The aim of this paper is to shed new light on the concept of diversification showing that it is not necessarily related to the reduction of the volatility of a portfolio, as it is commonly perceived. We introduce a diversification index that exploits the decomposition of portfolio volatility...

We compute an analytical expression for the moment generating function of the joint random vector consisting of a spot price and its discretely monitored average for a large class of square-root price dynamics. This result, combined with the Fourier transform pricing method proposed by Carr and...

We present a numerical scheme to calculate fluctuation identities for exponential L'evy processes in the continuous monitoring case. This includes the Spitzer identities for touching a single upper or lower barrier, and the more difficult case of the two-barriers exit problem. These identities...

This paper is an introduction to the measurement of market risk in financial markets, with examples drawn mainly from commodity markets. In particular, we present the concept of VaR, its limits, the problems related to its estimation and backtesting. This is done at single asset and at portfolio...

We derive a closed-form formula for the fair value of call and put options written on the arithmetic average of security prices driven by jump diffusion processes displaying (possibly periodical) trend, time varying volatility, and mean reversion. The model allows one for jointly fitting quoted...

The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is a widely adopted model in asset pricing theory and portfolio construction because of its intuitive nature. One of its main conclusions is that there exists a global market portfolio that each rational investor should hold in proportion with the risk-free...

This note demonstrates how a covariance matrix estimated using log-returns of multiple assets in their respective base currencies can be converted directly into a covariance matrix in a single common currency using basic matrix multiplication. This approach eliminates the need to compute returns...