Derivatives will remain outside the Micro Harvesting universe, but understanding how they transfer, hedge, and amplify risk gives us a broader view of modern financial markets.
Originally published: July 21, 2026 · Last updated: July 23, 2026
CSSC Learning Series Index | ◀︎ Module 9 | Module 11 ▶︎ |
About the CSSC Learning Series
Ang post na ito ay bahagi ng ating CSSC Learning Series, kung saan idinodokumento natin ang ating karanasan, mga natutuhan, at mahahalagang takeaways mula sa 17th PSE-Ateneo Certified Securities Specialist Course.
Ang programang ito ay isa sa mahahalagang capital-market education initiatives ng Philippine Stock Exchange, katuwang ang Ateneo Center for Continuing Education. Binubuo ito ng humigit-kumulang 123 oras ng continuing education tungkol sa financial at securities market theories, valuation techniques, fundamental at technical analysis, investment portfolio management, market dynamics, ethics, securities regulations, at real-world applications ng finance principles.
Ang bawat module ay pinangungunahan ng mga piling market practitioners at academicians na may malawak na kaalaman at aktuwal na karanasan sa finance at capital markets. Kasama sa programa ang synchronous at asynchronous lectures, exercises, group assignments, examinations, at hands-on training gamit ang iba’t ibang financial information platforms.
Sa matagumpay na pagtatapos ng programa, ang mga participants ay bibigyan ng certification mula sa PSE at Ateneo at igagawad ang titulong Certified Securities Specialist—isang karagdagang professional credential na kinikilala sa Philippine capital-markets industry.
Pero dito sa Micro Stock Trader Blog, hindi lamang natin tinitingnan ang bawat module bilang academic requirement. Sinusuri rin natin kung paano maisasalin ang mga aral nito sa aktuwal na karanasan ng isang retail stock trader—lalo na sa patuloy nating pagbuo, pagsusuri, at pagpapahusay ng Micro Harvesting framework.
Ito ang ating kuwento bilang Board Lot Warrior—ang inyong Batangueñong retail stock trader—na patuloy na nag-aaral, sumusubok, at nag-a-upgrade ng sariling sistema sa merkado.
Understanding What Derivatives Do
Module 10 introduced financial derivatives—financial instruments whose value is derived from an underlying asset, price, interest rate, currency, commodity, or market index.
The discussions covered forwards, futures, options, and swaps, together with their possible use in hedging, transferring risk, locking in prices, and taking positions based on future market outcomes.
Forwards, Futures, Options, and Swaps
We learned that forwards and futures generally create binding commitments to buy or sell an underlying asset at an agreed price and future date. Forwards are commonly negotiated over the counter, while futures are standardized and exchange-traded.
Options operate differently. An option gives its holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the underlying asset under specified terms. The module also introduced call and put options, European and American exercise structures, option pricing, time decay, leverage, and the use of puts as a form of portfolio protection.
The expanded materials also discussed swaps, including interest-rate and currency swaps, through which counterparties exchange future cash flows to manage particular financial exposures.
Optionality and the MH Governance Framework
One concept from the module has a partial parallel within Micro Harvesting: optionality.
In derivatives, the holder of an option receives a contractual right to buy or sell, but is not required to exercise that right. Whether the option is exercised depends on whether doing so is beneficial under the prevailing conditions.
Micro Harvesting applies a similar principle at the level of portfolio governance. Reaching a refill layer, harvest zone, deployment allowance, or other qualified condition creates the right or option to act—not an obligation to execute.
A stock entering a harvest zone does not automatically require a sale. An available capital allocation does not automatically require deployment. Permission to add, concentrate, rotate, harvest, or overdeploy merely creates an available course of action. The operator must still determine whether execution is appropriate under the most optimal conditions.
The similarity is conceptual rather than contractual. MH does not use derivative options, premiums, strike prices, or expiration dates. However, the module helped give us a clearer financial vocabulary for an existing MH discipline: an opportunity may be available without becoming mandatory.
What This Means for Micro Harvesting
Micro Harvesting will not trade derivatives.
Our primary gatekeepers remain clear:
- 100% local equities;
- PSE-listed common stocks only; and
- based on the best available knowledge, preference for Shariah-compliant companies.
Forwards, futures, options, and swaps therefore remain outside the MH investable universe.
Still, learning about them was valuable. Derivatives demonstrate how financial risks and rights can be transferred, priced, reshaped, insured, leveraged, or magnified. They also sharpened our understanding of optionality—particularly the distinction between possessing a right and being compelled to exercise it.
Learning Without Strategy Drift
Not every financial instrument we study must become part of the Micro Harvesting system.
Module 10 expanded our understanding of the wider financial landscape without changing our investment boundaries. The lesson is not that MH needs derivatives. The lesson is that disciplined investing requires us to distinguish carefully among an opportunity, a right, and an obligation.
In MH 2.0, being allowed to execute is not the same as being required to execute. Optionality must remain governed by valuation, technical conditions, capital allocation, risk limits, and operator judgment. That distinction strengthens the system without creating strategy drift.
This independent article documents our personal experience, interpretation, and application of concepts discussed in the 17th PSE–Ateneo Certified Securities Specialist Course. PSE, Ateneo de Manila University, and the respective course facilitators retain all rights over their original course materials, presentations, images, charts, and other proprietary content. No official course material is reproduced in this post, and no endorsement or affiliation is implied.
The PSE has confirmed that its Shariah screening program is currently paused, with no new lists to be released until their internal review is completed. Although news outlets reported quarterly updates up to mid-2025, these later lists are no longer accessible on the PSE website.
For now, the PSE’s Shariah-Compliant Securities page and all past lists have been removed from the public website. The December 24, 2024 list is the last official version in Micro Stock Trader’s possession, downloaded before the page was taken down, although other investors may still hold later copies such as the reported July 4, 2025 release.
All halal-focused strategies under Micro Stock Trader will use a conservative, self-screened approach until official guidance resumes, in shā’ Allāh.
This post is for educational and documentation purposes only. It is not investment advice. Perform your own due diligence and consult qualified financial professionals before making investment decisions. All strategies, frameworks, and examples described here reflect the personal methodologies of Micro Stock Trader and are not guarantees of future performance.
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