Inc. Opt4 Derivatives is a developer and operator of fully integrated electronic solutions for e-businesses or exchanges that wish to offer customized or structured derivatives products.
Derivatives are the primary tool for contracting into the future while managing price risk.
They encompass the entire field of futures contracts, options, and swaps. The greatest gains however, have been experienced not in exchange traded products but in the OTC market. Although much of this growth has occurred in the highly mature fixed income and foreign exchange markets, commodity derivatives are poised to follow suit. Between 1996 and 2000, the notional value of OTC commodity derivatives markets globally grew from 460 billion to over a trillion dollars, while exchange traded commodity futures remained flat. The challenge for a commodity exchange is that derivatives are highly regulated markets with specialized clearance, settlement, and counter-party risk management requirements.