This paper derives exact formulas for retrieving risk neutral moments of future payoffs of any order from generic European-style option prices. It also provides an exact formula for retrieving the expected quadratic variation of the stock market implied by European option prices, which nowadays...

In this paper we present a new method of approximating the risk neutral density (RND) from option prices based on the C-type Gram-Charlier series expansion (GCSE) of a probability density function. The exponential form of this type of GCSE guarantees that it will always give positive values of...

This paper provides new insights into the sources of bias of option implied volatility to forecast its physical counterpart. It argues that this bias can be attributed to volatility risk premium effects. The latter are found to depend on high order cumulants of the risk neutral density. These...

This article explores the role of the realized return distribution in the formation of the observed implied volatility smile using the framework of an adaptive expectations model. According to this framework investors update their expectations of future events, through which options are priced,...

This paper examines the impact of unconventional monetary policy of ECB measured by its balance sheet expansion on euro area equity market uncertainty and investors risk aversion within a structural VAR framework. An expansionary balance sheet shock decreases both risk aversion and uncertainty...

This paper investigates the relation between risk-free rates and ex-ante market volatility. It derives a theoretical model implying a negative linear relation between risk-free rates and variance futures prices. The latter are employed as a direct market-based ex-ante estimate of risk-neutral...

We present a method for extracting the market risk premium from stock and option data and examine its validity. We extend Duan and Zhang's (2014) model to estimate the projected risk aversion coefficient using more information for the discrepancy of the physical from the risk-neutral...

This paper suggests a new method of implementing the principle of maximum entropy to retrieve the risk neutral density of future stock, or any other asset, returns from European call and put prices. Instead of options prices used by previous studies the method maximizes the entropy measure...

We document that implied volatility (IV) curves extracted from short-term equity options frequently become concave prior to the earnings announcement day (EAD) reflecting a bimodal risk-neutral distribution for the underlying stock price. Firms with concave IV curves exhibit significantly higher...