Arbitrage
Profiting from differences in the price of a single asset (such as a currency pair) that is traded on more than one market. For arbitrage opportunities to exist, the currency pair must be traded simultaneously on two different markets, and at different prices. One very common form of arbitrage is hedging, which is a practice of buying a security on one market (e.g. the spot Forex market) and selling the options on that currency pair in another market (e.g. currency options market). Arbitrage is also used in sports, in trading exchange traded funds and also in trading credit default swaps.
At-Or-Better
This term is used in reference to order placement, indicating that the broker should fill the trader’s order at the trader’s ordered price, or at a price that will be cheaper for the trader in terms of spread costs. Usually pending orders are used for such requests by traders to brokers.
At Limit
An order by a trader to a broker to fill a long trade at a price that is below the current market price, or to fill a short trade at a price that is above market price. The expectation is that prices will move against the trader’s expectation for the asset before turning in the direction of the trader’s expectation, and so an ‘at limit’ order reduces the level of draw down the account would have experienced if the order is filled at market price. An ‘at limit’ order is a pending order.
At Best
An order by a trader or broker to fill a trade using the best prices possible in the shortest time possible. An ‘at best’ order is invariably an instant order that will be filled at market price, and may be subject to slippage.
Asset
An item having commercial or exchange value. The commercial value of a resource is not fixed, but changes from time to time as a result of several factors influencing the supply and demand of the resource. It is this change in the perceived value of the resource that confers on it economic and commercial importance. Financial markets provide a standardized template on which assets can be exchanged for a value bestowed on it by the concurrence of traders and the intermediaries (brokers) in such transactions.
Ask
The price at which a currency pair or security is offered for sale. The Ask is the quoted price at which an investor or trader can buy a currency pair, or the price at which a dealer will sell a currency pair to a trader. This is also known as the “offer”, “ask price”, and “ask rate”. In a price quote, there are two prices that are listed, and it is the price listed on the right hand side of a price quote that constitutes the Ask. The Ask Price is always higher than the bid price. E.g. in a quote that is listed as 1.2346/1.2349, 1.2349 is the Ask Price.
Aggregate Risk
This is a measure of an investor’s total market exposure to spot and futures market contracts. Such investors would include banks, major corporations, hedge funds and other financial institutions. The definition for the Forex market is the exposure of a trading entity to fluctuations in the exchange rates of two currencies. Aggregate risk is a key indicator that a trading entity must employ in order to gauge the maximum allowable exposure to a a trade before engaging in that trade. Once this has been derived, limits on the position can be set. Larger corporations such as the ‘too big to fail’ banks have larger aggregate risk limits than smaller firms with lower credit ratings.
Aggressor
The aggressor is usually the party that initiates the deal in a transaction. In the financial markets, the aggressors are usually the ones responsible for order flows in a particular direction. This role is taken on by the institutional investors in the Forex market, and that is why in times of increased volatility (especially during news trades), it is not unusual to see large spikes following the release of a news item. In this instance, the institutional investors aggressive push prices by their large demand and hope to gain on this price change by offloading the positions on the non-aggressive section of the market.
Absolute Rate
Absolute rate is a combination of a percentage of an interest rate swap that is fixed, as well as the percentage that is flexible or floating. Interest rate swaps are used by companies to hedge against sudden and undesirable fluctuations in interest rates. So if the swap deal is given at a premium of 5% and a flexible rate of 2% from a flexible rate such as LIBOR or EURIBOR is added to the mix, this gives an absolute rate of 7%.