Monte Carlo analysis of convertible bonds with reset clauses

This paper analyzes some features of non-callable convertible bonds with reset clauses via both analytic and Monte Carlo simulation approaches. Assume that the underlying stock receives no dividends and that it has credit risk of the issuer. We mean by reset that the conversion price is adjusted downwards if the underlying stock price does not exceed pre-specified prices. Reset convertibles are usually issued when the outlook for the issuer is unfavorable. The price of any convertible bonds can be approximately viewed as a sum of values of an otherwise identical non-convertible bond plus an embedded option to convert the bond into the underlying stock. In this paper, we first develop an exact formula for the conversion option value of the European riskless convertible in the classical Black–Scholes–Merton framework. It is shown by Monte Carlo simulation that conversion option value estimates of the American risky convertible are located in a certain region defined by this formula. From estimates of the conversion probability, it is also shown that there exists an optimal reset time in the latter half of the trading interval.     

The Minimal Entropy Martingale Measure and Numerical Option Pricing for the Barndorff–Nielsen–Shephard Stochastic Volatility Model

Abstract

We develop and apply a numerical scheme for pricing options in the stochastic volatility model proposed by Barndorff–Nielsen and Shephard. This non-Gaussian Ornstein–Uhlenbeck type of volatility model gives rise to an incomplete market, and we consider the option prices under the minimal entropy martingale measure. To numerically price options with respect to this risk neutral measure, one needs to consider a Black and Scholes type of partial differential equation, with an integro-term arising from the volatility process. We suggest finite difference schemes to solve this parabolic integro-partial differential equation, and derive appropriate boundary conditions for the finite difference method. As an application of our algorithm, we consider price deviations from the Black and Scholes formula for call options, and the implications of the stochastic volatility on the shape of the volatility smile.     

Approximate indifference pricing in exponential Lévy models

Financial markets based on Lévy processes are typically incomplete and option prices depend on risk attitudes of individual agents. In this context, the notion of utility indifference price has gained popularity in the academic circles. Although theoretically very appealing, this pricing method remains difficult to apply in practice, due to the high computational cost of solving the non-linear partial integro-differential equation associated to the indifference price. In this work, we develop closed-form approximations to exponential utility indifference prices in exponential Lévy models. To this end, we first establish a new non-asymptotic approximation of the indifference price which extends earlier results on small risk aversion asymptotics of this quantity. Next, we use this formula to derive a closed-form approximation of the indifference price by treating the Lévy model as a perturbation of the Black–Scholes model. This extends the methodology introduced in a recent paper for smooth linear functionals of Lévy processes (?erný et al. 2013) to non-linear and non-smooth functionals. Our formula represents the indifference price as the linear combination of the Black–Scholes price and correction terms which depend on the variance, skewness and kurtosis of the underlying Lévy process, and the derivatives of the Black–Scholes price. As a by-product, we obtain a simple approximation for the spread between the buyer’s and the seller’s indifference price. This formula allows to quantify, in a model-independent fashion, how sensitive a given product is to jump risk when jump size is small.     

An alternative approach to solving the Black–Scholes equation with time-varying parameters

In this note we provide a simple derivation of an explicit formula for the price of an option on a dividend-paying equity when the parameters in the Black–Scholes partial differential equation (PDE) are time dependent. With the aid of general transformations, the option value is expressed as a product of the Black–Scholes price for an option on a non-dividend-paying equity with constant parameters, the ratio of the strike price in the time-varying case to the strike price in the constant-parameter case, and a modified discount factor containing a parametrised time variable.     

An explicit analytic formula for pricing barrier options with regime switching

This paper investigates the valuation of a European-style barrier option in a Markovian, regime-switching, Black–Scholes–Merton economy, where the price process of an underlying risky asset is assumed to follow a Markov-modulated geometric Brownian motion. An explicit analytic solution in infinite series form for the price of a European-style barrier option in a two-state regime is presented.     

A recursive pricing formula for a path-dependent option under the constant elasticity of variance diffusion

In this paper, we consider a path-dependent option in finance under the constant elasticity of variance diffusion. We use a perturbation argument and the probabilistic representation (the Feynman–Kac theorem) of a partial differential equation to obtain a complete asymptotic expansion of the option price in a recursive manner based on the Black–Scholes formula and prove rigorously the existence of the expansion with a convergence error.     

Symmetry analysis of a model for the exercise of a barrier option

A barrier option takes into account the possibility of an unacceptable change in the price of the underlying stock. Such a change could carry considerable financial loss. We examine one model based upon the Black–Scholes–Merton Equation and determine the functional forms of the barrier function and rebate function which are consistent with a solution of the underlying evolution partial differential equation using the Lie Theory of Extended Groups. The solution is consistent with the possibility of no rebate and the barrier function is very similar to one adopted on an heuristic basis.     

Option pricing for a logstable asset price model

The paper generalises the celebrated Black and Scholes [1] European option pricing formula for a class of logstable asset price models. The theoretical option prices have the potential to explain the implied volatility smiles evident in the market.     

Risk-neutral valuation of power barrier options

Barrier options are standard exotic options traded in the financial market. These instruments are different from the vanilla options as the payoff of the option depends on whether the underlying asset price reaches a predetermined barrier level, during the life of the option. In this work, we extend the vanilla call barrier options to power call barrier options where the underlying asset price is raised to a constant power, within the standard Black–Scholes framework. It is demonstrated that the pricing of the power barrier options can be obtained from standard barrier options by a transformation which involves the power contract and a adjusted barrier. Numerical results are considered.     

Option Pricing in Illiquid Markets with Jumps

ABSTRACT

The classical linear Black–Scholes model for pricing derivative securities is a popular model in the financial industry. It relies on several restrictive assumptions such as completeness, and frictionless of the market as well as the assumption on the underlying asset price dynamics following a geometric Brownian motion. The main purpose of this paper is to generalize the classical Black–Scholes model for pricing derivative securities by taking into account feedback effects due to an influence of a large trader on the underlying asset price dynamics exhibiting random jumps. The assumption that an investor can trade large amounts of assets without affecting the underlying asset price itself is usually not satisfied, especially in illiquid markets. We generalize the Frey–Stremme nonlinear option pricing model for the case the underlying asset follows a Lévy stochastic process with jumps. We derive and analyze a fully nonlinear parabolic partial-integro differential equation for the price of the option contract. We propose a semi-implicit numerical discretization scheme and perform various numerical experiments showing the influence of a large trader and intensity of jumps on the option price.     

简单可转换债券的定价——一种鞅方法

可转换债券作为债券和期权的混合体,其定价比债券和期权的定价都要复杂.本文用鞅方法讨论可转换债券的定价问题,给出了便于计算的类似于Black-Scholes模型的定价公式.但我们利用鞅方法使定价模型的推导更自然.基于这一定价模型,可转换债券的价格可分解为转换期权的价格和简单债券的价值之和.     

Pricing of general European options on discrete dividend-paying assets with jump-diffusion dynamics

Stocks regularly pay dividends at discrete intervals of time while statistical evidence indicates the existence of small “jumps” in the stock price dynamics. In this paper, we find closed-form solutions for the valuation of European options when the underlying asset is modeled by a jump-diffusion process and pays discrete or continuous dividends. The formula is very general and can be used with any specification on the distribution of the jump. Moreover, the formula is written in terms of the Black–Scholes formula with no jumps or dividends and thus indicates the effect of the jumps and the effect of the inclusion of discrete (or continuous) dividends on the price of the option.     

On theoretical pricing of options with fuzzy estimators

In this paper we present an application of a new method of constructing fuzzy estimators for the parameters of a given probability distribution function, using statistical data. This application belongs to the financial field and especially to the section of financial engineering. In financial markets there are great fluctuations, thus the element of vagueness and uncertainty is frequent. This application concerns Theoretical Pricing of Options and in particular the Black and Scholes Options Pricing formula. We make use of fuzzy estimators for the volatility of stock returns and we consider the stock price as a symmetric triangular fuzzy number. Furthermore we apply the Black and Scholes formula by using adaptive fuzzy numbers introduced by Thiagarajah et al. [K. Thiagarajah, S.S. Appadoo, A. Thavaneswaran, Option valuation model with adaptive fuzzy numbers, Computers and Mathematics with Applications 53 (2007) 831–841] for the stock price and the volatility and we replace the fuzzy volatility and the fuzzy stock price by possibilistic mean value. We refer to both cases of call and put option prices according to the Black & Scholes model and also analyze the results to Greek parameters. Finally, a numerical example is presented for both methods and a comparison is realized based on the results.     

Homotopy analysis method for option pricing under stochastic volatility

In this paper, the homotopy analysis method, whose original concept comes from algebraic topology, is applied to connect the Black–Scholes option price (the good initial guess) to the option price under general stochastic volatility environment in a recursive manner. We obtain the homotopy solutions for the European vanilla and barrier options as well as the relevant convergence conditions.     

Pricing perpetual American options under multiscale stochastic elasticity of variance

This paper studies pricing the perpetual American options under a constant elasticity of variance type of underlying asset price model where the constant elasticity is replaced by a fast mean-reverting Ornstein–Ulenbeck process and a slowly varying diffusion process. By using a multiscale asymptotic analysis, we find the impact of the stochastic elasticity of variance on the option prices and the optimal exercise prices with respect to model parameters. Our results enhance the existing option price structures in view of flexibility and applicability through the market prices of elasticity risk.     

Two Exotic Lookback Options

This paper formally analyses two exotic options with lookback features, referred to as extreme spread lookback options and look‐barrier options, first introduced by Bermin. The holder of such options receives partial protection from large price movements in the underlying, but at roughly the cost of a plain vanilla contract. This is achieved by increasing the leverage through either floating the strike price (for the case of extreme spread options) or introducing a partial barrier window (for the case of look‐barrier options). We show how to statically replicate the prices of these hybrid exotic derivatives with more elementary European binary options and their images, using new methods first introduced by Buchen and Konstandatos. These methods allow considerable simplification in the analysis, leading to closed‐form representations in the Black–Scholes framework.     

Richter’s local limit theorem and Black–Scholes type formulas

We prove a Black–Scholes type formula when the geometric Brownian motion originates from approximations by multinomial distributions. It is shown that the variance appearing in the Black–Scholes formula for option pricing can be structured according to occurrences of different types of events at each time instance using a local limit theorem for multinomial distributions in Richter (1956). The general approach has first been developed in Kan (2005).     

A closed form solution for vulnerable options with Heston’s stochastic volatility

Over-the-counter stock markets in the world have been growing rapidly and vulnerability to default risks of option holders traded in the over-the-counter markets became an important issue, in particular, since the global finance crisis and Eurozone crisis. This paper studies the pricing of European-type vulnerable options when the underlying asset follows the Heston dynamics. In this paper, we obtain a closed form analytic formula of the option price as a stochastic volatility extension of the classical Heston formula and find how the stochastic volatility effect on the Black–Scholes price as well as on the decreasing speed of the option price with credit risk depends on moneyness.     

A possible way of estimating options with stable distributed underlying asset prices

Option pricing theory is considered when the underlying asset price satisfies a stochastic differential equation which is driven by random motions generated by stable distributions. The properties of the stable distributions are discussed and their connection with the theory of fractional Brownian motion is noted. This approach attempts to generalize the classical Black–Scholes formulation, to allow for the presence of fat tails in the distribution of log prices which leads to a diffusion equation involving fractional Brownian motion. The resulting option pricing via a hedging strategy approach is independently derived by constructing a backward Kolmogorov equation for a simple trinomial model where the probabilities are assumed to satisfy a particular fractional Taylor series due to Dzherbashyan and Nersesyan. To effect this development, some knowledge of fractional integration and differentiation is required so this is briefly reviewed. Consideration is also given to a different hedging strategy approach leading to a fractional Black–Scholes equation involving the market price of risk. Modification to the model is also considered such as the impact of transaction costs. A simple example of American options is also considered.     

A BLACK－SCHOLES FORMULA FOR OPTIONPRICINGWITHDIVIDENDS

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