Investment Firms Say Top Use Is to Cut Risk

Investment firms don't generally use derivatives for speculation, according to a Capital Access Corp. survey of 6,000 chief investment officers from the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Instead, derivatives are most popularly used as a means to reduce interest rate risk and foreign exchange exposure, said David D. Farrington, chairman of the information services firm, which specializes in fixed- income research.

Eighty-six percent of the respondents said derivatives activity will either remain the same or increase during the next 12 months.

Of those who said they use derivatives for investment purposes, 54% said they do so to hedge interest rate risk and 46% said they do so to adjust portfolio duration.

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