Calculating U.S. Treasury Futures Conversion Factors

Every cash note or bond that is eligible for delivery into a Treasury futures contract has a conversion factor that reflects its coupon and remaining time to maturity as of a specific delivery month. A conversion factor is the approximate decimal price at which $1 par of a security would trade if it had a six percent yield-to-maturity.

A common misconception is that the DV01 of a Treasury security remains fixed as the yield of the instrument changes. In truth, the price-yield relationship of a Treasury security is nonlinear; as yields fluctuate, the DV01 of a Treasury security changes. This short piece will take you through the math behind thee conversions.