underlying asset business definition
- The physical or financial asset to which a security holder or a class of security holders has a claim. An analyst may believe that a stock is underpriced on the basis of the value of the firm's underlying assets and the potential earning power of those assets.
- The asset that underlies and gives value to a security. The underlying asset of a stock option is the stock that the option can be used to purchase. Likewise, the underlying asset of a convertible bond is the stock for which the bond can be exchanged. The market value of a security is directly affected by changes in the value of any underlying asset into which it may be exchanged. For example, the market value of an option on a futures contract is directly affected by the value of the futures contract.
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