Browse Financial Instruments

Equity-Linked and Contract Derivatives

Equity-linked notes, equity derivatives, CFDs, derivative securities, and weather derivatives used in structured exposure.

Equity-Linked and Contract Derivatives is the financial-instruments landing page for underlying assets, derivative securities, equity-linked notes, CFDs, notional value, risk bearing, hedging strategies, hedge ratios, and long hedges. It keeps related terms in one branch so readers can move from a broad instrument question to the article that owns the contract evidence.

Use this page when a derivative exposure or hedge term changes the risk being transferred, measured, or offset. Use the parent Derivative Risk, Hedging, and Underlyings page when you need the broader instrument map. For an individual decision, confirm the contract, term sheet, prospectus, confirmation, exchange specification, or disclosure record before relying on the term.

Use the table below to move from this landing page into the term page that best matches the instrument evidence.

Key Terms in This Branch

TermUse it for
Contract for Differences (CFD)Contract for Differences (CFD) helps identify the exposure, hedge relationship, notional amount, or underlying reference behind a derivative.
Derivative SecuritiesDerivative Securities is a derivative risk or hedging term used to place the narrower article in the right contract, payoff, settlement, and risk context.
Equity DerivativeEquity Derivative helps classify a claim as debt, equity, hybrid, or financial-asset exposure.
Equity-Linked Note (ELN)Equity-Linked Note (ELN) helps identify the exposure, hedge relationship, notional amount, or underlying reference behind a derivative.
Equity-Linked Security (ELKS)Equity-Linked Security (ELKS) helps identify the exposure, hedge relationship, notional amount, or underlying reference behind a derivative.
Weather DerivativeWeather Derivative is a derivative risk or hedging term used to place the narrower article in the right contract, payoff, settlement, and risk context.

Example in Use

A hedge ratio can show how many futures contracts are needed to offset part of a price exposure, but the hedge may still leave basis risk.

What to Check

  • Underlying asset, reference rate, index, notional amount, hedge objective, and exposure being offset.
  • Hedge ratio, position direction, maturity match, basis risk, liquidity, and rebalancing rule.
  • Counterparty, collateral, margin, documentation, and whether the hedge is economic or accounting-designated.
  • Effect on price risk, rate risk, currency risk, credit risk, leverage, and residual exposure.

Common Mistakes

  • Assuming a hedge eliminates all risk rather than changing the mix of risks.
  • Using notional value as the same thing as market value or maximum loss.
  • Ignoring basis risk, hedge timing, liquidity, and collateral requirements.

Equity Derivatives content is educational and does not provide personalized investment, tax, legal, accounting, valuation, derivatives, or securities advice.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Contract for Differences (CFD)

A contract for differences is a leveraged derivative that settles price changes in an underlying asset without physical ownership.

Derivative Securities

Derivative securities are tradable instruments whose value is derived from an underlying asset, index, rate, commodity, or credit exposure.

Equity Derivative

An equity derivative is a contract whose payoff depends on a stock, equity index, basket, or other equity-linked exposure.

Equity-Linked Note (ELN)

An equity-linked note combines debt-like principal terms with a payoff tied to a stock, index, basket, or equity option strategy.

Equity-Linked Security (ELKS)

An equity-linked security gives investors debt or preferred-like exposure with returns tied to an underlying equity security or index.

Weather Derivative

A weather derivative pays based on weather measures such as temperature, rainfall, or snowfall rather than traditional financial asset prices.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026