If a probability distribution is sufficiently close to a normal distribution, its density can be approximated by a Gram/Charlier Series A expansion. In option pricing, this has been used fit risk-neutral asset price distributions to the implied volatility smile, ensuring an arbitrage-free...

The Gram-Charlier expansion, where skewness and kurtosis directly appear as parameters, has become popular in Finance as a generalization of the normal density. We show how positivity constraints can be numerically implemented, thereby guaranteeing that the expansion defines a density. The...

This paper introduces the Inverse Gamma (IGa) stochastic volatility model with time-dependent parameters, defined by the volatility dynamics dVt = κt.(θt − Vt).dt λt.Vt.dBt. This non-affine model is much more realistic than classical affine models like the Heston stochastic volatility...

This paper proposes the use of analytical approximations to price an heterogeneous basket option combining commodity prices, foreign currencies and zero-coupon bonds. The performance of three moment matching approximations is examined: inverse gamma, Edgeworth expansion around the lognormal and...

This paper analyzes whether and how central banks can use currency options to lower exchange rate volatility and maintain (implicit) target zones in foreign exchange markets. It argues that selling rather than buying options will result in market makers dynamically hedging their long option...

It is often argued that Quasi-Monte Carlo Methods (QMC ) only work for problems of low effective dimension that encompass most of financial problems. We will show here some evidence that, with the Sobol construction, they can be suited for problems with high effective dimension in the truncation...

Since their first introduction in 1996, weather derivatives have been a topic of discussion. The ongoing climate change has, in fact, increased the risks for companies that are naturally exposed to meteorological variables, raising questions on how such companies should manage these increasingly...

This paper builds and implements a multifactor stochastic volatility model for the latent (and observable) volatility from the quarter and year forward contracts at the NASDAQ OMX Commodity Exchanges, applying Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation methodologies for estimation, inference,...

There is an inaccurate formula in Huang et al. (1996) [Huang J., M. Subrahmanyam, and G. Yu (1996) Pricing and Hedging American Options: A Recursive Integration Method. Review of Financial Studies 9 (1):277–300]. In fact, a substantial term is missing in their equation (14) for computing the...

Hedging at-the-money digital options near maturity, remains a challenge in quantitative finance. In the present work, we carry out a hedging strategy by means of a bull spread. We study the probability of super- and sub-hedge the digital option and minimize the probability of a sub-hedge...