Concepts

Products are the atlas's nouns; these are its verbs — the cross-cutting ideas that show up in every asset class. Each concept page combines the full explanation, charts, and the interactive calculators that make the idea concrete. Education only, as everywhere here — see the disclaimer.

The badges say how much a page assumes: Easy everyday words, nothing to look up · Medium one idea you may need to look up first · Hard written for people who work in the market.

The library

  • Option Strategy BuilderMediumcombine up to eight calls, puts and stock legs into one position and watch the combined payoff, breakevens, Greeks and scenario table update live. Plus a cheat sheet of the fourteen classic strategies.
  • The Yield CurveMediumshapes and what they forecast, the forward curve hidden inside, inversion as a recession signal, and how carry & roll-down pay bondholders. With the forward-rate and carry-and-roll calculators.
  • NPV & IRREasydiscounting from first principles, the NPV curve, hurdle rates, MOIC versus IRR, and the classic IRR traps (reinvestment assumption, multiple sign changes, subscription-line games). With a full cash-flow IRR solver.
  • VolatilityMediumrealised vs. implied, the VIX, volatility clustering, the vol risk premium and vol targeting. With a volatility converter (√time rule, expected moves).
  • LeverageEasythe four disguises borrowed money wears, the return an asset must clear before the borrowing earns anything, why the path matters more than the destination, and where leverage hides in ordinary holdings. With a leverage break-even calculator.
  • LiquidityEasymarket versus funding liquidity, tightness, depth and resilience, what a real exit costs, liquidity mismatch in open-ended funds, and why it disappears exactly when it is needed. With an exit-cost calculator.
  • Margin & CollateralMediuminitial vs. variation margin, haircuts, rehypothecation, the margin spiral, and the LDI and Archegos case studies. With a margin-call simulator.
  • Diversification & CorrelationEasythe portfolio volatility formula, how many holdings you need, the efficient frontier, and why correlations betray you in crises. With a two-asset portfolio calculator.
  • HedgingMediumwhat a hedge does and does not remove, the minimum-variance hedge ratio, basis risk in its four forms, static versus dynamic hedges, and the ways hedges fail. With a hedge-ratio calculator.
  • Spread MeasuresMediumG-spread, I-spread, Z-spread, asset-swap spread, OAS and discount margin: what each measures, when each misleads, and the desk rules for choosing. With a Z-spread calculator.
  • Risk MeasuresMediumValue at Risk and expected shortfall, why the tail is always fatter than the model, beta hedging, and the uncomfortable arithmetic of how long it takes to prove skill. With three calculators.
  • Valuation & Cost of CapitalMediumCAPM, the equity risk premium, WACC and the tax shield, enterprise value bridges and what multiples hide. With cost-of-equity, WACC and EV/EBITDA calculators.
  • Costs & FeesEasythe six layers of cost, why the certain input beats the uncertain one, and what a percent a year compounds into. With total-cost-of-ownership and trading-cost calculators.
  • Portfolio PracticeEasyrebalancing bands, sequence-of-returns risk in the withdrawal phase, the behaviour gap between a fund's return and its investors', and property yields. With four calculators.
  • Curve Construction & Bond MathHardbootstrapping zero rates from par yields, discount factors and forwards, bullet versus barbell convexity, and the cheapest-to-deliver arithmetic behind bond futures. With three calculators.
  • Corporate ActionsMediumdividends, splits, rights issues, buybacks, spin-offs and takeovers: which price moves are news and which are arithmetic. With TERP, buyback and EPS accretion calculators.
  • InflationEasythe only loss that needs no market move, how the index differs from your basket, what indexation is worth, and how linkers actually behave. With three calculators.
  • Central Banks & Monetary PolicyMediumthe corridor system, the five transmission channels and their lags, QE and QT, forward guidance, and how markets price the path. With Taylor-rule and priced-moves calculators.
  • Regulation & Investor ProtectionEasydeposit guarantees, client-asset segregation, issuer risk, the bail-in waterfall and how to read a key information document. With three calculators.
  • Behavioural FinanceEasythe documented decision errors, each priced as arithmetic: loss aversion, missing the best days, waiting for a dip, overtrading. With two calculators.
  • Market MicrostructureMediumorder books, spreads, makers and takers, HFT, auctions, dark pools and payment for order flow: what actually happens between clicking Buy and owning something.
  • Clearing & SettlementHardnovation and central counterparties, netting efficiency, the settlement window and why it keeps shortening, delivery versus payment, the custody chain and the default waterfall. With settlement-risk and netting calculators.
  • SecuritisationHardSPVs, tranching and the waterfall, credit enhancement, what failed in 2008 and the disciplined market that survived: MBS, ABS, CLOs and SRT in one storyline.
  • Glossary FlashcardsEasyall 303 terms as a Leitner-style card deck, graded by you, progress stored only on your device.
  • The Market ExamMediumfifteen random questions across all eleven asset classes, graded on your device with explanations, best score remembered locally.

How the number gets made, and who checks it

The library above explains what instruments do. These seven explain where a reported figure comes from, what it assumes, and which rules constrain the firm producing it — the questions the risk, operations, audit, reporting and supervisory seats arrive with, and the ones that decide how everything else on this site should be read.

  • How a Position Hits the BooksMediumamortised cost, fair value through profit, fair value through equity: three measurements of one holding, why an unrealised loss can stay invisible for years, expected-loss staging, and what day-one profit is.
  • Bank CapitalMediumcapital as funding nobody has to be repaid, why the denominator is risk-weighted, what the leverage ratio adds, how the buffers stack, and why capital and liquidity are two different failures.
  • Model RiskMediumcalibration against estimation, the four assumptions that fail first, the fair-value hierarchy as a disclosure, validation and reserves, and why the dangerous model is the one that has been right for years.
  • Stress TestingMediumsensitivity against scenario, historical against hypothetical, reverse stress testing, the second-round effects that turn a bad quarter into a failure, and how to quote a stress number honestly.
  • Market AbuseEasywhat insider dealing and manipulation actually prohibit, the recognised patterns, information barriers and wall crossing, and why the rules protect the price rather than the loser.
  • How a Fund Is BuiltEasythe six parties behind a factsheet, how a value is struck, forward pricing, share classes, and the five places the structure fails.
  • Reference RatesMediumwhat a benchmark is for, why the submission-based design was replaced, overnight rates compounded in arrears, term rates, and the fallback problem.

More concepts join the library as the atlas grows. The case studies show these mechanisms failing in public; the glossary covers the short versions of 303 terms; the learning paths put products and concepts in a teachable order.

Information and education only. Every page, figure and calculator on this site exists to explain how financial instruments work. Nothing here is investment, tax or legal advice, a recommendation, or a valuation you can rely on. Full disclaimer