Paper 12: Futures and Options

What this paper covers

Paper 12 — Futures and Options — is a Practice Paper in the HKSI Licensing Examination, focused on the market knowledge, product structures and operational practice of the relevant business.

Key topics

• Contract specifications and quotation of futures and options
• Margin, initial deposit, daily settlement and mark-to-market
• Basics of options pricing and Greeks (Delta, Gamma, etc.)
• Basic application of hedging, arbitrage and speculative strategies
• Role of exchange clearing houses and Central Counterparties (CCPs)

The list above is an indicative summary. The authoritative chapter structure and weighting follow the latest HKSI Institute study material.

Who needs to take this paper?

Often taken together with Paper 5 by those engaged in RA 2 (Dealing in Futures Contracts).

For the complete RA-to-paper mapping, professional qualification exemptions and detailed requirements per Regulated Activity, refer to the HKSI Institute official LE page.

Study approach

Practice papers focus on market mechanics, product structures and scenario judgement. Master the operational flow of each product or market first, then use practice questions to simulate real-world cases — pay special attention to calculation and risk-assessment items. Paper 12 works best when prepared together with its companion regulation paper.

Anchor your preparation on the official HKSI Institute study material and reinforce with repeated practice questions to internalise the answer logic for each question type.