, new ones coming up, how they are used, how can they helpful in trading , what could a sales role on such a desk involve etc will be of immense help. Am a newbie and have very less idea of stuff and any help in guiding me in the right direction will be greatly appreciated.

thnx

14 Comments
 

need to be more specific...there are hundreds upon hundreds of indices. the question is far too broad...replace index with 'stock' and you'll see what i mean

 

thnx ,,,i get the picture but what i am looking for is not information about one index but a broader understanding of how indices and how they help. also, certain specific general questions: 1.wht a sales role wud involve when a BB is comin up with a new index ? 2.where can i read up more about indices and how they help in the business?

plz dont be restrained by my description as it is of a newbie who doesnt know stuff,,,,anything u can add would be of help....hope this helps!!

 

index are a basket of whatever...commodities, stocks, who knows...provides easy access to a broad product sector, sort of a one stop shop. so of course they are important. give me more specifics on the desk.

 
Best Response

dont know if i can provide more details as it may not allowed and i dont wanna jump the gun even before joining. a few details which might help clear confusions about what i am wanting to find out: 1.say an index is built and i know products can be designed around the same.eg the environment index,,,,how does one go about makin products around it? now people who wanna hedge agaisnt environmental risks would trade these products .. am i right? 2.u said->"provides easy access to a broad product sector, sort of a one stop shop. " easy access to what? one stop shop meaning..?? one stop shop for what? 3. obviously a sales role would in involve pitching to such clients, what could be the issues/roadblocks involved? 4. also, say a bank launches one index , can other banks make products based on the same index? 5. what skills[in terms of preperation] would be required in making such products?

thnx!

 

1)sure that sounds about right 2)you don't have to buy the components, you can just get exposure to all of them by buying the index 3)understanding the product, understanding the clients needs, hitting their return hurdles 4)yes 5)you mean the actual structuring of the index? some sense of what'll sell/be acceptable as a benchmark. for trading, you'll need to have a feel for the correlation b/w the components.

 

I've almost exclusively heard it used in FX referring to Big Figures, ie the major part of the quote. Generally its everything but the last 2 digits in FX.

IE: EUR/USD 1.2258, Handle is 1.22 USD/JPY 88.61, Handle is 88

The purpose is so you don't have to quote the handle, the market knows where that is.

Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 

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