This document provides an introduction to derivatives, including:
- Derivatives derive their value from an underlying asset and allow parties to transfer risk.
- Derivatives have existed for centuries as ways to hedge commodity price risks, though financial derivatives became more prominent in the 1970s.
- One of the earliest commodity exchanges was founded in 1848 in Chicago, and the first futures contracts were traded there in the 1860s on agricultural goods. Currency futures and interest rate futures followed, along with the development of stock indexes and options markets.