Constructing Out-of-the-Money Longevity Hedges Using Parametric Mortality Indexes

Multiscale stochastic elasticity of variance for options and equity linked annuity; A Mellin transform approach

An analytic pricing formula for lookback options under stochastic volatility

Many of the existing index-based longevity hedging strategies focus on the reduction in variance. However, solvency capital requirements are typically based on the τ-year-ahead Value-at-Risk, with τ = 1 under Solvency II. Optimizing a longevity hedge using variance minimization is particularly inadequate when the cost of hedging is nonzero and mortality improvements are driven by a skewed and/or heavy-tailed distribution. In this article, we contribute a method to formulate a value hedge that aims to minimize the Value-at-Risk of the hedged position over a horizon of τ years. The proposed method works with all stochastic mortality models that can be formulated in a state-space form, even when a non normal distributional assumption is made. We further develop a technique to expedite the evaluation of a value longevity hedge. By utilizing the generic assumption that the innovations in the stochastic processes for the period and cohort effects are not serially correlated, the proposed technique spares us from the need for nested simulations that are generally required when evaluating a value hedge.

An analytical approximation formula for European option pricing under a new stochastic volatility model with regime-switching

Option markets, empirical price data, and theoretical arguments all indicate that asset prices in actively traded markets are driven by Lévy flights and/or tempered Lévy flights, not by Brownian motion. So here we model asset prices in the real world by (1) where dZL is a Lévy or tempered Lévy flight. Derivatives based on such assets cannot be made risk free by dynamic hedging, so these derivatives cannot be priced using the standard Black–Scholes–Merton (BSM) arbitrage-free pricing criterion. Therefore, we develop a pricing theory based on a more general pricing criterion: that the expected return of all diversifiable portfolios is at the risk-free rate. We show that even though derivatives based on Lévy or tempered Lévy-driven assets cannot be hedged to make risk-free portfolios, they can be hedged to make diversifiable portfolios. This allows us to conclude that these option prices are given by (2) where the expected value uses the “real-world” probability measure, but with the asset price X(t) replaced by the alternative “pricing process” (3) which grows at the risk-free rate. We analyze these models to obtain explicit asymptotic formulas for European option prices. This analysis shows that as the time to expiry decreases, eventually all these Lévy and tempered Lévy-based models reduce to the same canonical model, and that European option prices and implied volatilities are given by similarity solutions under this canonical model. These similarity solutions are then examined to assess the mishedging that arises from Brownian-based models in a Lévy world.

Estimation of Jump-Diffusion Processes via Empirical Characteristic Functions

<abstract><p>In this paper, the pricing of European options under a new two-factor non-affine stochastic volatility model is studied. In order to reduce the computational complexity, we use the Taylor expansion and Fourier-cosine method to derive an analytical approximation formula for European option prices. Numerical experiments prove that the proposed formula is fast and efficient for pricing European options compared with Monte Carlo simulations. The sensitivity of the parameters is analyzed to explain the rationality of the model. Finally, we present some preliminary empirical analysis revealing that the pricing performance of our proposed model is superior to that of the single-factor model.</p></abstract>

Pricing Barrier Options and Credit Default Swaps (CDS) in Spectrally One-Sided Levy Models: The Parabolic Laplace Inversion Method

The aims of this paper are twofold. Firstly, we present an approximating formula for pricing basket and multi-asset spread options, which genuinely extends Caldana and Fusai's (2013) two-asset spread options formula. Secondly, under the lognormal setting, we show that our formula becomes a Black and Scholes type formula, extending Bjerksund and Stensland's (2011). Numerical experiments and comparison with Monte Carlo simulations and other methods available in the literature are discussed. The main contribution of this paper is to provide practitioners with a pricing formula, which can be used for pricing basket and multi-asset spread options, even under a non-Gaussian framework.

We consider a general option pricing framework incorporating the double Heston stochastic volatility, stochastic interest rate, jumps and Markov regime switching. Under the proposed framework, we derive the analytical pricing formulae for European options using Fourier transform technique. Numerical examples illustrate that the option prices and the implied volatility curves under different regimes vary clearly, and the effects of regime-switching and jumps on the option price differ.

This paper obtains an analytic pricing formula for vulnerable European options. This formula allows the option writer to default at any time during the life of the option, and the recovery value of the option in default to be an amount equal to the writerfs asset-to-debt ratio multiplied by the economic equivalent of the option right, rather than its default-free value. Numerical results indicate that the economic equivalent of the option right, assumed as its default-free value, is inappropriate, and a default, restricted to occur only at the exercise date, seriously understates the impact of credit risk on option prices. Key words: vulnerable option, option pricing, credit risk

We consider the valuation of options with stressed-beta in a reduced form model. Under this two-state beta model, we provide the analytic pricing formulae for the European options and American options as the integral forms. Specifically, we provide the integral representation of the early exercise premium of an American put option. We use the quadrature method to evaluate the integral forms and we measure the performance of our pricing framework comparing the benchmarks set by the trinomial tree method. It turns out that our pricing framework with the quadrature methods are computationally efficient and accurate. We also calibrate the market data successfully.

We examine the effect of varying the temperature points on MEMS inertial sensors’ noise models using Allan variance and least-squares spectral analysis (LSSA). Allan variance is a method of representing root-mean-square random drift error as a function of averaging times. LSSA is an alternative to the classical Fourier methods and has been applied successfully by a number of researchers in the study of the noise characteristics of experimental series. Static data sets are collected at different temperature points using two MEMS-based IMUs, namely MotionPakII and Crossbow AHRS300CC. The performance of the two MEMS inertial sensors is predicted from the Allan variance estimation results at different temperature points and the LSSA is used to study the noise characteristics and define the sensors’ stochastic model parameters. It is shown that the stochastic characteristics of MEMS-based inertial sensors can be identified using Allan variance estimation and LSSA and the sensors’ stochastic model parameters are temperature dependent. Also, the Kaiser window FIR low-pass filter is used to investigate the effect of de-noising stage on the stochastic model. It is shown that the stochastic model is also dependent on the chosen cut-off frequency.

A floating-strike lookback call option gives the holder the right to buy at the lowest price of the underlying asset. Similarly, a floating-strike lookback put option gives the holder the right to sell at the highest price. This paper will propose an outside floating-strike lookback call (or put) option that gives the holder the right to buy (or sell) one underlying asset at some percentage of the lowest (or highest) price of the other underlying asset. In addition, this paper will derive explicit pricing formulas for these outside floating-strike lookback options. Sections 3 and 4 assume that the underlying assets pay no dividends. In contrast, Section 5 will derive explicit pricing formulas for these options when their underlying assets pay dividends continuously at a rate proportional to their prices. Some numerical examples will be discussed.

In this paper, an additional factor is introduced into the Heston–Hull–White (HHW) hybrid model, which originally combines the Heston stochastic volatility model and the Hull–White stochastic interest rate model, to capture the correlation between the underlying price and the interest rate, while at the same time preserve the analytical tractability. With the analytical solution to the characteristic function of the underlying price being successfully derived, a closed‐form pricing formula for European options under the two‐factor HHW hybrid model is presented. Numerical experiments are also carried out to show the effect of the newly introduced factor. To further demonstrate the importance of introducing the correlation, we have also conducted an empirical study, comparing the performance of our model and that of the HHW model, based on European options written on S&P 500 index.