Look at financial derivatives realistically

When I started writing, I remembered the story of the CEO of a listed company telling me about their use of derivatives more than 10 years ago. He said that since the 1990s, they have used both domestic and foreign stocks/futures markets to develop enterprises through domestic and foreign stock market financing on the one hand, and use domestic and foreign derivatives transactions to protect enterprises on the other. Relying on the two markets, it has promoted the development and growth of enterprises, and today their enterprises have ranked at the forefront of the global industry rankings. After the international financial crisis in 2008, the boss came to me eagerly and said that because of problems with foreign financial derivatives, they were required to stop derivatives trading. He said that once it stops, he doesn't know how to manage the business. There was also a big business executive who told me the story of farmers selling soybeans in Heilongjiang. He said that in the past, "middlemen" bought farmers' soybeans, and the purchase price was not transparent, and the intermediate price was eaten by "middlemen", and farmers suffered a lot in the transaction. Later, when farmers used DCE’s futures prices to bargain with "intermediaries", the price difference disappeared, and farmers increased their profits and defended their interests. These two stories show that, whether it is an enterprise or an individual, whether it is industry or agriculture, derivatives are important tools for production, operation and management, and are the real needs of the real economy. Its development and growth are beneficial to the national economy and social life.

The derivatives market has a history of more than 100 years, starting with commodity futures and then financial futures. In the 1970s and 1980s, before the emergence of financial derivatives such as foreign exchange, interest rates, stock futures, and options, commodity futures were the main derivatives. Since commodity futures have the functions of price discovery and hedging, they have been used very well by entity companies, and they have also brought bulk commodity pricing influence to European and American countries that first established futures markets. For example, nowadays, the futures markets in the United States and the United Kingdom have become global commodity pricing centers. When China imports crude oil, soybeans, corn, copper and other commodities, the futures trading prices of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the London Metal Exchange are generally used as the pricing benchmarks for trade negotiations. Some large Chinese companies are also using these markets overseas to hedge and manage risks in international trade. More than 90% of China's non-ferrous metals industry has participated in the futures market. According to existing research, the business performance and profits of this industry have been growing steadily and continuously for more than 20 years. After China officially launched stock index futures in 2010, some securities companies used stock index futures to manage risks, maintained stable business operations, and provided market-oriented support for the stability of the capital market.
At present, China's derivatives market has formed a certain scale and has the basic ability to serve the real economy.

China's derivatives market is built and developed under the advocacy and support of the country. The Chinese derivatives market began with the establishment of the commodity futures market, with a short history of only 30 years. As a product of reform and opening up, the early 1990s was a pilot period, crossing the river by feeling the stones. After development problems, the state carried out rectification and regulation, but none of the sticks was "killed", leaving a few varieties to continue testing; after 2000, the state supported the steady development of the futures market, and supported research financial futures and options on the basis of promoting the development of commodity futures. After the 2008 international financial crisis, China did not hesitate to approve the listing and trading of financial derivatives such as stock index futures and treasury bond futures in the face of a lot of negative public opinions on financial derivatives. In 2015, China's stock market fluctuated abnormally. In the face of turbulent and verbal public opinion, the state did not stop the trading of stock index futures, but merely adopted restrictive measures.
Nowadays, China’s derivatives market has been boldly explored and innovated. The market has greatly improved in terms of volume and quality. There are both commodity futures and financial futures; there are both on-exchange options and over-the-counter options, and new products continue to be listed，openness continues to increase. As of the end of 2020, there are 90 on-exchange derivatives listed for trading, of which 6 are open to foreign investors, and the market function has been brought to a new level. The development and growth of China's financial derivatives market have greatly promoted the construction of China's flexible, resilient and influential capital market.

From the beginning of the pilot program to the present, the state has always attached great importance to the development of financial derivatives. However, it is undeniable that the interpretation of financial derivatives in both academic and public opinion circles is mostly negative, which has affected people's comprehensive and complete understanding of financial derivatives.

Financial derivatives trading can make the capital market more resilient and influential. The attractiveness of the capital market is based on the principle of "three publics" and strict supervision and law enforcement. On this basis, liquidity is an important indicator of whether the capital market is resilient and attractive. Liquidity means that investors have the freedom and right to buy and sell at any time under clear rules. Financial derivatives, due to their special product design and trading mechanism, have higher liquidity than basic asset commodities, stocks, and bonds. The proper coordination of financial derivatives transactions and securities market transactions can drive the improvement of the entire capital market's liquidity.

Financial derivatives transactions can turn the capital market into a capital market with risk management. The financial derivatives market has strengthened and improved the institutional foundation of the capital market in terms of price discovery and risk management. Its risk hedging function has the effect of alleviating liquidity crises and has become the most important capital market innovation in the financial market since the 1970s. It not only makes the capital market a truly risk-managed capital market, improves the scale and cohesion of the capital market, but also strengthens the global competitiveness of the capital market, promotes the cross-border flow of capital and the global allocation of resources, improves the growth of the real economy and ability to upgrade the industry.

Financial derivatives trading can become a booster for the deepening development of the capital market. The evolution of economic history tells us: Capital has undergone three rounds of progressive changes. The first time was the separation of labor from the owners of land and means of production in the agricultural society. At this time, although capital existed while its power was weak, no derivatives market was created. The second time was the emergence of joint-stock companies after the machine and electrification revolution. Capital ownership is separated from operation and management power, shareholders and managers take their respective responsibilities, a global manufacturing center and international trade of commodities have emerged, which has created a commodity derivatives market; the third time was the world's entry in the 1980s after the information society, the asset ownership attribute of capital is separated from the price ownership attribute of capital. With the support of information technology, financial derivatives that can be traded independently of the underlying assets have been produced. A group of financial engineers used innovation to separate the price attributes of financial basic assets from the ownership attributes of financial assets themselves. The price attributes of different financial assets have been integrated by financial engineers and information technology into easily identifiable, universal, and tradable price benchmarks, resulting in a financial derivatives market that only trades the price attributes of financial basic assets.

This kind of divestiture has caused the secrecy of financial derivatives, which is not easy to understand. The two types of separation experienced by capital in the past, such as the separation of land and means of production in agricultural society from capital and farm workers, and the separation of equity and capitalists in industrial society, are both visible and tangible forms, and they are both very specific. However, the price attribute of the asset is separated from the equity attribute of the asset and becomes the subject of the transaction independently, which is too abstract, invisible, intangible, and incomprehensible.

I summarize this concealment into three points, namely, the dependence of assets, the concealment of functions, and the structure of public opinion.

Dependency of assets-financial derivatives is traded in the price attribute of asset ownership rather than the asset itself. Although it can be stripped, the price attribute is always attached to the basic assets; whether it is a commodity or a financial derivative, it is a product designed on the basic assets of commodities, stocks, bonds, and exchange rates. "The skin does not save the hair and will be attached." This kind of dependency makes people more concerned about and more sensitive to basic assets, and they often turn a blind eye to attachments because of their virtual nature. However, this change makes the purpose of derivatives competition no longer manifested as a competition for maximizing profits of a specific company, but a more direct competition for the relative value of capital. Traders get rid of the fetters of the personality characteristics of capital, that is, the attributes of the company, and focus their attention on the common attribute of capital, that is, the relative price of capital. Due to the adoption of a high-leverage margin trading mechanism, a high-risk, high-return market has been formed. If the lack of necessary internal control and necessary external supervision, it is easy to stimulate traders' enthusiasm, form overheated transactions, excessive speculation, and amplify risks. Once there are problems in the basic asset market such as commodities, stocks, and bonds, the dependency of financial derivatives (the price attribute of basic assets) will inevitably be repeatedly illuminated under the spotlight of public opinion. Especially when prices in the spot market fluctuate violently and fall rapidly, the pain of loss is often to pull out the dependent derivatives market to criticize the "sling". We have seen this situation in the vortex of public opinion encountered in the United States in 1987, Japan in the 1990s, and China's stock index futures in 2015.

The concealment of functions-because derivatives are the price attributes after the separation of assets, many people enjoy their functions and profit without knowing it. For example, the farmers in Heilongjiang mentioned above did not participate in derivatives market transactions, but they were able to use futures prices for free to protect their income. At the same time, the liquidity formed by derivatives transactions allows hedgers to easily enter the market to complete risk management. But it is difficult for people to see that this is formed by derivatives trading and is welfare for the public to enjoy free of charge. Because it does not appear as something visible or tangible, just like people's free enjoyment of air in their lives without knowing it, it ignores the lubricating effect of the derivatives market on the economy. The view that bank credit and stock bonds are beneficial to the real economy is generally accepted. The indirect financing of bank credit, that is, the bank provides loans to producers, operators and individual consumers, and savers deposits to obtain interest income and other activities is very intuitive and specific. Direct financing in the securities market, that is, the issuance of stocks and bonds by financiers, and the funds raised by enterprises from the securities market are also very clear and visible. Investors buy and sell stocks/bonds in the stock market, and it is clear that they will win and lose money at a glance. The positive effects and performance of the above two financial models on the national economy are obvious and clear. The functions of financial derivatives, such as looking at flowers in the fog are unrealistic, unintuitive, hard to say, concealed, not easy to see clearly, and easy to misunderstand.

The structure of public opinion-the interest groups in the spot market such as commodities, stocks, bonds, etc. are dozens or even hundreds of times larger than the derivatives market. The structure of investors brings about structural problems of public opinion. For example, the number of accounts in the securities market is more than 100 million, while the number of accounts in the futures market is only more than 1 million. The former is more than 100 times that of the latter. The public has far more information on spot assets than financial derivatives, and the information is structurally asymmetry. Financial derivatives depend on spot assets, and their functions are hidden. Once there is a problem or crisis in the spot market, the huge spot market interest groups will generally look outward when looking for the cause of the problem. Commodity and financial derivatives markets are open and transparent, and price rises and falls are concrete and clear at a glance, and are easy to be targeted; once there is guidance from public opinion, it is very likely to form a trend of responding and attacking in groups. Although the regulators and organizers of this market know best and understand the meaning of financial derivatives, they are in the minority. Therefore, it should be seen that this is not the right or wrong of the product itself, but the large or small number of investment groups, and the structural issue of the influence of public opinion in the spot asset market and the derivatives market.

The above three characteristics of derivatives determine that when problems arise in the spot asset market, the derivatives market will inevitably be criticized and become a scapegoat.

Long-term scenery should be eye-catching. From the perspective of the history of financial development, after a new market is created, there is a process for society to accept it, and it takes time as a running tool.

It has been 700 years since bank credit was invented by the Medici family in Italy. The early Italian bankers were not seen by society. This can be seen from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" on the loan shark's "a pound of meat" description. Today, society fully accepts banks. The capital market has a history of more than 300 years. Market manipulation, insider trading and fraud have also pierced the backbone. Its positive role in society has gradually been recognized in the wasteful years. Today, society has accepted the capital market. Since the development of commodity futures for more than 100 years and the development of financial futures for more than 50 years, the derivatives market is known worldwide for its "zero-sum game." The function of risk management, but the breadth and depth of acceptance is far inferior to that of banks and capital markets. I think it will take time for the society to fully recognize the financial derivatives market. As long as we stretch the timeline a little longer, we can look at it calmly.

With the purpose of popularizing financial derivatives, Mr. Sha Shi compiled his long-term practical experience and thoughts in financial derivatives markets at home and abroad into a book, named "The Essence of Financial Derivatives" and published it, trying to tell people Know the meaning and function of financial derivatives, and promote the whole society to pay more attention to and understand the financial derivatives market. I agree with his efforts and the main points in the book. I hope that there will be more and more books and articles of this kind that present facts and reason. In my opinion, it is an indisputable fact that the financial derivatives market is conducive to the development of the national economy.

At the same time, I also remembered a sentence: "If you want to demonstrate that a certain thing is bad, there are a bunch of facts; if you want to demonstrate that a certain thing is good, there are also a bunch of facts." To demonstrate the right and wrong of financial derivatives, there are a lot of facts to say, but it depends on what angle it comes from. Those who have used this market believe that it has great value and positive effects, and critics may find it difficult to agree with the former for a period of time. Therefore, it is more necessary for the collision and exchange of various views. The above reading experience should be the preface.

实事求是地看待金融衍生品

落笔之际，想起了10多年前一家上市公司老总给我讲他们利用衍生品的故事。他说，从20世纪90年代开始，他们利用国内外股票和期货两个市场，一方面通过国内外股市融资发展企业，另一方面利用国内外衍生品交易保护企业。依靠两个市场，促进了企业发展壮大，今天他们的企业已在全球行业排名中位居前列。2008年国际金融危机后，这位老总火急火燎地来找我，说由于国外金融衍生品出问题了，他们被要求停止衍生品交易。他说，一旦停止，他就不知道该如何管理企业了。还有位大商所老总给我讲了黑龙江农民卖大豆的故事。他说，过去“中间商”收购农民的大豆，收购价不透明，中间差价被“中间商”吃了，农民在交易上吃了不少亏。后来，农民利用大商所的期货价格和“中间商”讨价还价时，价差没有了，农民增加了自己的利润，捍卫了自己的利益。这两个故事说明，无论是企业还是个人，无论是工业还是农业，衍生品都是生产经营管理的重要工具，是实体经济的真实需要。它的发展壮大，对国民经济有益、对社会生活有益。

衍生品市场已有100多年的历史，先是商品期货后是金融期货。20世纪70～80年代，在外汇、利率、股票期货、期权等金融衍生品出现之前，商品期货是主要的衍生品。由于商品期货具有发现价格、套期保值的功能，一直被实体企业运用得很好，也为最早建立期货市场的欧美国家带来了大宗商品定价影响力。比如今天美国、英国的期货市场已经成为全球大宗商品定价中心。我国进口原油、大豆、玉米、铜等大宗商品时，一般都以芝加哥商业交易所、伦敦金属交易所等的期货交易价格作为贸易谈判的定价基准。我国一些大型企业也在海外利用这些市场进行套期保值，管理国际贸易中的风险。我国有色金属行业90%以上的企业都参与了期货市场，从已有研究来看，20多年来，这个行业的经营绩效和利润都稳定持续增长。2010年我国正式推出了股指期货后，一些证券公司利用股指期货管理风险，保持了企业的稳定经营，为资本市场的稳定提供了市场化的支持。
目前，中国衍生品市场已经形成一定规模，具备了为实体经济服务的基本能力。

我国的衍生品市场是在国家的倡导和支持下建设与发展起来的。中国衍生品市场始于商品期货市场的建立，历史很短，只有30年。作为改革开放产物，20世纪90年代初期是试点期，摸着石头过河。发展出现问题后，国家进行了整顿规范，但没一棍子“打死”，留了几个品种继续试；2000年后，国家支持期货市场稳步发展，并支持在推进商品期货发展的基础上研究开发金融期货、期权；2008年国际金融危机以后，在金融衍生品负面舆论不少的情况下，我国毫不犹豫地批准了股指期货、国债期货等金融衍生品上市交易。2015年我国股市异常波动，在汹涌滔滔、口诛笔伐的舆论面前，国家没有停止股指期货交易，仅仅是采取了限制性的措施。
如今，我国衍生品市场大胆探索、创新不断，市场在量和质上都大幅度提升，既有商品期货，又有金融期货；既有场内期权，又有场外期权，新产品不断上市，开放度持续提高。截至2020年末，有90个场内衍生品上市交易，其中6个对外国投资者开放，市场功能的发挥上了一个新台阶。我国金融衍生品市场的发展壮大，极大地促进了我国有弹性、韧性和有影响力的资本市场建设。

从试点开始到现在，国家对金融衍生品的发展，自始至终都是重视的。但也不可否认，无论是学界还是舆论界，对金融衍生品的解读还是负面居多，影响了人们对金融衍生品全面、完整的认识。

金融衍生品交易，可以使资本市场更富有弹性、韧性和影响力。资本市场的吸引力是建立在“三公”原则和严格的监督执法基础上的。在这个基础上，流动性是资本市场是否具有弹性、韧性和吸引力的重要标志。流动性意味着在明确的规则下，投资者有随时买入和卖出的自由和权利。金融衍生品，由于其特殊的产品设计和交易机制，有比基础资产商品、股票、债券更高的流动性，金融衍生品交易与证券市场交易配合得当，可以带动整个资本市场流动性的提高。

金融衍生品交易，可以使资本市场成为有风险管理的资本市场。金融衍生品市场从价格发现和风险管理两个方面强化和完善了资本市场的制度基础，它的风险对冲功能具有缓解流动性危机的功效，成为20世纪70年代以来金融市场上最重要的资本市场创新。它不仅使资本市场成为真正的有风险管理的资本市场，提高了资本市场的规模与凝聚力，还强化了资本市场的全球竞争力，促进了资本跨国流动和资源的全球化配置，提高了实体经济增长和产业升级的能力。

金融衍生品交易，可以成为资本市场深化发展的助推器。经济史的演变告诉我们：资本经历了三轮递进式的变化。第一次是农业社会中劳动者与土地和生产资料的所有者分离，这时候资本虽然存在但力量微弱，没有产生衍生品市场；第二次是机器和电气化革命后出现了股份制公司，公司的资本所有权与经营管理权分离，股东与经理人各负其责，出现了全球性的制造中心，以及大宗商品国际贸易，从而产生了大宗商品衍生品市场；第三次是20世纪80年代世界进入信息化社会后，资本的资产所有权属性与资本的价格所有权属性分离，在信息技术的支持下，产生了可以独立于基础资产而交易的金融衍生品。一批金融工程师通过创新把金融基础资产的价格属性与金融资产本身的所有权属性进行剥离。不同金融资产的价格属性被金融工程师和信息技术整合为易于识别、通用的、可交易的价格基准，从而出现了一个仅是交易金融基础资产价格属性的金融衍生品市场。

这种剥离引致了金融衍生品的隐秘性，不易被理解。过去资本经历的两种分离，比如农业社会的土地、生产资料等资本与雇农的分离，工业社会的股权和资本家分离，皆是可视、可触摸的形态，都是很具体的内容。但是资产的价格属性与资产的股权属性分离，并独立成为交易标的，实在是太抽象，不可视、不可触摸，难以理解。

我把这种隐秘性概括为三点内容，即资产的依附性、功能的隐蔽性、舆论的结构性。

资产的依附性—金融衍生品交易的是资产所有权的价格属性而不是资产本身。虽然可以剥离，价格属性总是依附于基础资产；无论是商品还是金融衍生品，都是在商品、股票、债券、汇率这些基础资产上设计的产品。“皮之不存毛将焉附”，这种依附性使人们对基础资产更关心、更敏感，而对依附物因其虚拟性经常视而不见。但这种变化使衍生品竞争的目的不再表现为特定公司利润最大化的竞争，而是更直接的资本相对价值的竞争。交易者摆脱了资本个性特征即公司属性的羁绊，将注意力集中到资本的共同属性，即资本的相对价格。由于采取了保证金高杠杆的交易机制，形成了高风险、高回报市场，如果缺乏必要的内部控制和必需的外部监管，容易激发交易者的狂热情绪，形成过热交易，过度投机、放大风险。一旦商品、股票、债券等基础资产市场出现问题，金融衍生品这个依附物（基础资产的价格属性）必然在舆论的聚光灯下被反复照射。尤其是在现货市场价格波动剧烈，下跌迅速时，损失的剧痛常常是把处于依附地位的衍生品市场拉出来批评“吊打”。这种情况我们在1987年的美国、20世纪90年代的日本、2015年中国股指期货遭遇的舆论旋涡里都曾看到过。

功能的隐蔽性—由于衍生品是资产分离后的价格属性，许多人享受其功能获利而不知。比如前面提到的黑龙江农民并没有参与衍生品市场交易，却能够无偿地使用期货价格来保障收益。同时，衍生品交易形成的流动性，让套期保值者方便进入市场完成风险管理。但人们很难看到这是衍生品交易形成的，供大众无偿享用的福利。由于它没有表现为看得见、摸得着的东西，就像人们生活中对空气的无偿享用而浑然不知一样，忽略了衍生品市场对经济的润滑作用。银行信贷、股票债券有利于实体经济的观点被人们普遍接受。银行信贷的间接融资，即银行向生产经营者、个人消费者提供贷款，储蓄者存款取得利息收入等活动是十分直观和具体的。证券市场的直接融资，即融资者发行股票、债券，企业从证券市场筹集的资金等也十分清晰、可视可见。投资者在证券市场买卖股票、债券，赢钱亏钱也一目了然。以上两种金融模式对国民经济的积极作用和表现是显性的、明确的。而金融衍生品的功能，如雾里看花不真切、不直观、不好说，具有隐蔽性，不容易看得清楚，容易形成误解。

舆论的结构性—商品、股票、债券等现货市场的利益群体大于衍生品市场数十倍甚至百千倍。投资者的结构带来舆论的结构性问题。比如证券市场的开户数有1亿多，而期货市场的开户数仅有100多万，前者是后者的100多倍。大众掌握的现货资产信息要远远多于掌握的金融衍生品信息，信息也出现结构性不对称。金融衍生品依附于现货资产，而功能又具有隐蔽性，一旦现货市场出现问题或危机，巨大的现货市场利益群体在寻找问题的原因时，一般会两眼朝外。商品和金融衍生品市场公开透明，价格涨跌都是具体实在、一目了然的，容易成为被针对的对象；一旦有舆论引导，就极可能形成一呼百应、群起而攻之之势。虽然这个市场的监管者和组织者最清楚、最了解金融衍生品的意义，但他们是少数派。因此，应该看到这不是产品本身的对与错，是投资群体的多与寡，是现货资产市场与衍生品市场舆论影响力的结构性问题。

衍生品上述三个特性决定了，在现货资产市场上出现问题时，衍生品市场必然受到指责，成为替罪羊。

风物长宜放眼量。从金融发展史看，一个新市场产生后，社会对它的接受有一个过程，需要时间这个磨合器。

银行信贷自意大利美第奇家族发明以来，已经历了700年，早期意大利的银行家也是不被社会待见的，从莎士比亚《威尼斯商人》对高利贷者夏洛克“一磅肉”的描写可见一斑。而今天，社会对银行完全接受。资本市场历史已有300多年的历史，市场操纵、内幕交易和欺诈，也让人直戳脊梁骨，其社会的正面作用也是在蹉跎岁月中逐步被认可，今天社会已经接纳资本市场。衍生品市场自商品期货发展100多年、金融期货发展50多年来，以“零和博弈”闻名于世，多空双方“打打杀杀”，在市场规范进程中，社会开始接受其价格发现、风险管理的功能，但接受的广度、深度远远不如银行与资本市场。我以为，社会全面认可金融衍生品市场尚须时日，只要我们把时间轴拉的长远些，也就可以气定神闲地看待它了。

沙石先生抱着普及宣传金融衍生品的目的，将他长期在国内外金融衍生品市场的实践经验与思考形成的文章结集成书，取名《金融衍生品的本质》出版，试图向人们说清楚金融衍生品的意义和作用，推动全社会对金融衍生品市场的进一步关注和了解。我很赞同他的努力，也认同书中的主要观点，希望这类摆事实讲道理的书和文章越来越多。我认为，金融衍生品市场有利于国民经济发展，已是不争的事实。

同时，我也想起一句话“要想论证某一个事物不好，有一堆事实；要想论证某一个事物好，也有一堆事实”。要想论证金融衍生品的是与非，有一大堆事实可说，只不过要看是出于什么角度而已。利用过这个市场的人都认为它有极大的存在价值和积极作用，而批评者可能在一段时间内也很难认同前者，因此就更需要各种观点的碰撞和交流。以上读书感受，权当为序。