Reading 13 ■ Yield Curve Strategies18
the results of both strategies over a six-month time horizon for a ₤100 million
par value during which both the bond yield-to-maturity and swap rates fall
50 bps. We ignore day count details in the calculation.
Position Income
Price
Appreciation/
MTM Gain in 6 Months
10y UK bond ₤1,125,000 ₤4,337,779 ₤5,462,778
10y GBP swap ₤1,130,500 ₤4,234,260 ₤5,364,760
The relevant return components from Equation 1 are income, namely coupon
income for the bond versus “carry” for the swap, and E (Δ Price due to investor’s
view of benchmark yield) in the form of price appreciation for the bond versus
an MTM gain for the swap:
10-
Year UK Government Bond:
Coupon income = ₤1,125,000, or (2.25%/2) × ₤100 million.
Price appreciation = ₤4,337,779. Using Excel, this is the difference
between the 10-year, or [PV (0.029535/2, 20, 1.125, 100)], and the 9.5-
year bond at the lower yield-to-maturity, or [PV (0.024535/2, 19, 1.125,
100)] × ₤1 million.
We can separate bond price appreciation into two components:
Rolldown return: The difference between the 10-year and 9.5-year PV
with no change in yield-to-maturity of ₤262,363, or [PV (0.029535/2,
20, 1.125, 100)] − [PV (0.029535/2, 19, 1.125, 100)] × ₤1 million].
(Δ Price due to investor’s view of benchmark yield): The difference
in price for a 50 bp shift of the 9.5-year bond of ₤4,075,415, or
[PV (0.029535/2, 19, 1.125, 100)] − [PV (0.024535/2, 19, 1.125, 100)] ×
₤1 million.
10-
Year GBP Swap:
Swap carry = ₤1,130,500, or [(2.8535% − 0.5925%)/2] × ₤100,000,000.
Swap MTM gain = ₤4,234,260. The swap MTM gain equals the
difference between the fixed leg and floating leg, which is currently
at par. The fixed leg equals the 9.5-year swap value given a 50 bp shift
in the fixed swap rate, which is ₤104,234,260, or [PV(0.023535/2, 19, 2.8535/2, 100)] × ₤1 million, and the floating leg is priced at par and therefore equal to ₤100,000,000.
We can use Equation 7 to derive an approximate swap MTM change of
₤4,159,000 by multiplying swap BPV (8.318 × ₤100 million) by 50 bps. As in the
case of a bond future, the cash outlay for the swap is limited to required collateral
or margin for the transaction as opposed to the bond’s full cash price. Note that
for the purposes of this example, we have ignored any interest on the difference between the bond investment and the cash outlay for the swap.
While these strategies are designed to gain from a static or stable interest rate term
structure, we now turn to portfolio positioning in a changing yield curve environment.? CFA Institute. For candidate use only. Not for distribution.