Digital publication - the available options

Paper given at Record Society Publishin

Robust hedging of digital double touch barrier options

In this dissertation, we present basic idea and key results for model-free pricing and hedging of digital double barrier options. Besides we extend this model to the market with non-zero interest rate by allowing some model-based trading. Moreover we apply this hedging strategies to Heston stochastic volatility model and compare its performances with that of delta hedging strategies in such setting. Finally we further interpret these numerical results to show the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of hedging strategies

Pricing European and American Options under Heston Model using Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Elements

This paper deals with pricing of European and American options, when the underlying asset price follows Heston model, via the interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin finite element method (dGFEM). The advantages of dGFEM space discretization with Rannacher smoothing as time integrator with nonsmooth initial and boundary conditions are illustrated for European vanilla options, digital call and American put options. The convection dominated Heston model for vanishing volatility is efficiently solved utilizing the adaptive dGFEM. For fast solution of the linear complementary problem of the American options, a projected successive over relaxation (PSOR) method is developed with the norm preconditioned dGFEM. We show the efficiency and accuracy of dGFEM for option pricing by conducting comparison analysis with other methods and numerical experiments

Model Dependency of the Digital Option Replication – Replication under an Incomplete Model (in English)

The paper focuses on the replication of digital options under an incomplete model. Digital options are regularly applied in the hedging and static decomposition of many path-dependent options. The author examines the performance of static and dynamic replication. He considers the case of a market agent for whom the right model of the underlying asset-price evolution is not available. The observed price dynamic is supposed to follow four distinct models: (i) the Black and Scholes model, (ii) the Black and Scholes model with stochastic volatility driven by Hull and White model, (iii) the variance gamma model, defined as time changed Brownian motion, and (iv) the variance gamma model set in a stochastic environment modelled as the rate of time change via a Cox-Ingersoll-Ross model. Both static and dynamic replication methods are applied and examined within each of these settings. The author verifies the independence of the static replication on underlying processes.digital options, dynamic and static replication, internal time, Lévy models, replication error, stochastic environment, stochastic volatility, variance gamma process

Multivariate Option Pricing with Copulas.

In this paper we suggest the adoption of copula functions in order to price multivariate contingent claims. Copulas enable us to imbed the marginal distributions extracted from vertical spreads in the options markets in a multivariate pricing kernel. We prove that such kernel is a copula function, and that its super -replication strategy is represented by the Fréchet bounds. As applications, we provide prices for binary digital options, options on the minimum and options to exchange one asset for another. For each of these products, we provide no-arbitrage pricing bounds, as well as the values consistent with independence of the underlying assets. As a final reference value, we use a copula function calibrated on historical data.option pricing; basket options; copula functions; non-normal returns

Meeting the digital challenge: reforming Australia's media in the digital age

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) in response to the discussion paper on media reform options, MEETING THE DIGITAL CHALLENGE Reforming Australia’s media in the digital age (Discussion Paper)

Robust pricing and hedging of double no-touch options

Double no-touch options, contracts which pay out a fixed amount provided an underlying asset remains within a given interval, are commonly traded, particularly in FX markets. In this work, we establish model-free bounds on the price of these options based on the prices of more liquidly traded options (call and digital call options). Key steps are the construction of super- and sub-hedging strategies to establish the bounds, and the use of Skorokhod embedding techniques to show the bounds are the best possible. In addition to establishing rigorous bounds, we consider carefully what is meant by arbitrage in settings where there is no {\it a priori} known probability measure. We discuss two natural extensions of the notion of arbitrage, weak arbitrage and weak free lunch with vanishing risk, which are needed to establish equivalence between the lack of arbitrage and the existence of a market model.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figure

Maximum Entropy Distributions Inferred from Option Portfolios on an Asset

We obtain the maximum entropy distribution for an asset from call and digital option prices. A rigorous mathematical proof of its existence and exponential form is given, which can also be applied to legitimise a formal derivation by Buchen and Kelly. We give a simple and robust algorithm for our method and compare our results to theirs. We present numerical results which show that our approach implies very realistic volatility surfaces even when calibrating only to at-the-money options. Finally, we apply our approach to options on the S&P 500 index.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Finance and Stochastic