Quick Answer
This synthesis pulls the unit's costs, benefits, risks, and suitability material into one reference framework. Use the quick-reference tables to confirm a derivative's primary cost, key benefit, and defining risk, then run every scenario through the suitability spectrum and the five critical exam questions below before picking an answer.
The individual lessons covered each derivative type on its own. The tables and questions here exist to compare types side by side, which is how the exam usually frames a question: not "what is a covered call," but "which of these four strategies fits this client."
What Are the Costs by Derivative Type?
| Derivative | Primary Cost | Margin? |
|---|---|---|
| Options (buyers) | Premium | No |
| Options (writers) | Margin (if uncovered) | Yes |
| Warrants | Purchase price (or bundled into a bond/preferred offering) + exercise price | No |
| Rights | Purchase price if traded separately, otherwise bundled into the offering | No |
| Futures | Initial margin (performance bond) | Yes (daily mark-to-market) |
| Forwards | Negotiation and legal costs | No standardized margin (any collateral is negotiated) |
Exam Tip: Gotchas
Futures margin is a performance bond, NOT a margin loan; no interest is charged. A covered option writer posts no margin because the underlying shares (or cash, for a cash-secured put) already secure the obligation.
What Are the Benefits by Derivative Type?
| Derivative | Key Benefit |
|---|---|
| Options (buyers) | Leverage with defined maximum loss (premium) |
| Options (sellers) | Income generation (premium received) |
| Warrants | Long-duration leverage (5-10 years) |
| Futures | Hedging plus liquidity plus clearinghouse guarantee |
| Forwards | Full customization with no exchange-mandated daily margin calls |
What Are the Risks by Derivative Type?
| Derivative | Key Risk |
|---|---|
| Long options | Total loss of premium (wasting asset) |
| Naked call writers | Unlimited loss |
| Naked put writers | Substantial loss (strike - premium) |
| Futures | Margin calls plus leverage amplifies losses |
| Forwards | Counterparty risk (no clearinghouse) |
Exam Tip: Gotchas
Naked put risk is never "unlimited." The stock can only fall to zero, so the floor on the loss is strike minus premium. Only naked call writing carries true unlimited risk, since the stock has no ceiling.
Where Does Each Strategy Fall on the Suitability Spectrum?
From lowest risk to most aggressive:
- Protective puts: low risk (insurance on existing stock)
- Covered call writing: low risk (income on existing stock)
- Long calls or puts: aggressive (speculation, total premium at risk)
- Speculative futures: aggressive (repeated margin calls possible)
- Naked call writing: most aggressive (unlimited loss potential)
Exam Tip: Gotchas
A protective put and a covered call are easy to mix up. The put is insurance and preserves unlimited upside; the covered call trades away upside for income. If a question describes a position that still profits from unlimited stock appreciation, it is the protective put, not the covered call.
What Questions Should You Ask on Every Derivative Question?
When you see a derivative characteristics question, ask:
- What is the cost? (premium, margin, commissions)
- What is the maximum loss? (limited or unlimited)
- Who benefits from time decay? (always the seller)
- Is this suitable for the client? (match strategy to risk tolerance)
- Futures vs forwards? (exchange and clearinghouse vs over-the-counter and counterparty risk)
What Should You Check on Exam Day?
- Time decay always works against the option buyer; the seller always benefits from time passing, and the effect accelerates as expiration nears.
- Naked call writing means unlimited risk; naked put writing is limited to strike minus premium.
- Protective puts preserve unlimited upside; covered calls cap it in exchange for income.
- Forwards carry significant counterparty risk because there is no clearinghouse; futures and listed options carry only minimal counterparty risk because a clearinghouse or the OCC guarantees both sides.
- Futures margin is a performance bond, not a loan, and no interest is charged on it.
- The adviser's fiduciary duty governs every recommendation: legality is not the same as suitability.