Quote from: markm on August 10, 2011, 10:28:39 PM

Maybe such people are what futures and options are for?

If you want a loaf of bread in five years time, and are not sure how the price of bread might fluctuate by then, you buy a five year future loaf of bread.

If you want a loaf of bread anytime during the next five years but are not sure exactly when during that span of time you will want it, you buy a five year span open option on a loaf of bread.

Is that not how futures and options work?

-MarkM-

Quite true. However, I think the whole point is to bypass and/or hide the complexity of futures/options from the user. A client that tells you that "your goldcoins = 4.31 ounces" is very appealing if you can provide enough confidence that they will STAY worth that much.