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Flattener using a corporate zero and Treasuries

Question

You expect the yield curve to flatten, and you believe the credit spread on a particular five-year corporate zero-coupon bond will stay where it is. Describe a trade combining that zero with Treasury securities that profits if your view is correct.

Short answer

Make the zero one leg of a duration-weighted flattener. With a fixed spread the zero's yield moves like the five-year Treasury yield. Flattening means long yields fall relative to short ones, so either buy the zero and short shorter-dated Treasuries, or short the zero and buy longer-dated Treasuries, sizing the legs so their dollar durations match to neutralise parallel moves.

Adapted from Crack, Heard on the Street, Q3.15, p.35; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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