November 5th, 2007, 7:59 am
A fader is a regular vanilla option where the notional of the vanilla is determined on the expiry date rather than by a predefined value.At expiration the exact notional depends on all of the following combined:Predefined spot conditionThis can be set as a range, where the spot must be inside or outside the range, or as a one-sided condition, where the spot is above or below a predetermined trigger. Number of fixings on which the predefined spot condition is metTotal number of fixingsType of fader you choose:Fade ineach time the spot condition is met on a fixing date, a proportion of the option's notional is paid (i.e., the final notional increases).Fade outeach time the spot condition is met on a fixing date, a proportion of the option's notional is faded out from the the maximum that could have been included in the option's total notional amount at expiry (i.e., the predefined notional decreases). If the option is a:Fade in, each time the spot condition is met on a fixing date, a proportion of the notional is paid or faded in (i.e., the final notional increases). That is, on expiry date the notional is:n/N x notional amount Fade out, each time the spot condition is met on a fixing date, a proportion of the notional is deducted or faded out from the maximum that can be used (i.e., the predefined notional decreases). That is, on expiry date the notional is:notional amount - (n/N x notional amount) Where:notional amount is the maximum notional amount set in the fader option.n is how many times the spot satisfies the predefined condition (whether it is meant to be above/below a predetermined trigger, or inside/outside a predetermined range) on the predefined fixing dates.N is how many fixings dates there are over the life of the option (N).For example, you buy a USD/JPY fade in option with a maximum notional set to $1 million, with 10 fixings dates. The predefined condition (that on each fixing date the spot is above 122) is met 4 times. Therefore the notional used in the underlying vanilla option is $400000 (4/10 x 1 million).Why use a fader?You would buy a fader if both of the following are true:You have a very specific view of the spot rate movement.Need to reduce the premium that you would have to pay on a similar vanilla option.The premium is reduced because there is always the possibility that the spot will not move the way you thought, leaving you with an unhedged foreign exposure risk. Types of fader optionsYou can create the following fader options:Fader out one sided Fader in one sidedFade out rangeFade in rangeFaders with knock outsMulti period one sided faderMulti period range fader