The lessons
- 7.1
What a derivative is
A contract whose value comes from something else. That's the whole idea.
- 7.2
Options: calls, puts, and what the buyer owns
A right, not an obligation — and a ticking clock.
- 7.3
What writing an option obliges you to do
The other side of the contract, where the losses aren't capped.
- 7.4
CFDs and spread betting in the UK
What the product is, and what the required risk warning is actually telling you.
- 7.5
Margin and leverage: how losses multiply
Borrowing to invest, and the mechanics of a margin call.
- 7.6
Leveraged and inverse ETFs, and why they decay
Designed to track one day. Held for a year, they do something else entirely.
- 7.7
Short selling: borrowing what you don't own
Profiting from a fall, with a loss that has no ceiling.
- 7.8
Crypto: what a token is, and what stands behind it
No earnings, no issuer obligation, no cash flow. What's left.
- 7.9
Crypto custody, exchanges, and what isn't protected
Who holds the keys, and what happens when the exchange doesn't.
- 7.10
Stablecoins, staking and "yield"
Why the word yield here means something different from a dividend yield.
- 7.11
Why the FCA restricts some of these products
The rules, and the reasoning behind them.
Educational content only. It is not personal financial advice.