Hand-drawn, plain-English guides to the instruments that actually make up modern markets — what each one is, how it's used, and why it exists. Five minutes a module, mostly pictures.
Lend once, get paid on a schedule — the loan that can be bought and sold.
Read the 5-min guide → 02 — Cash EquityBuying an actual share of a company. No expiry, no counterparty left behind.
Read the 5-min guide → 03 — FX SpotToday's rate, today's money — the trade every other FX product builds on.
Read the 5-min guide → 04 — FX ForwardLock in the rate today, exchange the money on an agreed date later.
Read the 5-min guide → 05 — FX SwapA spot and a forward glued together — mostly used as a funding tool.
Read the 5-min guide → 06 — Interest Rate SwapPay fixed, receive floating, on a pile of money that never actually moves.
Read the 5-min guide → 07 — Credit Default SwapInsurance on someone else's debt, paid for one quarter at a time.
Read the 5-min guide → 08 — Equity OptionThe right, not the obligation, to buy or sell a stock at a fixed price.
Read the 5-min guide → 09 — SwaptionAn option on a swap — plus three different ideas about when you can use it.
Read the 5-min guide →