Option Pricing with a Dynamic Fat-Tailed Model

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the need to consider more realistic risk models for derivative products has received renewed attention. We introduce a dynamic model for the pricing of European-style options with various attractive features such as a mixture of heavy-tails and Gaussian distribution along with a leverage effect property. We test the model on FTSE 100 stock index options during the period of January 2008 to June 2009. Our empirical results show that the model adequately fits the volatility smile dynamics particularly during stress periods. Furthermore, we find that the leverage effect form is driven by the sticky-strike rule.