Models that are based on mean-variance analysis seek portfolio weights to minimise the variance of the portfolio for a given level of return. The portfolio variance is measured using a covariance matrix that represents the volatility and correlation of asset returns. However these matrices are...

Arbitrage-free price bounds for convertible bonds are obtained assuming a stochastic volatility process for the common stock that lies within a band but makes few other assumptions about volatility dynamics. Equity-linked hazard rates, stochastic interest rates and different assumptions about...

Many commodity markets contain a strong seasonal component in volatility. In this paper, the importance of this seasonal behavior for the pricing of commodity options is analyzed. We propose a stochastic volatility model where the drift term of the variance process captures the observed seasonal...

A price process is scale-invariant if and only if the returns distribution is independent of the price level. We show that scale invariance preserves the homogeneity of a pay-off function throughout the life of the claim and hence prove that standard price hedge ratios for a wide class of...

Contrary to popular belief, the diffusion limit of a GARCH variance process is not a diffusion model unless one makes a very specific assumption that cannot be generalized. In fact, the normal GARCH(1,1) prices of European call and puts are identical to the Black-Scholes prices based on the...

GARCH option pricing models have the advantage of a well-established econometric foundation. However, multiple states need to be introduced as single state GARCH and even Levy processes are unable to explain the term structure of the moments of financial data. We show that the continuous time...

There are two unique volatility surfaces associated with any arbitrage-free set of standard European option prices, the implied volatility surface and the local volatility surface. Several papers have discussed the stochastic differential equations for implied volatilities that are consistent...

GARCH processes constitute the major area of time series variance analysis hence the limit of these processes is of considerable interest for continuous time volatility modelling. The limit of the GARCH(1,1) model is fundamental for limits of other GARCH processes yet it has been the subject of...

Most research on option hedging has compared the performance of delta hedges derived from different stochastic volatility models with Black-Scholes-Merton (BSM) deltas, and in particular with the `implied BSM’ model in which an option’s delta is based on its own market implied volatility....

The study examines the existence of liquidity risk premia on freight derivatives returns. The Amihud liquidity ratio and bid-ask spreads are utilized to assess the existence of liquidity premia. Other macroeconomic variables are used to control for market risk. Results indicate that liquidity...