Nick's Finance Interview Questions

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This section is on Finance Interview Questions...

Largely Fixed Income.

These are some of my favourite interview questions to ask in a finance interview.

If you have questions you've been asked and you want an answer, Contact ExcelExperts.com  

risk means uncertainty about

risk means uncertainty about future events affecting our current positions

Exactly. Uncertainty has a price. That's why you guys all study stochastic calculus.

Floor traders have been pricing risk by the seats of their pants for hundreds of years.

You college boys came along and blew the whole fucking thing up with your PhD's and your C++ in ten.

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risk

I totally agree with you, but one caveat here... I came from the trading side, and don't write C++.. neither do I have a PHD.

here are my thoughts:
http://excelexperts.com/Excel-For-Finance-Tips-What-is-RISK

Means one or more than one

Means one or more than one future events. Were the value of those may be positive or negative (or ) in general terms low returns than expected .

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9. Finance Interview Questions - Zero Coupon Bond Part 2


Zero Coupon Bond Question Part2:

You sell a 10 year zero coupon bond to add to your portfolio.

What happens if yield curve flattens ?
.. Do you make or lose money ?
What has higher convexity ?
How much of the 10 year zero coupon bond would you sell in order to be immune to a 1 basis point parallel shift upwards or downwards in the continuously compounded zero curve ?

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8. Finance Interview Questions - Zero Coupon Bonds


Zero Coupon Bonds Question Part1:

You are a trader, and you buy a 5y Zero Coupon Bond today.

What's the accrued interest ?
What's the duration ?
Interest rates go up, do you make or lose money ?
What would you pay for it ?
How much do you make or lose if the continuously compounded zero curve shifts upwards by 1 basis point ?

Accrued Interest will be zero

Accrued Interest will be zero

A bond which pays no coupons,

A bond which pays no coupons, is sold at a deep discount to its face value, and matures at its face value.

A zero-coupon bond has the important advantage of being free of reinvestment risk, though the downside is that there is no opportunity to enjoy the effects of a rise in market interest rates.

Also, such bonds tend to be very sensitive to changes in interest rates, since there are no coupon payments to reduce the impact of interest rate changes.

In addition, markets for zero-coupon bonds are relatively illiquid.

Under U.S. tax law, the imputed interest on a zero-coupon bond is taxable as it accrues, even though there is no cash flow.

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7. Finance Interview Questions - Interest Rate Swaps

Name as many things you can think of that might affect the price of an interest rate swap.

factor

discount interest rate, fixed coupon payment in each period,

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6. Finance Interview Questions - Bond Duration

What has a higher duration, a 10y 5% coupon bond, or a 5y 10% coupon bond ?