A mathematical model for asset pricing

Asset price dynamics is studied by using a system of ordinary differential equations which is derived by utilizing a new excess demand function introduced by Caginalp [4] for a market involving more information on demand and supply for a stock rather than their values at a particular price. Derivation is based on the finiteness of assets (rather than assuming unbounded arbitrage) in addition to investment strategies that are based on not only price momentum (trend) but also valuation considerations. For this new model and the older models which were extracted using the classical excess demand function by Caginalp and Balenovich [2] and [3], time evolutions of asset price are compared through numerical simulations.     

Asymptotic asset pricing and bubbles

We define the concept of asymptotic superreplication, and prove a duality principle of asset pricing for sequences of financial markets (e.g., weakly converging financial markets and large financial markets) based on contiguous sequences of equivalent local martingale measures. This provides a pricing mechanism to calculate the fundamental value of a financial asset in the asymptotic market. We introduce the notion of asymptotic bubbles by showing that this fundamental value can be strictly lower than the current price of the asset. In the case of weakly converging markets, we show that this fundamental value is equal to an expectation of the terminal value of the asset in the weak-limit market. From a practical perspective, we relate the asymptotic superreplication price to a limit of quantile-hedging prices. This shows that even when a price process is a true martingale, it can have properties similar to a bubble, up to a set of small probability. For practical applications, we give examples of weakly converging discrete-time models (e.g. some GARCH models) and large financial models that present bubbles.     

A new test on the conditional capital asset pricing model

Testing the validity of the conditional capital asset pricing model(CAPM) is a puzzle in the finance literatureLewellen and Nagel[14]find that the variation in betas and in the equity premium would have to be implausibly large to explain important asset-pricing anomaliesUnfortunately, they do not provide a rigorous test statisticBased on a simulation study, the method proposed in Lewellen and Nagel[14]tends to reject the null too frequently.We develop a new test procedure and derive its limiting distribution under the null hypothesis.Also, we provide a Bootstrap approach to the testing procedure to gain a good finite sample performanceBoth simulations and empirical studies show that our test is necessary for making correct inferences with the conditional CAPM.     

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.     

Incomplete financial markets and contingent claim pricing in a dual expected utility theory framework

This paper investigates the price for contingent claims in a dual expected utility theory framework, the dual price, considering arbitrage-free financial markets. A pricing formula is obtained for contingent claims written on n underlying assets following a general diffusion process. The formula holds in both complete and incomplete markets as well as in constrained markets. An application is also considered assuming a geometric Brownian motion for the underlying assets and the Wang transform as the distortion function.     

Asymptotic pricing in large financial markets

The problem of hedging and pricing sequences of contingent claims in large financial markets is studied. Connection between asymptotic arbitrage and behavior of the α-quantile price is shown. The large Black–Scholes model is carefully examined.      

Actuarial risk measures for financial derivative pricing

We present an axiomatic characterization of price measures that are superadditive and comonotonic additive for normally distributed random variables. The price representation derived involves a probability measure transform that is closely related to the Esscher transform, and we call it the Esscher-Girsanov transform. In a financial market in which the primary asset price is represented by a stochastic differential equation with respect to Brownian motion, the price mechanism based on the Esscher-Girsanov transform can generate approximate-arbitrage-free financial derivative prices.     

Equilibruim approach of asset pricing under Lévy process

This work considers the equilibrium approach of asset pricing for Lévy process. It derives the equity premium and pricing kernel analytically for the stock price process, obtains an equilibrium option pricing formula, and explains some empirical evidence such as the negative variance risk premium, implied volatility smirk, and negative skewness risk premium by comparing the physical and risk-neutral distributions of the log return. Different from most of the current studies in equilibrium pricing under jump diffusion models, this work models the underlying asset price as the exponential of a Lévy process and thus allows nearly an arbitrage distribution of the jump component.     

Modeling financial asset returns with shot noise processes

We introduce a new class of continuous time processes for modeling the rate of returns of financial assets. The statistical characterization is based on the so-called shot noise processes. The probabilistic structure of the shot noise process provides a very realistic framework for asset returns modeling of the stock price processes. Our class of processes exhibits the natural phenomena well known in empirical financial studies:

1. (a) fat-tail distribution function for the asset returns,

2. (b) dependence of the returns,

3. (c) nonstationarity in time.

Financial asset returns in new emerging markets such as those of Eastern European countries exhibit a highly volatile behavior. Statistical investigations of the unconditional distribution of returns of stocks, commodities, exchange rates, etc., show extremely heavy tails and steep peaks around the expectation. We use a class of shot noise processes with Poissonian times and Brownian magnitudes for modeling this phenomenon.     

Arbitrage and approximate arbitrage: the fundamental theorem of asset pricing

We consider an incomplete market model where asset prices are modelled by Ito processes, and derive the first fundamental theorem of asset pricing using standard stochastic calculus techniques. This contrasts with the sophisticated functional analytic theorems required in the comprehensive works of F. Delbaen and W. Schachermayer (1993) No Arbitrage and the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing, pp. 37–38; Math. Finance 4 (1994), pp. 343–348; Math. Ann. 300 (1994), pp. 464–520; Ann. Appl. Probab. 5 (1995), pp. 926–645 and Proc. Sympos. Appl. Math. 57 (1999), pp. 49–58, and the comparative lack of transparency of the associated technical conditions. An additional benefit is that a clear relationship between no arbitrage and the existence of equivalent local martingale measures is also presented.     

Hedging with a correlated asset: Solution of a nonlinear pricing PDE

Hedging a contingent claim with an asset which is not perfectly correlated with the underlying asset results in unhedgeable residual risk. Even if the residual risk is considered diversifiable, the option writer is faced with the problem of uncertainty in the estimation of the drift rates of the underlying and the hedging instrument. If the residual risk is not considered diversifiable, then this risk can be priced using an actuarial standard deviation principle in infinitesimal time. In both cases, these models result in the same nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE). A fully implicit, monotone discretization method is developed for solution of this pricing PDE. This method is shown to converge to the viscosity solution. Certain grid conditions are required to guarantee monotonicity. An algorithm is derived which, given an initial grid, inserts a finite number of nodes in the grid to ensure that the monotonicity condition is satisfied. At each timestep, the nonlinear discretized algebraic equations are solved using an iterative algorithm, which is shown to be globally convergent. Monte Carlo hedging examples are given to illustrate the profit and loss distribution at the expiry of the option.     

A non random walk theory of exchange rate dynamics with applications to option pricing

A two dimensional stochastic process is developed to model exchange rate dynamics. We incorporate the non random walk influence of pur–chasing power parity, to synthesise the theories of international trade and foreign currency options. Our results, which include a closed form expression for the transition density function of the exchange rate and an exact formula to price currency options, offer a theoretical framework for further study of foreign exchange markets     

On European option pricing under partial information

We consider a European option pricing problem under a partial information market, i.e., only the security’s price can be observed, the rate of return and the noise source in the market cannot be observed. To make the problem tractable, we focus on gap option which is a generalized form of the classical European option. By using the stochastic analysis and filtering technique, we derive a Black-Scholes formula for gap option pricing with dividends under partial information. Finally, we apply filtering technique to solve a utility maximization problem under partial information through transforming the problem under partial information into the classical problem.