CFA Mock Afternoon Q17 - Convertibles - wtf

CFA Level II Fixed Income
#1

Did anybody else run into this question and get screwed over? The question is:

“If Gloucester buys Rockports bond issued in 2008 and Magnolias expectations materialize, the new value of the bond can best be described as the bonds: A. straight value, B. straight value + value of call option, C. Conversion value minus value of call option”

Saving you the calculations, the conversion value is less than the straight value if expectations materialize. I was excited because I knew that the CFA text stated convertibles are priced at the greater of their conversion value/staight value so I went with A.

Wrong --> from the answer sheet: “the straight value sets an absolute floor of 965. However, this floor has to be adjusted upward for the value of a call option”. Isn’t the value of the call option close to or equal to 0 when the conversion value is less than the straight value? why is this mock exam so cruel?

#2

http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-level-ii-forum/91322621

Your answer lies there

#3

hah thank you sir, instead of scrolling down I just went straight to the search bar to see if this was already asked. lesson learned.

#4

I think what threw me off with that question was how they called it a “call option”. Had they called it a “conversion option”, I would have been fine. When I think call options on bonds, I think of them being subtracted from the straight value.

#5

The conversion option is essentially a put option on the bond and a call option on the stock.