Financial Derivatives: Uncovering their Value and Cost to Society

Financial derivatives are the products of the most recent financial innovation and their popularity has exploded over the past thirty years. The way in which financial derivatives are being used today, despite regulations, will lead to future financial crises. Introduced to the market as tools to optimally allocate risk, these instruments have, instead, added more risk to the system. The goal of this presentation is to uncover the problematic properties of derivatives that render them as threats to the stability of our nation, concluding that the use of financial derivatives must be changed or curbed beyond just government regulation