Treasury bill futures as a hedging tool: a risk-return approach

The primary purpose of this study is to measure the hedging performance of Treasury Bill Futures on a risk‐return basis. A theoretical model is presented and hedging effectiveness is tested using T‐Bill cash and futures data. Successful hedging depends critically upon the ability to determine the optimal hedge ratio. The results also indicate that the traditional one‐to‐one hedge outperforms the more sophisticated hedge ratio models; however, even here the risk‐return benefits of hedging are minimal.