Instrument (finance)
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Financial instruments are monetary contracts between parties. They can be created, traded, modified and settled. They can be cash (currency), evidence of an ownership interest in an entity or a contractual right to receive or deliver in the form of
currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...
(forex); debt ( bonds,
loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
s); equity ( shares); or derivatives ( options,
futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded * ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures'' (album), a ...
, forwards).
International Accounting Standards International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's fina ...
IAS 32 and 39 define a financial instrument as "any contract that gives rise to a
financial asset A financial asset is a non-physical asset whose value is derived from a contractual claim, such as bank deposits, bonds, and participations in companies' share capital. Financial assets are usually more liquid than other tangible assets, such a ...
of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity". Financial instruments may be categorized by " asset class" depending on whether they are equity-based (reflecting ownership of the issuing entity) or debt-based (reflecting a loan the investor has made to the issuing entity). If the instrument is debt it can be further categorized into short-term (less than one year) or long-term. Foreign exchange instruments and transactions are neither debt- nor equity-based and belong in their own category.


Types

Financial instruments can be either cash instruments or derivative instruments: * Cash instruments – instruments whose value is determined directly by the markets. They can be
securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...
, which are readily transferable, and instruments such as
loans In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...
and
deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below. ...
, where both borrower and lender have to agree on a transfer. * Derivative instruments – instruments which derive their value from the value and characteristics of one or more underlining entities such as an
asset In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can ...
, index, or
interest rate An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...
. They can be exchange-traded derivatives and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.Understanding Derivatives
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Accessed August 2, 2015. Some of the more common derivatives include forwards,
futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded * ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures'' (album), a ...
, options, swaps, and variations of these such as synthetic
collateralized debt obligation A collateralized debt obligation (CDO) is a type of structured asset-backed security (ABS). Originally developed as instruments for the corporate debt markets, after 2002 CDOs became vehicles for refinancing mortgage-backed securities (MBS).Le ...
s and
credit default swap A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial swap agreement that the seller of the CDS will compensate the buyer in the event of a debt default (by the debtor) or other credit event. That is, the seller of the CDS insures the buyer against som ...
s. Some instruments defy categorization into the above matrix, for example
repurchase agreement A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is a form of short-term borrowing, mainly in government securities. The dealer sells the underlying security to investors and, by agreement between the two pa ...
s.


Measuring gain or loss

The gain or loss on a financial instrument is as follows:


See also

*
Off-balance-sheet Off balance sheet (OBS), or incognito leverage, usually means an asset or debt or financing activity not on the company's balance sheet. Total return swaps are an example of an off-balance-sheet item. Some companies may have significant amounts o ...
issues *
IFRS 9 IFRS 9 is an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). It addresses the accounting for financial instruments. It contains three main topics: classification and measuremen ...
– Accounting standard titled "Financial Instruments" *


References


External links


IFRS List – The online community about IFRS/IAS and Auditing

Understanding Derivatives: Markets and Infrastructure
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Financial Markets Group {{DEFAULTSORT:Financial Instrument Financial markets Asset Derivatives (finance)