Functionalities

PolyPaths helps users manage interest-rate, volatility and credit-sensitive positions providing models and other analytic tools for use in the pricing and hedging of fixed income and derivative portfolios. In addition, we supply a complete set of Greeks and other risk measures, as well as a flexible interface for compound and multi-horizon scenario analysis at the portfolio, sector, and individual security level.

MODELS

Mortgages/CMOs/Structured Product

PolyPaths uses a 3-factor BGM interest-rate process (LIBOR Market Model), which features:

  • Simultaneous calibration to a complete set of caps and swaptions volatility term structures
  • Fast calibration, which can be done in real time within 30 seconds
  • CEV adjustment on a continuous scale from lognormal to near normal for approximating the observed volatility skew
  • A volatility-dependent current coupon model

PolyPaths integrates cash flow model and default assumptions from clients, Intex and third-party providers – Andrew Davidson & Co. and Black Knight AFT.

Bonds and Derivatives

  • Lognormal Trinomial Tree
  • Square root Trinomial Tree
  • Normal Trinomial Tree
  • Monte-Carlo – Least Squares Implementation

Cap/Floors, European Swaption

  • Monte Carlo
  • Black

RISK MEASURES

PolyPaths makes specific risk measures available at the portfolio, user-defined sector and security level:

  • Static: Price, yield, various cash flow and yield spreads to UST and LIBOR curves (I/J/E/N/Z spreads are available), modified duration, treasury/swap equivalents.
  • Option Adjusted:OAS, OA duration, OA convexity, current coupon duration, OA spread duration, volatility duration, prepay duration, user-modified OA duration, option Greeks, treasury/swap equivalents.
  • Key Rate Duration: Sensitivity to user-selected points on the curve.
  • Value at Risk: Full-valuation or sensitivity-based value at risk based on historical market changes and user-selected confidence intervals and time periods.
  • Floating Rate Sensitivity: Index Duration, Discount margin, uncapped discount margin, and embedded Cap Cost measures for floating-rate securities.
  • User-Defined Duration: Measures which capture price sensitivity with respect to a customized curve shock.
  • Prepay/Loss Model Equivalents: Projected and historical prepayment speed equivalents; model vs. actual speed ratios.
  • Performance Attribution: attribute a change in price between two pricing dates to various factors, including time value, rate level, mortgage spread, volatility, and OAS changes.
  • Credit OAS: credit- and option-adjusted spread based on a distribution of loss scenarios.

SCENARIO ANALYSIS

  • Curve shifts parallel, steepening, flattening, and twists
  • Multi-horizon shifts
  • Current coupon shifts
  • Prepayment, default and loss severity multipliers
  • Volatility shifts
  • Basis/spread scenario at security or sector level
  • Exchange Rates
  • Shifts can be applied to Govt., LIBOR and user-defined funding curves.
  • Scenarios can be defined in terms of basis point changes or as absolute yield forecasts for CCAR-Type stress scenarios.