Stanford CS 007-10: Personal Finance for Engineers / Additional Topics
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The document discusses personal finance topics relevant for engineers, focusing on cryptocurrency, venture capital, and derivatives. Key insights include Bitcoin's unique properties, Ethereum's structure, and the fundamentals of private equity and venture capital. The content emphasizes the importance of financial knowledge and continuous learning after the course.
Stanford CS 007-10: Personal Finance for Engineers / Additional Topics
- 1. PERSONAL FINANCE FOR ENGINEERS CS 007: SESSION 10
- 3. SURVEY RESULTS • Lot of agreement in the free-form entries on survey. • Three most common suggestions: Taxes, bitcoin & derivatives. • The survey confirms: bitcoin, VC/PE & derivatives • Let’s confirm with Q&A
- 4. Q&A SURVEY RESULTS • Fairly flat distribution. • Let’s shoot for 20 minutes, but with an improved process. • Ask questions, we’ll make a list, and I’ll address in order, or with prepared material.
- 6. BITCOIN & CRYPTOCURRENCIES basics & common questions
- 7. WHAT IS BITCOIN? • Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange. • Paper by Satoshi Nakamoto (who is unknown) published on 10/31/2008, “A System for Electronic Transactions Without Relying on Trust” • Network went live in January 2009 with first open source client & bitcoins. Satoshi mined the first block ever (“the genesis block”) • Blockchain is a cryptographically secure, distributed ledger for transactions. • Fixed supply, constrained to 21M total possible. Scarcity is designed into the system. • Bitcoin are issued as rewards for “mining”, which is the process of adding compute to the network.
- 8. WHY IS BITCOIN INTERESTING? • Publicly transparent & uncensored distributed ledger for financial transactions. • A digital asset that cannot be freely copied, with enforced scarcity. • A “digital store of value” • Byzantine Generals’ Problem Original paper describing from 1982* Satoshi explanation from 2008** • Cryptographically secure. • Network with the highest value (as measured by coin-based market capitalization) * https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/byzantine-generals-problem/ ** https://www.mail-archive.com/cryptography@metzdowd.com/msg09997.html
- 9. WHAT IS ETHEREUM? • Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts. • Blockchain-based distributed computing. • Launched 2014. • Ether is the digital asset. • Ethereum transaction fees are based computational power required. • Supply of Ether not limited. Built in inflation of 18m (max) per year. • Cryptokitties. They’re real.
- 10. WHAT IS AN ICO? • Initial Coin Offering (ICO) • A percentage of a newly issued cryptocurrency is sold directly to investors. • Altcoin concept goes back several years. Mastercoin in 2013, Ethereum in 2014. Huge surge in 2017, now 50/mo. Almost all Ethereum-based, using smart contracts. • Size has escalated tremendously in the past few months. Kik: ~$100M. Filecoin: ~$250M • Significant regulatory issues & ambiguity. SEC comments in US. China & others have locked them down. • Q: Are they securities? assets? Software licenses? • CoinList / SAFT trying to standardize the process and requirements.
- 11. HOW MUCH IS BITCOIN WORTH? • First bitcoin transaction was on May 22, 2010, purchasing two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 BTC. • In five days, price of BTC went from $0.008 to $0.08, a gain of 1000%. • Bitcoin traded around $11,600 on 12/4/2017. • Bitcoin was less than $1,000 on 1/1/2017 • Is there a fundamental basis for valuing Bitcoin? How do you value an asset that generates no cash flow?
- 12. HOW BIG CAN BITCOIN GET? • What do you compare Bitcoin to? 16.7M Bitcoin available ** • Do you measure it by transaction volume? Bitcoin: 396K/day, ~$30.2B *,** Paypal: 19M/day, ~$1.25B *** • Do you compare it gold? Bitcoin: $194B Gold: $7.7T • Do you compare it to money supply? US M0: $3.9T US M1: $3.5T US M2: $13.7T • How do you account for forks? Bitcoin: $194B Bitcoin Cash: $26.4B • Is the question really about Bitcoin, or cryptocurrencies as an asset class? * https://blockchain.info/charts ** https://bitinfocharts.com/bitcoin/ *** https://www.statista.com/statistics/277841/paypals-total-payment-volume/
- 13. IS BITCOIN AN ASSET CLASS? • What makes an asset class? • Stratospheric run up skews almost any attempt at analysis. • Short version: despite volatility, Bitcoin returns have been phenomenal by any risk-adjusted measure. • To date, Bitcoin seems almost completely uncorrelated to any other existing asset class. • Likely worth broadening this analysis to a basket of cryptocurrencies. • Not enough data to reach an objective conclusion. * https://jeroenbloklandblog.com/2017/10/13/bitcoin-as-an-asset-class-update-october-2017/ ** Doeswijk, R., Lam, T., and Swinkels, L., 2014, “The Global Multi-Asset Market Portfolio, 1959–2012”, Financial Analysts Journal 70(2), pp. 26-41.
- 14. WHAT WOULD BITCOIN LOOK LIKE IN A DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO? • Global multi-asset portfolio was well over $100 trillion end of 2016. Even at current valuation, Bitcoin is less than 0.2% of that amount. (Global equity now close to $100T end of 2017!) • What if we added 1% bitcoin to a 50/50 stock / bond portfolio? Source: Jeroen Blokland • Need weekly rebalancing to keep below 2%. (issue: taxes & transaction costs) • Analysis assumes portfolio construction in 7/2010. • Bitcoin return has been so stratospheric, returns are unlikely to repeat. Volatility will likely also look different in the future. • Increasing possibility that cryptocurrency becomes an asset class, long term. * https://jeroenbloklandblog.com/2017/10/13/bitcoin-as-an-asset-class-update-october-2017/ ** Doeswijk, R., Lam, T., and Swinkels, L., 2014, “The Global Multi-Asset Market Portfolio, 1959–2012”, Financial Analysts Journal 70(2), pp. 26-41.
- 15. IS BITCOIN A BUBBLE? • Vast majority of financial industry sources believe it is a bubble. • Many advocates in technology see it as an Internet-scale opportunity. • Fair question is whether long term value will justify the bubble (e.g. Internet) • Interestingly, Bitcoin looked like a bubble in 2013. And in 2011. • The history of parabolic price increases for assets has not been kind to participants. • You can be right about long term value and not survive the process. • Such a short history vs. other financial assets, impossible to predict where it will be in 20 years based on financial data alone. * https://99bitcoins.com/price-chart-history/ 2010-11 2013-4 vs. GOOG $700B + FB $500B AMZN $550B + 2017 2000 2017
- 17. WHAT IS A DERIVATIVE? • A derivative is a security that is dependent upon one or more underlying assets. • A derivative can be created by a unique contract or standardized for trading on exchanges. • The most common standardized derivatives are: futures & options • They are often used for hedging or speculation. • The overall notional value for derivatives was estimated at $1.2 Quadrillion in 2015, more than 10x the size of global GDP. * https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/052715/how-big-derivatives-market.asp
- 18. WHAT IS A FUTURE? • A future is a contract for the future sale of a commodity at a pre- determined time & price. • Original use cases included farming & shipping. • First exchange in feudal Japan, Dojima Rice Exchange. • Futures are settled by delivery of the underlying goods, on the date and at the time specified. • Clearinghouses ensure that contract payments are fulfilled.
- 19. WHAT IS AN OPTION? • An option is the right to either buy or sell a security by a future date. • European options can only be exercised on the expiration date. • American options can be exercised anytime up to the expiration date. • A call option is the right to buy • A put option is the right to sell
- 20. HOW DO YOU VALUE AN OPTION? • There are multiple factors that affect the value of a stock option. • Current stock price • Intrinsic value • Time to expiration • Volatility • Interest rates • Cash dividends • Black-Scholes was developed in 1973 by Fischer Black, Robert Merton & Myron Scholes. • “Fair Value” often refers to the Black-Scholes value for a derivative, although there are other methods to calculate the value of a derivative. • The price of an option is called the premium, and is quoted as a per share price even though options trade in blocks of 100.
- 21. EXAMPLE: BUYING A CALL OPTION (INTRINSIC VALUE) $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK CALL OPTION @ 10 UNLIMITED UPSIDE, CAPPED DOWNSIDE (PREMIUM)
- 22. EXAMPLE: BUYING A PUT OPTION (INTRINSIC VALUE) $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK PUT OPTION @ 10 CAPPED UPSIDE (STOCK PRICE), CAPPED DOWNSIDE (PREMIUM)
- 23. EXAMPLE: SELLING A CALL OPTION (INTRINSIC VALUE) -$10 -$5 $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK CALL OPTION @ 10 CAPPED UPSIDE (PREMIUM), UNLIMITED DOWNSIDE
- 24. EXAMPLE: SELLING A PUT OPTION (INTRINSIC VALUE) -$10 -$5 $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK PUT OPTION @ 10 CAPPED UPSIDE (PREMIUM), CAPPED DOWNSIDE (STRIKE PRICE)
- 25. COMBINATIONS: A ZERO COST COLLAR (INTRINSIC VALUE) $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK ASSUME YOU HAVE STOCK YOU WANT TO HOLD, BUT PROTECT DOWNSIDE
- 26. COMBINATIONS: A ZERO COST COLLAR (INTRINSIC VALUE) -$10 -$5 $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK SELL CALL @ 12 SELLING CALL GIVES YOU CASH TO BUY PUT, BUT LIMITS UPSIDE TO 12
- 27. COMBINATIONS: A ZERO COST COLLAR (INTRINSIC VALUE) -$10 -$5 $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK SELL CALL @ 12 BUY PUT @ 8 PUT GIVES YOU INSURANCE IF THE STOCK FALLS BELOW 8
- 28. COMBINATIONS: A ZERO COST COLLAR (INTRINSIC VALUE) $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK SELL CALL @ 12 BUY PUT @ 8 TOTAL CAPPED UPSIDE (CALL STRIKE), CAPPED DOWNSIDE (PUT STRIKE)
- 29. COMBINATIONS: A ZERO COST COLLAR (INTRINSIC VALUE) -$10 -$5 $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20 STOCK SELL CALL @ 12 BUY PUT @ 8 TOTAL CAPPED UPSIDE (CALL STRIKE), CAPPED DOWNSIDE (PUT STRIKE)
- 30. VENTURE CAPITAL & PRIVATE EQUITY what are they, why do they exist
- 31. WHAT IS PRIVATE EQUITY? • Private equity (PE) is composed of funds & investors that are not publicly traded that invest directly in private companies or buyout public companies. • Technically includes venture capital, but commonly refers to funds that invest in established companies. • Focus is on long term, illiquid investments. • Funds can be used to buy out former investors, fund new development, make acquisitions, expand working capital, establish control to change management and company structure. • A private equity firm typically has multiple funds that can vary in size and approach. • Funds are structured as partnerships with general partners that make investment decisions, and limited partners who provide capital.
- 32. WHAT IS VENTURE CAPITAL? • Venture capital (VC) is a type of private equity focused on financing small, early-stage, emerging companies with high growth potential. • Companies are funded in a phased model where more capital is provided as the company executes, eliminating risk and increasing value. • Originated with wealthy families in the first half of the 20th century. • Closely associated with the exponential growth of technology companies in Silicon Valley in the 1970s & 80s. Early successes include Digital Equipment Corporation, Apple Computer & Genentech. • ERISA changes in 1978 opened the door for pension funds to invest in venture capital. Industry went from $750M in 1978 to $31B by end of the 1980s.
- 33. HOW DO VENTURE CAPITALISTS MAKE MONEY? • Rounds are typically referred to as pre-seed, seed, A, B, C, etc. They receive a special class of shares called "preferred” that have extra rights & privileges, but cost more than “common” • Venture capital firms typically receive capital back only in the case of a liquidity event, an IPO or an acquisition. • It can take anywhere from 5-7 years for a venture investment to become liquid. • Top 20 VC firms (out of approximately 1000) generate about 95% of the industry’s returns. • Limited partners typically expect a significant premium over the stock market to compensate for the additional risk & illiquidity of venture capital. • 80% of a typical venture capital fund returns are generated by 20% of the investments (William Sahlman). • As a result, winners have to be very large to return the fund, let alone a venture-class compounded return. A company worth $1B is a very successful company, but 20% of that company is only worth $200M. To just return a $1B fund, you’d need 5 of those. To return 3x the fund, you’d need 15. • To find investments that 10x your money, you have to be non- consensus and right. (Howard Marks) Howard Marks 2x2 Matrix VC Firm Returns * https://blog.wealthfront.com/venture-capital-economics/ Biggest problem? You can’t get your money into the Top 20 firms.
- 35. FIRST SLIDE: WHY PERSONAL FINANCE? • Poorly covered in secondary school & university curricula, even at top schools. • Not technically difficult, but the signal-to-noise ratio is terrible. • Massive impact on your life. • Affects everyone. * Please note: many of the hand-made drawings in this presentation are sourced from Carl Richards, behaviorgap.com
- 36. LAST SLIDE: THINGS TO DO AFTER THIS CLASS • Keep thinking actively about your financial plans and decisions. • Discuss personal finance and related topics with your friends & family. • Don’t be afraid to make decisions, and learn from your mistakes. Better to make them when the dollars are small and your responsibilities are few. • Be skeptical of any quick and easy paths to financial success. • Always remember: good investing is boring. • Please join the CS 007 alumni group, a private list for students who have taken this class and want a safe place to discuss personal finance questions.