BGC Voice and Electronic Brokerage

Agency Bonds	Securities issued or pooled, serviced and, sometimes, guaranteed by government agencies or quasi-governmental agencies to finance their activities (e.g., credit support of home mortgages). Examples of such agencies include the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal National Mortgage Association and Freddie Mac.
Asset-Backed	Securities that represent either an ownership claim in a pool of securities or an obligation that is secured by a pool of securities where these securities are collateralized by hard assets such as automobile loans or credit card receivables.
Asset Swaps	An exchange of two assets. Asset swaps are done most often in order to achieve a more favorable payment stream and typically involve debt obligations.
Basis Swaps	An exchange of cash flows based on the difference between the cash price and the futures price of a given commodity.
Convertible Bonds	Debt obligations that can be converted into shares of stock in the issuing company, usually at some pre-announced ratio.
Corporate Bonds	Debt obligations issued by private corporations (includes high yield bonds and convertible bonds).
Credit Derivatives	Contractual agreements entered into between two counterparties under which each agrees that one party will make payment to another party if the underlying security or bond defaults for an agreed upon period based on a notional amount of principal.
Emerging Market Bonds	Securities issued by governments and other issuers (including supranational and corporate bonds) in countries with developing economies.
Equity Derivatives	A class of financial instruments whose value is at least partly derived from one or more underlying equity securities. Market participants generally trade equity derivatives in order to transfer or transform certain risks associated with the underlying securities.
Equity Index Futures	Instruments that call for the delivery of the cash equivalent of a stock index at a specific delivery (or maturity) date for an agreed upon price (the future price) to be paid at contract maturity.
Eurobonds	Securities syndicated and sold internationally that may be issued in a currency other than that of the country of the issuer.
Floating Rate Notes	Debt obligations that have a variable coupon equal to a money market reference rate, like the London Interbank Offered Rate or the federal funds rate, plus a spread. The spread generally remains constant and the market reference rate fluctuates.
Foreign Exchange/Foreign Exchange Outright	Currency exchange.
Foreign Exchange Futures	Instruments that call for the delivery of foreign currency at a specific delivery (or maturity) date for an agreed upon price (the future price) to be paid at contract maturity.
Foreign Exchange Swap/Forwards	A foreign exchange swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange a given amount of one currency for another and, after a specified period of time, to give back the original amounts swapped. The obligation to close the swap is a forward contract.
Global Repurchase Agreements and Reverse Repurchase Agreements	Short-term sales/purchases of securities with a promise to repurchase/sell back the securities at a higher price. Repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements are typically overnight transactions although many transactions are for periods up to one year. These agreements are the preferred method of financing government bonds and agency bonds and investing cash (with government bonds and agency bonds as collateral) that are used by banks and investment banks.
Government Bonds	Debt obligations issued and backed by the issuing government (i.e., issued in the country’s own currency).
High Yield Bonds	Debt obligations that are rated below investment grade on their date of issuance.
Inflation Swaps	Contractual agreements entered into between two counterparties under which one agrees to pay amounts against an underlying interest rate benchmark and the other pays an amount linked to an inflation index, like the Consumer Price Index, for an agreed upon period based on a notional amount of principal.
Interest Rate Futures	Instruments that call for the delivery of interest-bearing securities or interest rate products or their cash equivalent at a specific delivery (or maturity) date for an agreed upon price (the future price) to be paid at contract maturity.
Interest Rate Swaps	Contractual agreements entered into between two counterparties under which each party agrees to make periodic payments to each other for an agreed upon period based on a notional amount of principal and an underlying interest rate benchmark.
Money Market Products	Full range of interest-bearing, short-term investments with maturities of less than one year, including certificates of deposit and commercial paper.
Mortgage-Backed	Securities that represent either an ownership claim in a pool of mortgages or an obligation that is secured by a pool of mortgages. For example, the Government National Mortgage Association and the Federal National Mortgage Association issue such securities.
Options on Equity Products (a common type of equity derivative)	Contractual obligations that give the holder the right to buy or sell the cash equivalent of a single equity share or equity index, like the Standard & Poor’s 500, at a specified exercise price on or before a specified expiration date. An investor also can buy or sell an option on an equity future or an equity index future.
Options on Foreign Exchange Products	Contractual obligations that give the holder the right to buy or sell a quantity of a foreign currency for a specific amount of domestic currency at a specified exercise price on or before a specified expiration date.
Options on Interest Rate Products	Contractual obligations that give the holder the right to buy or sell interest-bearing debt, such as Treasury notes, at a specified exercise price on or before a specified expiration date (includes bond options).
Sovereign Bonds	Debt obligations issued by a national government.
Supranational Bonds	Debt obligations issued and backed by supranational agencies such as the World Bank or the European Union.

Product Glossary