A Discussion of Financial Economics in A PDF

A Discussion of Financial Economics in Actuarial Models
A Preparation for the Actuarial Exam MFE/3F
Marcel B. Finan
Arkansas Tech University
All
c Rights Reserved
Preliminary Draft
Last Updated
April 6, 2010
2
For Pallavi and Amin

Preface
This is the third of a series of books intended to help individuals to pass actuarial exams. The
present manuscript covers the financial economics segment of Exam M referred to by MFE/3F.
The flow of topics in the book follows very closely that of McDonalds Derivatives Markets. The
book covers designated sections from this book as suggested by the 2009 SOA Syllabus.
The recommended approach for using this book is to read each section, work on the embedded
examples, and then try the problems. Answer keys are provided so that you check your numerical
answers against the correct ones.
Problems taken from previous SOA/CAS exams will be indicated by the symbol .
This manuscript can be used for personal use or class use, but not for commercial purposes. If you
find any errors, I would appreciate hearing from you: [email protected]
Marcel B. Finan
Russellville, Arkansas
Projects Starting Date: November 2009
Anticipated Date of Completion: April 2010
3
4 PREFACE
Contents
Preface 3
Parity and Other Price Options Properties 9

1 A Review of Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2 Put-Call Parity for European Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3 Put-Call Parity of Stock Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4 Conversions and Reverse Conversions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5 Parity for Currency Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6 Parity of European Options on Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7 Put-Call Parity Generalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
8 Labeling Options: Currency Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
9 No-Arbitrage Bounds on Option Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
10 General Rules of Early Exercise on American Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
11 Effect of Maturity Time Growth on Option Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
12 Options with Different Strike Prices but Same Time to Expiration . . . . . . . . . . . 84
13 Convexity Properties of the Option Price Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Option Pricing in Binomial Models 99

14 Single-Period Binomial Model Pricing of European Call Options . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
15 Risk-Neutral Option Pricing in the Binomial Model: A First Look . . . . . . . . . . . 109
16 Binomial Trees and Volatility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
17 Multi-Period Binomial Option Pricing Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
18 Binomial Option Pricing for European Puts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
19 Binomial Option Pricing for American Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
20 Binomial Option Pricing on Currency Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
21 Binomial Pricing of Futures Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
22 Further Discussion of Early Exercising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
23 Risk-Neutral Probability Versus Real Probability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5
6 CONTENTS
24 Random Walk and the Binomial Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

25 Alternative Binomial Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
26 Estimating (Historical) Volatility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
The Black-Scholes Model 183

27 The Black-Scholes Formulas for European Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
28 Applying the Black-Scholes Formula To Other Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
29 Option Greeks: Delta, Gamma, and Vega . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
30 Option Greeks: Theta, Rho, and Psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
31 Option Elasticity and Option Volatility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
32 The Risk Premium and Sharpe Ratio of an Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
33 Profit Before Maturity: Calendar Spreads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
34 Implied Volatility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Option Hedging 243

35 Delta-Hedging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
36 Option Price Approximations: Delta and Delta-Gamma Approximations . . . . . . . . 252
37 The Delta-Gamma-Theta Approximation and the Market-Makers Profit . . . . . . . . 258
38 The Black-Scholes Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
39 Delta-Gamma Hedging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
An Introduction to Exotic Options 275

40 Asian Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
41 European Barrier Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
42 Compound European Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
43 Chooser and Forward Start Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
44 Gap Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
45 Exchange Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
The Lognormal Stock Pricing Model 313

46 The Normal Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
47 The Lognormal Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
48 A Lognormal Model of Stock Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
49 Lognormal Probability Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
50 Conditional Expected Price and a Derivation of Black-Scholes Formula . . . . . . . . 343
CONTENTS 7
Option Pricing Via Monte Carlo Simulation 349

51 Option Valuation as a Discounted Expected Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
52 Computing Normal Random Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
53 Simulating Lognormal Stock Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
54 Monte Carlo Valuation for European Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
55 Monte Carlo Valuation of Asian Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
56 Control Variate Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
57 Antithetic Variate Method and Stratified Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Brownian Motion 387

58 Brownian Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
59 Arithmetic Brownian Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
60 Geometric Brownian Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
61 Ito Process Multiplication Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
62 Sharpe ratios of Assets that Follow Geometric Brownian Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
63 The Risk-Neutral Measure and Girsanovs Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
64 Single Variate Itos Lemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
65 Valuing a Claim on S a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
The Black-Scholes Partial Differential Equation 431

66 Differential Equations for Riskless Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
67 Derivation of the Black-Scholes PDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
68 The Black-Scholes PDE and Equilibrium Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
69 The B-S Equation and the Risk Neutral Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Binary Options 449

70 Cash-or-Nothing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
71 Asset-or-Nothing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
72 Supershares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Interest Rates Models 465

73 Bond Pricing Model with Arbitrage Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
74 A Black-Scholes Analogue for Pricing Zero-Coupon Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
75 Zero-Coupon Bond Pricing: Risk-Neutral Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
76 The Rendleman-Bartter Short-Term Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
77 The Vasicek Short-Term Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
78 The Cox-Ingersoll-Ross Short-Term Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
79 The Black Formula for Pricing Options on Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
8 CONTENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY 501
Parity and Other Price Options
Properties
Parity is one of the most important relation in option pricing. In this chapter we discuss different
versions of parity for different underlying assets. The main parity relation for European options can
be rearranged to create synthetic securities. Also, options where the underlying asset and the srike
asset can be anything are discussed. Bounds of option prices for European and American options
are also discussed.
Since many of the discussions in this book are based on the no-arbitrage principle, then we will
remind the reader of this concept.
The concept of no-arbitrage:

No arbitrage principle assumes there are no transaction costs such as tax and commissions.
Arbitrage is possible when one of three conditions is met:
1. The same asset does not trade at the same price on all markets (the law of one price).
2. Two assets with identical cash flows do not trade at the same price.
3. An asset with a known price in the future does not today trade at its future price discounted at
the risk-free interest rate.
9
10 PARITY AND OTHER PRICE OPTIONS PROPERTIES
1 A Review of Options
Derivative securities are financial instruments that derive their value from the value of other
assets. Examples of derivatives are forwards, options, and swaps. In this section we discuss briefly
the basic vocabulary of options.
A forward contract is the obligation to buy or sell something at a pre-specified time (called the
expiration date, the delivery date, or the maturity date) and at a pre-specified price, known
as the forward price or delivery price. A forward contract requires no initial premium. In
contrast, an option is a contract that gives the owner the right, but not the obligation, to buy or
sell a specified asset at a specified price, on or by a specified date. The underlying assets include
stocks, major currencies, and bonds. The majority of options are traded on an exchange (such as
Chicago Board of Exchange) or in the over-the-counter market.
There are two types of options: A call option gives the right to the owner to buy the asset. A
put option gives the right to the owner to sell the asset.
Option trading involves two parties: a buyer and a seller. The buyer or owner of a call (put)
option obtains the right to buy (sell) an asset at a specified price by paying a premium to the
writer or seller of the option, who assumes the collateral obligation to sell (buy) the asset, should
the owner of the option choose to exercise it. The buyer of an option is said to take a long position
in the option whereas the seller is said to take a short position in the option. A short-sale of
an asset (or shorting the asset) entails borrowing the asset and then selling it, receiving the cash.
Some time later, we buy back the asset, paying cash for it, and return it to the lender.
Additional terms are needed in understanding option contracts. The strike price or exercise
price (denoted by K) is the fixed price specified in the option contract for which the holder can
buy or sell the underlying asset. The expiration date, exercise date, or maturity (denoted by
T with T = 0 for today) is the last date on which the contract is still valid. After this date the
contract no longer exists. By exercising the option we mean enforcing the contract,i.e., buy or
sell the underlying asset using the option. Two types of exercising options (also known as style)
are: An American option may be exercised at any time up to the expiration date. A European
option on the other hand, may be exercised only on the expiration date. Unless otherwise stated,
options are considered to be Europeans.
Example 1.1
A call option on ABC Corp stock currently trades for $6. The expiration date is December 17,
2005. The strike price of the option is $95.
(a) If this is an American option, on what dates can the option be exercised?
(b) If this is a European option, on what dates can the option be exercised?
Solution.
(a) Any date before and including the expiration date, December 17, 2005.
1 A REVIEW OF OPTIONS 11
(b) Only on Dec 17, 2005
The payoff or intrinsic value from a call option at the expiration date is a function of the
strike price K and the spot (or market) price ST of the underlying asset on the delivery date. It
is given by max{0, ST K}. From this definition we conclude that if a call option is held until
expiration (which must be so for a European option, but not an American option) then the option
will be exercised if, and only if, ST > K, in which case the owner of the option will realize a net
payoff ST K > 0 and the writer of the option will realize a net payoff(loss) K ST < 0.
Likewise, the payoff from a put option at the expiration date is a function of the strike price K
and the spot price ST of the underlying asset on the delivery date. It is given by max{0, K ST }.
From this definition we conclude that if a put option is held until expiration (which must be so for
a European option, but not an American option) then the option will be exercised if, and only if,
ST < K, in which case the owner of the option will realize a net payoff K ST > 0 and the writer
of the option will realize a net payoff(loss) ST K < 0.
Example 1.2
Suppose you buy a 6-month call option with a strike price of $50. What is the payoff in 6 months
for prices $45, $50, $55, and $60?
Solution.
The payoff to a purchased call option at expiration is:
Payoff to call option = max{0, spot price at expiration strike price}
The strike is given: It is $50. Therefore, we can construct the following table:
Price of assets in 6 months Strike price Payoff to the call option
45 50 0
50 50 0
55 50 5
60 50 10
Payoff does not take into consideration the premium which is paid to acquire an option. Thus, the
payoff of an option is not the money earned (or lost). For a call option we define the profit earned
by the owner of the option by
Buyers call profit = Buyers call payoff future value of premium.
Likewise, we define the profit of a put option by
Buyers put profit = Buyers put payoff future value of premium.
Payoff and profit diagrams of a call option and a put option are shown in the figure below. Pc and
Pp will denote the future value of the premium for a call and put option respectively.
Example 1.3
You hold a European call option on 100 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The exercise price of the call is
$50. The option will expire in moments. Assume there are no transactions costs or taxes associated
with this contract.
(a) What is your profit on this contract if the stock is selling for $51?
(b) If Coca-Cola stock is selling for $49, what will you do?
Solution.
(a) The profit is 1 100 = $100.
(b) Do not exercise. The option is thus expired without exercise
Example 1.4
One can use options to insure assets we own (or purchase) or assets we short sale. An investor
who owns an asset (i.e. being long an asset) and wants to be protected from the fall of the assets
value can insure his asset by buying a put option with a desired strike price. This combination of
owning an asset and owning a put option on that asset is called a floor. The put option guarantees
a minimum sale price of the asset equals the strike price of the put.
Show that buying a stock at a price S and buying a put option on the stock with strike price K and
time to expiration T has payoff equals to the payoff of buying a zero-coupon bond with par-value
K and buying a call on the stock with strike price K and expiration time T.
Solution.
We have the following payoff tables.
Payoff at Time T
Transaction Payoff at Time 0 ST K ST > K
Buy a stock S ST ST
Buy a put P K ST 0
Total S P K ST
Payoff at Time T
Transaction Payoff at Time 0 ST K ST > K
Buy a Bond P V0,T (K) K K
Buy a Call C 0 ST K
Total P V0,T (K) C K ST
Both positions guarantee a payoff of max{K, ST }. By the no-arbitrage principle they must have
same payoff at time t = 0. Thus,
P + S = C + P V0,T (K)
An option is said to be in-the-money if its immediate exercise would produce positive cash flow.
Thus, a put option is in the money if the strike price exceeds the spot price or (market price) of the
underlying asset and a call option is in the money if the spot price of the underlying asset exceeds
the strike price. An option that is not in the money is said to be out-of-the-money. An option is
said to be at-the-money if its immediate exercise produces zero cash flow. Letting ST denote the
market price at time T we have the following chart.
Call Put
ST > K In-the-money out-of-the-money
ST = K At-the-money At-of-the-money
ST < K Out-of-the-money In-the-money
An option with an exercise price significantly below (for a call option) or above (for a put option)
the market price of the underlying asset is said to be deep in-the-money. An option with an
exercise price significantly above (for a call option) or below (for a put option) the market price of
the underlying asset is said to be deep out-of-the money.
Example 1.5
If the underlying stock price is $25, indicate whether each of the options below is in-the-money,
at-the-money, or out-of-the-money.
Strike Call Put
$20
$25
$30
Solution.
Strike Call Put

$20 In-the-money out-of-the-money
$25 At-the-money At-the-money
$30 Out-of-the-money In-the-money
Practice Problems
Problem 1.1
When you short an asset, you borrow the asset and sell, hoping to replace them at a lower price
and profit from the decline. Thus, a short seller will experience loss if the price rises. He can insure
his position by purchasing a call option to protect against a higher price of repurchasing the asset.
This combination of short sale and call option purchase is called a cap.
Show that a short-sale of a stock and buying a call has a payoff equals to that of buying a put and
selling a zero-coupon bond with par-value the strike price of the options. Both options have the
same strike price and time to expiration.
Problem 1.2
Writing an option backed or covered by the underlying asset (such as owning the asset in the case
of a call or shorting the asset in the case of a put) is referred to as covered writing or option
overwriting. The most common motivation for covered writing is to generate additional income
by means of premium.
A covered call is a call option which is sold by an investor who owns the underlying assets. An
investors risk is limited when selling a covered call since the investor already owns the underlying
asset to cover the option if the covered call is exercised. By selling a covered call an investor is
attempting to capitalize on a neutral or declining price in the underlying stock. When a covered
call expires without being exercised (as would be the case in a declining or neutral market), the
investor keeps the premium generated by selling the covered call. The opposite of a covered call is
a naked call, where a call is written without owned assets to cover the call if it is exercised.
Show that the payoff of buying a stock and selling a call on the stock is equal to the payoff of buying
a zero-coupon bond with par-value the strike price of the options and selling a put. Both options
have a strike price K and time to expiration T.
Problem 1.3
A covered put is a put option which is sold by an investor and which is covered (backed) by a
short sale of the underlying assets. A covered put may also be covered by deposited cash or cash
equivalent equal to the exercise price of the covered put. The opposite of a covered put would be a
naked put.
Show that the payoff of shorting a stock and selling a put on the stock is equal to the payoff of
selling a zero-coupon bond with par-value the strike price of the options and selling a call. Both
options have a strike price K and time to expiration T.
Problem 1.4
A position that consists of buying a call with strike price K1 and expiration T and selling a call with
strike price K2 > K1 and same expiration date is called a bull call spread. In contrast, buying
a put with strike price K1 and expiration T and selling a put with strike price K2 > K1 and same
expiration date is called a bull put spread. An investor who enters a bull spread is speculating
that the stock price will increase.
(a) Find formulas for the payoff and profit functions of a bull call spread. Draw the diagrams.
(b) Find formulas for the payoff and profit functions of a bull put spread. Draw the diagrams.
Problem 1.5
A bear spread is precisely the opposite of a bull spread. An investor who enters a bull spread
is hoping that the stock price will increase. By contrast, an investor who enters a bear spread is
hoping that the stock price will decline. Let 0 < K1 < K2 . A bear spread can be created by either
selling a K1 strike call and buying a K2 strike call, both with the same expiration date (bear call
spread), or by selling a K1 strike put and buying a K2 strike put, both with the same expiration
date (bear put spread).
Find formulas for the payoff and the profit of a bear spread created by selling a K1 strike call and
buying a K2 strike call, both with the same expiration date. Draw the diagram.
Problem 1.6
A (call) ratio spread is achieved by buying a certain number of calls with a high strike and selling
a different number of calls at a lower strike. By replacing the calls with puts one gets a (put) ratio
spread. All options under considerations have the same expiration date and same underlying asset.
If m calls were bought and n calls were sold we say that the ratio is m n
.
An investor buys one $70-strike call and sells two $85-strike call of a stock. All the calls have
expiration date one year from now. The risk free annual effective rate of interest is 5%. The
premiums of the $70-strike and $85-strike calls are $10.76 and $3.68 respectively. Draw the profit
diagram.
Problem 1.7
A collar is achieved with the purchase of a put option with strike price K1 and expiration date T
and the selling of a call option with strike price K2 > K1 and expiration date T. Both options use
the same underlying asset. A collar can be used to speculate on the decrease of price of an asset.
The difference K2 K1 is called the collar width. A written collar is the reverse of collar (sale
of a put and purchase of a call).
Find the profit function of a collar as a function of the spot price ST and draw its graph.
Problem 1.8
Collars can be used to insure assets we own. This position is called a collared stock. A collared
stock involves buying the index, buy an at-the-money K1 strike put option (which insures the
index) and selling an out-of-the-money K2 strike call option (to reduce the cost of the insurance),
where K1 < K2 .
Find the profit function of a collared stock as a function of ST .
Problem 1.9
A long straddle or simply a straddle is an option strategy that is achieved by buying a Kstrike
call and a Kstrike put with the same expiration time T and same underlying asset. Find the
payoff and profit functions of a straddle. Draw the diagrams.
Problem 1.10
A strangle is a position that consists of buying a K1 strike put and a K2 strike call with the
same expiration date and same underlying asset and such that K1 < K2 . Find the profit formula
for a strangle and draw its diagram.
Problem 1.11
A butterfly spread is created by using the following combination:
(1) Create a written straddle by selling a K2 strike call and a K2 strike put.
(2) Create a long strangle by buying a K1 -strike call and a K3 -strike put.
Find the initial cost and the profit function of the position. Draw the profit diagram.
Problem 1.12
Given 0 < K1 < K2 < K3 . When a symmetric butterfly is created using these strike prices the
number K2 is the midpoint of the interval with endpoints K1 and K3 . What if K2 is not midaway
between K1 and K3 ? In this case, one can create a butterfly-like spread with the peak tilted either
to the left or to the right as follows: Define a number by the formula
K3 K2
= .
K3 K1
Then satisfies the equation

K2 = K1 + (1 )K3 .
Thus, for every written K2 strike call, a butterfly-like spread can be constructed by buying
K1 strike calls and (1 ) K3 strike calls. The resulting spread is an example of an asymmetric
butterfly spread.
Construct an an asymmetric butterfly spread using the 35-strike call (with premium $6.13), 43-
strike call (with premium $1.525 ) and 45-strike call (with premium $0.97). All options expire 3
months from now. The risk free annual effective rate of interest is 8.33%. Draw the profit diagram.
Problem 1.13
Suppose the stock price is $40 and the effective annual interest rate is 8%.
(a) Draw a single graph payoff diagram for the options below.
(b) Draw a single graph profit diagram for the options below.
(i) 35-strike call with a premium of $9.12.
(ii) 40-strike call with a premium of $6.22.
(iii) 45-strike call with a premium of $4.08.
Problem 1.14
A trader buys a European call option and sells a European put option. The options have the same
underlying asset, strike price, and maturity date. Show that this position is equivalent to a long
forward.
Problem 1.15
Suppose the stock price is $40 and the effective annual interest rate is 8%.
(a) Draw the payoff diagrams on the same window for the options below.
(b) Draw the profit diagrams on the same window for the options below.
(i) 35-strike put with a premium of $1.53.
(ii) 40-strike put with a premium of $3.26.
(iii) 45-strike put with a premium of $5.75.
Problem 1.16
Complete the following table.
Derivative Maximum Minimum Position with Respect Strategy

Position Loss Gain to Underlying Asset
Long Forward
Short Forward
Long Call
Short Call
Long Put
Short Put
Problem 1.17
An insurance company sells single premium deferred annuity contracts with return linked to a stock
index, the timet value of one unit of which is denoted by S(t). The contracts offer a minimum
guarantee return rate of g%. At time 0, a single premium of amount is paid by the policyholder,
and y% is deducted by the insurance company. Thus, at the contract maturity date, T, the
insurance company will pay the policyholder
(1 y%) Max[S(T )/S(0), (1 + g%)T ].
You are given the following information:

(i) The contract will mature in one year.
(ii) The minimum guarantee rate of return, g%, is 3%.
(iii) Dividends are incorporated in the stock index. That is, the stock index is constructed with all
stock dividends reinvested.
(iv) S(0) = 100.
(v) The price of a one-year European put option, with strike price of $103, on the stock index is
$15.21.
Determine y%, so that the insurance company does not make or lose money on this contract (i.e.,
the company breaks even.)
Problem 1.18
You are given the following information about a securities market:
(i) There are two nondividend-paying stocks, X and Y.
(ii) The current prices for X and Y are both $100.
(iii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%.
(iv) There are three possible outcomes for the prices of X and Y one year from now:
Outcome X Y
1 $200 $0
2 $50 $0
3 $0 $300
Consider the following two portfolios:

Portfolio A consists of selling a European call on X and buying a European put on Y. Both
options expire in one year and have a strike price of $95. The cost of this portfolio at time 0 is then
CX P Y .
Portfolio B consists of buying M shares of X, N shares of Y and lending $P. The time 0 cost of
this portfolio is 100M 100N P.
Determine PY CX if the time-1 payoff of Portfolio B is equal to the time-1 payoff of Portfolio A.
Problem 1.19
The following four charts are profit diagrams for four option strategies: Bull Spread, Collar, Strad-
dle, and Strangle. Each strategy is constructed with the purchase or sale of two 1-year European
options. Match the charts with the option strategies.

2 Put-Call Parity for European Options

Put-call parity is an important principle in options pricing.1 It states that the premium of a call
option implies a certain fair price for the corresponding put option having the same strike price and
expiration date, and vice versa.
To begin understanding how the put-call parity is established, we consider the following position:
An investor buys a call option with strike price K and expiration date T for the price of C(K, T )
and sells a put option with the same strike price and expiration date for the price of P (K, T ). If the
spot price at expiration is greater than K, the put will not be exercised (and thus expires worthless)
but the investor will exercise the call. So the investor will buy the asset for the price of K. If the
spot price at expiration is smaller than K, the call will not be exercised and the investor will be
assigned on the short put, if the owner of the put wishes to sell (which is likely the case) then the
investor is obliged to buy the asset for K. Either way, the investor is obliged to buy the asset for
K and the long call-short put combination induces a long forward contract that is synthetic since
it was fabricated from options.
Now, the portfolio consists of buying a call and selling a put results in buying the stock. The payoff
of this portfolio at time 0 is P (K, T ) C(K, T ). The portfolio of buying the stock through a long
forward contract and borrowing P V0,T (K) has a payoff at time 0 of P V0,T (K) P V0,T (F0,T ), where
F0,T is the forward price. Using the no-arbitrage pricing theory2 , the net cost of owning the asset
must be the same whether through options or forward contracts, that is,
P (K, T ) C(K, T ) = P V0,T (K F0,T ). (2.1)
Equation (2.1) is referred to as the put-call parity. We point out here that P V0,T (F0,T ) is the
prepaid forward price for the underlying asset and P V0,T (K) is the prepaid forward price of the
strike.
It follows from (2.1), that selling a put and buying a call with the same strike price K and maturity
date creates a synthetic long forward contract with forward price K and net premium P (K, T )
C(K, T ). To mimic an actual forward contract the put and call premiums must be equal.
Since American style options allow early exercise, put-call parity will not hold for American options
unless they are held to expiration. Note also that if the forward price is higher than the strike price
of the options, call is more expensive than put, and vice versa.
Remark 2.1
We will use the sign+ for selling and borrowing positions and the sign for buying and lending
positions.
1
Option pricing model is a mathemtical formula that uses the factors that determine an options price as inputs
to produce the theoretical fair value of an option.
2
The no-arbitrage pricing theory asserts that acquiring an asset at time T should cost the same, no matter
how you achieve it.
2 PUT-CALL PARITY FOR EUROPEAN OPTIONS 23
Remark 2.2
In the litterature, (2.1) is usually given in the form
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = P V0,T (F0,T K).
Thus, we will use this form of parity in the rest of the book.
Remark 2.3
Note that for a nondividend paying stock we have P V0,T (F0,T ) = S0 , the stock price at time 0.
Example 2.1
The current price of a nondividend-paying stock is $80. A European call option that expires in six
months with strike price of $90 sells for $12. Assume a continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate of 8%, find the value to the nearest penny of a European put option that expires in six months
and with strike price of $90.
Solution.
Using the put-call parity (2.1) with C = 12, T = 6 months= 0.5 years, K = 90, S0 = 80, and
r = 0.08 we find
P = C S0 + erT K = 12 80 + 90e0.08(0.5) = $18.47
Example 2.2
Suppose that the current price of a nondivident-paying stock is S0 . A European put option that
expires in six months with strike price of $90 is $6.47 more expensive than the corresponding
European call option. Assume a continuously compounded interest rate of 15%, find S0 to the
nearest dollar.
Solution.
The put-call parity
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = S0 KerT
gives
6.47 = S0 90e0.150.5 .
Solving this equation we find S0 = $77
Example 2.3
Consider a European call option and a European put option on a nondividend-paying stock. You
are given:
(i) The current price of the stock is $60.
(ii) The call option currently sells for $0.15 more than the put option.
(iii) Both the call option and put option will expire in T years.
(iv) Both the call option and put option have a strike price of $70.
(v) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 3.9%.
Calculate the time of expiration T.
Solution.
Using the put-call parity
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = S0 KerT
we have
0.15 = 60 70e0.039T .
Solving this equation for T we find T 4 years
Practice Problems
Problem 2.1
If a synthetic forward contract has no initial premium then
(A) The premium you pay for the call is larger than the premium you receive from the put.
(B) The premium you pay for the call is smaller than the premium you receive from the put.
(C) The premium you pay for the call is equal to the premium you receive from the put.
(D) None of the above.
Problem 2.2
In words, the Put-Call parity equation says that
(A) The cost of buying the asset using options must equal the cost of buying the asset using a
forward.
(B) The cost of buying the asset using options must be greater than the cost of buying the asset
using a forward.
(C) The cost of buying the asset using options must be smaller than the cost of buying the asset
using a forward.
(D) None of the above.
Problem 2.3
State two features that differentiate a synthetic forward contract from a no-arbitrage (actual) for-
ward contract.
Problem 2.4
Recall that a covered call is a call option which is sold by an investor who owns the underlying
asset. Show that buying an asset plus selling a call option on the asset with strike price K (i.e. selling
a covered call) is equivalent to selling a put option with strike price K and buying a zero-coupon
bond with par value K.
Problem 2.5
Recall that a covered put is a put option which is sold by an investor and which is backed by a
short sale of the underlying asset(s). Show that short selling an asset plus selling a put option with
strike price K (i.e. selling a covered put) is equivalent to selling a call option with strike price K
and taking out a loan with maturity value of K.
Problem 2.6
The current price of a nondividend-paying stock is $40. A European call option on the stock with
strike price $40 and expiration date in three months sells for $2.78 whereas a 40-strike European put
with the same expiration date sells for $1.99. Find the annual continuously compounded interest
rate r. Round your answer to two decimal places.
Problem 2.7
Suppose that the current price of a nondivident-paying stock is S0 . A European call option that
expires in six months with strike price of $90 sells for $12. A European put option with strike
price of $90 and expiration date in six months sells for $18.47. Assume a continuously compounded
interest rate of 15%, find S0 to the nearest dollar.
Problem 2.8
Consider a European call option and a European put option on a nondividend-paying stock. You
are given:
(i) The current price of the stock is $60.
(ii) The call option currently sells for $0.15 more than the put option.
(iii) Both the call option and put option will expire in 4 years.
(iv) Both the call option and put option have a strike price of $70.
Calculate the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate.
Problem 2.9
The put-call parity relationship
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = P V (F0,T K)
can be rearranged to show the equivalence of the prices (and payoffs and profits) of a variety of
different combinations of positions.
(a) Show that buying an index plus a put option with strike price K is equivalent to buying a call
option with strike price K and a zero-coupon bond with par value of K.
(b) Show that shorting an index plus buying a call option with strike price K is equivalent to buying
a put option with strike price K and taking out a loan with maturity value of K.
Problem 2.10
A call option on XYZ stock with an exercise price of $75 and an expiration date one year from now
is worth $5.00 today. A put option on XYZ stock with an exercise price of $75 and an expiration
date one year from now is worth $2.75 today. The annual effective risk-free rate of return is 8% and
XYZ stock pays no dividends. Find the current price of the stock.
Problem 2.11
The current price to buy one share of XYZ stock is 500.
The stock does not pay dividends.
The risk-free interest rate, compounded continuously, is 6%.
A European call option on one share of XYZ stock with a strike price of K that expires in one
year costs $66.59.

A European put option on one share of XYZ stock with a strike price of K that expires in one
year costs $18.64.
Using put-call parity, determine the strike price K.
Problem 2.12
The current price of a stock is $1000 and the stock pays no dividends in the coming year. The
premium for a one-year European call is $93.809 and the premium for the corresponding put is
$74.201. The annual effective risk-free interest rate is 4%. Determine the forward price of the
synthetic forward. Round your answer to the nearest dollar.
Problem 2.13
The actual forward price of a stock is $1020 and the stock pays no dividends in the coming year.
The premium for a one-year European call is $93.809 and the premium for the corresponding put
is $74.201. The forward price of the synthetic forward contract is $1000. Determine the annual
risk-free effective rate r.
Problem 2.14
One share of the PS index currently sells for 1,000.
The PS index does not pay dividends.
The effective annual risk-free interest rate is 5%.
You want to lock in the ability to buy this index in one year for a price of 1,025. You can do this by
buying or selling European put and call options with a strike price of 1,025. Which of the following
will achieve your objective and also gives the cost today of establishing this position.
(A) Buy the put and sell the call, receive 23.81.
(B) Buy the put and sell the call, spend 23.81.
(C) Buy the put and sell the call, no cost.
(D) Buy the call and sell the put, receive 23.81.
(E) Buy the call and sell the put, spend 23.81.
3 Put-Call Parity of Stock Options

Recall that a prepaid forward contract on a stock is a forward contract with payment made at time
0. The forward price is the future value of the prepaid forward price and this is true regardless of
whether there are discrete dividends, continuous dividends, or no dividends.
If the expiration time is T then for a stock with no dividends the future value of the prepaid forward
price is given by the formula
F0,T = F V0,T (S0 ),
where S0 is the stocks price at time t = 0.
In the case of a stock with discrete dividends, the prepaid forward price is
P
F0,T = S0 P V0,T (Div)
so that
P
F0,T = F V0,T (F0,T ) = F V0,T (S0 P V0,T (Div)).
In particular, if the dividends D1 , D2 , , Dn made at time t1 , t2 , , tn prior to the maturity date
T , then
n
X
F0,T =F V0,T (S0 P V0,ti (Di ))
i=1
Xn
=F V0,T (S0 ) F V0,T ( P V0,ti Di )
i=1
In this case, Equation (2.1) takes the form
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = S0 PV0,T (Div) PV0,T (K)
or in the case of a continuously compounded risk-free interest rate r

n
X
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = S0 Di erti erT K.
i=1
Example 3.1
Suppose ABC stock costs $75 today and is expected to pay semi-annual dividend of $1 with the
first coming in 4 months from today and the last just prior to the delivery of the stock. Suppose
that the annual continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. Find the cost of a 1-year prepaid
forward contract.
3 PUT-CALL PARITY OF STOCK OPTIONS 29
Solution.
The cost is
4 10
erT F0,T = S0 PV0,T (Div) = 75 e0.08 12 e0.08 12 = $73.09
Example 3.2
A one year European call option with strike price of K on a share of XYZ stock costs $11.71 while
a one year European put with the same strike price costs $5.31. The share of stock pays dividend
valued at $3 six months from now and another dividend valued at $5 one year from now. The current
share price is $99 and the continuously-compounded risk-free rate of interest is 5.6%. Determine
K.
Solution.
The put-call parity of stock options with discrete dividends is
n
X
C P = S0 Di erti erT K.
i=1
6
We are given C = 11.71, P = 5.31, T = 1, S0 = 99, D1 = 3, D2 = 5, t1 = ,t
12 2
= 1 and r = 0.056.
Solving for K we find K = $89.85
For a stock with continuous dividends we have
F0,T = F V0,T (S0 eT )
where is the continuously compounded dividend yield (which is defined to be the annualized
divident payment divided by the stock price). In this case, Equation (2.1) becomes
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = S0 eT P V0,T (K).
Example 3.3
A European call option and a European put option on a share of XYZ stock have a strike price of
$100 and expiration date in nine months. They sell for $11.71 and $5.31 respectively. The price
of XYZ stock is currently $99, and the stock pays a continuous dividend yield of 2%. Find the
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate r.
Solution.
The put-call parity of stock options with continuous dividends is
C P = S0 eT erT K.
9
We are given C = 11.71, P = 5.31, K = 100, T = 12
, S0 = 99, and = 0.02. Solving for r we find
r = 12.39%
Parity provides a way for the creation of a synthetic stock. Using the put-call parity, we can
write
S0 = C(K, T ) + P (K, T ) PV0,T (Div) PV0,T (K).
This equation says that buying a call, selling a put, and lending the present value of the strike and
dividends to be paid over the life of the option is equivalent to the outright purchase1 of the stock.
Example 3.4
$100 and expiration date in nine months. They sell for $11.71 and $5.31 respectively. The price of
XYZ stock is currently $99 and the continuously compounded risk-free rate of interest is 12.39%.
A share of XYZ stock pays $2 dividends in six months. Determine the amount of cash that must
be lent at the given risk-free rate of return in order to replicate the stock.
Solution.
By the previous paragraph, in replicating the stock, we must lend PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K) to be
9
paid over the life of the option. We are given C = 11.71, P = 5.31, K = 100, T = 12 , S0 = 99,
and r = 0.1239. Thus,
PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K) = 2e0.1239(0.5) + 100e0.1239(0.75) = $93.01
The put-call parity provides a simple test of option pricing models. Any pricing model that produces
option prices which violate the put-call parity is considered flawed and leads to arbitrage.
Example 3.5
A call option and a put option on the same nondividend-paying stock both expire in three months,
both have a strike price of 20 and both sell for the price of 3. If the continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 10% and the stock price is currently 25, identify an arbitrage.
Solution.
3
We are given that C = P = 3, r = 0.10, T = 12 , K = 20, and S0 = 25. Thus, C P =
rT 0.100.25
0 and S0 Ke = 25 20e > 0 so that the put-call parity fails and therefore an
arbitrage opportunity exists. An arbitrage can be exploited as follows: Borrow 3 at the continuously
compounded annual interest rate of 10%. Buy the call option. Short-sell a stock and invest that
25 at the risk-free rate. Three months later purchase the stock at strike price 20 and pay the bank
3e0.100.25 = 3.08. You should have 25e0.100.25 20 3.08 = $2.55 in your pocket
1
outright purchase occurs when an investor simultaneously pays S0 in cash and owns the stock.
Remark 3.1
Consider the put-call parity for a nondividend-paying stock. Suppose that the option is at-the-
money at expiration, that is, S0 = K. If we buy a call and sell a put then we will differ the payment
for owning the stock until expiration. In this case, P C = KerT K < 0 is the present value of
the interest on K that we pay for deferring the payment of K until expiration. If we sell a call and
buy a put then we are synthetically shorting-selling the stock. In this case, C P = K KerT > 0
is the compensation we receive for deferring receipt of the stock price.
Practice Problems
Problem 3.1
According to the put-call parity, the payoffs associated with ownership of a call option can be
replicated by
(A) shorting the underlying stock, borrowing the present value of the exercise price, and writing a
put on the same underlying stock and with the same exercise price
(B) buying the underlying stock, borrowing the present value of the exercise price, and buying a
(C) buying the underlying stock, borrowing the present value of the exercise price, and writing a
(D) none of the above.
Problem 3.2
A three-year European call option with a strike price of $50 on a share of ABC stock costs $10.80.
The price of ABC stock is currently $42. The continuously compounded risk-free rate of interest is
10%. Find the price of a three-year European put option with a strike price of $50 on a share of
ABC stock.
Problem 3.3
Suppose ABC stock costs $X today. It is expected that 4 quarterly dividends of $1.25 each will be
paid on the stock with the first coming 3 months from now. The 4th dividend will be paid one day
before expiration of the forward contract. Suppose the annual continuously compounded risk-free
rate is 10%. Find X if the cost of the forward contract is $95.30. Round your answer to the nearest
dollar.
Problem 3.4
Suppose ABC stock costs $75 today and is expected to pay semi-annual dividend of $X with the
first coming in 4 months from today and the last just prior to the delivery of the stock. Suppose that
the annual continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. Find X if the cost of a 1-year prepaid
forward contract is $73.09. Round your answer to the nearest dollar.
Problem 3.5
Suppose XYZ stock costs $50 today and is expected to pay quarterly dividend of $1 with the first
coming in 3 months from today and the last just prior to the delivery of the stock. Suppose that
the annual continuously compounded risk-free rate is 6%. What is the price of a prepaid forward
contract that expires 1 year from today, immediately after the fourth-quarter dividend?
Problem 3.6
An investor is interested in buying XYZ stock. The current price of stock is $45 per share. This
stock pays dividends at an annual continuous rate of 5%. Calculate the price of a prepaid forward
contract which expires in 18 months.
Problem 3.7
A nine-month European call option with a strike price of $100 on a share of XYZ stock costs $11.71.
A nine-month European put option with a strike price of $100 on a share of XYZ stock costs $5.31.
The price of XYZ stock is currently $99, and the stock pays a continuous dividend yield of . The
continuously compounded risk-free rate of interest is 12.39%. Find .
Problem 3.8
Suppose XYZ stock costs $50 today and is expected to pay 8% continuous dividend. What is the
price of a prepaid forward contract that expires 1 year from today, immediately after the fourth-
quarter dividend?
Problem 3.9
Suppose that annual dividend of 30 on the stocks of an index is valued at $1500. What is the
continuously compounded dividend yield?
Problem 3.10
You buy one share of Ford stock and hold it for 2 years. The dividends are paid at the annualized
daily continuously compounded rate of 3.98% and you reinvest in the stocks all the dividends3 when
they are paid. How many shares do you have at the end of two years?
Problem 3.11
A 6-month European call option on a share of XYZ stock with strike price of $35.00 sells for $2.27.
A 6-month European put option on a share of XYZ stock with the same strike price sells for $P.
The current price of a share is $32.00. Assuming a 4% continuously compounded risk-free rate and
a 6% continuous dividend yield, find P.
Problem 3.12
A nine-month European call option with a strike price of $100 on a share of XYZ stock costs $11.71.
A nine-month European put option with a strike price of $100 on a share of XYZ stock costs $5.31.
The price of XYZ stock is currently $99. The continuously-compounded risk-free rate of interest is
12.39%. What is the present value of dividends payable over the next nine months?
3
In this case, one share today will grow to eT at time T. See [2] Section 70.
Problem 3.13
$100 and expiration date in T months. They sell for $11.71 and $5.31 respectively. The price of
XYZ stock is currently $99. A share of Stock XYZ pays $2 dividends in six months. Determine the
amount of cash that must be lent in order to replicate the purchased stock.
Problem 3.14
On April 30, 2007, a common stock is priced at $52.00. You are given the following:
(i) Dividends of equal amounts will be paid on June 30, 2007 and September 30, 2007.
(ii) A European call option on the stock with strike price of $50.00 expiring in six months sells for
$4.50.
(iii) A European put option on the stock with strike price of $50.00 expiring in six months sells for
$2.45.
(iv) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 6%.
Calculate the amount of each dividend.
Problem 3.15
Given the following information about a European call option about a stock Z.
The call price is 5.50
The strike price is 47.
The call expires in two years.
The current stock price is 45.
The continuously compounded risk-free is 5%.
Stock Z pays a dividend of 1.50 in one year.
Calculate the price of a European put option on stock Z with strike price 47 that expires in two
years.
Problem 3.16
An investor has been quoted a price on European options on the same nondividend-paying stock.
The stock is currently valued at 80 and the continuously compounded risk- free interest rate is 3%.
The details of the options are:
Option 1 Option 2
Type Put Call
Strike 82 82
Maturity 180 days 180 days
Based on his analysis, the investor has decided that the prices of the two options do not present
any arbitrage opportunities. He decides to buy 100 calls and sell 100 puts. Calculate the net cost
of his transaction.
Problem 3.17
For a dividend paying stock and European options on this stock, you are given the following infor-
mation:
The current stock price is $49.70.
The strike price of the option is $50.00.
The time to expiration is 6 months.
The continuously compunded risk-free interest rate is 3%.
The continuous dividend yield is 2%.
The call price is $2.00.
The put price is $2.35.
Using put-call parity, calculate the present value arbitrage profit per share that could be generated,
given these conditions.
Problem 3.18
The price of a European call that expires in six months and has a strike price of $30 is $2. The
underlying stock price is $29, and a dividend of $0.50 is expected in two months and again in
five months. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%. What is the price of a
European put option that expires in six months and has a strike price of $30?
4 Conversions and Reverse Conversions

In a forward conversion or simply a conversion a trader buys a stock, buys a put option and
sells a call option with the same strike price and expiration date. The stock price is usually as close
as the options strike price. If the stock price at expiration is above the strike price, the short call
is exercised against the trader, which automatically offsets his long position in the stock; the long
put option expires unexercised.
If the stock price at expiration is below the strike price, the long put option is exercised by the
trader, which automatically offsets his long position in the stock; the short call option expires
unexercised.
Parity shows us
S0 P (K, T ) + C(K, T ) = (PV0,T (K) + PV0,T (Div)).
We have thus created a position that costs PV0,T (K) + PV0,T (Div) and that pays K + FV0,T (Div)
at expiration. This is a synthetic long T bill.1 You can think of a conversion as a synthetic
short stock (Long put/Short call) hedged with a long stock position.
Example 4.1
Suppose that the price of a stock is $52. The stock pays dividends at the continuous yield rate of
7%. Options have 9 months to expiration. A 50-strike European call option sells for $6.56 and a
50-strike put option sells for $3.61. Calculate the cost of buying a conversion T bill that matures
for $1,000 in nine months.
Solution.
To create an asset that matures for the strike price of $50, we must buy eT shares of the stock,
sell a call option, and buy a put option. Using the put-call parity, the cost today is
PV0,T (K) = S0 eT + P(K, T) C(K, T).
We are given that C = 6.56, P = 3.61, T = 0.75, K = 50, S0 = 52, and = 0.07. Substituting
we find P V (K) = $46.39. Thus, the cost of a long synthetic T bill that matures for $1000 in nine
months is 20 46.39 = $927.80
Example 4.2
Suppose the S&R index is 800, the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 5%, and the dividend
yield is 0%. A 1-year European call with a strike of $815 costs $75 and a 1-year European put with
1
T-bills are purchased for a price that is less than their par (face) value; when they mature, the issuer pays the
holder the full par value. Effectively, the interest earned is the difference between the purchase price of the security
and what you get at maturity.
4 CONVERSIONS AND REVERSE CONVERSIONS 37
a strike of $815 costs $45. Consider the strategy of buying the stock, selling the call, and buying
the put.
(a) What is the rate of return on this position held until the expiration of the options?
(b) What is the arbitrage implied by your answer to (a)?
(c) What difference between the call and put will eliminate arbitrage?
Solution.
(a) By buying the stock, selling the 815-strike call, and buying the 815 strike put, your cost will be
800 + 75 45 = $770.
After one year, you will have for sure $815 because either the sold call commitment or the bought
put cancel out the stock price (create a payoff table). Thus, the continuously compounded rate of
return r satisfies the equation 770er = 815. Solving this equation we find r = 0.0568.
(b) The conversion position pays more interest than the risk-free interest rate. Therefore, we
should borrow money at 5%, and buy a large amount of the aggregate position of (a), yielding a
sure return of 0.68%. To elaborate, you borrow $770 from a bank to buy one position. After one
year, you owe the bank 770e0.05 = 809.48. Thus, from one single position you make a profit of
815 809.40 = $5.52.
(c) To eliminate arbitrage, the put-call parity must hold. In this case C P = S0 KerT =
800 815e0.051 = $24.748
A reverse conversion or simply a reversal is the opposite to conversion. In this strategy, a

trader short selling a stock2 , sells a put option and buys a call option with the same strike price
and expiration date. The stock price is usually as close as the options strike price. If the stock
price at expiration is above the strike price, the long call option is exercised by the trader, which
automatically offsets his short position in the stock; the short put option expires unexercised.
If the stock price at expiration is below the strike price, the short put option is exercised against
the trader, which automatically offsets his short position in the stock; the long call option expires
unexercised.
Parity shows us
C(K, T ) + P (K, T ) + S0 = PV0,T (K) + PV0,T (Div).
Thus, a reversal creates a synthetic short T bill position that sells for PV0,T (K) + PV0,T (Div).
Also, you can think of a reversal as selling a bond with par-value K + FV0,T (Div) for the price of
PV0,T (K) + PV0,T (Div).
2
Remember that shorting an asset or short selling an asset is selling an asset that have been borrowed from a third
party (usually a broker) with the intention of buying identical assets back at a later date to return to the lender.
Example 4.3
A reversal was created by selling a nondividend-paying stock for $42, buying a three-year European
call option with a strike price of $50 on a share of stock for $10.80, and selling a three-year European
put option with a strike price of $50 for $P. The continuously compounded risk-free rate of interest
is 10%. Find P.
Solution.
We have
P (K, T ) = S0 + C(K, T ) + PV0,T (K) = 42 + 10.80 + 50e0.13 = $5.84
From the discussion of this and the previous sections, we have noticed that the put-call parity can
be rearranged to create synthetic securities. Summarizing, we have
Synthetic long stock: buy call, sell put, lend present value of the strike and dividends:
S0 = C(K, T ) + P (K, T ) (PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K)).
Synthetic long T-bill: buy stock, sell call, buy put (conversion):
(PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K)) = S0 P(K, T) + C(K, T).
Synthetic short T-bill: short-sell stock, buy call, sell put (reversal):
PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K) = S0 + P(K, T) C(K, T).
Synthetic short call: sell stock and put, lend present value of strike and dividends:
C(K, T ) = S0 + P (K, T ) (PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K)).
Synthetic short put: buy stock, sell call, borrow present value of strike and dividends:
P (K, T ) = C(K, T ) S0 + PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K).

4 CONVERSIONS AND REVERSE CONVERSIONS 39
Practice Problems
Problem 4.1
Which of the following applies to a conversion?
(A) Selling a call, selling a put, buying the stock
(B) Selling a call, buying a put, short-selling the stock
(C) Buying a call, buying a put, short-selling the stock
(D) Selling a call, buying a put, buying the stock
(E) Buying a call, selling a put, short-selling the stock
(F) Buying a call, selling a put, buying the stock
Problem 4.2
Which of the following applies to a reverse conversion?
(A) Selling a call, selling a put, buying the stock
(B) Selling a call, buying a put, short-selling the stock
(C) Buying a call, buying a put, short-selling the stock
(D) Selling a call, buying a put, buying the stock
(E) Buying a call, selling a put, short-selling the stock
(F) Buying a call, selling a put, buying the stock
Problem 4.3
A conversion creates
(A) A synthetic stock
(B) A synthetic short stock hedged with a long stock position
(C) A synthetic long stock hedged with a short stock position
(D) A synthetic long T bill
Problem 4.4
Suppose that the price of a nondividend-paying stock is $41. A European call option with strike
price of $40 sells for $2.78. A European put option with strike price $40 sells for $1.09. Both options
expire in 3 months. Calculate the annual continuously compounded risk-free rate on a synthetic
T-bill created using these options.
Problem 4.5
The current price of a nondividend-paying stock is $99. A European call option with strike price
$100 sells for $11.71 and a European put option with strike price $100 sells for $5.31. Both options
expire in nine months. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 12.39%. What is the
cost of a synthetic T bill created using these options?
Problem 4.6
A share of stock pays $3 dividends three months from now and nine months from now. The price
of the stock is $99. A nine-month European call option on the stock costs $11.71. A nine month
European put option costs $5.31. Both options have a strike price of $100. The continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate is 12.39%.
(a) What is the cost of a synthetic T bill created using these options?
(b) How much will this synthetic position pay at maturity?
Problem 4.7
A synthetic T bill was created by buying a share of XYZ stock for $20, selling a call option with
underlying asset the share of XYZ stock for $5.43, and buying a put option with strike price of
$20 for $2.35. Both options expire in one year. The current stock price is $23. What is the
continuously compounded risk-free interest involved in this transaction? Assume that the stock
pays no dividends.
Problem 4.8
Using the put-call parity relationship, what should be done to replicate a short sale of a nondividend-
paying stock?
Problem 4.9 (Synthetic Options)

Using the put-call parity relationship how would you replicate a long call option with underlying
asset a share of stock that pays dividends?
Problem 4.10 (Synthetic Options)

Using the put-call parity relationship how would you replicate a long put option with underlying
asset a share of stock that pays dividends?
Problem 4.11
A reversal was created by selling a nondividend-paying stock for $99, buying a 5-month European
call option with a strike price of $96 on a share of stock for $6.57, and selling a 5-month European
put option with a strike price of $96 for $P. The annual effective rate of interest is 3%. Find P.
Problem 4.12
The price of a nondividend-paying stock is $85. The price of a European call with a strike price of
$80 is $6.70 and the price of a European put with a strike price of $80 is $1.60. Both options expire
in three months.
Calculate the annual continuously compounded risk-free rate on a synthetic T Bill created using
these options.
5 PARITY FOR CURRENCY OPTIONS 41
5 Parity for Currency Options

In the previous section we studied the parity relationship that involves stock options. In this section
we consider the parity relationship applied to options with currencies as underlying assets.
Currencies are in general exchanged at an exchange rate. For example, the market today lists the
exchange rate between dollar and euro as e1 = $ 1.25 and $1 = e0.80. Exchange rates between
currencies fluctuate over time. Therefore, it is useful for businesses involved in international markets
to be involved in currency related securities in order to be secured from exchange rate fluctuation.
One such security is the currency forward contract.
Currency contracts are widely used to hedge against changes in exchange rates. A Forward cur-
rency contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified amount of currency at a set price on
a future date. The contract does not require any payments in advance. In contrary, a currency
prepaid forward is a contract that allows you to pay today in order to acquire the currency at
a later time. What is the prepaid forward price? Suppose at a time T in the future you want to
acquire e1. Let re be the euro-denominated interest rate (to be defined below) and let x0 be the
exchange rate today in $/e, that is e1 = $x0 . If you want e1 at time T you must have ere T in
euros today. To obtain that many euros today, you must exchange x0 ere T dollars into euros. Thus,
the prepaid forward price, in dollars, for a euro is
P
F0,T = x0 ere T .
Example 5.1
Suppose that re = 4% and x0 = $1.25/e. How much should be invested in dollars today to have
e1 in one year?
Solution.
We must invest today
1.25e0.04 = $1.2
Now, the prepaid forward price is the dollar cost of obtaining e1 in the future. Thus, the forward
price in dollars for one euro in the future is
F0,T = x0 e(rre )T
where r is the dollar-denominated interest rate.
Example 5.2
Suppose that re = 4%, r = 6%, T = 1 and x0 = $1.25/e. Find the forward exchange rate after
one year.
Solution.
The forward exchange rate is 1.25e0.060.04 = $1.275 per one euro after one year
Another currency related security that hedges against changes in exchange rates is the currency
option. A currency option is an option which gives the owner the right to sell or buy a specified
amount of foreign currency at a specified price and on a specified date. Currency options can be
either dollar-denominated or foreign-currency denominated. A dollar-denominated option on a
foreign currency would give one the option to sell or buy the foreign currency at some time in the
future for a specified number of dollars. For example, a dollar-denominated call on yen would give
one the option to obtain yen at some time in the future for a specified number of dollars. Thus,
a 3-year, $0.008 strike call on yen would give its owner the option in 3 years to buy one yen for
$0.008. The owner would exercise this call if 3 years from now the exchange rate is greater than
$0.008 per yen.
A dollar-denominated put on yen would give one the option to sell yen at some time in the future
for a specified number of dollars. Thus, a 3-year, $0.008 strike put on yen would give its owner the
option in 3 years to sell one yen for $0.008. The owner would exercise this call if 3 years from now
the exchange rate is smaller than $0.008 per yen.
The payoff on a call on currency has the same mathematical expression as for a call on stocks, with
ST being replaced by xT where xT is the (spot) exchange rate at the expiration time. Thus, the pay-
off of a currency call option is max{0, xT K} and that for a currency put option is max{0, K xT }.
Consider again the options of buying euros by paying dollars. Since
F0,T = x0 e(rre )T
the put-call parity

P (K, T ) C(K, T ) = erT K erT F0,T
reduces to
P (K, T ) C(K, T ) = erT K x0 ere T .
Thus, buying a euro call and selling a euro put has the same payoff to lending euros and borrowing
dollars. We will use the following form of the previous equation:
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = x0 ere T erT K.
Example 5.3
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is $1.25/e, the euro-denominated continuously compounded inter-
est rate is 4%, the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 6%, and the price
of 2-year $1.20-strike European put on the euro is $0.10. What is the price of a 2-year $1.20-strike
European call on the Euro?
Solution.
Using the put-call parity for currency options we find
C = 0.10 + 1.25e0.042 1.20e0.062 = $0.19
A foreign currency-denominated option on the dollar is defined in a similar way as above by

interchanging dollar with the foreign currency. Thus, a put-call parity of options to buy dollars by
paying euros takes the form
C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = x0 erT ere T K
where x0 is the exchange rate in e/$.
Example 5.4
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is e0.8/$, the euro-denominated continuously compounded in-
terest rate is 4%, the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 6%, and the
price of 2-year e0.833-strike European put on the dollar is e0.08. What is the price of a 2-year
e0.833-strike European call on the dollar?
Solution.
Using the put-call parity for currency options we find
C = 0.08 + 0.8e0.062 0.833e0.042 =e 0.0206
Remark 5.1
Note that in a dollar-denominated option, the strike price and the premium are in dollars. In
contrast, in a foreign currency-denominated option, the strike price and the premium are in the
foreign currency.
Practice Problems
Problem 5.1
A U.S. based company wants to buy some goods from a firm in Switzerland and the cost of the goods
is 62,500 SF. The firm must pay for the goods in 120 days. The exchange rate is x0 = $0.7032/SF.
Given that rSF = 4.5% and r$ = 3.25%, find the forward exchange price.
Problem 5.2
Suppose the exchange rate is $1.25/e, the euro-denominated continuously compounded interest
rate is 4%, the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 6%, and the price of
2-year $1.20-strike European call on the euro is $0.19. What is the price of a 2-year $1.20-strike
European put on the Euro?
Problem 5.3
Suppose the exchange rate is 0.4/SF, the Swiss Franc-denominated continuously compounded
interest rate is 5%, the British pound-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 3%,
and the price of 3-year 0.5-strike European call on the SF is 0.05. What is the price of a 3-year
0.5-strike European put on the SF?
Problem 5.4
Suppose the current $/eexchange rate is 0.95 $/e, the euro-denominated continuously compounded
interest rate is 4%, the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is r. The price
of 1-year $0.93-strike European call on the euro is $0.0571. The price of a 1-year $0.93-strike put
on the euro is $0.0202. Find r.
Problem 5.5
A six-month dollar-denominated call option on euros with a strike price of $1.30 is valued at $0.06.
A six-month dollar-denominated put option on euros with the same strike price is valued at $0.18.
The dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 5%.
(a) What is the 6-month dollar-euro forward price?
(b) If the euro-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 3.5%, what is the spot ex-
change rate?
Problem 5.6
A nine-month dollar-denominated call option on euros with a strike price of $1.30 is valued at $0.06.
A nine-month dollar-denominated put option on euros with the same strike price is valued at $0.18.
The current exchange rate is $1.2/e and the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest
rate is 7%. What is the continuously compounded interest rate on euros?
Problem 5.7
Currently one can buy one Swiss Franc for $0.80. The continuously-compounded interest rate for
Swiss Francs is 4%. The continuously-compounded interest rate for dollars is 6%. The price of a
SF 1.15-strike 1-year call option is SF 0.127. The spot exchange rate is SF 1.25/$. Find the cost in
dollar of a 1-year SF 1.15-strike put option.
Problem 5.8
The price of a $0.02-strike 1 year call option on an Indian Rupee is $0.00565. The price of a $0.02
strike 1 year put option on an Indian Rupee is $0.00342. Dollar and rupee interest rates are 4.0%
and 7.0%, respectively. How many dollars does it currently take to purchase one rupee?
Problem 5.9
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is $0.009/U, the yen-denominated continuously compounded
interest rate is 1%, the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 5%, and the
price of 1-year $0.009-strike European call on the yen is $0.0006. What is the dollar-denominated
European yen put price such that there is no arbitrage opportunity?
Problem 5.10
interest rate is 1%, the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 5%, and the
price of 1-year $0.009-strike European call on the yen is $0.0006. The price of a 1-year dollar-
denominated European yen put with a strike of $0.009 has a premium of $0.0004. Demonstrate the
existence of an arbitrage opportunity.
Problem 5.11
You are given:
(i) The current exchange rate is $0.011/U.
(ii) A four-year dollar-denominated European put option on yen with a strike price of $0.008 sells
for $0.0005.
(iii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate on dollars is 3%.
(iv) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate on yen is 1.5%.
Calculate the price of a four-year yen-denominated European put option on dollars with a strike
price of U125.
6 Parity of European Options on Bonds

In this section we construct the put-call parity for options on bonds. We start the section by
recalling some vocabulary about bonds. A bond is an interest bearing security which promises
to pay a stated amount (or amounts) of money at some future date (or dates). The company or
government branch which is issuing the bond outlines how much money it would like to borrow and
specifies a length of time, along with an interest rate it is willing to pay. Investors who then lend
the requested money to the issuer become the issuers creditors through the bonds that they hold.
The term of the bond is the length of time from the date of issue until the date of final payment.
The date of the final payment is called the maturity date. Any date prior to, or including, the
maturity date on which a bond may be redeemed is termed a redemption date.
The par value or face value of a bond is the amount that the issuer agrees to repay the bondholder
by the maturity date.
Bonds with coupons are periodic payments of interest made by the issuer of the bond prior to
redemption. Zero coupon bonds are bonds that pay no periodic interest payments. It just pays
a lump sum at the redemption date.
Like loans, the price of a bond is defined to be the present value of all future payments. The basic
formula for price is given by
B0 = F ran i + C(1 + i)n
where F is the par value of the bond, r is the rate per coupon payment period, C is the amount of
money paid at a redemption date to the holder of the bond.
Example 6.1
A 15-year 1000 par value bond bearing a 12% coupon rate payable annually is bought to yield 10%
convertible continuously. Find the price of the bond.
Solution.
The price of the bond is
B0 =120a15 + 1000e0.1015
1 e0.1015

=120 + 1000e0.1015
e0.10 1
=$1109.54
Example 6.2
A 10-year 100 par value bond bearing a 10% coupon rate payable semi-annually, and redeemable
at 105, is bought to yield 8% convertible semi-annually. Find the price of the bond.
6 PARITY OF EUROPEAN OPTIONS ON BONDS 47
Solution.
The semi-annual coupon payment is F r = 100 0.05 = $5. The price of the bond is
B0 = 5a20 0.04 + 105(1.04)20 = $115.87
A bond option is an option that allows the owner of the option to buy or sell a particular bond
at a certain date for a certain price. Because of coupon payments (which act like stock dividends),
the prepaid forward price differs from the bonds price. Thus, if we let B0 be the bonds price then
the put-call parity for bond options is given by
C(K, T ) = P (K, T ) + [B0 PV0,T (Coupons)] PV0,T (K).
Notice that for a non-coupon bond, the parity relationship is the same as that for a nondividend-
paying stock.
Example 6.3
A 15-year 1000 par value bond bearing a 12% coupon rate payable annually is bought to yield 10%
convertible continuously. A $1000-strike European call on the bond sells for $150 and expires in 15
months. Find the value of a $1000-strike European put on the bond that expires in 15 months.
Solution.
The price of the bond was found in Example 6.1. Using the put-call parity for options on bonds,
we have
C(K, T ) = P (K, T ) + [B0 PV0,T (Coupons)] PV0,T (K).
or
150 = P (1000, 1.25) + [1109.54 120e0.1 ] 1000e0.11.25 .
Solving for P we find P (1000, 1.25) = $31.54
Example 6.4
A 15-year 1000 par value bond pays annual coupon of X dollars. The annual continuously com-
pounded interest rate is 10%. The bond currently sells for $1109.54. A $1000-strike European call
on the bond sells for $150 and expires in 15 months. A $1000-strike European put on the bond sells
for $31.54 and expires in 15 months. Determine the value of X.
Solution.
Using the put-call parity for options on bonds we have
PV0,T (Coupons) = P(K, T) C(K, T) + B0 KerT

or
PV0,T (Coupons) = 31.54 150 + 1109.54 1000e0.11.25 = 108.583.
The present value of the coupon payments is the present value of an annuity that pays X dollars a
year for 15 years at the interest rate of 10%. Thus,
1 e0.1015

108.583 = X .
e0.10 1
Solving this equation we find X = $14.621
Example 6.5
A 23-year bond pays annual coupon of $2 and is currently priced at $100. The annual continuously
compounded interest rate is 4%. A $K-strike European call on the bond sells for $3 and expires in
23 years. A $K-strike European put on the bond sells for $5 and expires in 23 years.
(a) Find the present value of the coupon payments.
(b) Determine the value of K.
Solution.
(a) The present value of the coupon payments is the present value of an annuity that pays $2 a year
for 23 years at the continuous interest rate of 4%. Thus,
1 e0.0423

PV0,T (Coupons) = 2 = $29.476.
e0.04 1
(b) Using the put-call parity of options on bonds we have
KerT = P (K, T ) C(K, T ) + B0 PV0,T (Coupons)
or
Ke0.0423 = 5 3 + 100 29.476.
Solving for K we find K = $181.984
6 PARITY OF EUROPEAN OPTIONS ON BONDS 49
Practice Problems
Problem 6.1
Find the price of a $1000 par value 10-year bond maturing at par which has coupons at 8% con-
vertible semi-annually and is bought to yield 6% convertible quarterly.
Problem 6.2
Find the price of a $1000 par value 10-year bond maturing at par which has coupons at 8% con-
vertible quarterly and is bought to yield 6% convertible semi-annually.
Problem 6.3
Find the price of a 1000 par value 10-year bond with coupons of 8.4% convertible semi-annually,
which will be redeemed at 1050. The bond yield rate is 10% convertible semi-annually for the first
five years and 9% convertible semi-annually for the second five years.
Problem 6.4
A zero-coupon bond currently sells for $67. The annual effective interest rate is 4%. A $80-strike
European call on the bond costs $11.56. Find the price of a $80-strike put option on the bond.
Both options expire in 9 years.
Problem 6.5
The annual coupon payment of a 10-year bond is $10. A $200-strike European call expiring in
10 years costs $20. A $200-strike European put expiring in 10 years costs $3. Assume an annual
effective interest rate of 3%.
(a) Calculate the present value of the coupons.
(b) Find the price of the bond.
Problem 6.6
A 76-year bond pays annual coupon of X dollars. The annual continuously compounded interest
rate is 5%. The bond currently sells for $87. A $200-strike European call on the bond sells for
$5 and expires in 76 years. A $200-strike European put on the bond sells for $2 and expires in 76
years. Determine the value of X.
Problem 6.7
A 1-year bond is currently priced at $90. The bond pays one dividend of $5 at the end of one
year. A $100-strike European call on the bond sells for $6 and expires in one year. A $100-strike
European put on the bond sells for $5 and expires in one year. Let i be the annual effective rate of
interest. Determine i.
Problem 6.8
A 15-year 1000 par value bond bearing a 12% coupon rate payable semi-annually is bought to yield
10% continuously compounded interest. One month after the bond is issued, a $950-strike European
put option on the bond has a premium of $25 and expiration date of 1 year. Calculate the value of
a $950-strike European call option on the bond expiring in one year, one month after the bond is
issued.
Problem 6.9
A 10-year bond with par value $1000 pays semi-annual coupon of $35 and is currently priced at
$1000. The annual interest rate is 7% convertible semi-annually. A $K-strike European call on the
bond that expires in nine months has a premium $58.43 greater than a $K-strike European put on
the bond that expires in nine months. Determine the value of K.
Problem 6.10
Amorphous Industries issues a bond with price 100 and annual coupons of 2, paid for 23 years. The
annual effective interest rate is 0.04. A put option with a certain strike price and expiring in 23
years has price 5, whereas a call option with the same strike price and time to expiration has price
3. Find the strike price of both options.
7 PUT-CALL PARITY GENERALIZATION 51
7 Put-Call Parity Generalization

The options considered thus far have a strike asset consisting of cash. That is, the options un-
derlying asset is exchanged for cash. Options can be designed to exchange any asset for any other
asset not just asset for cash. In this section we derive a put-call parity of such options. This parity
version includes all previous versions as special cases. Options where the underlying assets and the
strike assets can be anything are called exchange options.
Let the underlying asset be called asset A, and the strike asset, asset B. Let St be the price at time
P
t of asset A and Qt that of asset B. Let Ft,T (S) denote the time t price of the prepaid forward on
P
asset A, paying ST at time T. Let Ft,T (Q) denote the time t price of the prepaid forward on asset
B, paying QT at time T.
Example 7.1
P
If the underlying asset is a share of stock, find a formula for Ft,T (S).
Solution.
We consider the following cases:
P
If the stock pays no dividends then Ft,T (S) = St .
P
If the stock pays discrete dividends then Ft,T (S) = St P Vt,T (Div) where P Vt,T stands for the
present value with T t periods to expiration.
P
If the stock pays continuous dividends then Ft,T (S) = e(T t) St
Now, let C(St , Qt , T t) be the time t price of an option with T t periods to expiration, which
gives us the privilege to give asset B and get asset A at the expiration time T. Let P (St , Qt , T t)
be time t price of the corresponding put option which gives us the privilege to give asset A and get
asset B. The payoff of the call option at the expiration date T is
C(ST , QT , 0) = max{0, ST QT }
and that of the put option is
P (ST , QT , 0) = max{0, QT ST }.
Now, to understand how the generalized put-call parity is established, we consider the following
portfolio:
1) buying a call at the time t price of C(St , Qt , T t);
2) selling a put at the time t price of P (St , Qt , T t);
P
3) selling a prepaid forward on A at the price Ft,T (S);
P
4) buying a prepaid forward on B at the price Ft,T (Q).
The payoff table of this portfolio is given next:
Expiration
Transaction Cost at Time t ST QT ST > QT
Buy Call C(St , Qt , T t) 0 ST QT
Sell Put P (St , Qt , T t) ST QT 0
P
Sell Prepaid Ft,T (S) ST ST
Forward on A
P
Buy Prepaid Ft,T (Q) QT QT
Forward on B
P
Net cash flow C(St , Qt , T t) + Ft,T (S)
P
P (St , Qt , T t) Ft,T (Q) 0 0
These transactions, as a whole, create a portfolio that provides a sure payoff of zero at time T. In
order to avoid arbitrage, the net cost of these transactions at time t must be zero, implying
P P
C(St , Qt , T t) P (St , Qt , T t) = Ft,T (S) Ft,T (Q). (7.1)
This equation is referred to as the generalized put-call parity of options. It follows from this
equation that relative call and put premiums are determined by prices of prepaid forwards on the
underlying asset and the strike asset.
Remark 7.1
All European options satisfy equation (7.1) whatever the underlying asset.
Example 7.2
A nondividend-paying stock A is currently selling for $34 a share whereas a nondivident-paying
stock B is selling for $56 a share. Suppose A is the underlying asset and B is the strike asset.
P P
(a) Find Ft,T (S) and Ft,T (Q).
(b) Show that the put option is more expensive than the call for any time to expiration T of the
options.
Solution.
P P
(a) Since the stocks pay no dividends, we have Ft,T (S) = $34 and Ft,T (Q) = $56.
(b) Using the put-call parity we have
P P
C(At , Bt , T t) P (At , Bt , T t) = Ft,T (S) Ft,T (Q) = 34 56 = $22.
Thus, the put is $22 more expensive than the call
Example 7.3
A share of Stock A pays quarterly dividend of $1.2 and is currently selling for $55 per share. A
share of Stock B pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 8% and is currently selling
for $72 per share. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 6% per year. A European
exchange call option with stock B as the underlying asset and stock A as the strike asset sells for
$27.64. The option expires in one year. Find the premium of the corresponding put option.
Solution.
The quarterly effective rate of interest is i = e0.060.25 1 = 1.5113%. We have
P
Ft,T (S) = 72e0.08 = 66.46437694
and
P
Ft,T (Q) = 55 1.2a4 i = $50.38.
Now, using the generalized put-call parity we find
27.64 P (St , Qt , T t) = 66.46437694 50.38
or
P (St , Qt , T t) = 11.55562306
Example 7.4
A share of stock A pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 5% and is currently
selling for $110. A share of a nondividend-paying stock B is currently selling for $30. A 10-month
European call option with underlying asset four shares of Stock B and strike asset one share of stock
A sells for $35.95. Find the price of a 10-month put option with underlying asset twelve shares of
stock B and strike asset three shares of stock A.
Solution.
The current value of the four shares of stock B is 4 30 = $120. Using the put-call parity for
exchange options to find the price of a 10-month put option with underlying asset four shares of
stock B and strike asset one share of stock A to find
10 10
C(120, 110, ) P (120, 110, ) = F0,P 10 (4B) F0,P 10 (A)
12 12 12 12
or
10 10
35.95 P (120, 110, ) = 120 110e0.05 12 .
12
Solving this equation we find
10
P (120, 110, ) = 21.4608.
12
Hence, the price of a 10-month put option with underlying asset twelve shares of stock B and strike
asset three shares of stock A is
4 21.4608 = $85.8433
Example 7.5
Consider a model with two stocks. Each stock pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional
to its price. Let Sj (t) denotes the price of one share of stock j at time t where j = 1, 2.
Consider a claim maturing at time 3. The payoff of the claim is
Maximum{S1 (3), S2 (3)}.
You are given:

(i) S1 (0) = $100
(ii)S2 (0) = $200
(iii) Stock 1 pays dividends of amount 0.05S1 (t)dt between time t and time t + dt.
(iv) Stock 2 pays dividends of amount 0.1S2 (t)dt between time t and time t + dt.
(v) The price of a European option to exchange Stock 2 for Stock 1 at time 3 is $10.
Calculate the price of the claim.
Hint: For each share of stock, the amount of dividends paid between t and t + dt is S(t)dt.
Solution.
Note first that the continuously compounded divided yield for stock 1 is 5% and that for stock 2
is 10%. Consider a portfolio consisting of one share of stock 2 and a European option that allows
you to exchange stock 2 for stock 1. The payoff of this portfolio is Maximum{S1 (3), S2 (3)}. If at
time 3, S1 (3) < S2 (3) the owner will keep stock 2 and allows the option to expire unexercised. If
S1 (3) > S2 (3), then the owner will exercise the option by giving up stock 2 for stock 1.
The cost now for a share of stock at time 3 is
P
F0,3 (S2 ) = 200e0.103 = $148.16.
The cost of an exchange option allowing the owner to exchange stock 2 for stock 1 at time 3 is $10.
Thus, the price of the claim is 148.16 + 10 = $158.16
Practice Problems
Problem 7.1
A share of stock A pays dividends at the continuous compounded dividend yield of 3%. Currently
a share of stock A sells for $65. A nondividend-paying stock B sells currently for $85 a share. A
9-month call option with stock A as underlying asset and stock B as strike asset costs $40. Find
the price of the corresponding 9-month put option.
Problem 7.2
A nondividend-paying stock A is currently selling for $34 a share whereas a nondivident-paying
stock B is selling for $56 a share. Suppose A is the underlying asset and B is the strike asset.
Suppose that a put option on A costs $25. Find the price of the corresponding call option.
Problem 7.3
A share of stock A pays dividends at the continuous compounded dividend yield of . Currently
a share of stock A sells for $67. A nondividend-paying stock B sells currently for $95 a share. A
13-month call option with stock A as underlying asset and stock B as strike asset costs $45. The
corresponding 13-month put option costs $74.44. Determine .
Problem 7.4
A share of stock A pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 10%. A share of stock
B pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 25% . A share of stock A currently sells
for $2000 and that of stock B sells for $D. A 12-year call option with underlying asset A and strike
asset B costs $543. A 12-year put option with underlying asset A and strike asset B costs $324.
Determine the value of D.
Problem 7.5
A share of stock A pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 4.88%. Currently a
share of stock A costs $356. A share of stock B pays no dividends and currently costs $567. A
T year call option with underlying asset A and strike asset B costs $34. A T year put option
with underlying asset A and strike asset B costs $290. Determine the time of expiration T.
Problem 7.6
A share of stock A pays no dividends and is currently selling for $100. Stock B pays dividends at
the continuously compounded yield of 4% and is selling for $100. A 7-month call option with stock
A as underlying asset and stock B as strike asset costs $10.22. Find the price of the corresponding
7-month put option.
Problem 7.7
A share of stock A pays $3 dividends every two months at the continuously compounded interest
rate of 6% and is currently selling for $50. Stock B pays dividends at the continuously compounded
yield of 3% and is selling for $51. A 6-month call option with stock A as underlying asset and stock
B as strike asset costs $2.70. Find the price of the corresponding 6-month put option.
Problem 7.8
A share of stock A pays no dividends and is currently selling for $40. A share of Stock B pays
no dividends and is selling for $45. A 3-month European exchange call option with stock A as
underlying asset and stock B as strike asset costs $6. Find the price of the corresponding 3-month
exchange put option.
Problem 7.9
A share of stock A pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 4%. A share of stock
B pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 4% . A share of stock A currently sells
for $40 and that of stock B sells for $D. A 5-month put option with underlying asset A and strike
asset B is $7.76 more expensive than the call option. Determine the value of D.
Problem 7.10
A share of stock B pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield of 4% and is currently
selling for $100. A share of a nondividend-paying stock A is currently selling for $100. A 7-month
American call option with underlying asset one share of stock A and strike asset one share of stock
B sells for $10.22. Find the price of the corresponding 7-month European put option. Hint: For a
stock with no dividends the price of an American call option is equal to the price of a European
call option.
8 LABELING OPTIONS: CURRENCY OPTIONS 57
8 Labeling Options: Currency Options

Any option can be labeled as a put (the privilege to sell) or a call (the privilege to buy). The
labeling process is a matter of perspective depending upon what we label as the underlying asset
and what we label as the strike asset. Thus, a call option can be viewed as a put option and vice
versa. To elaborate, you purchase an option that gives you the privilege of receiving one share of
stock A by surrendering one share of stock B in one year. This option can be viewed as either a
call or a put. If you view stock A as the underlying asset and stock B as the strike asset then the
option is a call option. This option gives you the privilege to buy , at T = 1, one share of stock
A by paying one share of stock B. If you view stock B as the underlying asset and stock A as the
strike asset then the option is a put option. This option gives you the privilege to sell , at T = 1,
one share of stock B for the price of one share of stock A.
Example 8.1
You purchase an option that gives you the privilege to sell one share of Intel stock for $25. Explain
how this option can be viewed either as a call option or as a put option.
Solution.
If you view the share of Intel stock as the underlying asset, the option is a put. The option gives
you the privilege to sell the stock for the price of $35. If you view $35 as the underlying asset then
the option is a call option. This option gives you the right to buy $35 by selling one share of the
stock
Options on Currencies
The idea that calls can be relabeled as put is used frequently by currency traders. Let xt be the value
in dollars of one foreign currency (f) at time t. That is, 1 f= $xt . A Kstrike dollar-denominated
call option on a foreign currency that expires at time T gives the owner the right to receive one (f)
in exchange of K dollars. This option has a payoff at expiration, in dollars, given by
max{0, xT K}.
In the foreign currency, this payoff at the expiration time T would be

1 K 1 1
max{0, xT K} = max{0, 1 } = K max{0, }.
xT xT K xT
1
Now, the payoff at expiration of a K
strike foreign-denominated put on dollars is in that foreign
currency
1 1
max{0, }.
K xT
It follows that on the expiration time T , the payoff in the foreign currency of one Kstrike dollar-
denominated call on foreign currency is equal to the payoff in foreign currency of K K1 strike
foreign-denominated puts on dollars. Thus, the two positions must cost the same at time t = 0, or
else there is an arbitrage opportunity. Hence,
K(premium in foreign currency of K1 strike foreign-denominated put on dollars) = (premium in
foreign currency of Kstrike dollar-denominated call on foreign currency) = (premium in dollars
of Kstrike dollar-denominated call on foreign currency)/x0 .
In symbols,
C$ (x0 , K, T ) 1 1
= KPf , ,T
x0 x0 K
or
1 1
C$ (x0 , K, T ) = x0 KPf , ,T .
x0 K
Likewise,
1 1
P$ (x0 , K, T ) = x0 KCf , ,T .
x0 K
Example 8.2
A 1-year dollar-denominated call option on euros with a strike price of $0.92 has a payoff, in
dollars, of max{0, x1 0.92}, where x1 is the exchange rate in dollars per euro one year from now.
Determine the payoff, in euros, of a 1-year euro-denominated put option on dollars with strike price
1
0.92
= e1.0870.
Solution.
The payoff in euros is given by
1 1
max{0, }
0.92 x1
Example 8.3
The premium of a 1-year 100-strike yen-denominated put on the euro is U 8.763. The current
exchange rate is U95/e. What is the strike of the corresponding euro-denominated yen call, and
what is its premium?
Solution.
The strike price of the euro-denominated yen call is 1
100
= e0.01. The premium, in euros, of the
euro-denominated yen call satisfies the equation

1 1
Pyen (95, 100, 1) = 95 100Ce , ,1 .
95 100
Thus,
1 1 1
Ce , ,1 = 0.01 8.763 = e0.00092242
95 100 95
Example 8.4
interest rate is 1%,the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 5%, and the
price of 1-year $0.009-strike dollar-denominated European call on the yen is $0.0006. What is the
price of a yen-denominated dollar call?
Solution.
The dollar-denominated call option is related to the yen-denominated put option by the equation

1 1
C$ (x0 , K, T ) = x0 KPU , ,T .
x0 K
Thus,
1 1 0.0006 1
PU , ,1 = = U7.4074.
0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009
Using the put-call parity of currency options we have

1 1 1 1
PU , , 1 CU , , 1 = erU T K x0 er$ T
0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009
1
where x0 = U 0.009 /$. Thus,

1 1 1 0.01 1 0.05
CU , , 1 = 7.4074 e + e = U3.093907
0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009
Practice Problems
Problem 8.1
You purchase an option that gives you the privilege to buy one share of Intel stock for $25. Explain
how this option can be viewed either as a call option or a put option.
Problem 8.2
A 1-year dollar-denominated call option on euros with a strike price of $0.92 costs $0.0337. The
current exchange rate is x0 = $0.90/e. What is the premium, in euros, of this call option?
Problem 8.3
A 1-year dollar-denominated call option on euros with a strike price of $0.92 costs $0.0337. The
current exchange rate is x0 = $0.90/e. What is the strike of the corresponding euro-denominated
dollar put, and what is its premium?
Problem 8.4
The premium on a 1-year dollar-denominated call option on euro with a strike price $1.50 is $0.04.
The current exchange rate is $1.52/e. Calculate the premium in euros of the corresponding 1-year
euro-denominated put option on dollars.
Problem 8.5
interest rate is 1%,the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 5%, and the
price of 1-year $0.09-strike dollar-denominated European call on the yen is $0.0006. What is the
price of a yen-denominated dollar call?
Problem 8.6
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is $1.20/e. The price of a 6-month $1.25-strike dollar-denominated
European call on the euro is $0.083. What is the premium in euro of the euro-denominated dollar
put?
Problem 8.7
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is e0.85/$. The price of a 6-month e0.80-strike euro-denominated
European call on the dollar is $0.0898. What is the premium in dollars of the dollar-denominated
euro put?
Problem 8.8
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is franc f 1.65/e. The price of a 1-year f 1.60-strike franc-
denominated European put on the euro is f 0.0918. What is the premium in euros of the euro-
denominated franc call?
Problem 8.9
Let $ denote the Australian dollars. Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is 0.42/$, the pound-
denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 8%,the dollar-denominated continuously
compounded interest rate is 7%, and the price of 1-year $0.40-strike pound-denominated European
put on the dollar is 0.0133. What is the price of a dollar-denominated pounds put?
Problem 8.10
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is e0.70/$, the euro-denominated continuously compounded in-
terest rate is 8%,the dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 7%, and the price
of 6-month e0.625-strike euro-denominated European call on the dollar is e0.08. What is the price,
in euros, of a dollar-denominated euro call?
Problem 8.11
Suppose the (spot) exchange rate is 0.38/$. The price of a 6-month 1.40-strike pound-denominated
European put on the dollar is 0.03. What is the premium in dollars of the dollar-denominated
pounds call?
9 No-Arbitrage Bounds on Option Prices

In this section lower and upper bounds of option prices are determined. Recall that American
options are options that can be exercised at any time up to (and including) the maturity date. On
the contrary, European options can be exercised only at the maturity. Since an American option
can duplicate a European option by exercising the American option at the maturity date, it follows
that an American option is always worth at least as much as a European option on the same asset
with the same strike price and maturity date. In symbols,
CAmer (K, T ) CEur (K, T )
and
PAmer (K, T ) PEur (K, T ).
Example 9.1
Show that for a nondividend-paying stock one has CAmer (K, T ) = CEur (K, T ).
Solution.
Suppose that CAmer (K, T ) > CEur (K, T ). We will show that this creates an arbitrage opportunity.
Consider the position of selling the American call and buying the European call. The payoff for
this position is given next.
Exercise or Expiration
Transaction Time 0 St K St > K
Buy European call CEur (K, T ) 0 St K
Sell American call CAmer 0 K St
Total CAmer CEur (K, T ) > 0 0 0
The position has a sure payoff of 0 and positive time-0 payoff. Thus, an arbitrage occurs
We next establish some bounds on the option prices. We first consider call options:
Since the best one can do with a call stock option is to own the stock so the call price cannot
exceed the current stock price. Thus,
S0 CAmer (K, T ) CEur (K, T ).
Example 9.2
Use a no-arbitrage argument to establish that CAmer (K, T ) S0 .
9 NO-ARBITRAGE BOUNDS ON OPTION PRICES 63
Solution.
Suppose that CAmer (K, T ) > S0 . Consider the position of buying a stock and selling an American
call on the stock. The payoff table for this position is given next.
Transaction Time 0 St K St > K
Buy a stock S0 St St
Sell a call CAmer 0 K St
Total CAmer S0 > 0 St K
Every entry in the row Total is nonnegative with CAmer S0 > 0. Thus, an arbitrage occurs
The price of a call or a put option has to be non-negative because with these options you are
offered the possibility for a future gain with no liability. In symbols, we have
0 CEur (K, T ) CAmer (K, T ).
The price of a European call option must satisfy the put-call parity. Thus, for a nondividend-
paying stock we have
CEur (K, T ) = CEur (K, T ) + S0 P V0,T (K) S0 P V0,T (K).
Combining, all of the above results we can write
S0 CAmer (K, T ) = CEur (K, T ) max{0, S0 P V0,T (K)}.
Likewise, for a discrete-dividend paying stock we have
S0 CAmer (K, T ) CEur (K, T ) max{0, S0 P V0,T (Div) P V0,T (K)}
and for a continuous-dividend paying stock we have
S0 CAmer (K, T ) CEur (K, T ) max{0, S0 eT P V0,T (K)}.
Next, we consider bounds on put options:

Put options are nonnegative: 0 PEur (K, T ) PAmer (K, T ).
The best one can do with a European put option is to get the strike price K at the maturity date
T. So a European put cannot be worth more than the present value of the strike price. That is,
PEur (K, T ) P V0,T (K).

The best one can do with an American put option is to exercise it immediately after time zero
and receive the strike price K. So an American put cannot be worth more than the strike price. In
symbols,
PAmer (K, T ) K.
Combining the above results we find
0 PEur (K, T ) PAmer (K, T ) K.
The price of a European put option must obey the put-call parity. For a nondividend-paying
stock we have
PEur (K, T ) = CEur (K, T ) + P V0,T (K) S0 P V0,T (K) S0 .
Hence,
K PAmer (K, T ) PEur (K, T ) max{0, P V0,T (K) S0 }.
For a discrete-dividend paying stock we have
K PAmer (K, T ) PEur (K, T ) max{0, P V0,T (K) + P V0,T (Div) S0 }.
For a continuous-dividend paying stock we have
K PAmer (K, T ) PEur (K, T ) max{0, P V0,T (K) S0 eT }.
Example 9.3
The price of a Kstrike European put option on a share of stock A that expires at time T is
exactly K. What is the price of an American put option on the same stock with the same strike
and expiration date?
Solution.
We have K = PEur (K, T ) PAmer (K, T ) K. Thus, PAmer (K, T ) = K
Example 9.4
What is a lower bound for the price of a 1-month European put option on a nondividend-paying
stock when the stock price is $12, the strike price is $15, and the risk-free interest rate is 6% per
annum?
Solution.
A lower bound is given by
1
max{0, P V0,T (K) S0 } = max{0, 15e0.06 12 12} = $2.93
Example 9.5
A four-month European call option on a dividend-paying stock has a strike price of $60. The stock
price is $64 and a dividend of $0.80 is expected in one month. The continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 12%. Find a lower bound for the price of the call.
Solution.
A lower bound is given by
1 4
max{0, S0 P V0,T (Div) P V0,T (K)} = 64 0.80e0.12 12 60e0.12 12 = $5.56
Example 9.6
Show that for a nondividend-paying stock we have
CAmer (K, T ) CEur (K, T ) S0 K.
Solution.
Using the put-call parity we have
CEur (K, T ) = S0 K + PEur (K, T ) + K(1 erT ) S0 K
where we used the fact that PEur (K, T ) 0 and K(1 erT ) 0
Practice Problems
Problem 9.1
The maximum value of a call stock option is equal to:
(A) the strike price minus the initial cost of the option
(B) the exercise price plus the price of the underlying stock
(C) the strike price
(D) the price of the underlying stock.
Problem 9.2
The lower bound of a call option:
(A) can be a negative value regardless of the stock or exercise price
(B) can be a negative value but only when the exercise price exceeds the stock price
(C) can be a negative value but only when the stock price exceeds the exercise price
(D) must be greater than zero
(E) can be equal to zero.
Problem 9.3
What is a lower bound for the price of a 4-month call option on a nondividend-paying stock when
the stock price is $28, the strike price is $25, and the continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate is 8%?
Problem 9.4
A six-month European put option on a nondividend-paying stock has a strike price of $40. The
stock price is $37. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%. Find a lower bound
for the price of the put.
Problem 9.5
A share of stock currently sells for $96. The stock pays two dividends of $8 per share, one six
months from now and the other one year from now. The annual continuously compounded rate of
interest is 5.6%. What is a lower bound for a 1-year put option with strike price of $86?
Problem 9.6
A share of stock is currently selling for $99. The stock pays a continuous dividend yield of 2%. The
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 12.39%. Find a lower bound for a nine-month
European call on the stock with strike price of $100.
Problem 9.7
Which of the following effects are correct on the price of a stock option?
I. The premiums would not decrease if the options were American rather than European.
II. For European put, the premiums increase when the stock price increases.
III. For American call, the premiums increase when the strike price increases.
Problem 9.8
Show that the assumption
CAmer (K, T ) < CEur (K, T )
creates an arbitrage opportunity.
Problem 9.9
Use a no-arbitrage argument to establish that PEur P V0,T (K).
Problem 9.10
Use a no-arbitrage argument to establish that CEur S0 K.
Problem 9.11
Use a no-arbitrage argument to establish that CEur (K, T ) + P V0,T (K) S0 .
Problem 9.12
Consider European and American options on a nondividend-paying stock. You are given:
(i) All options have the same strike price of 100.
(ii) All options expire in six months.
(iii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%.
You are interested in the graph for the price of an option as a function of the current stock price.
In each of the following four charts I-IV, the horizontal axis, S, represents the current stock price,
and the vertical axis, , represents the price of an option.
Match the option (i.e. American, European calls and puts) with the shaded region in which its
graph lies. If there are two or more possibilities, choose the chart with the smallest shaded region.
10 GENERAL RULES OF EARLY EXERCISE ON AMERICAN OPTIONS 69
10 General Rules of Early Exercise on American Options

American options are contracts that may be exercised early, prior to expiration date. In this section,
we derive general sets of rules about when early exercise is not optimal, or under what conditions it
may be optimal. Further discussions about early exercising that require option pricing models will
be discussed in future sections. In this section the word option stands for American options unless
indicated otherwise.
First, we consider calls on a nondividend-paying stock. Suppose you buy a call option at time t = 0.
Let t denote todays date so that 0 t < T. Let St denote todays stock price and the stock price at
expiration be denoted by ST . Let r denote the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate. We state our first result in the form of a proposition.
Proposition 10.1
It is NEVER optimal to early exercise an American call option on a nondividend-paying stock.
Proof.
Using the generalized put-call parity for European options and the fact that PEur (St , K, T t) 0
we can write
CEur (St , K, T t) =PEur (St , K, T t) + St Ker(T t)

St Ker(T t)
>St K
where we use the fact that for 0 t < T we have 0 < er(T t) < 1. Now, since CAmer (St , K, T t)
CEur (St , K, T t), we have
CAmer (St , K, T t) > St K. (10.1)
This shows that the cash flow from selling the option at a time 0 t T is larger than the cash
flow from exercising it. Indeed, if you sell the call option you receive CAmer while if you exercise the
option you will receive St K and therefore you would lose money since CAmer (St , K, T t) > St K.
Hence, it is never optimal to early exercise an American call option on a nondividend-paying stock
Remark 10.1
The above proposition does not say that you must hold the option until expiration. It says that if
no longer you wish to hold the call, you should sell it rather than exercise it. Also, it follows from
the previous proposition that an American call on a nondividend-paying stock is like a European
call so that we can write CAmer = CEur .
Remark 10.2
One of the effect of early exercising is the time value of money: When you exercise the call option
at time t you pay the strike price K and you own the stock. However, you lose the interest you
could have earned during the time interval [t, T ] had you put K in a savings account, since owning
the stock has no gain during [t, T ] (stock pays no dividends).
The case CAmer (St , K, T t) < St K leads to an arbitrage opportunity as shown next.
Example 10.1
Suppose an American call option is selling for CAmer (St , K, T t) < St K. Demonstrate an arbitrage
opportunity.
Solution.
First note that CAmer (St , K, T t) < St K implies CAmer (St , K, T t) < St Ker(T t) . Consider
the position of buying the call option for the price of CAmer (St , K, T t), short selling the stock,
and lending Ker(T t) . The payoff table of this position is given next.
Transaction Time t ST K ST > K
Short sell a stock St ST ST
Buy a call CAmer 0 ST K
Lend Ker(T t) Ker(T t) K K
Total St CAmer Ker(T t) > 0 K ST 0
Every entry in the row Total is nonnegative with St CAmer Ker(T t) > 0. Thus, an arbitrage
occurs
Now, what if you can not sell the call option, should you ever exercise early then? By short-
selling the stock we receive St that grows to St er(T t) at time T. If at expiration, ST > K, you
exercise the call paying K and receiving the stock. You return the stock to the broker. In this case,
your profit is St er(T t) K > St K. If ST K, you let your call option expire worthless, purchase
a stock in the market, and return it to the broker. Your profit is St er(T t) ST > St K.
In conclusion, you never want to exercise a call when the underlying asset does not pay dividends.
Example 10.2
Suppose you own an American call option on a nondividend-paying stock with strike price of $100
and due in three months from now. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 1% and
the stock is currently selling for $105.
(a) What is the payoff from exercising the option now?
(b) What is the least payoff from selling the option now?
Suppose that you can not sell your call.
(c) What happens if you exercise now?
(d) What advantage do you have by delaying the exercise until maturity?
(e) What if you know the stock price is going to fall? Shouldnt you exercise now and take your
profits (by selling the stock), rather than wait and have the option expire worthless?
Solution.
(a) The payoff from exercising the option now is 105 100 = $5.
(b) We know that CAmer max{0, 105 100e0.010.25 } so that the least payoff from selling the
option now is
105 100e0.010.25 = $5.25.
(c) If you exercise now, you pay $100 and owns the stock which will be worth ST in three months.
(d) You can deposit the $100 into a savings account which will accumulate to 100e0.010.25 = $100.25.
At the maturity, if ST > 100 you exercise the call and pay $100 and own the stock. In this case,
you have an extra $0.25 as opposed to exercising now. If ST < 100, you dont exercise the call and
you have in your pocket $100.25 as opposed to exercising it now (a loss of ST 100.)
(e) Say you exercise now. You pay $100 for the stock, sell it for $105 and deposit the $5 in a
savings account that will accumulate to 5e0.010.25 = $5.0125. If you delay exercising until ma-
turity, you can short the stock now, deposit $105 into a savings account that accumulates to
105e0.010.25 = $105.263. At maturity you cover the short by exercising the call option and in this
case your profit is $5.263 > $5.0125
We next consider calls on a dividend paying stock. We first establish a condition under which
early exercise is never optimal.
Proposition 10.2
Early exercise for calls on dividend paying stock can not be optimal if
K P Vt,T (K) > P Vt,T (Div).
Proof.
Using put-call parity relationship for stocks with dividends given by
CEur (St , K, T t) = PEur (St , K, T t) + St P Vt,T (Div) P Vt,T (K)
which can be written as
CEur (St , K, T t) =St K + PEur (St , K, T t) P Vt,T (Div) + K P Vt,T (K)
St K [P Vt,T (Div) K + P Vt,T (K)].
Thus,
CAmer St K [P Vt,T (Div) K + P Vt,T (K)].
To avoid early exercise we expect that selling the call (getting CAmer ) to be more profitable then
exercising the call (getting St K). Thus, in order to achieve that we require
K P Vt,T (K) > P Vt,T (Div). (10.2)
In this case, we obtain

CAmer (St , K, T t) > St K (10.3)
As in the discussion for call options with no dividends, selling the call is better than early-exercising
it. The condition (10.2) says that early exercise should not occur if the interest on the strike price
exceeds the value of the dividends through early exercise. If (10.2) is violated, this does not tell us
that we will exercise, only that we cannot rule it out.
When does early exercising optimal then? If its optimal to exercise an American call early, then
the best time to exercise the call is immediately before the dividend payment. To further elaborate,
consider the picture below.
We notice that by exercising at T1 instead of T2 we lose the interest that can be earned on K during
[T1 , T2 ], we lose the remaining call option on [T1 , T ], and gain nothing since there are no dividends
between T1 and T2 . Thus, exercising at T1 cannot be optimal. On the other hand, if we exercise
at T3 , we lose the dividend, the remaining call option, lose the interest that can be earned on K
during [T3 , T ],and gain just a tiny interest of the dividend on [T2 , T3 ]. Again, exercising at time T3
is not optimal.
We conclude that for a dividend paying stock, if its ever worthwhile to exercise an American call
early, you should exercise the call immediately before the dividend payment, no sooner or later.
Remark 10.3
It follows from our discussion that early exercise on American calls with dividends has its advantages
and disadvantages. Namely,
(+) You gain the dividends between t and T and the interest on the dividends.
() You lose the time value of money on the strike. That is, we lose the interest on K from time t
to T.
() You lose the remaining call option on the time interval [t, T ].
() We pay K for a stock that might be worth less than K at T.
The second half of this section concerns early exercise of American put options. Consider an Amer-
ican put option on a nondividend-paying stock. Contrary to American call options for nondividend
paying stocks, an American put option on a nondividend paying stock may be exercised early.
To avoid early exercise, selling the put (getting PAmer ) should be more profitable than exercising
(getting K St ), that is, PAmer > K St . Now, the put-call parity for European options says
PEur = CEur + (K St ) (K P Vt,T (K)).
It follows from this equation that if
CEur > K P Vt,T (K) (10.4)
then PAmer > K St and therefore selling is better than exercising. This means that there is no
early exercise if the European call price is high (high asset price compared to strike price), the
strike price is low, or if the discounting until expiration is low (low interest rate or small time to
expiration).
It should be noted that if condition (10.4) is not satisfied, we will not necessarily exercise, but we
cannot rule it out.
Example 10.3
Consider an American put option on a stock. When the stock is bankrupt then St = 0 and it is
known that it will stay St = 0.
(a) What is the payoff from early exercising?
(b) What is the present value at time t if put is exercised at maturity?
(c) Is early exercising optimal?
Solution.
Note that CEur = 0 < K P V0,T (K).
(a) The payoff will be K.
(b) If the put is exercised at maturity, the present value of K at time t is P Vt,T (K) < K.
(c) From (a) and (b) we see that early exercise is optimal
Finally, using an argument similar to the one considered for call options with dividends, it is
easy to establish (left as an exercise) that is not optimal to early exercise an American put option
with dividends satisfying
K P Vt,T (K) > P Vt,T (Div) (10.5)
If condition (10.5) is not satisfied, we will not necessarily exercise, but we cannot rule it out.
Example 10.4
For call options on a stock that pays no dividends, early exercise is never optimal. However, this is
not true in general for put options. Why not?
Solution.
Delaying exercise of a call gains interest on the strike, but delaying exercise of a put loses interest
on the strike
Practice Problems
Problem 10.1
For which of the following options it is never optimal to early exercise?
(A) American put on a dividend paying stock
(B) American put on a nondividend-paying stock
(C) American call on a dividend paying stock
(D) American call on a nondividend-paying stock.
Problem 10.2
XYZ stock pays annual dividends of $5 per share of stock, starting one year from now. For which
of these strike prices of American call options on XYZ stocks might early exercise be optimal? All
of the call options expire in 5 years. The annual effective risk-free interest rate is 3%.
(A) $756
(B) $554
(C) $396
(D) $256
(E) $43
(F) $10
Problem 10.3
American put options on XYZ stocks currently cost $56 per option. We know that it is never
optimal to exercise these options early. Which of these are possible values of the strike price K on
these options and the stock price St of XYZ stock?
(A) S = 123, K = 124
(B) S = 430, K = 234
(C) S = 234, K = 430
(D) S = 1234, K = 1275
(E) S = 500, K = 600
(F) S = 850, K = 800
Problem 10.4
A 1-year European call option on a nondividend-paying stock with a strike price of $38 sells for $5.5
and is due six months from now. A 1-year European put option with the same underlying stock
and same strike sells for $0.56. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%. The
stock is currently selling for $42. Would exercising a 1-year American put option with strike $38
be optimal if exercised now?
Problem 10.5
A 1-year European call option on a dividend-paying stock with a strike price of $38 sells for $5.5
now and is due six months from now. A 1-year European put option with the same underlying
stock and same strike sells for $0.56. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%. A
dividend of $0.95 is due at t = 10 months. Would it be optimal to exercise a 1-year American call
with the same stock and strike price now?
Problem 10.6
A 1-year European call option on a dividend-paying stock with a strike price of $38 sells for $5.5
now and is due six months. A 1-year European put option with the same underlying stock and
same strike sells for $0.56. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%. A dividend
of $0.95 is due at t = 6.1 months. Would it be optimal to exercise a 1-year American call with the
same stock and strike price now?
Problem 10.7
A share of stock pays monthly dividends of $4, starting one month from now. 1-year American call
options with the underlying stock are issued for a strike price of $23. The annual effective interest
rate is 3%. Is it optimal to early exercise such American call options now?
Problem 10.8
A nondividend-paying stock is currently trading for $96 per share. American put options are written
with the underlying stock for a strike price of $100. What is the maximum price of the put options
at which early exercise might be optimal?
Problem 10.9
The following table list several American call options with a dividend paying stock. The stock is
currently selling fo $58. The first dividend payment is $3 and due now whereas the second payment
due in nine months. Which of the options might early exercise be optimal? Assume a continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate of 5%.
Option Strike Expiration(in years)
A 40 1.5
B 50 1.5
C 50 1.0
D 52 1.0
E 59 0.75
Problem 10.10
Suppose that you have an American call option that permits you to receive one share of stock A by
giving up one share of stock B. Neither stock pays a dividend. In what circumstances might you
early exercise this call?
Problem 10.11
Suppose that you have an American put option that permits you to give up one share of stock A
by receiving one share of stock B. Neither stock pays a dividend. In what circumstances might you
early exercise this put? Would there be a loss from not early-exercising if stock A price goes to
zero?
Problem 10.12
For a stock, you are given:
(i) The current stock price is $50.00.
(ii) = 0.08
(iii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is r = 0.04.
(iv) The prices for one-year European calls (C) under various strike prices (K) are shown below:
K C
40 9.12
50 4.91
60 0.71
70 0.00
You own four special put options each with one of the strike prices listed in (iv). Each of these put
options can only be exercised immediately or one year from now.
Determine the lowest strike price for which it is optimal to exercise these special put option(s)
immediately.
11 Effect of Maturity Time Growth on Option Prices

Recall that the time of expiration of an option is the time after which the option is worthless. In
this section, we discuss how time to expiration affects the prices of American and European options.
Consider two American calls with the same underlying asset and strike price K but with expiration
time T1 < T2 . The call with expiration time T2 can be converted into a call with expiration time
T1 by voluntarily exercising it at time T1 . Thus, the price of the call with expiration time T2 is at
least as valuable as the call with expiration time T1 . In symbols, we have
CAmer (K, T1 ) CAmer (K, T2 ).
A similar result holds for American put options
PAmer (K, T1 ) PAmer (K, T2 ).
The above results are valid for all American options regardless whether the underlying asset pays
dividends or not.
Next, we consider European call options. If the underlying asset pays no dividends, then the
European call has the same price as an American call with the same underlying asset, same strike,
and same expiration date (See Example ??). The same applies to European puts with nondividend-
paying asset. Thus, for T1 < T2 , we have
CEur (K, T1 ) CEur (K, T2 )
and
PEur (K, T1 ) PEur (K, T2 ).
The above inequalities for European options may not be valid for European options with dividend-
paying underlying asset. We illustrate these cases in the following two examples.
Example 11.1
Consider a stock that will pay a liquidating dividend two weeks from today. This means that the
stock is worthless after the dividend payment. Show that a 1-week European call on the stock is
more valuable than a 3-week European call.
Solution.
For T > 2 the stock is worthless, so that CEur (K, T ) = 0. If T 2, the call might be worth
something depending on how high the strike price K is. That is, CEur (K, T ) > 0. Let T1 = 1 and
T2 = 3. Then T1 < T2 but CEur (K, T1 ) > 0 = CEur (K, T2 )
11 EFFECT OF MATURITY TIME GROWTH ON OPTION PRICES 79
Example 11.2
Show that when a company goes bankrupt the price of a long-lived European put on the stock is
less valuable than a shorter-lived European put.
Solution.
When a company goes bankrupt, the underlying stocks price is zero and stays like that. Thus, the
only dividend received will be the strike price. In this case, the value of a European put option
is just the present value of the strike price. Hence, the long-lived European put will make the
present value smaller. In other words, the price of a long-lived European put is less valuable than
a shorter-lived European put
Next, lets consider European options with strike price growing over time. Let K be the origi-
nal (t = 0) strike price. Let C(t) denote the time 0 price for a European call maturing at time t and
with strike price Kt = Kert . Suppose t < T. Suppose that C(t) > C(T ). Then we buy the call with
T years to expiration and sell the call with t years to expiration. The payoff of the longer-lived call
at time T is max{0, ST KT }. The payoff of the shorter-lived call at time T is max{0, St Kt }
accumulated from t to T.
Suppose ST < KT . Then the payoff of the longer-lived call is 0. Suppose St < Kt . Then the
payoff of the shorter-lived call is 0 and accumulates to 0 at time T. Thus, the total payoff of the
position is 0.
Suppose ST < KT . Then the payoff of the longer-lived call is 0. Suppose St Kt . Then the
payoff of the shorter-lived call is Kt St and this accumulates to (Kt St )er(T t) = KT ST at
time T. Thus, the total payoff of the position is KT ST .
Suppose ST KT . Then the payoff of the longer-lived call is ST KT . Suppose St < Kt . Then
the payoff of the shorter-lived call is 0 and accumulates to 0 at time T. Thus, the total payoff of
the position is ST KT .
Suppose ST KT . Then the payoff of the longer-lived call is ST KT . Suppose St Kt . Then
the payoff of the shorter-lived call is Kt St and this accumulates to (Kt St )er(T t) = KT ST
at time T. Thus, the total payoff of the position is 0.
It follows that in order to avoid arbitrage, the longer-lived call cant sell for less than the shorter-
lived call. That is,
If T > t then CEur (KT , T ) CEur (Kt , t).
Likewise,
If T > t then PEur (KT , T ) PEur (Kt , t).
Example 11.3
The premium of a 6-month European call with strike price $100 is $22.50. The premium of a
9-month European call with strike price $102.53 is $20.00. The continuously compounded risk-free
interest rate is 10%.
(a) Demonstrate an arbitarge opportunity.
(b) Given S0.5 = $98 and S0.75 = $101. Find the value of the accumulated arbitrage strategy after
9 months?
(c) Given S0.5 = $98 and S0.75 = $103. Find the value of the accumulated arbitrage strategy after
9 months?
Solution.
(a) First, notice that 102.53 = 100e0.10.25 . We have C(0.5) = 22.50 > C(0.75). We buy one call
option with strike price $102.53 and time to expiration nine months from now. We sell one call
option with strike price of $100 and time to expiration six months from now. The payoff table is
given next.
Payoff at Time 9 months
S0.75 102.53 S0.75 > 102.53
Payoff at Time 6 months
Transaction Time 0 S0.5 100 S0.5 > 100 S0.5 100 S0.5 > 100
Sell C0.5) C(0.5) S0.75 102.53 0 S0.75 102.53 0
Buy C(0.75) C0.75) 102.53 S0.75 102.53 S0.75 0 0
Total Payoff C(0.5) C(0.75) 0 102.53 S0.75 S0.75 102.53 0
(b) The cash flow of the two options nets to zero after 9 months. Thus, the accumulated value of
the arbitrage strategy at the end of nine months is
(22.50 20.00)e0.100.75 = $2.6947
(c) The cash flow of the two options nets to S0.75 102.53 = 103 102.53 = 0.47. The accumulated
value of the arbitrage strategy at the end of nine months is
2.6947 + 0.47 = $3.1647

Practice Problems
Problem 11.1
True of false:
(A) American call and put options (with same strike price) become more valuable as the time of
expiration increases.
(B) European call and put options (with same strike price) become more valuable as the time of
expiration increases.
(C) A long-lived Kstrike European call on a dividend paying stock is at least as valuable as a
short-lived Kstrike European call.
(D) A long-lived Kstrike European call on a nondividend-paying stock is at least as valuable as
a short-lived Kstrike European call.
Problem 11.2
Which of these statements about call and put options on a share of stock is always true?
(A) An American call with a strike price of $43 expiring in 2 years is worth at least as much as an
American call with a strike price of $52 expiring in 1 year.
(B) An American call with a strike price of $43 expiring in 2 years is worth at least as much as an
American call with a strike price of $43 expiring in 1 year.
(C) An American call with a strike price of $43 expiring in 2 years is worth at least as much as a
European call with a strike price of $43 expiring in 2 years.
(D) An American put option with a strike price of $56 expiring in 3 years is worth at least as much
as an American put option with a strike price of $56 expiring in 4 years.
(E) A European put option with a strike price of $56 expiring in 3 years is worth at least as much
as a European put option with a strike price of $56 expiring in 2 years.
Problem 11.3
Gloom and Doom, Inc. will be bankrupt in 2 years, at which time it will pay a liquidating dividend
of $30 per share. You own a European call option on Gloom and Doom, Inc. stock expiring in 2
years with a strike price of $20. The annual continuously compounded interest rate is 2%. How
much is the option currently worth? (Assume that, for T = 2, the option can be exercised just
before the dividend is paid.)
Problem 11.4
European put options are written on the stock of a bankrupt company. That is, the stock price is
$0 per share. What is the price of a put option that has strike price $92 and expires 2 years from
now? The annual continuously compounded interest rate is 21%.
Problem 11.5
Imprudent Industries plans to pay a liquidating dividend of $20 in one year. Currently, European
calls and puts on Imprudent Industries are traded with the following strike prices (K) and times
to expiration (T ). Which of the following European options will have the highest value? (Assume
that, for T = 1, the options can be exercised just before the dividend is paid.) The annual effective
(A) Call; K = 3; T = 1.1
(B) Call; K = 19; T = 1
(C) Call; K = 19; T = 1.1
(D) Put; K = 10; T = 2
(E) Put; K = 10; T = 0.4.
Problem 11.6
European call options on Oblivious Co. are issued with a certain strike price that grows with
time. Which of these times to maturity will result in the highest call premium? (A higher number
indicates later time to maturity.)
(A) 2 months
(B) 4 months
(C) 1 year
(D) 2 years
(E) 2 weeks
(F) 366 days
Problem 11.7
Let P (t) denote the time 0 price for a European put maturing at time t and with strike price
Kt = Kert . Suppose t < T. Suppose that P (t) P (T ). Show that this leads to an arbitrage
opportunity.
Problem 11.8
The premium of a 6-month European put with strike price $198 is $4.05. The premium of a 9-month
European put with strike price $206.60 is $3.35. The continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate is 17%.
(b) Given that S0.5 = $196 and S0.75 = $205. What is the value of the accumulated arbitrage
strategy after 9 months?
Problem 11.9
Two American call options on the same stock both having a striking price of $100. The first option
has a time to expiration of 6 months and trades for $8. The second option has a time to expiration
of 3 months and trades for $10. Demonstrate an arbitrage.
Problem 11.10
The premium of a 6-month European call with strike price $198 is $23.50. The premium of a
9-month European call with strike price $207.63 is $22.00. The continuously compounded risk-free
(b) Given that S0.5 = $278 and S0.75 = $205. What is the value of the accumulated arbitrage
strategy after 9 months?
12 Options with Different Strike Prices but Same Time to

Expiration
In this section we explore properties of options with different strike prices but the same time to
expiration.
The first result shows that the call premium decreases as the strike price increases.
Proposition 12.3
Suppose K1 < K2 with corresponding call option (American or European) prices C(K1 ) and C(K2 )
then
C(K1 ) C(K2 ). (12.1)
Moreover,
C(K1 ) C(K2 ) K2 K1 . (12.2)
Proof.
We will show (12.1) using the usual strategy of a no-arbitrage argument. Lets assume that the
inequality above does not hold, that is, C(K1 ) < C(K2 ). We want to set up a strategy that pays
us money today. We can do this by selling the high-strike call option and buying the low-strike call
option (this is a bull spread). We then need to check if this strategy ever has a negative payoff in
the future. Consider the following payoff table:
Expiration or Exercise
Transaction Time 0 St < K1 K1 St K2 St > K2
Sell C(K2 ) C(K2 ) 0 0 K2 St
Buy C(K1 ) C(K1 ) 0 S t K1 S t K1
Total C(K2 ) C(K1 ) 0 S t K1 K2 K1
Every entry in the row labeled Total is nonnegative. Thus, by selling the high-strike call and
buying the low-strike call we are guaranteed not to lose money. This is an arbitrage. Hence, to
prevent arbitrage, (12.1) must be satisfied. If the options are Americans then we have to take in
consideration the possibility of early exercise of the written call. If that happens at time t < T, we
can simply exercise the purchased option, earning the payoffs in the table. If it is not optimal to
exercise the purchased option, we can sell it, and the payoff table becomes
Sell C(K2 ) C(K2 ) 0 0 K2 St
Buy C(K1 ) C(K1 ) 0 St K1 C(K1 )
Total C(K2 ) C(K1 ) 0 St K1 C(K1 ) + K2 St
12 OPTIONS WITH DIFFERENT STRIKE PRICES BUT SAME TIME TO EXPIRATION 85
Since C(K1 ) > St K1 we Find that C(K1 ) + K2 St > K2 K1 . That is, we get even higher
payoffs then exercising the purchased option
Example 12.1
Establish the relationship (12.2). That is, the call premium changes by less than the change in the
strike price.
Solution.
We will use the strategy of a no-arbitrage argument. Assume C(K1 ) C(K2 ) (K2 K1 ) > 0.
We want to set up a strategy that pays us money today. We can do this by selling the low-strike
call option, buying the high-strike call option (this is a call bear spread), and lending the amount
K2 K1 . We then need to check if this strategy ever has a negative payoff in the future. Consider
the following payoff table:
Sell C(K1 ) C(K1 ) 0 K1 S t K1 St
Buy C(K2 ) C(K2 ) 0 0 St K2
Lend K2 K1 K1 K2 e (K2 K1 ) ert (K2 K1 )
rt
ert (K2 K1 )
Total C(K2 ) C(K1 ) ert (K2 K1 ) ert (K2 K1 ) ert (K2 K1 )
(K2 K1 ) (St K1 ) (K2 K1 )
Every entry in the row labeled Total is nonnegative. Thus, by selling the low-strike call, buying
the high-strike call and lending K2 K1 we are guaranteed not to lose money at time T. This is an
arbitrage. Hence, to prevent arbitrage, (12.2) must be satisfied. In the case of American options, if
the written call is exercised, we can duplicate the payoffs in the table by throwing our option away
(if K1 St K2 ) or exercising it (if St > K2 ). Since it never makes sense to discard an unexpired
option, and since exercise may not be optimal, we can do at least as well as the payoff in the table
if the options are American
Remark 12.1
If the options are European, we can put a tighter restriction on the difference in call premiums,
namely CEur (K1 ) CEur (K2 ) P V0,T (K2 K1 ). We would show this by lending P V0,T (K2 K1 )
instead of K2 K1 . This strategy does not work if the options are American, since we dont know
how long it will be before the options are exercised, and, hence, we dont know what time to use in
computing the present value.
We can derive similar relationships for (American or European) puts as we did for calls. Namely,
we have
Proposition 12.4
Suppose K1 < K2 with corresponding put option prices P (K1 ) and P (K2 ) then
P (K2 ) P (K1 ). (12.3)
Moreover,
P (K2 ) P (K1 ) K2 K1 (12.4)
and
PEur (K2 ) PEur (K1 ) P V0,T (K2 K1 ).
Example 12.2
The premium of a 50-strike call option is 9 and that of a 55-strike call option is 10. Both options
have the same time to expiration.
(a) What no-arbitrage property is violated?
(b) What spread position would you use to effect arbitrage?
(c) Demonstrate that the spread position is an arbitrage.
Solution.
(a) We are given that C(50) = 9 and C(55) = 10. This violates (12.1).
(b) Since C(55) C(50) = 1 > 0, to profit from an arbitrage we sell the 55-strike call option and
buy the 50-strike call option. This is a call bull spread position.
(c) We have the following payoff table.
Transaction Time 0 St < 50 50 St 55 St > 55
Sell C(55) 10 0 0 55 St
Buy C(50) 9 0 St 50 St 50
Total +1 0 St 50 5
Note that we initially receive money, and that at expiration the profit is non-negative. We have
found arbitrage opportunities
Example 12.3
The premium of a 50-strike put option is 7 and that of a 55-strike option is 14. Both options have
the same time of expiration.
Solution.
(a) We are given that P (50) = 7 and P (55) = 14. This violates (12.4).
(b) Since P (55) P (50) = 4 > 0, to profit from an arbitrage we sell the 55-strike put option, buy
the 50-strike call option. This is a put bull spread position. This positive cash flow can be lent
resulting in the following table
(c) We have the following payoff table.
Transaction Time 0 St < 50 50 St 55 St > 55
Sell P (55) 14 St 55 St 55 0
Buy P (50) 7 50 St 0 0
Total 7 5 St 55 5 0
Note that we initially receive more money than our biggest possible exposure in the future
Example 12.4
A 90-strike European call with maturity date of 2 years sells for $10 and a 95-strike European
call with the same underlying asset and same expiration date sells for $5.25. The continuously
compounded free-risk interest rate is 10%. Demonstrate an arbitrage opportunity.
Solution.
We are given C(90) = 10 and C(95) = 5.25. We sell the 90-strike call, buy the 95-strike call (this
is a call bear spread), and loan $4.75. The payoff table is shown next.
Transaction Time 0 ST < 90 90 St 95 St > 95
Sell C(90) 10 0 90 ST 90 ST
Buy C(95) 5.25 0 0 ST 95
Lend 4.75 4.75 5.80 5.80 5.80
Total 0 5.80 95.80 ST > 0 0.8
In all possible future states, we have a strictly positive payoff. We demonstrated an arbitrage
Practice Problems
Problem 12.1
Given two options with strike prices $77 and $89 respectively and with the same time to expiration.
Which of these statements are true about the following American call and put options?
(A) P (77) P (89)
(B) P (89) P (77) 12
(C) C(77) C(89)
(D) P (77) P (89)
(E) C(89) C(77) 12
(F) C(77) C(89) 12
Problem 12.2
54-strike Call options on a share of stock have a premium of $19. Which of the following are possible
values for call options on the stock with a strike price of $32 and the same time to expiration?
(A) 16
(B) 20
(C) 34
(D) 25
(E) 45
(F) It is impossible to have call options for this stock with a strike price of $32.
Problem 12.3
Suppose K1 < K2 with corresponding put option prices P (K1 ) and P (K2 ). Show that
P (K2 ) P (K1 )
Problem 12.4
Establish the relationship P (K2 ) P (K1 ) K2 K1 .
Problem 12.5
Establish the relationship PEur (K2 ) PEur (K1 ) P V0,T (K2 K1 ).
Problem 12.6
The premium of a 50-strike put option is 7 and that of a 55-strike put option is 6. Both options
Problem 12.7
The premium of a 50-strike call option is 16 and that of a 55-strike call option is 10. Both options
Problem 12.8
Given the following chart about call options on a particular dividend paying stock, which options
has the highest value?
Option Option Style Maturity Strike Price Stock Price

A European 1 year 50 42
B American 1 year 50 42
C European 2 years 50 42
D American 2 years 50 42
E American 2 years 55 42
Problem 12.9
A 70-strike European put with maturity date of 1 year sells for $8.75 and a 75-strike European
put with the same underlying asset and same expiration date sells for $13.50. The continuously
compounded free-risk interest rate is 10%.
(a) Demonstrate an arbitrage opportunity.
(b) What are the accumulated arbitrage profits if the final stock price is $68?
(c) What are the accumulated arbitrage profits if the final stock price is $73?
Problem 12.10
You are given:
(i) C(K, T ) denotes the current price of a Kstrike T year European call option on a nondividend-
paying stock.
(ii) P (K, T ) denotes the current price of a Kstrike T year European put option on the same
stock.
(iii) S denotes the current price of the stock.
(iv) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is r.
Which of the following is (are) correct?
(I) 0 C(50, T ) C(55, T ) 5erT
(II) 50erT P (45, T ) C(50, T ) + S 55erT
(III) 45erT P (45, T ) C(50, T ) + S 50erT .
13 Convexity Properties of the Option Price Functions

In this section, we consider the call option price and the put option price as functions of the strike
price while keeping the time to expiration fixed. We will show that these functions are convex. The
results of this section are true for both American and European options.
We recall the reader that a function f with domain D is said to be convex if for all x, y in D and
0 < < 1 such that x + (1 )y D we must have
f (x + (1 )y) f (x) + (1 )f (y).
Example 13.1
x+y
Let f be a convex function with domain D. Let x, y be in D such that 2
is in D. Show that

x+y f (x) + f (y)
f .
2 2
Solution.
This follows from the definition of convexity with = 12
We next show that the call premium is a convex function of the strike price K.
Proposition 13.1
Consider two call options with strike prices K1 < K2 and the same time to expiration. Let 0 < < 1.
Then
C(K1 + (1 )K2 ) C(K1 ) + (1 )C(K2 ).
Proof.
We will show the required inequality by using the usual strategy of a no-arbitrage argument. Lets
assume that the inequality above does not hold, that is, C(K1 +(1)K2 ) > C(K1 )+(1)C(K2 )
or C(K3 ) > C(K1 )+(1)C(K2 ) where K3 = K1 +(1)K2 . Note that K3 = (K1 K2 )+K2 <
K2 and K1 = (1 )K1 + K1 < (1 )K2 + K1 < K3 so that K1 < K3 < K2 . We want to set
up a strategy that pays us money today. We can do this by selling one call option with strike price
K3 , buying call options with strike price K1 , and buying (1 ) call options with strike K2 . The
payoff table of this position is given next.
13 CONVEXITY PROPERTIES OF THE OPTION PRICE FUNCTIONS 91
Expiration or exercise
Transaction Time 0 St < K1 K1 St K3 K3 St K2 St > K2
Sell 1 K3 C(K3 ) 0 0 K3 S t K3 St
strike call
Buy C(K1 ) 0 (St K1 ) (St K1 ) (St K1 )
K1 strike calls
Buy (1 ) (1 )C(K2 ) 0 0 0 (1 )(St K2 )
K2 strike calls
Total C(K3 ) C(K1 ) 0 (St K1 ) (1 )(K2 St ) 0
(1 )C(K2 )
Note that
K3 St + (St K1 ) =K3 K1 (1 )St
=(1 )K2 (1 )St
=(1 )(K2 St )
and
K3 St + (St K1 ) + (1 )(St K2 ) = K1 + (1 )K2 St + (St K1 ) + (1 )(St K2 ) = 0.
The entries in the row Total are all nonnegative. In order to avoid arbitrage, the initial cost must
be non-negative. That is
C(K1 + (1 )K2 ) C(K1 ) + (1 )C(K2 )
Example 13.2
Consider three call options with prices C(K1 ), C(K2 ), and C(K3 ) where K1 < K2 < K3 . Show that
C(K1 ) C(K2 ) C(K2 ) C(K3 )
. (13.1)
K2 K1 K 3 K2
Solution.
3 K2
Let = K
K3 K1
. We have K1 < K2 so that K3 K2 < K3 K1 and hence 0 < < 1. Also, we note
that
K3 K 2 K2 K 1
K2 = K1 + K3 = K1 + (1 )K3 .
K3 K1 K3 K 1
Using convexity we can write
K3 K2 K2 K1
C(K2 ) C(K1 ) + C(K3 )
K3 K1 K3 K1
which is equivalent to
(K3 K1 )C(K2 ) (K3 K2 )C(K1 ) + (K2 K1 )C(K3 )
or
(K3 K1 )C(K2 ) (K3 K2 )C(K2 ) (K2 K1 )C(K3 ) (K3 K2 )C(K1 ) (K3 K2 )C(K2 ).
Hence,
(K2 K1 )[C(K2 ) C(K3 )] (K3 K2 )[C(K1 ) C(K2 )]
and the result follows by dividing through by the product (K2 K1 )(K3 K2 )
Example 13.3
Consider three call options with the same time to expiration and with strikes: $50, $55, and $60.
The premiums are $18, $14, and $9.50 respectively.
(a) Show that the convexity property (13.1) is violated.
Solution.
(a) We are given K1 = 50, K2 = 55, and K3 = 60. Since
C(K1 ) C(K2 ) C(K3 ) C(K2 )

= 0.8 < = 0.9
K2 K1 K3 K2
the convexity property (13.1) is violated.

(b) We find
K3 K2 60 55
= = = 0.5.
K3 K1 60 50
Thus, a call butterfly spread1 is constructed by selling one 55-strike call, buying 0.5 units of 50-strike
calls and 0.5 units of 60-strike calls. To buy and sell round lots, we multiply all the option trades
by 2.
(c) The payoff table is given next.
1
A call butterfly spread is an option strategy that involves selling several call options and at the same time
buying several call options with the same underlying asset and different strike prices. This strategy involves three
different strike prices.
Transaction Time 0 St < 50 50 St 55 55 St 60 St > 60
Sell 2 55 28 0 0 110 2St 110 2St
strike calls
Buy one 18 0 St 50 St 50 St 50
50strike call
Buy one 9.50 0 0 0 St 60
60strike call
Total 0.50 0 St 50 60 St 0
Note that we initially receive money and have non-negative future payoffs. Therefore, we have
found an arbitrage possibility, independent of the prevailing interest rate
Similar convexity results hold for put options. Namely, we have
Proposition 13.2
(a) For 0 < < 1 and K1 < K2 we have
P (K1 + (1 )K2 ) P (K1 ) + (1 )P (K2 ).
(b) For K1 < K2 < K3 we have
P (K2 ) P (K1 ) P (K3 ) P (K2 )

. (13.2)
K2 K1 K3 K2
K3 K2
(c) For = K3 K1
we have
P (K2 ) P (K1 ) + (1 )P (K3 ).
Example 13.4
Consider three put options with the same time to expiration and with strikes: $50, $55, and $60.
The premiums are $7, $10.75, and $14.45 respectively.
(a) Show that the convexity property (13.2) is violated.
Solution.
(a) We are given K1 = 50, K2 = 55, and K3 = 60. Since
P (K2 ) P (K1 ) P (K3 ) P (K2 )

= 0.75 > = 0.74
K 2 K1 K3 K2
the convexity property for puts is violated.

(b) We find
K3 K2 60 55
= = = 0.5.
K3 K1 60 50
Thus, a put butterfly spread is constructed by selling one 55-strike put, buying 0.5 units of 50-strike
puts and 0.5 units of 60-strike puts. To buy and sell round lots, we multiply all the option trades
by 2.
(c) The payoff table is given next.
Transaction Time 0 St < 50 50 St 55 55 St 60 St > 60
Sell 2 55 21.50 2St 110 2St 110 0 0
strike puts
Buy one 7 50 St 0 0 0
50strike put
Buy one 14.45 60 St 60 St 60 St 0
60strike put
Total 0.05 0 St 50 60 St 0
Note that we initially receive money and have non-negative future payoffs. Therefore, we have
found an arbitrage possibility, independent of the prevailing interest rate
Example 13.5
Near market closing time on a given day, you lose access to stock prices, but some European call
and put prices for a stock are available as follows:
Strike Price Call Price Put Price
$40 $11 $3
$50 $6 $8
$55 $3 $11
All six options have the same expiration date.

After reviewing the information above, John tells Mary and Peter that no arbitrage opportunities
can arise from these prices.
Mary disagrees with John. She argues that one could use the following portfolio to obtain arbitrage
profit: Long one call option with strike price 40; short three call options with strike price 50; lend
$1; and long some calls with strike price 55.
Peter also disagrees with John. He claims that the following portfolio, which is different from
Marys, can produce arbitrage profit: Long 2 calls and short 2 puts with strike price 55; long 1 call
and short 1 put with strike price 40; lend $2; and short some calls and long the same number of
puts with strike price 50.
Who is correct?
Solution.
One of the requirements for an arbitrage position is that it costs nothing on net to enter into. The
second requirement is that it will make the owner a profit, irrespective of future price movements.
First consider Marys proposal. The call option prices do not satisfy the convexity condition
C(K1 ) C(K2 ) C(K2 ) C(K3 )

K2 K1 K2 K3
so there is an arbitrage opportunity: Purchasing one 40-strike call costs $11, while selling 3 50-strike
call options gives her 3 6 = $18. She also buys X $55-strike calls at a price of $3 each and lends
out $1. So her net cost is 11 + 18 1 3X or 6 3X. In order for 6 3X to be 0, X must equal
2. In this case, we have the following payoff table for Marys position
Transaction Time 0 ST < 40 40 ST 50 50 ST 55 ST > 55

Buy 1 40-Strike call 11 0 ST 40 ST 40 ST 40
Sell 3 50-strike calls 18 0 0 3(ST 50) 3(ST 50)
Lend $ 1 erT erT erT erT
Buy 2 55-strike calls 6 0 0 0 2(ST 55)
Total 0 erT > 0 erT + ST 40 > 0 erT + 2(55 ST ) > 0 erT > 0
Thus, Marys portofolio yields an arbitrage profit.
Now consider Peters proposal. Purchasing one 40-strike call and selling one 40-strike put option
cost 11 + 3 = $8. Purchasing 2 55-strike puts and selling 2 55-strike calls cost 2(3 + 11) = $16.
Lending $2 costs $2 at time = 0. Selling X 50-strike calls and purchasing X 50-strike puts cost
X(6 8) = 2X. Thus, her net cost at time t = 0 is 8 + 16 2 2X = 6 2X. In order for
6 2X to be zero we must have X = 3. In this case, we have the following payoff table for Peters
position
Transaction Time 0 ST < 40 40 ST 50 50 ST 55 ST > 55
Buy 2 55-strike calls 16 2(ST 55) 2(ST 55) 2(ST 55) 2(ST 55)
Sell 2 55-strike puts
Buy 1 40-strike call 8 ST 40 ST 40 ST 40 ST 40
Sell 1 40-strike put
Lend $ 2 2erT 2erT 2erT 2erT
Buy 3 50-strike puts 6 3(50 ST ) 3(50 ST ) 3(50 ST ) 3(50 ST )
Sell 3 50-strike calls
Total 0 2erT > 0 2erT > 0 2erT > 0 2erT > 0
Thus, Peters portofolio yields an arbitrage profit. So Mary and Peter are right while John is
wrong
Remark 13.1
We conclude from this and the previous section that a call(put) price function is decreasing (in-
creasing) and concave up. A graph is given below.
Practice Problems
Problem 13.1
Three call options on a stock with the same time to expiration trade for three strike prices: $46,
$32, and $90. Determine so that C(32) C(46) + (1 )C(90).
Problem 13.2
Call options on a stock trade for three strike prices: $43, $102, and $231. The price of the $43-strike
option is $56. The price of the $231-strike option is $23. What is the maximum possible price of
the $102-strike option? All options have the same time to expiration.
Problem 13.3
Call options on a stock trade for three strike prices, $32, $34, and $23. The $32-strike call currently
costs $10, while the $34-strike call costs $7. What is the least cost for the $23-strike call option?
Problem 13.4
Put options on a stock trade for three strike prices: $102, $105, and K3 > 105. Suppose that
= 0.5. The $102-strike put is worth $20, the $105-strike put is worth $22, and the K3 strike put
is worth $24. Find the value of K3 .
Problem 13.5
Consider two put options with strike prices K1 < K2 and the same time to expiration. Let 0 < < 1.
Show that
P (K1 + (1 )K2 ) P (K1 ) + (1 )P (K2 ).
Problem 13.6
Consider three put options with prices P (K1 ), P (K2 ), and P (K3 ) where K1 < K2 < K3 . Show that
P (K2 ) P (K1 ) + (1 )P (K3 ).
Problem 13.7
Consider three put options with prices P (K1 ), P (K2 ), and P (K3 ) where K1 < K2 < K3 . Show that
P (K2 ) P (K1 ) P (K3 ) P (K2 )
.
K2 K1 K3 K2
Problem 13.8
Consider three call options with the same time to expiration and with strikes:$80, $100, and $105.
The premiums are $22, $9, and $5 respectively.
(a) Show that the convexity property is violated.
Problem 13.9
Consider three put options with the same time to expiration and with strikes: $80, $100, and $105.
The premiums are $4, $21, and $24.80 respectively.
(a) Show that the convexity property is violated.
Problem 13.10
Consider three put options that expire in 6 months and with strikes: $50, $55, and $60. The
premiums are $7, $10.75, and $14.45 respectively. The continuously compounded risk free interest
rate is 10%. Complete the following table
Stock at Expiration Accumulated Strategy Profits
48
53
59
63
Option Pricing in Binomial Models
The binomial option pricing model is a model founded by Cox, Ross, and Rubenstein in 1979. This
model computes the no-arbitrage price of an option when the price of the underlying asset has
exactly two-state prices at the end of a period. Binomial pricing model displays the option pricing
in a simple setting that involves only simple algebra. In this chapter, we introduce the binomial
model and use it in computing European and American option prices for a variety of underlying
assets.
99
100 OPTION PRICING IN BINOMIAL MODELS
14 Single-Period Binomial Model Pricing of European Call

Options
In this section we develop the one period binomial model to exactly price a long call option. For
simplicity, we will assume that the underlying asset is a share of a stock that pays continuous
dividends. We will make the assumption that for a given period the stock price either goes up (up
state) or down (down state) in value. No other outcomes are possible for this stocks price. The
restriction to only two possible values justifies the use of the word binomial.
We will introduce the following notation: Let h be the length of one period. Let S be the stock
price at the beginning of the period. We define the up ratio by u = 1 + g = SSh where g is the rate
of capital gain when the stock goes up and Sh is the stock price at the end of the period. We define
the down ratio by d = 1 + l = SSh where l is the rate of capital loss when the stock goes down.
For example, if S = 100 and the stock price at the end of the period is 175 then g = 75%. If at the
end of the period the stock drops to 75 then l = 25%. When the stock goes up we shall write uS
and when it goes down we shall write dS. These two states can be described by a tree known as a
binomial tree as shown in Figure 14.1.
Figure 14.1
Now, let K be the strike price of a call option on the stock that pays continuous dividends and that
matures at the end of the period. At the end of the period, we let Cu = max{0, uS K} denote
the value of the call option in the up state and Cd = max{0, dS K} the value of the call option
in the down state. Let C denote the price of the option at the beginning of the period. Let r be
the continuously compounded risk-free annual rate. Thus, the periodic rate is rh. Let the dividend
yield be . We will assume that the dividends are reinvested in the stock so that one share at the
beginning of the period grows to eh shares at the end of the period.1
The major question is to determine the current price C of the option. For that, we are going to use
two different approaches: The replicating portfolio approach and the risk-neutral approach. Either
approach will yield the same answer. In this section, we will discuss the former one leaving the
latter one to the next section.
The replicating portfolio approach consists of creating a portfolio that replicates the actual call
option. Let Portfolio A consists of buying a call option on the stock and Portfolio B consists of
1
See [2] Section 70.
14 SINGLE-PERIOD BINOMIAL MODEL PRICING OF EUROPEAN CALL OPTIONS 101
buying shares of the stock and borrowing $B > 0. The payoff tables of these positions are shown
below.
Transaction Time 0 Up State Down State
Buy a Call C Cu Cd
Total C Cu Cd

Buy Shares S eh uS eh dS
Borrow $B B Berh Berh
Total S + B eh uS Berh eh dS Berh
If Portfolio B is to replicate portfolio A we must have
C = S B
Cu = eh uS Berh
Cd = eh dS Berh .
Solving the last two equations we find
Cu Cd
= eh (14.1)
S(u d)
and
uCd dCu
B = erh . (14.2)
du
Thus,
e(r)h d u e(r)h

rh
C = S B = e Cu + Cd . (14.3)
ud ud
Remark 14.1
Note that S is not a change in S. It is monetary value of the shares of stock in the portfolio. Note
that
Cu Cd
=
Su Sd
where Su = uS and Sd = dS. As h approaches zero, Su Sd approaches zero so that we can write
= CS
. Hence, measures the sensitivity of the option to a change in the stock price. Thus, if
the stock price increases by $1, then the option price, S B, changes by .
Example 14.1
Consider a European call option on the stock of XYZ with strike $95 and six months to expira-
tion. XYZ stock does not pay dividends and is currently worth $100. The annual continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%. In six months the price is expected to be either $130 or
$80. Using the single-period binomial option pricing model, find , B and C.
Solution.
130 80
We are given: S = 100, K = 95, r = 0.08, = 0, h = 0.5, u = 100
= 1.3, and d = 100
= 0.8. Thus,
Cu = 35 and Cd = 0. Hence,
Cu Cd
= eh = 0.7
S(u d)
uCd dCu
B = erh = $53.8042
du
and the price of the call option
e(r)h d u e(r)h

rh
C=e Cu + Cd = $16.1958
ud ud
The no-arbitrage principle was a key factor in establishing formulas (14.1) - (14.3). The following
result exhibits a condition for which the principle can be valid.
Proposition 14.1 (no-arbitrage profits condition)

The no-arbitrage condition is
d < e(r)h < u. (14.4)
Proof.
Suppose first that e(r)h > u (i.e. Se(r)h > Su). Consider the following position: Short-sell the
stock and collect S. Now, invest the proceeds for a length of time h while paying dividends to the
original owner of the stock, should they occur. At the end of the period you will get Se(r)h . At the
end of the period, if the stock ends up at uS, buy back the stock and return it to its original owner.
Now, pocket the difference Se(r)h Su > 0. If the stock goes down to dS instead, the payoff is
even larger: Se(r)h Sd > Se(r)h Su > 0. Thus, the condition e(r)h > u demonstrates an
arbitrage.
Next, suppose that d > e(r)h (i.e., Sdeh > Serh .) Consider the following position: Borrow $S at
the risk-free rate and use it to buy one share of stock. Now, hold the stock for a period of h. If
the stock goes down, collect Sdeh (sale of stock + dividends received.) Next, repay the loan plus
interest, i.e., Serh . In this case, you pocket Sdeh Serh > 0. If the stock goes up to uS instead the
payoff is even larger Sueh Serh > Sdeh Serh > 0. Again, the condition d > e(r)h demonstrates
an arbitrage opportunity
Arbitrage opportunities arise if the options are mispriced, that is, if the actual option price is
different from the theoretical option price:
If an option is overpriced, that is, the actual price is greater than the theoretical price, then we
can sell the option. However, the risk is that the option will be in the money at expiration, and we
will be required to deliver the stock. To hedge this risk, we can buy a synthetic option at the same
time we sell the actual option.
If the option is underpriced, that is, the actual price is smaller than the theoretical price, then
we buy the option. To hedge the risk associated with the possibility of the risk price falling at
expiration, we sell a synthetic option at the same time we buy the actual option.
We illustrate these results in the next example.
Example 14.2
Consider the option of Example 14.1.
(a) Suppose you observe a call price of $17 (i.e. option is overpriced). What is the arbitrage?
(b) Suppose you observe a call price of $15.50 (i.e. option is underpriced). What is the arbitrage?
Solution.
(a) The observed price is larger than the theoretical price. We sell the actual call option for $17
and synthetically create a call option by buying 0.7 of one share and borrowing $53.8042. This
synthetic option hedges the written call as shown in the payoff table.
Stock Price in Six Months
Transaction $80 $130
Written Call 0 $35
0.7 Purchased shares $56 $91
Repay Loan $56 $56
Total $0 $0
Now, the initial cash flow is
17.00 0.7 100 + 53.8042 = $0.8042.
Thus, we earn $0.8042 which is the amount the option is mispriced.

(b) The observed price is smaller than the theoretical price. We buy the option and synthetically
create a short position in an option. In order to do so, we sell 0.7 units of the share and lend
$53.8042. The initial cash flow is
15.50 + 0.7 100 53.8042 = $0.6958

Thus, we earn $0.6958 which is the amount the option is mispriced
Graphical Interpretation of the Binomial Formula

Consider graphing the price function after one period for a nondividend-paying stock. Let Ch be
the option price after one period with corresponding stock price Sh . Then
Ch = Sh erh B.
The graph is the straight line going through the points A, E, D as shown below with slope and
vertical intercept erh B.
Thus, any line replicating a call must have a positive slope and a negative vertical intercept.
Example 14.3
Consider a nondividend paying stock and a 1-year call on the stock. The stock is currently trading
for $60. Suppose that Ch = 32.38 when Sh = 0 and Ch = 26.62 when Sh = 88.62. Find the
current price of the call option if the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 9%.
Solution.
The current price of the call is given by
C = S B = 60 B
where
26.62 (32.38)
= = 0.6658
88.62 0
and
32.38 = 0.6658(0) e0.09 B.
Solving for B we find B = 29.5931. Thus, the final answer is
C = 0.6658(60) 29.5931 = $10.35

Practice Problems
Problem 14.1
XYZ currently has a stock price of $555 per share. A replicating portfolio for a particular call
option on XYZ stock involves borrowing $B and buying 34 of one share. The price of the call option
is $360.25. Calculate B using the one-period binomial option pricing model.
Problem 14.2
Show that 1.
Problem 14.3
The graph of the value of a replicating portfolio of a nondividend-paying stock is given below.
Determine and B given that h = 1 and the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate
is 8%.
Problem 14.4
XYZ currently has a stock price of $41 per share. A replicating portfolio for a particular call option
on XYZ stock involves borrowing $18.462 and buying 32 of one share. Calculate the price of the call
option using the one-period binomial option pricing model.
Problem 14.5
XYZ currently has a stock price of $555 per share. A replicating portfolio for a particular call option
on XYZ stock involves borrowing $56 and buying of one share. The price of the call option is
$360.25. Calculate using the one-period binomial option pricing model.
Problem 14.6
Consider a European call option on the stock of XYZ with strike $110 and 1 year to expiration. XYZ
stock does not pay dividends and is currently worth $100. The annual continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 5%. In one year the price is expected to be either $120 or $90. Using the
single-period binomial option pricing model, find and B.
Problem 14.7
A call option on a stock currently trades for $45. The stock itself is worth $900 per share. Using
the one-period binomial option pricing model, a replicating portfolio for the call option is equal to
buying 15 of one share of stock and borrowing $B. Calculate B.
Problem 14.8
A share of stock XYZ pays continuous dividends at the annual yield rate of . The stock currently
trades for $65. A European call option on the stock has a strike price of $64 and expiration time
of one year. Suppose that in one year, the stock will be worth either $45 or $85. Assume that
9
the portfolio replicating the call consists of 20 of one share. Using the one-period binomial option
pricing model, what is the annual continuously-compounded dividend yield?
Problem 14.9
Consider a European call option on the stock of XYZ, with a strike price of $25 and one year
to expiration. The stock pays continuous dividends at the annual yield rate of 5%. The annual
continuously compounded risk free interst rate is 11%. The stock currently trades for $23 per share.
Suppose that in two months, the stock will trade for either $18 per share or $29 per share. Use the
one-period binomial option pricing to find the todays price of the call.
Problem 14.10
A nondividend-paying stock S is modeled by the tree shown below.
A European call option on S expires at t = 1 with strike price K = 12. Calculate the number
of shares of stock in the replicating portfolio for this option.
Problem 14.11
A particular stock is currently worth 100
In one year, the stock will be worth either 120 or 90
The annual continuously-compounded risk-free rate is 5%

Calculate the delta for a call option that expires in one year and with strike price of 105.
Problem 14.12
Which of the following binomial models with the given parameters represent an arbitrage?
(A) u = 1.176, d = 0.872, h = 1, r = 6.3%, = 5%
(B) u = 1.230, d = 0.805, h = 1, r = 8%, = 8.5%
(C) u = 1.008, d = 0.996, h = 1, r = 7%, = 6.8%
(D) u = 1.278, d = 0.783, h = 1, r = 5%, = 5%
(E) u = 1.100, d = 0.982, h = 1, r = 4%, = 6%.
15 RISK-NEUTRAL OPTION PRICING IN THE BINOMIAL MODEL: A FIRST LOOK 109
15 Risk-Neutral Option Pricing in the Binomial Model: A

First Look
An alternative to the replicating portfolio approach to valuing options using the binomial model is
the risk-neutral approach. The basic argument in the risk neutral approach is that investors are
risk-neutral, i.e., assets expected return is the risk-free rate.1 In this world of risk-neutral investors,
one computes risk-neutral probabilities associated with the stock. These probabilities are used to
compute the expected option payoff, and this payoff is discounted back to the present at the risk-free
rate in order to get todays option price.
Now, recall the option price derived with the replicating portfolio approach:
e(r)h d u e(r)h

rh
C=e Cu + Cd (15.1)
ud ud
Let
e(r)h d ue(r)h
pu = ud
and pd = ud
Example 15.1
Using the condition d < e(r)h < u, show that pu > 0, pd > 0, and pu + pd = 1.
Solution.
We have e(r)h d > 0, and u e(r)h > 0, and u d > 0. Hence, pu > 0 and pd > 0. Now, adding
pu and pd we find
e(r)h d u e(r)h ud
pu + pd = + = = 1.
ud ud ud
Thus, pu and pd can be interpreted as probabilities
We will call pu the risk-neutral probabiltiy2 of an increase in the stock price. In terms of
pu we can write
C = erh (pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ) . (15.2)
Let X be the discrete random variable representing the call option price. Thus, the range of X is
the set {Cu , Cd } with Cu occurring with a probability pu and Cd occurring with a probabiltiy 1 pu .
Thus, the expected future price of the option is
pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd .
It follows from (15.2) that the current option price can be viewed as a discounted expected future
price of the option.
1
Risk-neutral will be discussed in more details in Section 23.
2
pu and pd look like probabilites but they are not in general. See Section 23.
Example 15.2
Let X be the discrete random variable representing the stock price. Show that the expected value
of X (i.e., the expected stock price) is just the forward price of the stock from time t to time t + h.
Solution.
The range of X is the set {uS, dS}. The expected value of X is
(r)h
u e(r)h

e d
pu uS + (1 pu )dS = uS + dS
ud ud
e(r)h uS duS + udS e(r)h dS
=
ud
e(r)h (u d)S
= = e(r)h S = Ft,t+h
ud
Thus, we can think of pu as the probability for which the expected stock price is the forward price
In the following example, we find the price of the option in Example 14.1 using the risk-neutral
approach.
Example 15.3
Consider a European call option on the stock of XYZ with strike $95 and six months to expira-
$80. Find C using the risk-neutral approach as discussed in this section.
Solution.
We have
e(0.080)0.5 0.8
pu = = 0.4816215
1.3 0.8
This is the risk-neutral probability of the stock price increasing to $130 at the end of six months.
The probability of it going down to $80 is pd = 1 pu = 0.5183785. Now given that if the stock
price goes up to $130, a call option with an exercise price of $95 will have a payoff of $35 and
$0 if the stock price goes to $80, a risk-neutral individual would assess a 0.4816215 probability of
receiving $35 and a 0.5183785 probability of receiving $0 from owning the call option. As such, the
risk neutral value would be:
C = e0.080.5 [0.4816215 35 + 0.5183785 0] = $16.1958
which agrees with the answer obtained by using the replicating portfolio method3
3
It is not easy but it can be shown that while the two approaches appear to be different, they are the same. As
such, either approach can be used.
Practice Problems
Problem 15.1
Consider a European call option on the stock of XYZ with strike $65 and one month to expiration.
XYZ stock does not pay dividends and is currently worth $75. The annual continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 6%. In one month the price is expected to be either $95 or $63. Find C
using the risk-neutral approach as discussed in this section.
Problem 15.2
Stock XYZ price is expected to be either $75 or $40 in one year. The stock is currently valued at
$51. The stock pays continuous dividends at the yield rate of 9%. The continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 12%. Find the risk-neutral probability of an increase in the stock price.
Problem 15.3
GS Inc pays continuous dividends on its stock at an annual continuously-compounded yield of 9%.
The stock is currently sellnig for $10. In one year, its stock price could either be $15 or $7. The
risk-neutral probability of the increase in the stock price is 41.3%. Using the one-period binomial
option pricing model, what is the annual continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate?
Problem 15.4
The stock of GS, which current value of $51, will sell for either $75 or $40 one year from now. The
annual continuously compounded interest rate is 7%. The risk-neutral probability of an increase in
the stock price (to $75) is 0.41994. Using the one-period binomial option pricing model, find the
current price of a call option on GS stock with a strike price of $50.
Problem 15.5
The probability that the stock of GS Inc will be $555 one year from now is 0.6. The probability
that the stock will be $521 one year from now is 0.4. Using the one-period binomial option pricing
model, what is the forward price of a one-year forward contract on the stock?
Problem 15.6
Consider a share of nondividend-paying stock in a one-year binomial framework with annual price
changes, with the current price of the stock being 55, and the price of the stock one year from
now being either 40 or 70. Let the annual effective risk-free interest rate be 12%, continuously
compounded. Calculate risk-neutral probability that the price of the stock will go up.
Problem 15.7
A nondividend-paying stock, currently priced at $120 per share, can either go up $25 or down
$25 in any year. Consider a one-year European call option with an exercise price of $130. The
continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%. Use a one-period binomial model and a
risk-neutral probability approach to determine the current price of the call option.
Problem 15.8
For a one-year straddle on a nondividend-paying stock, you are given:
(i) The straddle can only be exercised at the end of one year.
(ii) The payoff of the straddle is the absolute value of the difference between the strike price and
the stock price at expiration date.
(iii) The stock currently sells for $60.00.
(v) In one year, the stock will either sell for $70.00 or $45.00.
(vi) The option has a strike price of $50.00.
Calculate the current price of the straddle.
Problem 15.9
You are given the following regarding stock of Widget World Wide (WWW):
(i) The stock is currently selling for $50.
(ii) One year from now the stock will sell for either $40 or $55.
(iii) The stock pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional to its price. The dividend yield
is 10%.
While reading the Financial Post, Michael notices that a one-year at-the-money European call
written on stock WWW is selling for $1.90. Michael wonders whether this call is fairly priced. He
uses the binomial option pricing model to determine if an arbitrage opportunity exists.
What transactions should Michael enter into to exploit the arbitrage opportunity (if one exists)?
Problem 15.10
A binomial tree can be constructed using the equations

u = e(r)h+ h
and
d = e(r)h h
.
Where denotes the volatility of the stock to be discussed in the next section. Show that
1
pu = .
e h +1
Problem 15.11
On January 1 2007, the Florida Property Company purchases a one-year property insurance policy
with a deductible of $50,000. In the event of a hurricane, the insurance company will pay the
Florida Property Company for losses in excess of the deductible. Payment occurs on December 31
2007. For the last three months of 2007, there is a 20% chance that a single hurricane occurs and
an 80% chance that no hurricane occurs. If a hurricane occurs, then the Florida Property company
will experience $1000000 in losses. The continuously compounded risk free rate is 5%.
On October 1 2007, what is the risk neutral expected value of the insurance policy to the Florida
Property Company?
16 Binomial Trees and Volatility

The goal of a binomial tree is to characterize future uncertainty about the stock price movement.
In the absence of uncertainty (i.e. stocks return is certain at the end of the period), a stock must
appreciate at the risk-free rate less the dividend yield. Thus, from time t to time t + h we must
have
St+h = Ft,t+h = St e(r)h .
In other words, under certainty, the price next period is just the forward price.
What happens in the presence of uncertainty (i.e. stocks return at the end of the period is un-
certain)? First, a measure of uncertainty about a stocks return is its volatility which is defined
as the annualized standard deviation of the return of the stock when the return is expressed using
continuous compounding. Thus, few facts about continuously compounded returns are in place.
Let St and St+h be the stock prices at times t and t + h. The continuously compounded rate
of return in the interval [t, t + h] is defined by
St+h
rt,t+h = ln .
St
Example 16.1
Suppose that the stock price on three consecutive days are $100, $103, $97. Find the daily contin-
uously compounded returns on the stock.
Solution.
The daily continuously compounded returns on the stock are
103 97
ln 100 = 0.02956 and ln 103 = 0.06002
Now, if we are given St and rt,t+h we can find St+h using the formula
St+h = St ert,t+h .
Example 16.2
Suppose that the stock price today is $100 and that over 1 year the continuously compounded
return is 500%. Find the stock price at the end of the year.
Solution.
The answer is
S1 = 100e5 = $0.6738
16 BINOMIAL TREES AND VOLATILITY 115
Now, suppose rt+(i1)h,t+ih , 1 i n, is the continuously compounded rate of return over the time
interval [t + (i 1)h, t + ih]. Then the continuously compounded return over the interval [t, t + nh]
is
n
X
rt,t+nh = rt+(i1)h,t+ih . (16.1)
i=1
Example 16.3
Suppose that the stock price on three consecutive days are $100, $103, $97. Find the continuously
compounded returns from day 1 to day 3.
Solution.
The answer is
0.02956 0.06002 == 0.03046
The rate of returns on the sample space of stock prices are random variables. Suppose a year is
splitted into n periods each of length h. Let r(i1)h,ih be the rate of return on the time interval
[(i 1)h, ih]. Define the random variable rAnnual to be the annual continuously compounded rate of
return. Thus, we can write
X n
rAnnual = r(i1)h,ih .
i=1
The variance of the annual return is therefore

n
!
X
2 =Var(rAnnual ) = Var r(i1)h,ih
i=1
n
X Xn
2
= Var(r(i1)h,ih ) = h,i
i=1 i=1
where we assume that the return in one period does not affect the expected returns in subsequent
periods. That is, periodic rates are independent. If we assume that each period has the same
variance of return h then we can write
h2
2 = nh2 = .
h
Thus, the standard deviation of the period of length h is

h = h.
Now, one way to incorporate uncertainty in the future stock price is by using the model

uSt =Ft,t+h e h

dSt =Ft,t+h e h
Note that in the absence of uncertainty, = 0 and therefore uSt = dSt = Ft,t+h . Now using the fact
that Ft,t+h = St e(r)h we obtain

u = e(r)h+ h
(16.2)

d = e(r)h h
(16.3)
We will refer to a tree constructed using equations (16.2)-(16.3) as a forward tree.
Remark 16.1
From the relation
St+h = St e(r)h h
we find that the continuously compound return to be equal to

(r )h h.
That is, the continuously compound return consists of two parts, one of which is certain
(r )h,
and the other of which is uncertain and generates the up and down stock moves h.
Example 16.4
The current price of a stock is $41. The annual continuously compounded interest rate is 0.08, and
the stock pays no dividends. The annualized standard deviation of the continuously compounded
stock return is 0.3. Find the price of a European call option on the stock with strike price $40 and
that matures in one year.
Solution.
Using equations (16.1)-(16.2) we find

uS =41e(0.080)1+0.3 1
= $59.954

(0.080)10.3 1
dS =41e = $32.903
It follows that
59.954
u= = 1.4623
41
32.903
d= = 0.8025
41
Cu =59.954 40 = $19.954
Cd =0
19.954 0
= = 0.7376
41 (1.4623 0.8025)
1.4623 0 0.8025 19.954
B =e0.08 = $22.405.
0.8025 1.4623
Hence, the option price is given by
C = S B = 0.7376 41 22.405 = $7.839.
Forward trees for the stock price and the call price are shown below.
Remark 16.2
Volatility measures how sure we are that the stock return will be close to the expected return.
Stocks with a larger volatility will have a greater chance of return far from the expected return.
Remark 16.3
A word of caution of the use of volatility when the underlying asset pays dividends. For a paying
dividend stock, volatiltiy is for the prepaid forward price S P V0,T (Div) and not for the stock
price. Thus, for nondividend-paying stock the stock price volatility is just the prepaid forward price
volatility. Mcdonald gives the following relationship between stock price volatility and prepaid
forward price volatility
S
F = stock P .
F
P
Note that when the stock pays no dividends then F = S and so F = stock
Practice Problems
Problem 16.1
Given the daily continuously compound returns on four consecutive days: 0.02956,0.06002, and
r2,3 . The three-days continuously compounded return is 0.0202. Determine r2,3 .
Problem 16.2
Suppose that the stock price today is $S and at the end of the year it is expected to be $0.678. The
annual continuously compounded rate of return is 500%. Find todays stock price.
Problem 16.3
Establish equality (16.1).
Problem 16.4
Given that the volatility of a prepaid forward price on the stock is 90%, the annual continuously
compounded interest rate is 7%. The stock pays dividends at an annual continuously compounded
yield of 5%. Find the factors by which the price of the stock might increase or decrease in 3 years?
Problem 16.5
(a) Find an expression of pu in a forward tree.
(b) Show that pu decreases as h increases. Moreover, pu approaches 0.5 as h 0.
Problem 16.6
The forward price on a 10-year forward contract on GS stock is $567. The annualized standard
deviation of the continuously compounded stock return is currently 0.02. Find the price of the stock
after 10 years if we know that it is going to decrease.
Problem 16.7
GS stock may increase or decline in 1 year under the assumptions of the one-period binomial
option pricing model. The stock pays no dividends and the annualized standard deviation of the
continuously compounded stock return is 81%. A 1-year forward contract on the stock currently
sells for $100. GS stock currently sells for $90. What is the annual continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate?
Problem 16.8
A stock currently sell for $41. Under the assumptions of the one-period binomial option pricing
model the stock is expected to go up to $59.954 in one year. The annual continuously compounded
return is 8% and the stock pays no dividends. Determine the annualized standard deviation of the
continuously compounded stock return.
Problem 16.9
Consider the following information about a European call option on stock ABC:
The strike price is $100
The current stock price is $110
The time to expiration is one year
The continuous dividend yield is 3.5%
Volatility is 30%
The length of period is 4 months.
Find the risk-neutral probability that the stock price will increase over one time period.
Problem 16.10
A three month European call on a stock is modeled by a single period binomial tree using the
following parameters
Stock pays no dividends
Annual volatility is 15%
Current stock price is 10
Strike price is 10.5
Calculate the value of the option.
17 Multi-Period Binomial Option Pricing Model

The single-period binomial model extends easily to a multiperiod model. In this section, we examine
the special cases of the two- and three-period models.
The binomial trees of the stock prices as well as the call prices of the two-period model are shown
in Figure 17.1.
Figure 17.1
Note that an up move in the stock price for one period followed by a down move in the stock price
in the next period generates the same stock price to a down move in the first period followed by an
up move in the next. A binomial tree with this property is called a recombining tree.
Note that we work backward when it comes to pricing the option since formula (14.3) requires
knowing the option prices resulting from up and down moves in the subsequent periods. At the
outset, the only period where we know the option price is at expiration.
Knowing the price at expiration, we can determine the price in period 1. Having determined that
price, we can work back to period 0. We illustrate this process in the following example.
Example 17.1
A stock is currently worth $56. Every year, it can increase by 30% or decrease by 10%. The stock
pays no dividends, and the annual continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate is 4%. Find the
price today of one two-year European call option on the stock with a strike price of $70.
Solution.
We are given u = 1.3, d = 0.9, r = 0.04, h = 1, and K = 70. In one year the stock is worth
17 MULTI-PERIOD BINOMIAL OPTION PRICING MODEL 121
either uS = 1.3 56 = $72.8 or dS = 0.9 56 = $50.4. In two years, the stock is worth either
u2 S = 72.8 1.3 = $94.64 or udS = 1.3 50.4 = $65.52 or d2 S = 0.9 50.4 = 45.36.
Year 2, Stock Price = $94.64 Since we are at expiration, the option value is Cuu = 94.64 70 =
$24.64.
Year 2, Stock Price = $65.52 Again we are at expiration and the option is out of the money so
that Cud = 0.
Year 2, Stock Price = $45.36.52 So at expiration we have Cdd = 0.
Year 1, Stock Price = $72.8 At this node we use (14.3) to compute the option value:
e0.04 0.9 1.3 e0.04

0.04
Cu = e 24.64 +0 = $8.3338.
1.3 0.9 1.3 0.9
Year 1, Stock Price = $50.4 At this node we use (14.3) to compute the option value:
e0.04 0.9 1.3 e0.04

0.04
Cd = e 0 +0 = $0.
1.3 0.9 1.3 0.9
Year 0, Stock Price = $56 At this node we use (14.3) to compute the option value:
e0.04 0.9 1.3 e0.04

0.04
C=e 8.3338 +0 = $2.8187
1.3 0.9 1.3 0.9
The content of this section can be extended to any number of periods.
Example 17.2
Find the current price of a 60-strike 1.5-year (18-month) European call option on one share of an
underlying dividend-paying stock. Let S = 60, r = 0.03, = 0.25, = 0.03, and h = 0.50 (the
binomial interval is 6 months thus, you need a three-step tree).
Solution.
We first find u and d. We have

u = e(r)h+ h
= e(0.030.03)0.5+0.25 0.5
= 1.1934
and
d = e(r)h h
= e(0.030.03)0.50.25 0.5
= 0.8380
and
e(r)h d 1 0.8380
pu = = = 0.4558.
ud 1.1934 0.8380
We have Year 3, Stock Price = u3 S = 101.9787 Since we are at expiration, the option value is
Cuuu = 101.9787 60 = $41.9787.
Year 3, Stock Price = u2 dS = 71.6090 and Cuud = 11.6090.
Year 3, Stock Price = ud2 S = 50.2835 and Cudd = Cddu = 0.
Year 3, Stock Price = d3 S = 35.3088 and Cddd = 0.
Year 2, Stock Price = u2 S = 85.4522 and Cuu = e0.030.5 [0.4588 41.9787 + (1 0.4588)
11.6090] = 25.1623.
Year 2, Stock Price = udS = 60.0042 and Cud = e0.030.5 [0.4588 11.6090 + (1 0.4588) 0] =
5.2469.
Year 2, Stock Price = d2 S = 42.1346 and Cdd = e0.030.5 [0.4588 0 + (1 0.4588) 0] = 0.
Year 1, Stock Price = uS = 71.604 and Cu = e0.030.5 [0.4588 25.1623 + (1 0.4588) 5.2469] =
14.1699.
Year 1, Stock Price = dS = 50.28 and Cd = e0.030.5 [0.4588 5.2469 + (1 0.4588) 0] = 2.3714.
Year 0, Stock Price = $60 and the current option value is:
C = e0.030.5 [0.4588 14.1699 + (1 0.4588) 2.3714] = 7.6687
Example 17.3
Consider a two-period binomial model. Show that the current price of a call option is given by the
formula
C = e2rh [p2u Cuu + 2pu (1 pu )Cud + (1 pu )2 Cdd ].
Solution.
We have
C =erh [pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ]

=erh pu erh [pu Cuu + (1 pu )Cud ] + (1 pu )erh [pu Cdu + (1 pu )Cdd ]

=e2rh (p2u Cuu + pu (1 pu )Cud + pu (1 pu )Cdu + (1 pu )2 Cdd )

=e2rh [p2u Cuu + 2pu (1 pu )Cud + (1 pu )2 Cdd ]
17 MULTI-PERIOD BINOMIAL OPTION PRICING MODEL 123
Practice Problems
Problem 17.1
A stock is currently worth $41. Every year, it can increase by 46.2% or decrease by 19.7%. The
stock pays no dividends, and the annual continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%.
Find the price today of one two-year European call option on the stock with a strike price of $40.
Problem 17.2
The annualized standard deviation of the continuously compounded stock return on GS Inc is
23%. The annual continuously compounded rate of interest is 12%, and the annual continuously
compounded dividend yield on GS Inc. is 7%. The current price of GS stock is $35 per share. Using
a two-period binomial model, find the price of GS Inc., stock if it moves up twice over the course
of 7 years.
Problem 17.3
Consider the following information about a European call option on stock ABC:
The time to expiration is two years
The stock pays non dividends
The price is calculated using two-step binomial model where each step is one year in length.
The stock price tree is
Calculate the price of a European call on the stock of ABC.

Problem 17.4
Find the current price of a 120-strike six-month European call option on one share of an underlying
nondividend-paying stock. Let S = 120, r = 0.08, = 0.30, and h = 0.25 (the binomial interval is
3 months).
Problem 17.5
Find the current price of a 60-strike 1.5-year (18-month) European call option on one share of an
underlying dividend-paying stock. Let S = 60, r = 0.03, = 0.25, = 0.03, and h = 0.50 (the
binomial interval is 6 months thus, you need a three-step tree).
Problem 17.6
GS Inc., pays dividends on its stock at an annual continuously compounded yield of 6%. The annual
effective interest rate is 9$. GS stock is currently worth $100. Every two years, it can change by a
factor of 0.7 or 1.5. Using a two-period binomial option pricing model, find the price today of one
four-year European call option on GS, Inc., stock with a strike price of $80.
Problem 17.7
Find the current price of a 95-strike 3-year European call option on one share of an underlying stock
that pays continuous dividends. Let S = 100, r = 0.08, = 0.3, and h = 1.
Problem 17.8
Given the following information about a European call option: S = $40, r = 3%, = 5%, u =
1.20, d = 0.90, K = $33, and T = 3months. Using a three-period binomial tree, find the price of
the call option.
Problem 17.9
A European call option on a stock has a strike price $247 and expires in eight months. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free rate is 7% and the compounded continuously dividend yield is
2%. The current price of the stock is $130. The price volatility is 35%. Use a 8-period binomial
model to find the price of the call.
Problem 17.10
A European put option on a stock has a strike price $247 and expires in eight months. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free rate is 7% and the compounded continuously dividend yield is
2%. The current price of the stock is $130. The price volatility is 35%. Use a 8-period binomial
model to find the price of the put. Hint: Put-call parity and the previous problem.
18 BINOMIAL OPTION PRICING FOR EUROPEAN PUTS 125
18 Binomial Option Pricing for European Puts

Binomial option pricing with puts can be done using the exact same formulas and conceptual tools
developed for European call options except of one difference that occurs at expiration: Instead of
computing the price as max{0, S K}, we use max{0, K S}. The objective of this section is to
establish the conceptual approach to binomial option pricing with puts.
The replicating portfolio approach consists of creating a portfolio that replicates the actual
short put option. Let Portfolio A consists of selling a put option on the stock and Portfolio B
consists of selling shares of the stock and lending $B < 0. The payoff tables of these positions
are shown below.
Sell a Put P Pu Pd
Total P Pu Pd

Sell Shares S eh uS eh dS
Lend $B B Berh Berh
Total S B eh uS + Berh eh dS + Berh
If Portfolio B is to replicate portfolio A we must have
P = S B
Pu = eh uS Berh
Pd = eh dS Berh .
Solving the last two equations we find
Pu Pd
= eh (18.1)
S(u d)
and
uPd dPu
B = erh . (18.2)
du
Thus,
e(r)h d u e(r)h

rh
P = S B = e Pu + Pd . (18.3)
ud ud
Using risk-neutral probability we can write
P = erh [pu Pu + (1 pu )Pd ].

Example 18.1
Consider a European put option on the stock of XYZ with strike $50 and one year to expiration.
XYZ stock does not pay dividends and is currently worth $51. The annual continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 7%. In one year the price is expected to be either $75 or $40.
(a) Using the single-period binomial option pricing model, find , B and P.
(b) Find P using the risk-neutral approach.
Solution.
75 40
(a) We have: u = 51
and d = 51
. Also, Pd = 10 and Pu = 0. Hence,
P u Pd 0 10
= eh = = 0.2857.
S(u d) 51 75
51
40
51
Also,
75
uPd dPu 10 0
B = erh = e0.071 51 40 75 = 19.9799.
du 51
51
The current price of the put is
P = S B = 0.2857 51 + 19.9799 = $5.41.
(b) We have
e(r)h d
pu = = 0.41994
ud
and
P = erh [pu Pu + (1 pu )Pd ] = $5.41
Example 18.2
Consider a European put option on the stock of XYZ with strike $95 and six months to expira-
$80.
(a) Using the single-period binomial option pricing model, find , B and C.
(b) Suppose you observe a put price of $8 (i.e. option is overpriced). What is the arbitrage?
(c) Suppose you observe a call price of $6 (i.e. option is underpriced). What is the arbitrage?
Solution.
130 80
(a) We are given: S = 100, K = 95, r = 0.08, = 0, h = 0.5, u = 100
= 1.3, and d = 100
= 0.8.
Thus, Pu = 0 and Pd = 95 80 = 15. Hence,
Cu Cd
= eh = 0.3
S(u d)
uCd dCu
B = erh = $37.470788
du
and the price of the call option
P = S B = $7.4707.
(b) The observed price is larger than the theoretical price. We sell the actual put option for $8 and
synthetically create a long put option by selling 0.3 units of one share and lending $37.471. This
synthetic option hedges the written put as shown in the payoff table.
Stock Price in Six Months

Transaction $80 $130
Written Put $15 0
0.3 Written shares $24 $39
Lending $39 $39
Total $0 $0
Now, the initial cash flow is
8.00 + 0.3 100 37.471 = $0.529.
Thus, we earn $0.529 which is the amount the option is mispriced.

(c) The observed price is smaller than the theoretical price. We buy the option and synthetically
create a short put option. In order to do so, we buy 0.3 units of the share and borrow $37.471. The
initial cash flow is
6.00 0.3 100 + 37.471 = $1.471
Thus, we earn $1.471 which is the amount the option is mispriced
Example 18.3
the stock pays dividends at the continuously compounded rate of 0.05. The annualized standard
deviation of the continuously compounded stock return is 0.27. Find the price of a European put
option on the stock with strike price $63 and that matures in one year.
Solution.
Using equations (16.1)-(16.2) we find

uS =65e(0.080.05)1+0.27 1
= $87.7408

(0.080.05)10.27 1
dS =65e = $51.1308
It follows that
87.7408
u= = 1.3499
65
51.1308
d= = 0.7866
65
Pu =$0
Pd =63 51.1308 = 11.8692
Pu Pd
=eh = 0.3084
S(u d)
uPd dPu 1.3499 11.8692 0.7866 0
B =erh = e0.08 = $26.2567.
du 0.7866 1.3499
Hence, the option price is given by
P = S B = 0.3084 65 + 26.2567 = $6.2107

Practice Problems
Problem 18.1
Consider a European put option on the stock of XYZ with strike $130 and one year to expiration.
XYZ stock does not pay dividends and is currently worth $100. The annual continuously com-
pounded risk-free interest rate is 5%. In one year the price is expected to be either $120 or $90.
Using, the one-period binomial option pricing model, find the price today of one such put option.
Problem 18.2
Consider a European put option on the stock of XYZ, with a strike price of $30 and two months
to expiration. The stock pays continuous dividends at the annual continuously compounded yield
rate of 5%. The annual continuously compounded risk free interst rate is 11%. The stock currently
trades for $23 per share. Suppose that in two months, the stock will trade for either $18 per share
or $29 per share. Use the one-period binomial option pricing to find the todays price of the put.
Problem 18.3
One year from today, GS stock will sell for either $130 or $124. The annual continuously com-
pounded interest rate is 11%. The risk-neutral probability of an increase in the stock price (to
$130) is 0.77. Using the one-period binomial option pricing model, find the current price of a
one-year European put option on the stock with a strike price of $160.
Problem 18.4
Consider a two-period binomial model. Show that the current price of a put option is given by the
formula
P = e2rh [p2u Puu + 2pu (1 pu )Pud + (1 pu )2 Pdd ].
Problem 18.5
GS stock is currently worth $56. Every year, it can increase by 30% or decrease by 10%. The stock
pays no dividends, and the annual continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate is 4%. Using a
two-period binomial option pricing model, find the price today of one two-year European put option
on the stock with a strike price of $120
Problem 18.6
GS stock pays dividends at an annual continuously compounded yield of 6%. The annual continu-
osuly compounded interest rate is 9%. The stock is currently worth $100. Every two years, it can
increase by 50% or decrease by 30%. Using a two-period binomial option pricing model, find the
price today of one four-year European put option on the stock with a strike price of $130.
Problem 18.7
Given the following information about a stock: S = $100, = 0.3, r = 0.05, = 0.03, K = 95.
Using a three-period binomial tree, find the current price of a European put option with strike $95
and expiring in three years.
Problem 18.8
For a two-year European put option, you are given the following information:
The stock price is $35
The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%
The stock price volatility is 35%
The stock pays no dividends.
Find the price of the put option using a two-period binomial pricing.
Problem 18.9
A European put option on a nondividend-paying stock has a strike price $88 and expires in seven
months. The annual continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. The current price of the stock
is $130. The price volatility is 30%. Use a 7-period binomial model to find the price of the put.
Hint: Compare d7 S and ud6 S.
Problem 18.10
A European call option on a nondividend-paying stock has a strike price $88 and expires in seven
months. The annual continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. The current price of the stock
is $130. The price volatility is 30%. Use a 7-period binomial model to find the price of the call.
19 BINOMIAL OPTION PRICING FOR AMERICAN OPTIONS 131
19 Binomial Option Pricing for American Options

Binomial trees are widely used within finance to price American type options. The binomial method
constructs a tree lattice which represents the movements of the stock and prices the option relative
to the stock price by working backward through the tree. At each node, we compare the value of
the option if it is held to expiration to the gain that could be realized upon immediate exercise.
The higher of these is the American option price.
Thus, for an American call the value of the option at a node is given by
C(St , K, t) = max{St K, erh [pu C(uSt , K, t + h) + (1 pu )C(dSt , K, t + h)]}
and for an American put it is given by
P (St , K, t) = max{K St , erh [pu P (uSt , K, t + h) + (1 pu )P (dSt , K, t + h)]}
where
t is the time equivalent to some node in the tree
St is the stock price at time t
h the length of a period
r is the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate
K is the strick price
pu is the risk-neutral probability on an increase in the stock
P (St , K, t) is the price of an American put with strike price K and underlying stock price St
C(St , K, t) is the price of an American call with strike price K and underlying stock price St .
Example 19.1
Given the following information about a stock: S = $100, = 0.3, r = 0.05, = 0.03, K = 95. Using
a three-period binomial tree, find the current price of an American call option with strike $95 and
expiring in three years.
Solution.

u = e(r)h+ h
= e(0.050.03)+0.3 = 1.3771
and
d = e(r)h h
= e(0.050.03)0.3 = 0.7558.
Thus,
e(r)h d e0.02 0.7558
pu = = = 0.4256
ud 1.3771 0.7558
Now, we have
Year 3, Stock Price = u3 S = 261.1539 Since we are at expiration, the option value is Cuuu =
261.1539 95 = $166.1539.
Year 3, Stock Price = u2 dS = 143.3302 and Cuud = 143.3302 95 = 48.3302.
Year 3, Stock Price = ud2 S = 78.6646 and Cudd = Cddu = 0.
Year 3, Stock Price = d3 S = 43.1738 and Cddd = 0.
Year 2, Stock Price = u2 S = 189.6404
Cuu = max{189.6404 95, e0.05 [0.4256 166.1539 + (1 0.4256) 48.3302]}
=189.6404 95
=94.6404.
Year 2, Stock Price = udS = 104.0812
Cud = max{104.0812 95, e0.05 [0.4256 48.3302 + (1 0.4256) 0]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 48.3302 + (1 0.4256) 0]
=19.5662.
Year 2, Stock Price = d2 S = 57.1234
Cdd = max{57.1234 95, e0.05 [0.4256 0 + (1 0.4256) 0]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 0 + (1 0.4256) 0] = 0
Year 1, Stock Price = uS = 137.71
Cu = max{137.71 95, e0.05 [0.4256 94.6404 + (1 0.4256) 19.5662]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 94.6404 + (1 0.4256) 19.5662]
=49.0052
Year 1, Stock Price = dS = 75.58
Cd = max{75.58 95, e0.05 [0.4256 19.5662 + (1 0.4256) 0]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 19.5662 + (1 0.4256) 0]
=7.9212
C = max{100 95, e0.05 [0.4256 49.0052 + (1 0.4256) 7.9212]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 51.578 + (1 0.4256) 7.9212]
=25.167
Example 19.2
Given the following information about a stock: S = $100, = 0.3, r = 0.05, = 0.03, K = 95. Using
a three-period binomial tree, find the current price of an American put option with strike $95 and
expiring in three years.
Solution.
The values of u, d, and pu are the same as in the previous example. We have
Year 3, Stock Price = u3 S = 261.1539 Since we are at expiration, the option value is Puuu = 0.
Year 3, Stock Price = u2 dS = 143.3302 and Puud = 0.
Year 3, Stock Price = ud2 S = 78.6646 and Pudd = Pddu = 95 78.6646 = 16.3354.
Year 3, Stock Price = d3 S = 43.1738 and Pddd = 95 43.1738 = 51.8262.
Year 2, Stock Price = u2 S = 189.6404 and
Puu = max{95 189.6404, e0.05 [0.4256 0 + (1 0.4256) 0]}
=0.
Year 2, Stock Price = udS = 104.0812 and
Pud = max{95 104.08212, e0.05 [0.4256 0 + (1 0.4256) 16.3554]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 0 + (1 0.4256) 16.3354] = 9.3831
Year 2, Stock Price = d2 S = 57.1234 and
Pdd = max{95 57.123, e0.05 [0.4256 16.3354 + (1 0.4256) 51.8262]}
=95 57.123 = 37.877
Year 1, Stock Price = uS = 137.71 and
Pu = max{95 137.71, e0.05 [0.4256 0 + (1 0.4256) 9.3831]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 0 + (1 0.4256) 9.3831] = 5.1268
Year 1, Stock Price = dS = 75.58 and
Pd = max{95 75.58, e0.05 [0.4256 9.3831 + (1 0.4256) 37.877]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 9.3831 + (1 0.4256) 37.877] = 24.4942
P = max{95 100, e0.05 [0.4256 5.1268 + (1 0.4256) 24.4942]}
=e0.05 [0.4256 5.1268 + (1 0.4256) 24.4942] = 15.4588
Practice Problems
Problem 19.1
A stock is currently worth $100. In one year the stock will go up to $120 or down to $90. The stock
pays no dividends, and the annual continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%. Find the
price today of a one year America put option on the stock with a strike price of $130.
Problem 19.2
One year from now, GS stock is expected to sell for either $130 or $124. The annual continuously
compounded interest rate is 11%. The risk-neutral probability of the stock price being $130 in one
year is 0.77. What is the current stock price for which a one-year American put option on the stock
with a strike price of $160 will have the same value whether calculated by means of the binomial
option pricing model or by taking the difference between the stock price and the strike price?
Problem 19.3
GS Inc., pays dividends on its stock at an annual continuously compounded yield of 6%. The annual
effective interest rate is 9%. GS Inc., stock is currently worth $100. Every two years, it can go
up by 50% or down by 30%. Using a two-period binomial option pricing model, find the price two
years from today of one four-year American call option on the stock with a strike price of $80 in
the event that the stock price increases two years from today.
Problem 19.4
Repeat the previous problem in the event that the stock price decreases two years from today.
Problem 19.5
the stock pays continuous dividends at the continuously compounded yield 0.08. The annualized
standard deviation of the continuously compounded stock return is 0.32. Using a three-period
binomial pricing model, find the price of an American call option on the stock with strike price
$100 and that matures in nine months.
Problem 19.6
Repeat the previous problem with an American put.
Problem 19.7
Given the following: S = $72, r = 8%, = 3%, = 23%, h = 1, K = 74. Use two-period binomial
pricing to find the current price of an American put.
Problem 19.8
You are given the following information about American options:
The current stock price is 72
The strike price is 80
The continuously-compounded risk-free rate is 5%
Time to expiration is one year
Every six months, the stock price either increases by 25% or decreases by 15%.
Using a two-period binomial tree, calculate the price of an American put option.
Problem 19.9
For a two-period binomial model, you are given:
(i) Each period is one year.
(ii) The current price for a nondividend-paying stock is $20.
(iii) u = 1.2840, where u is one plus the rate of capital gain on the stock per period if the stock
price goes up.
(iv) d = 0.8607, where d is one plus the rate of capital loss on the stock per period if the stock price
goes down.
(v) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%.
Calculate the price of an American call option on the stock with a strike price of $22.
Problem 19.10
Consider the following three-period binomial tree model for a stock that pays dividends continuously
at a rate proportional to its price. The length of each period is 1 year, the continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 10%, and the continuous dividend yield on the stock is 6.5%.
Calculate the price of a 3-year at-the-money American put option on the stock.
Problem 19.11
For a two-period binomial model for stock prices, you are given:
(i) Each period is 6 months.
(ii) The current price for a nondividend-paying stock is $70.00.
(iii) u = 1.181, where u is one plus the rate of capital gain on the stock per period if the price goes
up.
(iv) d = 0.890, where d is one plus the rate of capital loss on the stock per period if the price goes
down.
Calculate the current price of a one-year American put option on the stock with a strike price of
$80.00.
Problem 19.12
Given the following information for constructing a binomial tree for modeling the price movements
of a stock. (This tree is sometimes called a forward tree.)
(i) The length of each period is one year.
(ii) The current stock price is 100.
(iii) Volatility is 30%.
(iv) The stock pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional to its price. The dividend yield
is 5%.
Calculate the price of a two-year 100-strike American call option on the stock.
Problem 19.13
Given the following information for constructing a binomial tree for modeling the price movements
of a stock:
(i) The period is 3 months.
(ii) The initial stock price is $100.
(iii) The stocks volatility is 30%.
At the beginning of the period, an investor owns an American put option on the stock. The option
expires at the end of the period.
Determine the smallest integer-valued strike price for which an investor will exercise the put option
at the beginning of the period.
20 BINOMIAL OPTION PRICING ON CURRENCY OPTIONS 137
20 Binomial Option Pricing on Currency Options

In the case of currency options with underlying asset a foreign currency and strike asset dollars, the
replicating portfolio consists of buying units of the foreign currency and borrowing cash in the
amount of B dollars. Letting rf denote the foreign currency denominated interest rate, one unit of
the foreign currency now increases to erf h units at the end of one period. Thus, after one period, the
payoff of the portfolio is ux erf h erh B in the up state and dx erf h erh B in the down
state where x is the exchange rate at the beginning of the period and r is the dollar-denominated
interest rate. Now, if this portfolio is to replicate the call option then by the no-arbitrage principle
we must have
ux erf h erh B = Cu and dx erf h erh B = Cd .
This is a system of two equations in the unknowns and B. Solving the system we find
C u Cd
= erf h (20.1)
S(u d)
uCd dCu
B = erh (20.2)
du
Now, the call price at the beginning of the period is defined to be the total amount invested in the
equivalent portfolio. That is,
e(rrf )h d u e(rrf )h

rh
C = S B = e Cu + Cd . (20.3)
ud ud
These equations look similar to the ones for stock with the dividend yield being replaced by the
foreign denominated interet rate.
Now, from equation (20.3) we can define the risk-neutral probability of an up move by the formula
e(rrf )h d
pu = .
ud
By Section 16, we have the following equations

ux =Ft,t+h e h

dx =Ft,t+h e h
where Ft,t+h = xe(rrf )h . Hence u and d are found using the equations

u =e(rrf )h+ h

d =e(rrf )h h
Example 20.1
You are given the following information: x =$1.20/e, r = 5%, re = 9%, = 15%. Using a three-
period binomial tree, calculate the price of a nine months European call on the euro, denominated
in dollars, with a strike price of $1.10.
Solution.
We first find u and v given by

u = e(rrf )h+ h
= e(0.050.09)0.25+0.15 0.25
= 1.06716
and
d = e(rrf )h h
= e(0.050.09)0.250.15 0.25
= 0.91851
The risk-neutral probability of an up move is
e(rrf )h d e0.040.25 0.918151
pu = = = 0.48126.
ud 1.06716 0.91851
We have
9-month, Exchange rate = u3 x = $1.4584/e Since we are at expiration, the option value is
Cuuu = 1.4584 1.1 = $0.3584.
9-month, Exchange rate = u2 dx = $1.2552/e and Cuud = 1.2552 1.10 = $0.1552.
9-month, Exchange rate = ud2 x = $1.0804/e and Cudd = Cddu = 0.
9-month, Exchange rate = d3 x = $0.9299/e and Cddd = 0.
6-month, Exchange rate = u2 x = $1.3666/e and
Cuu = e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.3584 + (1 0.48126) 0.1552] = $0.2499.
6-month, Exchange rate = udx = $1.1762/e and
Cud = e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.1552 + (1 0.48126) 0] = $0.0738.
6-month, Exchange rate = d2 x = $1.0124/e and
Cdd = e0.050.25 [0.48126 0 + (1 0.48126) 0] = 0.
3-month, Exchange rate = ux = $1.2806/e and
Cu = e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.2499 + (1 0.48216) 0.0738] = $0.1565.
3-month, Exchange rate = dx = $1.1022/e and
Cd = e0.050.25 [0.48216 0.0738 + (1 0.48216) 0] = $0.0351.
The current option value is:
C = e0.050.25 [0.48216 0.1565 + (1 0.48216) 0.0351] = $0.0924
Example 20.2
You are given the following information: x =$1.20/e, r = 5%, re = 9%, = 15%. Using a three-
period binomial tree, calculate the price of a nine months American call on the euro, denominated
in dollars, with a strike price of $1.10.
Solution.
From the previous example, we have u = 1.06716, d = 0.91851, and pu = 0.48126. Now, we have
9-month, Exchange rate = u3 x = $1.4584/e Since we are at expiration, the option value is
Cuuu = 1.4584 1.1 = $0.3584.
9-month, Exchange rate = u2 dx = $1.2552/e and Cuud = 1.2552 1.10 = $0.1552.
9-month, Exchange rate = ud2 x = $1.0804/e and Cudd = Cddu = 0.
9-month, Exchange rate = d3 x = $0.9299/e and Cddd = 0.
6-month, Exchange rate = u2 x = $1.3666/e and
Cuu = max{1.3666 1.10, e0.0525 [0.48216 0.3584 + (1 0.48126) 0.1552]}
=1.3666 1.10
=0.2530.
6-month, Exchange rate = udx = $1.1762/e and
Cud = max{1.1762 1.10, e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.1552 + (1 0.48126) 0]}
=1.1762 1.10
=0.0752.
6-month, Exchange rate = d2 x = $1.0124/e and
Cdd = max{1.0124 1.1, e0.050.25 [0.48126 0 + (1 0.4826) 0]}
=e0.050.25 [0.48126 0 + (1 0.48216) 0] = 0
3-month, Exchange rate = ux = $1.2806/e and
Cu = max{1.2806 1.1, e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.2530 + (1 0.48126) 0.0752]}
=1.2806 1.1
=0.1806
3-month, Exchange rate = dx = $1.1022/e and
Cd = max{1.1022 1.10, e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.0752 + (1 0.48126) 0]}
=e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.0752 + (1 0.48126) 0]
=0.0357
The current option value is:
C = max{1.20 1.10, e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.1806 + (1 0.48126) 0.0357]}

=e0.050.25 [0.48126 0.1806 + (1 0.48126) 0.0357]
=0.1041
Practice Problems
Problem 20.1
One euro currently trades for $1.56. The dollar-denominated annual continuously-compounded
risk-free interest rate is 2%, and the euro-denominated annual continuously-compounded risk-free
interest rate is 9%. Calculate the price of a 10-year forward contract on euros, denominated in
dollars.
Problem 20.2
One euro currently trades for $1.56. The dollar-denominated annual continuously-compounded
risk-free interest rate is 0.02, and the euro-denominated annual continuously-compounded risk-free
interest rate is 0.09. The annualized standard deviation of the continuously compounded return on
the euro is 0.54. Using a one-period binomial model, calculate what the euro price in dollars will
be in two years if the euros price increases.
Problem 20.3
One dollar is currently trading for FC 45. The dollar-denominated annual continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 0.13, while the FC-denominated annual continuously compounded risk-free
interest rate is 0.05. The annualized standard deviation of the continuously compounded return
on dollars is 0.81. Using the one-period binomial option pricing model, what is the risk-neutral
probability that the price of a dollar will increase in two months?
Problem 20.4
You are given the following information: x =$0.92/e, r = 4%, re = 3%, u = 1.2, d = 0.9, and
h = 0.25. Using a three-period binomial tree, calculate the price of a nine months European put on
the euro, denominated in dollars, with a strike price of $0.85.
Problem 20.5
You are given the following information: x =$0.92/e, r = 4%, re = 3%, u = 1.2, d = 0.9, and
h = 0.25. Using a three-period binomial tree, calculate the price of a nine months American put on
the euro, denominated in dollars, with a strike price of $1.00.
Problem 20.6
One yen currently trades for $0.0083. The dollar-denominated annual continuously-compounded
risk-free interest rate is 0.05, and the yen-denominated annual continuously-compounded risk-free
the dollar is 0.10. Using a one-period binomial model, calculate what the yen price in dollars will
be in two years if the yens price increases.
Problem 20.7
1
Given the following information: r = 0.05, rf = 0.01, = 0.10, h = 3
. Find the risk-neutral
probability of an up move.
Problem 20.8
One dollar is currently trading FC 45. The dollar-denominated annual continuously-compounded
risk-free interest rate is 13%, while the FC-denominated annual continuously-compounded risk-free
interest rate is 5%. The annualized standard deviation of the continuously compounded return
on dollars is 0.81. For a certain two-month European call option on one dollar, the replicating
portfolio involves buying 34 dollars and borrowing FC 23. Using the one-period binomial option
pricing model, what would the price of this call option (in FC) be in two months in the case there
is a decrease in the dollar value?
Problem 20.9
A dollar is currently selling for U118. The dollar-denominated annual continuously-compounded
risk-free interest rate is 0.06, and the yen-denominated annual continuously-compounded risk-free
the dollar is 0.11. Using a three-period binomial tree, find the current price of a yen-denominated
1-year American call on the dollar with strike price of U118.
Problem 20.10
Consider a 9-month dollar-denominated American put option on British pounds. You are given
that:
(i) The current exchange rate is 1.43 US dollars per pound.
(ii) The strike price of the put is 1.56 US dollars per pound.
(iii) The volatility of the exchange rate is = 0.3.
(iv) The US dollar continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%.
(v) The British pound continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 9%.
Using a three-period binomial model, calculate the price of the put.
21 BINOMIAL PRICING OF FUTURES OPTIONS 143
21 Binomial Pricing of Futures Options

In this section we consider applying the binomial model to price options with underlying assets
futures contracts.
Recall that a futures contract, or simply a futures, is a pledge to purchase at a future date a given
amount of an asset at a price agreed on today. A futures contract requires no initial payment.
At the maturity date, cash is exchanged for the asset. For example, a 3-month futures contract
for 1000 tons of soybean at a forward price of $165/ton is a committment from the owner of the
contract to buy 1000 tons of soybean in three months for a price of $165 a ton.
The replicating portfolio consists of buying units of the futures contracts and lending cash in the
amount of B dollars. At the end of a given period, a futures contract payoff is just the change in
the futures price1 . Thus, after one period, the payoff of the portfolio is (uF F ) + erh B in the
up state and (dF F ) + erh B in the down state where F is the delivery price of the contract
at the beginning of the period and r is the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate. Now, if
this portfolio is to replicate a call option on the futures then by the no-arbitrage principle we must
have
(uF F ) + erh B = Cu and (dF F ) + erh B = Cd .
This is a system of two equations in the unknowns and B. Solving the system we find
Cu Cd
= (21.1)
F (u d)

rh 1d u1
B=e Cu + Cd . (21.2)
ud ud
Now, the call price at the beginning of the period is time 0 value of the replicating portfolio. That
is,
rh 1d u1
C=B=e Cu + Cd (21.3)
ud ud
since a futures requires no initial premium. Now, from equation (21.2) we can define the risk-neutral
probability of an up move by the formula
1d
pu =
.
ud
By Section 16, the up and down move of the forward price are modeled by the following equations

uF =Ft,t+h e h

dF =Ft,t+h e h
1
See [2], Section 59.
where Ft,t+h = F is the forward price. Hence u and d are found by using the equations

u =e h

d =e h
Example 21.1
An option has a gold futures contract as the underlying asset. The current 1-year gold futures
price is $300/oz, the strike price is $290, the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 6%,
volatility is 10%, and the time to expiration is 1 year. Using a one-period binomial model, find
, B, and the price of the call.
Solution.
u = e h
= e0.10 = 1.1052
and
d = e h
= e0.10 = 0.9048.
We also have
Cu = 1.1052 300 290 = $41.56
and
Cd = 0.
Thus,
Cu Cd 41.56 0
= = = 0.6913
F (u d) 300(0.9048 1.1052)
and

rh 1d u1 0.06 1 0.9048
C=B=e Cu + Cd =e 41.56 = $18.5933
ud ud 1.1052 0.9048
Alternatively, we could have found the risk-neutral probability of an up move
1d 1 0.9048
pu = = = 0.4751
ud 1.1052 0.9048
and then find the price of the call to be
C = B = erh [pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ] = e0.06 0.4751 41.56 = $18.5933

Example 21.2
An option has a futures contract as the underlying asset. The current 1-year futures price is $1000,
the strike price is $1000, the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 7%, volatility is
30%, and the time to expiration is one year. Using a three-period binomial model, find the price of
an American call.
Solution.
We have 1
u = e h
= e0.30 3 = 1.18911
and 1
d = e h
= e0.30 3 = 0.84097.
The risk-neutral probability of an up move is
1d 1 0.84097
pu = = = 0.45681.
ud 1.18911 0.84097
Now, we have
12-month, Futures Price = u3 F = 1681.3806 Since we are at expiration, the option value is
Cuuu = 1681.3806 1000 = $681.3806.
12-month, Futures Price = u2 dF = 1189.1099 and Cuud = 1189.1099 1000 = 189.1099.
12-month, Futures Price = ud2 F = 840.9651 and Cudd = Cddu = 0.
12-month, Futures Price = d3 F = 594.7493 and Cddd = 0.
8-month, Futures Price = u2 F = 1413.9825
1
Cuu = max{1413.9825 1000, e0.07 3 [0.45681 681.3806 + (1 0.45681) 189.1099]}
=1413.9825 1000
=413.9825.
8-month, Futures Price = udF = 1000

1
Cud = max{10000 1000, e0.07 3 [0.45681 189.1099 + (1 0.45681) 0]}
1
=e0.07 3 [0.45681 189.1099 + (1 0.45681) 0]
=84.3943.
8-month, Futures Price = d2 F = 707.2224

1
Cdd = max{707.2224 1000, e0.07 3 [0.45681 0 + (1 0.4256) 0]}
1
=e0.07 3 [0.45681 0 + (1 0.4256) 0 = 0
4-month, Futures Price = uF = 1189.1099

1
Cu = max{1189.1099 1000, e0.07 3 [0.45681 413.9825 + (1 0.45681) 84.3943]}
1
=e0.07 3 [0.45681 413.9825 + (1 0.45681) 84.3943]
=229.5336.
4-month, Futures Price = dF = 840.9651

1
Cd = max{849.9651 1000, e0.07 3 [0.45681 84.3943 + (1 0.45681) 0]}
1
=e0.07 3 [0.45681 84.3943 + (1 0.45681) 0]
=37.6628.
0-month, Futures Price = $1000 and the current option value is:
1
C = max{1000 1000, e0.07 3 [0.45681 229.5336 + (1 0.45681) 37.6628]}
1
=e0.07 3 [0.45681 229.5336 + (1 0.45681) 37.6628]
=122.4206
Practice Problems
Problem 21.1
An option has a gold futures contract as the underlying asset. The current 1-year gold futures
price is $600/oz, the strike price is $620, the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 7%,
volatility is 12%, and the time to expiration is 1 year. Using a one-period binomial model, find the
price of the call.
Problem 21.2
An option has a futures contract as the underlying asset. The current 1-year futures price is $1000,
the strike price is $1000, the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 7%, volatility is
30%, and the time to expiration is one year. Using a three-period binomial model, find the time-0
number of futures contract in the replicating portfolio of an American call on the futures.
Problem 21.3
Consider a European put option on a futures contract. Suppose that d = 34 u when using a two-
period binomial model and the risk-neutral probability of an increase in the futures price is 31 .
Determine u and d.
Problem 21.4
Consider a European put option on a futures contract with expiration time of 1 year and strike
price of $80. The time-0 futures price is $80. Suppose that u = 1.2, d = 0.9, r = 0.05 Using a
two-period binomial model, find the current price of the put.
Problem 21.5
Consider an American put option on a futures contract with expiration time of 1 year and strike
price of $80. The time-0 futures price is $80. Suppose that u = 1.2, d = 0.9, r = 0.05 Using a
two-period binomial model, find the current price of the put.
Problem 21.6
Consider an option on a futures contract. The time-0 futures price is $90. The annualized standard
deviation of the continuously compounded return on the futures contract is 34%. Using a three-
period binomial option pricing model, find the futures contract price after 6 years if the contract
always increases in price every time period.
Problem 21.7
Find the risk-neutral probability of a down move in Problem 21.6.
Problem 21.8
Consider an option on a futures contract. The time-0 futures price is $90. The annualized standard
deviation of the continuously compounded return on the futures contract is 0.34. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.05. Using a one-period binomial option pricing
model, find for a replicating portfolio equivalent to one two-year European call option on futures
contract with a strike price of $30.
Problem 21.9
Consider an option on a futures fontract. The time-0 futures price is $49. The annual continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate is 15%. The price today of one particular three-month European
call option on the contract is $10? The value of in a replicating portfolio equivalent to one such
option is 0.4. If in three months, futures prices will be worth 0.85 of its present amount, what will
the price of the call option be? Use a one-period binomial option pricing model.
Problem 21.10
You are to price options on a futures contract. The movements of the futures price are modeled by
a binomial tree. You are given:
(i) Each period is 6 months.
(ii) ud = 43 , where u is one plus the rate of gain on the futures price if it goes up, and d is one plus
the rate of loss if it goes down.
(iii) The risk-neutral probability of an up move is 13 .
(iv) The initial futures price is 80.
Let CI be the price of a 1-year 85-strike European call option on the futures contract, and CII be
the price of an otherwise identical American call option. Determine CII CI .
22 FURTHER DISCUSSION OF EARLY EXERCISING 149
22 Further Discussion of Early Exercising

As you have seen by now, when American options are valued using the binomial tree, one compares
the value of exercising immediately with the value of continuing holding the option and this is done
at each binomial node. In this section, we examine early exercise in more detail. More specifically,
we want to know when is it rational to early exercise.
The early exercise decision weighs three economic considerations:
The dividends on the underlying asset.
The interest on the strike price.
The insurance value of keeping the option alive.
Example 22.1
Discuss the three considerations of early exercise for an American call option holder.
Solution.
By exercising, the option holder
Receives the underlying asset and captures all related future dividends.
Pays the strike price and therefore loses the interest from the time of exercising to the time of
expiration.
Loses the insurance/flexibility implicit in the call. The option holder is not protected anymore
when the underlying asset has a value less than the strike price at expiration
It follows that for a call, dividends encourage early exercising while interest and insurance weigh
against early exercise.
Example 22.2
Consider an American call option on a stock with strike price of $100. The stock pays continuous
dividends at the continuous yield rate of 5%. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate is 5%.
(a) Suppose that one year is left to expiration and that the stock price is currently $200. Compare
the amount of dividends earned from acquiring the stock by early exercise to the amount of interest
saved by not exercising.
(b) According to your answer to (a), what is the only economic consideration for an option holder
not to exercise early?
Solution.
(a) The amount of dividends earned from early exercise is 200e0.05 200 = $10.25. The amount
of interest saved from not exercising is 100e0.05 100 = $5.13. Thus, the dividends lost by not
exercising exceed interest saved by deferring exercise.
(b) The only reason for not exercising in this case is to keep the implicit insurance provided by the
call against a drop in the stock price below the strike price
According to the previous example, one of the reasons an option holder may defer early exer-
cising is the insurance feature of the option. However, with zero volatility this insurance has zero
value. In this case, what will be the optimal decision? Obviously, it is optimal to defer exercise as
long as the interest savings on the strike exceeds the dividends lost. In symbol, we want
er(T t) K K > e(T t) St St .
Example 22.3
Show that the condition rK > St implies er(T t) K K > e(T t) St St .
Solution.
Suppose that rK > St . Using the Taylor series expansion of the function et around zero we
can write er(T t) K K Kr(T t) and e(T t) St St St (T t). Thus, rK > St implies
er(T t) K K > e(T t) St St
It follows that for an American call option where the volatility is zero, it is optimal to defer exercise
as long as the following condition holds:
rK > St .
It is optimal to exercise whenever

rK
St >.

With American put options, the reverse holds. It is optimal to exercise early when
rK
St <

and it is optimal to defer exercise when
rK < St .
Example 22.4
Consider an American call option with zero volatility. Suppose that r = 2. When it is optimal to
exercise?
Solution.
rK
It is optimal to exercise whenever St >
= 2K. That is, when the stock price is at least twice the
strike price
When volatility is positive, the implicit insurance has value, and the value varies with time to
expiration. Figure 22.1 shows, for a fixed time, the lowest stock price above which early exercise
is optimal for a 5-year American call with strike $100, r = = 5%, for three different volatilities.
Recall that if it is optimal to exercise a call at a given stock price then it is optimal to exercise
at all higher stock prices. The figure shows the effect of volatility. The exercise bounds for lower
volatility are lower than the exercise bounds for higher volatility. This stem from the fact that the
insurance value lost by early-exercise is greater when volatility is greater. Moreover, for a fixed
volatility, the passage of time decreases the exercise bounds. This is stem from the fact that the
value of insurance diminishes as the options approach expiration.
Figure 22.1
In the case of an American put, the higher the volatility the lower the exercise bound. Moreover,
the passage of time increases the exercise bounds. See Figure 22.2.
Figure 22.2
Example 22.5
Suppose that for a volatility of 10%, an early exercise for an American call option is optimal when
the lowest price of the underlying asset is $130. For a volatility of 30%, would the lowest price of
the underlying asset be larger or smaller than $130 in order for early exercise to be optimal?
Solution.
It has to be larger than $130
Example 22.6
You are given the following information about an American call on a stock:
The current stock price is $70.
The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 7%.
The continuously compounded dividend yield is 5%.
Volatility is zero.
Find the time until which early exercise is optimal.
Solution.
Early exercise is optimal if and only of
rK 0.07 68
S> = = $95.20.
0.05
That is, when the stock price reaches $95.20. Now,

u = e(r)h+ h
= e0.02h = d.
Thus, early exercise is optimal when uS = 95.20 or 70e0.02T = 95.20. Solving this equation we find
T = 15.37
Practice Problems
Problem 22.1
Discuss the three considerations of early exercise for an American put option holder.
Problem 22.2
Suppose that for a volatility of 10%, an early exercise for an American put option is optimal when
the lowest price of the underlying asset is $80. For a volatility of 30%, would the highest price of
the underlying asset be larger or smaller than $80 in order for early exercise to be optimal?
Problem 22.3
Consider an American call option with strike K such that r = . If at time t, St > K, would it be
optimal to exercise?
Problem 22.4
Given the following information about an American call option on a stock:
The current price of the stock is $456.
The continuously compounded yield rate is 4%.
Volatility is zero.
What is the least strike value so that to defer early exercise?
Problem 22.5
Given the following information about an American call option on a stock:
The strike price is $30.
The continuously compounded yield rate is 11%.
Volatility is zero.
What is the lowest stock price for which early exercise is optimal?
Problem 22.6
You own an American put option on the non-volatile GS Inc. stock. The strike price of the option is
23, and the stocks annual continuously compounded dividend yield is 0.4. The annual continuously
compounded interest rate is 0.1. For which of these stock prices would it be optimal to exercise the
option?
(A) S = 20
(B) S = 15.65
(C) S = 13.54
(D) S = 12.34
(E) S = 6.78
(F) S = 3.45
Problem 22.7
GS Co. stock prices currently have a volatility of = 0.3. For American call options with a strike
price of $120 and time to expiration 1 year, you know that the lowest stock price where exercise is
optimal is $160. If the stock price volatility changes, for which of these volatilities will exercise still
be optimal at a stock price of $160?
(A) = 0.1
(B) = 0.2
(C) = 0.4
(D) = 0.5
(E) = 0.6
Problem 22.8
GS Co. stock prices currently have a volatility of = 0.3. For American put options with a strike
price of $90 and time to expiration 1 year, you know that the highest exercise bound for optimal
exercise price is $40. If the stock price volatility changes, for which of these volatilities will exercise
still be optimal at a stock price of $40?
(A) = 0.1
(B) = 0.2
(C) = 0.4
(D) = 0.5
(E) = 0.6
Problem 22.9
You are given the following information about an American call on a stock:
Volatility is zero.
Find the time until which early exercise is optimal.
23 RISK-NEUTRAL PROBABILITY VERSUS REAL PROBABILITY 155
23 Risk-Neutral Probability Versus Real Probability

The risk-neutral pricing approach was first introduced in Section 15. In this section, we examine
this approach in more detail and we compare the risk-neutral approach with the pricing approach
using true probabiltiy.
We first discuss the meaning of risk-neutral. Suppose you are offered the following two scenarios.
In the first scenario you are guaranteed to receive $100. In the second scenario, a coin is flipped
and you receive $200 if the coin shows head or $0 otherwise. The expected payoff for both scenarios
is $100. Investors may have different risk attitudes. A risk-averse investor prefers the sure thing
which is the first scenario. A risk-neutral investor is indifferent between the bet and a certain
$100 payment since both have the same expected payoff. That is, a risk-neutral investor will be
equally happy with either scenarios.
In most of the future pricing calculations that will occur in the rest of the book, investors are
assumed to be risk-averse unless otherwise indicated. However, lets consider a hypothetical world
of risk-neutral investors only. In such a world, investors would only be concerned with expected
returns, and not about the level of risk. Hence, investors will not charge or require a premium for
risky securities. Therefore, risky securities would have the same expected rate of return as riskless
securities. In other words, investors hold assets with an expected return equal to the risk-free rate.
In this imaginary risk-neutral world, we let pu denote the probability of the stock going up such that
the stock is expected to earn the risk-free rate. In the binomial model, pu for one period satisfies
the equation
pu uSeh + (1 pu )dSeh = erh S.
Solving for pu we find
e(r)h d
pu = .
ud
This is why we referred to pu introduced in Section 15 as a risk-neutral probability. It is the
probability that the stock price would increase in a risk-neutral world. Also, in the hypothetical
world, the option price valuation for a call is given by
C = erh [pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ].
Example 23.1
You are given the following information about a stock:
The stock pays continuous dividend at the continuously compounded yield of 6%.
Every h years the stock price increases by 90% or decreases by 80%.
The risk-neutral probability of the stock prices increase in h years is 0.72.
Find h.
Solution.
We know that
e(r)h d
pu =
ud
or
e(0.090.06)h 0.2
0.72 = .
1.9 0.2
Solving this equation we find h = 11.7823 years
What is the option pricing in the risk-averse world? In this world, we let p denote the real proba-
bility of the stock going up. Let be the continuously compounded expected return on the stock.
Then p satisfies the equation
puSeh + (1 p)dSeh = eh S.
Solving for p we find
e()h d
p= .
ud
The real probability for the stock to go down is then
u e()h
1p= .
ud
Imposing the condition d < e()h < u we obtain 0 < p < 1. Now, using p we can find the actual
expected payoff at the end of the period:
pCu + (1 p)Cd .
Example 23.2
Consider a nondividend paying-stock. Every two years, the stock price either increases by 5% or
decreases by 6%. Find an upper constraint on the annual continuously compounded expected return
on the stock.
Solution.
ln 1.5
We use the condition d < eh < u where we write u = eah . Thus, 1.5 = e2a a = 2
= 0.20272
Example 23.3
Consider a nondividend paying-stock. Every two years, the stock price either increases by 5% or
decreases by 6%. The annual continuously compounded expected return on the stock is 5%. Find
the real probability that the stock will increase in price in two years.
Solution.
We have
eh d e0.052 0.4
p= = = 0.6411
ud 1.5 0.4
For risk-neutral probabilities we discounted the expected payoff at the risk-free rate in order to
obtain the current option price. At what rate do we discount the actual expected payoff? Definitely
not at the rate since the option is a type of leveraged investment in the stock so that it is riskier
than the stock.
Let denote the appropriate per-period discount rate.1 We use the result of Brealey and Meyer
which states that the return on any portfolio is the weighted average of the returns on the assets
in the portfolio. We apply this result to the portfolio consisting of shares of nondividend-paying
stock and B bonds that mimic the payoff of the call option to obtain
S B
eh = eh erh .
S B S B
Since an option is equivalent to holding a portfolio consisting of shares and B bonds, the de-
nominator of the previous relation is just the option price. Thus, discounted cash flow is not used
in practice to price options: It is necessary to compute the option price in order to compute the
correct discount rate.
We can now compute the option price as the discounted expected payoff at the rate to obtain
C = eh [pCu + (1 p)Cd ].
Example 23.4
Show that the option price obtained with real probabilities is the same as the one with risk-neutral
probabilities.
Solution.
We have
rh
u erh eh erh

S B e d
eh [pCu + (1 p)Cd ] = Cu + C d + (C u C d ) .
Seh Berh u d ud ud
But
erh d u erh
Cu + Cd = erh (S B)
ud ud
and
eh erh
(Cu Cd ) = (eh erh )S.
ud
1
This means that in a multiperiod-binomial model, the per-period discount rate is different at each node.
Thus
erh d u erh eh erh
Cu + Cd + (Cu Cd ) = Seh Berh .
ud ud ud
Hence,
eh [pCu + (1 p)Cu ] = S B
which is the same result as the one obtained using risk-neutral probabilities
Example 23.5
Given the following information about a 1-year European call option on a stock:
The expected rate of return is 15%.
The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%.
Volatility is 30%.
Use a one-period binomial model to compute the price of the call
(a) Using true probabilities on the stock.
(b) Using risk-neutral probabilities.
Solution.
We first compoute u and d. We have

u = e(r)h+ h
= e(0.080)1+0.30 1
= 1.4623
and
d = e(r)h h
= e(0.080)10.30 1
= 0.8025.
The number of shares in the replicating portfolio is
Cu Cd [1.4623 41 40] 0
= = = 0.738.
S(u d) 41(1.4623 0.8025)
The amount of money borrowed is
uCd dCu 0.8025 19.854
B = erh = e0.08 = $22.405.
du 0.8023 1.4623
(a) The true probability of the stock going up in value is
eh d e0.05 0.8025
p= = = 0.5446.
ud 1.4623 0.8025
Now,
S B
eh = eh erh
S B S B
41 0.738 22.405
= e0.15
0.738 41 22.405 0.738 41 22.405
=1.386
Thus,
= ln 1.386 = 0.3264.
The price of the option is
C = eh [pCu + (1 p)Cd ] = e0.3264 [0.5446 19.954 + (1 0.5446) 0] = $7.839.
(b) The risk-neutral probability of a move up state is
e(r)h d e0.08 0.8025

pu = = = 0.4256.
ud 1.4625 0.8025
Thus, the price of the call is
C = erh [pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ] = e0.08 [0.4256 19.954 + (1 0.4256) 0] = $7.839
Remark 23.1
(1) Notice that in order to find we had to find and B. But then the option price is just
C = S + B and there is no need for any further computations. It can be helpful to know how to
find the actual expected return, but for valuation it is pointless.
(2) In general, expected rate of returns are hard to estimate, thus by Example 23.4, risk-neutral
approach is easier to use in price valuation.
Example 23.6
Consider the following information about a 2-year American call on a stock:
Stock pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield rate of 10%.
The continuously compounded rate of return is 24%.
Volatility is 40%.
Using a two-period binomial model, find the continuously compounded discount rate at each node.
Solution.
We first compute u and d. We have

u = e(r)h+ h
= e0.110.10+0.4 1
= 1.5068
and
d = e(r)h h
= e(0.110.100.4 1
= 0.6771.
The binomial trees are shown below.
The risk-neutral probability is
e(r)h d e(0.110.10)1 0.6771

pu = = = 0.4013.
ud 1.5068 0.6771
The true probability for an upward movement is
e()h d e0.240.10 0.6771

p= = = 0.5703.
ud 1.5068 0.6771
Node with Stock price = $113.5223 = N/A.
Node with Stock price = $75.34 We have
e [pCuu + (1 p)Cud ] = 35.34

or
e [0.5703 73.5223 + (1 0.5703) 11.0127] = 35.34.
Solving this equation we find = 0.2779.
e [pCud + (1 p)Cdd ] = 3.9590
or
e [0.5703 11.0127 + (1 0.5703) 0] = 3.9590.
Solving this equation we find = 0.4615.
Node with Stock price = $50 We have
e [pCu + (1 p)Cd ] = 14.8280
or
e [0.5703 35.34 + (1 0.5703) 3.9590] = 14.8280.
Solving this equation we find = 0.3879
Practice Problems
Problem 23.1
Consider the following two scenarios:
Scenario 1: You have $1000 which you deposit into a savings account that pays annual continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate of r.
Scenario 2: You purchase a stock for $1000. The stock pays dividends with an annual continuously
compounded yield of 12%. You hold the stock for 13 years, at the end of which it will be either 3.4
or 0.1 of its present price. The risk-neutral probability of a stock price increase is 0.82.
Find the balance in the savings account, 13 years from now.
Problem 23.2
Given the following information about a stock:
After one period, the stock price will either increase by 30% or decrease by 20%.
The annual compounded continuously expected rate of return is 15%.
The true probability of increase in the stock price is 0.5446.
Determine the length of the period in years.
Problem 23.3
Given the following information of a 1-year European call on a stock:
Stock does not pay dividends.
Volatility is 30%.
The true probability of an upward movement is 0.46.
Using a one-period binomial model, find the continuously compounded discount rate .
Problem 23.4
Consider the following information about a 1-year European put on a stock:
Stock does not pay dividends.
Volatility is 30%.
The true probability of an upward movement is 0.46.
Using a one-period binomial model, find the continuously compounded discount rate .
Problem 23.5
Consider the following information about a 1-year European put on a stock:
Volatility is 24%.
The continuously compounded expected rate of return is 12%.
Using a one-period binomial model, find the continuously compounded expected rate of return .
Problem 23.6
Consider the following information about a 1-year European call on a stock:
Volatility is 27%.
The continuously compounded discount rate of return is 34.836%.
Using a one-period binomial model, find
(a) the true probability of a downward movement.
(b) the expected return on the stock .
Problem 23.7
Consider the following information about a 1-year American call on a stock:
The continuously compounded rate of return is 10%.
Volatility is 30%.
Using a two-period binomial model, find the continuously compounded discount rate after one
upward movement.
Problem 23.8
For a one-period binomial model for the price of a stock, you are given:
(i) The period is one year.
(ii) The stock pays no dividends.
(iii) u = 1.433, where u is one plus the rate of capital gain on the stock if the price goes up.
(iv) d = 0.756, where d is one plus the rate of capital loss on the stock if the price goes down.
(v) The continuously compounded annual expected return on the stock is 10%.
Calculate the true probability of the stock price going up.
Problem 23.9
h
For a one-period
binomial model, the up and down moves are modeled by the equations u = e
and d = e h . Given that the period is 6 months, the continuously compounded expected return
on the stock is 15%, the continuous compounded yiield is 5%, and the stock price volatility is 30%.
Find the true probability of the stock going up in price.
Problem 23.10
A stock currently sells for $450. The annual continuously compounded expected return on the
stock is 0.32 and the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.03. Suppose that
in three years, the stock price will change either by a factor of 0.34 or by a factor of 3.
The annual continuously compounded expected return on a particular call option is 0.3634656103.
This option has a strike price of $465 and a time to expiration of three years. Find the price today
of this option using a one-period binomial model.
24 RANDOM WALK AND THE BINOMIAL MODEL 165
24 Random Walk and the Binomial Model

Stock market price movements cannot be predicted since they move randomly. It is conjectured
that stock prices follow a random walk model. In this section we introduce the random walk model
and we show that the binomial model is a variant of a random walk and that it approximates a
lognormal distribution.
Symmetric Random Walk

The one-dimensional random walk is constructed as follows: Starting from location 0, you randomly
want to walk along a line either forward or backward, each pace being the same length. To decide
whether you want to move forward or backward, you flip a coin. That is, the walk is simulated with
a coin flip. If its a head, you take one step forward( add 1 to your current position). If its a tail,
you take one step back(subtract 1 from your current position). The coin is unbiased, so the chances
of heads or tails are equal. The problem is to find the probability of landing at a given spot after a
given number of steps, and, in particular, to find how far away you are on average from where you
started.
Example 24.1
Suppose that the flip of the coin after 10 steps shows the following outcomes: HT HT T T HHHT.
What is your current position?
Solution.
We have the following chart
Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Coin H T H T T T H H H T
Step 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Position 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 0
Thus, you are at the initial starting point
Consider the case of n steps. For the ith step we define the random variable Yi by

+1 if coin displays head
Yi =
1 if coin displays tail
We define the cumulative total to be the sum

n
X
Zn = Yi .
i=1
So Zn gives your position from the starting point after n steps of the walk. The random walk model
states that the larger the number of steps, the likelier it is that we will be farther away from where
we started (either from the left or the right of the starting point).
Example 24.2
Suppose that Zn = 5. What are the possible values for Zn+1 ?
Solution.
1
If Zn = 5, then Zn+1 = 4 or 6 with probability of 2
each
Example 24.3
You flip a coin five times and you get the following outcomes: Head, Head, Tail, Head, Tail. What
is the Value of Z5 ?
Solution.
We have Y1 = 1, Y2 = 1, Y3 = 1, Y4 = 1, and Y5 = 1. Thus, Z5 = 1 + 1 1 + 1 1 = 1
How does the random walk model relate to asset price movements? In efficient markets, an
asset price should reflect all available information. Thus, in response to new information, the asset
price should move up or down with equal probabiltiy, as with the coin flip. The asset price after
a period must be the initial price plus the cumulative up and down movements during the period
which are the results of new information. For example, under the one-period binomial random walk
model, the asset price after one period is either uS = (1 + g)S or dS = (1 + l) with probability pu
and 1 pu , respectively.
Modeling Stock Prices as a Random Walk

The random model described above is a bad model for stock price movements. We name three
problems with this model:
(I) Negative stock prices are possible: If by chance we get enough cumulative down movements, the
stock price becomes negative, something that does not happen. A stock price is either positive or
zero (case of a bankrupt firm).
(II) The magnitude of the move stays constant regardless of the stock price (fixed amount not
proportional to stock price).
(III) The expected return on the stock is always zero. The stock on average should have a positive
return.
The binomial model is a variant of the the random model that solves all of the above problems.
The binomial model assumes that continuously compounded returns1 can be modeled by a random
1
See Section 16 for a discusssion of the continuously compounded returns.
walk.
Recall that the binomial model for stock pricing is given by

St,t+h = St e(r)h h
.
Taking logs, we obtain

St,t+h
rt,t+h = ln = (r )h h (24.1)
St
That is, the continuously compounded returns consist of two parts, one of which is certain
(r )h,
and the other of which is uncertain and generates the up and down stock moves h. Thus, the
binomial model is a particular way to model the continuously compounded return.
Equation (24.1) solves the three problems mentioned above:
(I) The stock price cannot be negative
since the price at the beginning of the period is multiplied
(r)h h
by the exponential function e > 0.
(II) As stock price moves occur more frequently, h gets smaller, therefore the up move h and
the down move h get smaller. Thus, the moves are proportional to the stock price.
(III) There is a (r )h term so we can choose the probability of an up move, so we can guarantee
that the expected return on the stock is positive.
Lognormality and the Binomial Model

What is a lognormal distribution2 ? In probability theory, a random variable X is said to have the
lognormal distribution, with parameters and , if ln X has the normal distribution with mean
and standard deviation . Equivalently,
X = eY
where Y is normally distributed with mean and standard deviation .

It is known that the continuously compounded returns at the nodes of a binomial tree have a normal
distribution3 . It follows that the stock prices in the binomial model tree approximate a lognormal
distribution. Figure 24.1 compares the probability distribution for a 25-period binomial tree with
the corresponding lognormal distribution.
2
See Section 47 for a further discussion of lognormal distributions.
3
See Section 48
Figure 24.1
The binomial model implicitly assigns probabilities to the various nodes. Let pu be the risk-neutral
probability of an upward movement in the stocks price. For a binomial tree with three periods we
find the following tree of probabilities
Example 24.4
Find the probability assigned to the node uud in a three-period binomial tree.
Solution.
There are three paths to reach the node: uud, udu, and duu. At each node the probability is
p2u (1 pu ). Thus, the answer is 3p2u (1 pu )
Remark 24.1
We have seen that the binomial model requires that the volatility be constant, large stock price
movements do not suddenly occur, and the periodic stock returns are independent of each other.
These assumptions are not considered realistic.
Practice Problems
Problem 24.1
Find the expected value and the standard deviation of the random variable Yi .
Problem 24.2
Find Var(Zn ).
Problem 24.3
Show that Zn+1 = Zn + Yn .
Problem 24.4
Let Sn represent the price of the stock on day n with S0 representing the initial stock price. Find
a relation between Sn and Yn .
Problem 24.5
Suppose that the annualized standard deviation of returns on a stock is 0.67. What is the standard
deviation of returns on the same stock after 12 years?
Problem 24.6
The standard deviation of returns on a stock over 10 years is 0.02. The standard deviation of
returns on the same stock over Z years is 0.15. Find Z.
Problem 24.7
The standard deviation of returns on a stock over 10 years is 0.02; the annual continuously-
compounded interest rate is 0.03, and the stock pays dividends at an annual continuously-compounded
rate of 0.01. The stock price is currently $120/share. If the stock price increases in 10 years, what
will it be?
Problem 24.8
A coin was flipped 13 times, and you know that Z13 = 6, Y12 = 1, Y11 = 1, Y10 = 1, and Y9 = 1.
Find Z8 .
Problem 24.9
Construct a three-period binomial tree depicting stock price paths, along with risk-neutral proba-
bilities of reaching the various terminal prices.
Problem 24.10
For an n-period binomial tree, the probability for reaching the ith node from the top in the terminal
prices column (i.e. the last column in the tree) is given by the formula
n!
puni (1 pu )i .
(n i)!i!
Use a 15-period binomial tree to model the price movements of a certain stock. For each time
period, the risk-neutral probability of an upward movement in the stock price is 0.54. Find the
probability that stock price will be at the 8th node of the binomial tree at the end of 15 periods.
25 ALTERNATIVE BINOMIAL TREES 171
25 Alternative Binomial Trees

Up to this point, a binomial tree is constructed based on the formulas

u = e(r)h+ h

d = e(r)h h
e(r)h d
pu = .
ud
In this section, we discuss two more additional ways for constructing binomial trees that approxi-
mate a lognormal distribution.
The Cox-Ross-Rubinstein Binomial Tree

The Cox-Ross-Rubinstein binomial tree is constructed based on the formulas

u = e h

d = e h
e(r)h d
pu = .
ud
The CRR approach is often used in practice. However, the approach breaks down for any choice of
h and such that erh > e h . In practice, h is usually small so that such a problem does not occur.
Example 25.1
The current price of a stock is $1230. The price volatility 30%. Use a CRR three-period binomial
tree to find the price of the stock at the node uud. A period consists of two months.
Solution.
We have
1
u = e h
= e0.30 6 = 1.1303 and d = 1.13031 = 0.8847.
Thus, the price of the stock at node uud is u2 dS = 1.13032 0.8847 1230 = $1390.24
Example 25.2
During 54 periods in a binomial model, the stock price of GS LLC has gone up 33 times and gone
down 21 times at the end of which the price of the stock is $32/share. The price volatility is 0.2,
and one time period in the binomial model is 6 months. Using a Cox-Rubinstein binomial tree,
calculate the original price of the stock.
Solution.
We are asked to find S such that u33 d21 S = 32. Since ud = 1, we just need to solve the equation
u12 S = 32 or S = u3212 = e120.2
32
0.5
= $5.86
Example 25.3
You are given the following information about a 1-year European call on a stock:
Use a one-period CRR binomial tree to find the current price of the call.
Solution.
We have
u = e h
= e0.30 1
= 1.3498
and
d = e h
= e0.30 1
= 0.7408.
The risk-neutral probabiltiy is
e(r)h d e0.07 0.7408
pu = = = 0.5447.
ud 1.3498 0.7408
Now, Cu = 1.3498 38 40 = 11.2924 and Cd = 0. Thus,
C = erh [pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ] = e0.07 0.5447 11.2924 = $5.735
The Jarrow and Rudd (lognormal) Binomial Tree
This tree is constructed based on the formulas
2 )h+

u = e(r0.5 h
2

d = e(r0.5 )h h
e(r)h d
pu = .
ud
Example 25.4
The stock prices of GS LLC can be modeled via a lognormal tree with 6 years as one time period.
The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08, and the stock pays dividends
with an annual continuously compounded yield of 0.01. The prepaid forward price volatility is 0.43.
The stock price is currently $454 per share. Find the stock price in 72 years if it goes up 7 times
and down 5 times.
Solution.
2 2
We want to find u7 d5 S. But u = e(r0.5 )h+ h = e(0.080.010.50.43 )6+0.43 6 = 2.5057 and
2 2
d = e(r0.5 )h h = e(0.080.010.50.43 )60.43 6 = 0.3048. Thus, u7 d5 S = 2.50577 0.30485
454 = $741.19
Example 25.5
Use a one-period lognormal binomial tree to find the current price of the call.
Solution.
We have
2 )h+ 2 )+0.30
u = e(r0.5 h
= e(0.070.5(0.30) = 1.3840
and
2 )h 2 )0.30
d = e(r0.5 h
= e(0.070.5(0.30) = 0.7596
The risk-neutral probabiltiy is
e(r)h d e0.07 0.7596

pu = = = 0.5011.
ud 1.3840 0.7596
Now, Cu = 1.3840 38 40 = 12.592 and Cd = 0. Thus,
C = erh [pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ] = e0.07 0.5011 12.592 = $5.8833

Practice Problems
Problem 25.1
During the course of 34 time periods of 1 year each in the binomial model, two stocks that were
identically priced at the beginning diverged in their prices. Stock A went up consistently, while
Stock B went down consistently. The volatility of both stocks prices is 0.09. Find the ratio of the
price of Stock A to the price of Stock B.
Problem 25.2
u
Suppose that, in a CRR tree, you are given h = 1 and d
= 1.8221. Find .
Problem 25.3
Consider a 1-year European call a nondivident paying stock. The strike price is $40. The current
price of the stock is $38 and the stocks price volatility is 30%. Suppoe that the true probability of
an upward movement is 0.661. Using a one-period CRR binomial model, find the expected rate of
return .
Problem 25.4
You are given the following information about a 1-year European put on a stock:
Use a one-period CRR binomial tree to find the current price of the put.
Problem 25.5
Given the following information about a three-month European call on a stock:
The prepaid forward price volatility is 30%
The stock dividend yield is 5%.
The three-month expected discount rate is 21.53%.
Use a one-period CRR binomial tree to find the true probability for an upward movement.
Problem 25.6
You are given the following information about a 1-year European put on a stock:

Use a one-period lognormal binomial tree to find the current price of the put.
Problem 25.7
You are given the following information about a 3-month European call on a stock:
The continuously compounded dividend rate is 5%.
The expected 3-month discount rate is 52.81%
Use a one-period lognormal binomial tree to find
(a) the true probability of an upward movement
(b) the expected rate of return .
Problem 25.8
The continuously compounded dividend rate is 4.5%.
Use the one-period lognormal binomial tree to calculate , the number of shares in the replicating
portfolio.
Problem 25.9
The stock pays dividends at the continuously compound yield rate 5%.
Use the one-period CRR model to find the current price of the call.
Problem 25.10

Use a one-period lognormal binomial tree to find the current price of the call.
26 ESTIMATING (HISTORICAL) VOLATILITY 177
26 Estimating (Historical) Volatility

Recall that volatility is defined to be the annualized standard deviation of the continuously com-
pounded stock returns. This parameter cannot usually be observed directly. In this section we
examine a procedure for estimating volatility.
Suppose we are given a periodic data about the price of a stock. As usual, we let St denote the
price of the stock at time t and St+h the price at time t + h. The continuously compounded return
for the interval [t, t + h] is
St+h
rt,t+h = ln .
St
Next, we describe how to estimate volatility, known as historical volatility. Suppose that we
have data for n periods where each period is of length h. We compute the (historical) stock returns:
rt,t+h , rt+h,t+2h , , rt+(n1)h,t+nh . We assume that the returns are independent and identically dis-
tributed. The next step is to calculate the average of the returns
Pn
rt+(i1)h,t+ih
r = i=1 .
n
From probability theory, an estimate of the periodic standard deviation is given by the formula
sP
n 2
i=1 (rt+(i1)h,t+ih r)
h = .
n1
Volatility, which is the annualized standard deviation, is then found using the formula
h
= .
h
Volatility computed from historical stock returns is referred to as historical volatility. We illus-
trate the above procedure in the next example.
Example 26.1
The table below lists the closing price of a stock for 6 weeks. Estimate the annualized standard
deviation of the stocks prices.
Date Price
03/05/03 85
03/12/03 81
03/19/03 87
03/26/03 80
04/02/03 86
04/09/03 93
Solution.
The table below shows the historical weekly returns, the average of the returns, the squared devia-
tions, and the sum of the squared deviations.
Date Price rt = ln St /St1 (rt r)2
03/05/03 85
03/12/03 81 0.048202 0.004381
03/19/03 87 0.071459 0.002859
03/26/03 80 0.083881 0.010378
04/02/03 86 0.072321 0.002952
04/09/03 93 0.078252 0.003632
P5 2
r = 0.017990 i=1 (ri r) = 0.024201
The estimate of the standard deviation of the weekly returns is

r
0.024201
1 = = 0.07784.
52 4
The historical volatility is
1
= q52 = 0.561
1
52
Summarizing, the volatility needed for the binomial model can be estimated by computing the
standard deviation of periodic continuously compounded returns and annualizing the result. Once
the annualized
standard deviation is found, we can use it to construct binomial trees. We multiply
by h to adapt the annual standard deviation to any size binomial step.
Practice Problems
Problem 26.1
Weekly prices of a stock are given from 04/02/03 to 05/28/03. Estimate the value of .
Date Price
04/02/03 77.73
04/09/03 75.18
04/16/03 82.00
04/23/03 81.55
04/30/03 81.46
05/07/03 78.71
05/14/03 82.88
05/21/03 85.75
05/28/03 84.90
Problem 26.2
Monthly prices of a stock are shown in the table below. Estimate the volatility .
Month Price
1 100
2 110
3 112
4 105
5 113
Problem 26.3
The data of a stocks price for 7 months are given. Estimate the volatility .
Month Price
1 85
2 81
3 87
4 93
5 102
6 104
7 100
Problem 26.4
You are to estimate a nondividend-paying stocks annualized volatility using its prices in the past
nine months.
Month Stock Price per share

1 80
2 64
3 80
4 64
5 80
6 100
7 80
8 64
9 80
Calculate the historical volatility for this stock over the period.
Problem 26.5
Suppose that the stock prices for six weeks were given and the estimate of the standard deviation
of the weekly returns is 0.07784. Find the value of the sum of the squared deviations.
Problem 26.6
Stock prices for n months were given. Suppose that the estimated standard deviation for monthly
returns is 0.059873 and that the sum of the squared deviations is 0.017924. Determine the value of
n.
Problem 26.7
Suppose that the historical volatility is 0.82636 and the periodic standard deviation is 0.23855.
Find the length of a period.
Problem 26.8
Monthly prices of a stock are shown in the table below.
Month Price
1 100
2 110
3 112
4 105
5 X
Suppose that the average of the returns is 0.042185. Determine the value of X.
Problem 26.9
The data of a stocks price for 7 months are given.
Month Price
1 85
2 81
3 87
4 93
5 102
6 X
7 X 4
Suppose that the average of the returns is 0.027086. Determine the value of X.
The Black-Scholes Model
In this chapter we present the Black-Scholes formula for pricing European options and discuss
various topics related to it.
183
184 THE BLACK-SCHOLES MODEL
27 The Black-Scholes Formulas for European Options

In this section we present the Black-Scholes formulas for European calls and puts options. Before
doing that we examine a function that will appear in the formula.
The Cumulative Normal Distribution Function

Let X denote the standard normal random variable, that is, the distribution of X is normal with
mean 0 and standard deviation 1. The probability density function1 of X is given by
1 x2
f (x) = e 2 .
2
Let N (x) denote the cumulative normal distribution function. That is,
Z x
1 t2
N (x) = P r(X x) = e 2 dt.
2
N (x) is the area under the standard normal curve to the left of x. The SOA asks that you compute
N (x) using the standard normal distribution tables. However, in this book, we will find the value
of N (x) using Excels NormSdist.
Example 27.1
Show that N (x) + N (x) = 1.
Solution.
The function N 0 (x) = f (x) is an even function so that N 0 (x) = N 0 (x) for all real numbers x. Inte-
grating both sides we obtain N (x) = N (x) + C. Letting x = 0 we find C = 2N (0) = 2(0.5) = 1.
Hence, N (x) + N (x) = 1
Before examining the Black-Scholes formulas, we list the following assumptions that were required
in the derivation of the formulas:
Continuously compounded returns on the stock are normally distributed and independent over
time.
The volatility of continuously compounded returns is known and constant.
Future dividends are known, either as a dollar amount or as a fixed dividend yield.
The risk-free interest rate is known and constant.
There are no transaction costs or taxes.
It is possible to short-sell costlessly and to borrow at the risk-free rate.
1
See Section 46 for a further discussion of normal distributions.
27 THE BLACK-SCHOLES FORMULAS FOR EUROPEAN OPTIONS 185
Black-Scholes Formula for European Calls

For a European call on a stock that pays continuous dividends, the price is given by
C(St , K, , r, T t, ) = St e(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 )
where
ln (St /K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d1 =
T t
and
ln (St /K) + (r 0.5 2 )(T t)
d2 = = d1 T t.
T t
As with the binomial model, the six inputs in the above formula are
St is the stock price at time t.
K is the strike price of the option.
is the annual annual standard deviation of the rate of return on the stock or the prepaid forward
price volatility.
r is the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate.
T is the time to expiration.
is the annual continuously compounded dividend yield.
Example 27.2
The stock of XYZ currently sells for $41 per share. The annual stock price volatility is 0.3, and the
annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. The stock pays no dividends.
(a) Find the value of N (d1 ) and N (d2 ) in the Black-Scholes formula for the price of a call option
on the stock with strike price $40 and time to expiration of 3 months.
(b) Find the Black-Scholes price of the call option.
Solution.
(a) With t = 0 we have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T

N (d1 ) =N
T

41
2

ln 40 + 0.08 0 + 0.32 0.25
=N
0.3 0.25
Z 0.3729507506
1 x2
=N (0.3729507506) = e 2 dx
2
=0.645407
and Z 0.2229507506
1 x2
N (d2 ) = N (0.2229507506) = e 2 dx = 0.588213.
2
(b) The price of the call is
C(41, 40, 0.3, 0.08, 0.25, 0) = 41 e00.25 0.645407 40e0.080.25 0.588213 = $3.399
Black-Scholes Formula for European Puts

For a European put on a stock that pays continuous dividends, the price is given by
P (St , K, , r, T t, ) = Ker(T t) N (d2 ) St e(T t) N (d1 )
Proposition 27.1
The Black-Scholes formulas for calls and puts satisfy the put-call parity
C(St , K, , r, T t, ) P (St , K, , r, T t, ) = St e(T t) Ker(T t) .
Proof.
We have
C(St , K, , r, T t, ) P (St , K, , r, T t, ) =St e(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 ) [Ker(T t) N (d2 )

St e(T t) N (d1 )]
=St e(T t) [(N (d1 ) + N (d1 )]
Ker(T t) [N (d2 ) + N (d2 )]
=St e(T t) Ker(T t)
Example 27.3
Using the same inputs as in Example 27.2, find the Black-Scholes price of a put option on the stock
with strike price $40 and time to expiration of 3 months.
Solution.
Using the put-call parity we find
P (41, 40, 0.3, 0.08, 0.25, 0) = 3.373 + 40e0.080.25 41e00.25 = $1.581
Example 27.4
You are asked to determine the price of a European put option on a stock. Assuming the Black-
Scholes framework holds, you are given:
(i) The stock price is $100.

(ii) The put option will expire in 6 months.
(iii) The strike price is $98.
(iv) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is r = 0.055.
(v) = 0.01
(vi) = 0.50
Calculate the price of this put option.
Solution.
With t = 0 we have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T

N (d1 ) =N
T
0.52

ln 100
98
+ 0.055 0.01 + 2
0.5
=N
0.5 0.5
Z 0.297558191
1 x2
=N (0.297558191) = e 2 dx
2
=0.38302
and
1
Z 0.0559951996
x2
N (d2 ) = N (d1 + T ) = N (0.0559951996) = e 2 dx = 0.522327.
2
The price of the put is
P (100, 98, 0.5, 0.055, 0.5, 0.01) = 98 e0.0550.5 0.522327 100e0.010.5 0.38302 = $11.688
Practice Problems
Problem 27.1
A European call option on XYZ stock has the following specifications: Strike price = $45, current
stock price = $46, time to expiration = 3 months, annual continuously compounded interest rate
= 0.08, dividend yield = 0.02, volatility=0.35. Calculate the Black-Scholes price of the option.
Problem 27.2
Using the same inputs as the previous problem, calculate the Black-Scholes price of a put option.
Problem 27.3
The stock of GS Co. currently sells for $1500 per share. The prepaid forward price volatility is
0.2, and the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.05. The stocks annual
continuously compounded dividend yield is 0.03. Within the Black-Scholes formula for the price of
a put option on GS Co. stock with strike price $1600 and time to expiration of 3 years, find the
value of N (d2 ).
Problem 27.4
You are asked to determine the price of a European call option on a stock. Assuming the Black-
Scholes framework holds, you are given:
(ii) The put option will expire in one year.
(iii) The strike price is $35.
(iv) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is r = 0.10.
(v) = 0.02
(vi) = 0.30
Calculate the price of this call option.
Problem 27.5
SeT

ln +0.5 2 T
KerT
Show that d1 =
T
.
Problem 27.6
You are considering the purchase of a 3-month 41.5-strike American call option on a nondividend-
paying stock. You are given:
(i) The Black-Scholes framework holds.
(ii) The stock is currently selling for 40.
(iv) The current call option delta is 0.5.
Which of these expressions represents the price of this option?

R 0.15 x2
(A) 20 20.453 e 2 dx
R 0.15 x2
(B) 20 16.138 e 2 dx
R 0.15 x2
(C) 20 40.453 e 2 dx
R 0.15 x2
(D) 16.138 e 2 dx 20.453
R 0.15 x2
(E) 40.453 e 2 dx 20.453.
Problem 27.7
Assume the Black-Scholes framework.
Eight months ago, an investor borrowed money at the risk-free interest rate to purchase a one-year
75-strike European call option on a nondividend-paying stock. At that time, the price of the call
option was 8.
Today, the stock price is 85. You are given:
(i) The continuously compounded risk-free rate interest rate is 5%.
(ii) The stocks volatility is 26%.
Find the current price of the call.
Problem 27.8
For a European call option on a stock within the Black-Scholes framework, you are given:
(ii) The strike price is $80.
(iii) The call option will expire in one year.
(iv) The continuously compound risk-free interest rate is 5.5%.
(v) = 0.50.
(vi) The stock pays no dividends.
Calculate the price of the call.
Problem 27.9
For a dividend-paying stock and a European option on the stock, you are given the following
information:
The expected annual return on the stock is 10%.
The volatility is 20%.
The continuously dividend yield is 5%.
The expiration time is three months.

Calculate the price of the call.
Problem 27.10
For a nondividend-paying stock and a European option on the stock, you are given the following
information:
The volatility is 40%.
The expiration time is three months.
Calculate the price of the put.
Problem 27.11
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. Consider a 9-month at-the-money European put option on
a futures contract. You are given:
(i) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%.
(ii) The strike price of the option is 20.
(iii) The price of the put option is 1.625.
If three months later the futures price is 17.7, what is the price of the put option at that time?
28 APPLYING THE BLACK-SCHOLES FORMULA TO OTHER ASSETS 191
28 Applying the Black-Scholes Formula To Other Assets

In the previous section the options under consideration had stocks with continuous dividends as
underlying assets. In this section we want to adapt the Black-Scholes formula to options with under-
lying assets consisting of stocks with discrete dividends, futures contracts, and currency contracts.
According to Problem 27.5, we can write
T
Se
ln Ke rT + 0.5 2 T
d1 = .
T
But the term SeT is the prepaid forward price for the stock and KerT is the prepaid forward
price for the strike. Thus, F P (S)
ln F 0,T
P + 0.5 2 T
0,T (K)
d1 = .
T
Now, the Black-Scholes formulas can be written in terms of prepaid forward prices: for a call we
have
P P P P
C(F0,T (S), F0,T (K), , T ) = F0,T (S)N (d1 ) F0,T (K)N (d2 )
and for a put we have
P P P K
P (F0,T (S), F0,T (K), , T ) = F0,T (S)N (d2 ) F0,T (K)N (d1 ).
These formulas when written in terms of prepaid forward prices are useful when pricing options
with underlying assets other than stocks with continuous dividends, namely, stocks with discrete
dividends, futures, or currencies.
Example 28.1
Show that
P P P P P P
P (F0,T (S), F0,T (K), , T ) = C(F0,T (S), F0,T (K), , T ) + F0,T (K) F0,T (S).
Solution.
By the put-call parity we have
P
C(F0,T P
(S), F0,T P
(K), , T ) P (F0,T P
(S), F0,T (K), , T ) = SeT KerT = F0,T
P P
(S) F0,T (K).
P P
Now the result follows by solving this equation for P (F0,T (S), F0,T (K), , T )
Example 28.2
Let S(t) denote the price at time t of a stock that pays no dividends. The Black-Scholes framework
holds. Consider a European call option with exercise date T, T > 0, and exercise price S(0)erT ,
where r is the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate. You are given:
(i) S(0) = $100
(ii) T = 10
(iii) Var[ln S(t)] = 0.4t, t > 0.
Determine the price of the call option.
Solution.
The variance over the interval [0, t] is given by
t2 = Var[ln (St /S0 )] = Var[ln St ] Var[ln 100] = Var[ln St ] = 0.4t.
Thus,
= 1 = 0.4.
We also have
FP
0,T (S)
ln P (K)
F0,T
+ 0.5 2 T ln (100/100) + 0.5 0.4 10
d1 = = =1
T 2
and
d2 = d1 T = 1 2 = 1.
Hence,
Z 1
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.841345
2
and Z 1
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.158655.
2
The Black-Scholes price of the call option is

P P
C = F0,T (S)N (d1 ) F0,T (K)N (d2 ) = 100 0.841345 100 0.158655 = $68.269
If the underlying asset is a stock with discrete dividends, then the prepaid forward price is
P
F0,T (S) = S0 P V0,T (Div).
Example 28.3
Consider a stock that pays dividends of $40 in two years and $32 in six years. The stock currently
trades for $221 per share. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%, and
the annual price volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes equation is 30%. Find the Black-Scholes
price of a call option with strike price $250 and expiration time of 8 years.
Solution.
The prepaid forward price of the stock is
P
F0,T (S) = S0 P V0,T (Div) = 221 40e0.052 32e0.056 = $161.1003.
The prepaid forward on the strike is

P
F0,T (K) = KerT = 250e0.058 = $167.58.
The values of d1 and d2 are

F P (S)
ln F 0,T
P + 0.5 2 T ln (161.1003/167.58) + 0.5 0.32 8
0,T (K)
d1 = = = 0.3778
T 0.3 8
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.3778 0.3 8 = 0.4707.
Thus, Z 0.3778
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.6472
2
and Z 0.4707
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.3189.
2
The Black-Scholes price of the call option is
P P P P
C(F0,T (S), F0,T (K), , T ) =F0,T (S)N (d1 ) F0,T (K)N (d2 )
=161.1003 0.6472 167.58 0.3189 = $50.8261
If the underlying asset is a foreign currency, then F0,T P

(x) = x0 erf T where rf is the foreign
currency interest rate and x0 is the current exchange rate (expressed as domestic currency per unit
of foreign currency). In this case, the Black-Scholes price of a call option is given by
C(x0 , K, , r, T, rf ) = x0 erf T N (d1 ) KerT N (d2 )

where
ln (x0 /K) + (r rf + 0.5 2 )T
d1 =
T
and
d2 = d1 T .
The above formula is also known as the Garman-Kohlhagan formula.
The Black-Scholes for a European currency put option is given by
P (x0 , K, , r, T, rf ) = KerT N (d2 ) x0 erf T N (d1 ).
We can also get the put formula via put-call parity:
P (x0 , K, , r, T, rf ) = C(x0 , K, , r, T, rf ) + KerT x0 erf T .
The options prices are in the domestic currency.
Example 28.4
One euro is currently trading for $0.92. The dollar-denominated continuously compounded interest
rate is 6% and the euro-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 3.2%. Volatility is
10%.
(a) Find the Black-Scholes price of a 1-year dollar-denominated euro call with strike price of $0.9/e.
(b) Find the Black-Scholes price of a 1-year dollar-denominated euro put with strike price of $0.9/e.
Solution.
We first find d1 and d2 . We have
ln (x0 /K) + (r rf + 0.5 2 )T ln (0.92/0.9) + (0.06 0.032 + 0.5 0.102 ) 1

d1 = = = 0.549789
T 0.10 1
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.549789 0.10 = 0.449789.
Thus,
Z 0.549789
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.708768
2
and Z 0.449789
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.673569.
2
(a) The Black-Scholes price of the call is
C = 0.92e0.032 0.708768 0.9e0.06 0.673569 = $0.0606.
(b) The Black-Scholes price of the put is
P = C + KerT x0 erf T = 0.0606 + 0.9e0.06 0.92e0.032 = $0.0172
The prepaid forward price for a futures contract is just the present value of the futures price.
P
Letting F denote the futures price, we have F0,T (F ) = F erT . The Black-Scholes formula for a call,
also known as the Black formula is given by
C(F, K, , r, T, r) = F erT N (d1 ) KerT N (d2 )
where
ln (F/K) + 0.5 2 T
d1 =
T
and
d2 = d1 T .
The put price is given by
P (F, K, , r, T, r) = KerT N (d2 ) F erT N (d1 )
which can be found via the put-call parity:
P (F, K, , r, T, r) = C(F, K, , r, T, r) + KerT F erT .
Example 28.5
Futures contracts on natural gas currently trade for $2.10 per MMBtu. The annual futures contract
price volatility is 0.25, and the annual continuously compounded currency risk-free interest rate is
0.055.
(a) Find the Black-Scholes price of 1-year European call on natural gas futures contracts with strike
price of $2.10.
(b) Find the Black-Scholes price of 1-year European put on natural gas futures contracts with strike
price of $2.10.
Solution.
ln (F/K) + 0.5 2 T ln (2.10/2.10) + 0.5 0.252 1
d1 = = = 0.125
T 0.25 1
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.125 0.25 = 0.125.
Thus, Z 0.125
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.549738
2
and Z 0.125
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.450262
2
(a) The price of the call is
C = F erT N (d1 ) KerT N (d2 ) = 2.10e0.055 0.549738 2.10e0.055 0.450262 = $0.19772.
(b) The price of the put is
P = C + KerT F erT = C = $0.19772

Practice Problems
Problem 28.1
Which of the following is an assumption of the Black-Scholes option pricing model?
(A) Stock prices are normally distributed
(B) Stock price volatility is a constant
(C) Changes in stock price are lognormally distributed
(D) All transaction cost are included in stock returns
(E) The risk-free interest rate is a random variable.
Problem 28.2
Consider a stock that pays dividends of $5 one month from now. The stock currently trades for
$46 per share. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%, and the annual
price volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes equation is 39.24%. Find the Black-Scholes price of a
call option with strike price $45 and expiration time of three months.
Problem 28.3
Consider a stock that pays dividends of $40 in two years and $32 in six years. The stock currently
trades for $221 per share. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%, and
the annual price volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes equation is 30%. Find the Black-Scholes
price of a put option with strike price $250 and expiration time of 8 years.
Problem 28.4
You are given the following information about a call option on a stock in the Black-Scholes frame-
work:
The annual continuously-compounded interest rate is 0.03.
The annual price volatility is 0.03
The options time to expiration is 2 years
The price of the prepaid forward on the strike asset is $42
d1 = 0.4
The stock will pay a dividend in the amount of d dollars one year from today.
Find the size of the dividend.
Problem 28.5
Consider a stock that pays dividends of $10 in 5 months. The stock currently trades for $77 per
share. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%, and the annual price
volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes equation is 27.43%. Find the Black-Scholes price of a put
option with strike price $73 and expiration time of 3 months.
Problem 28.6
rate is 6% and the euro-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 3.5%. Volatility is
11%.
(a) Find the Black-Scholes price of a 6-month dollar-denominated euro call with strike price of
$1.3/e.
(b) Find the Black-Scholes price of a 6-month dollar-denominated euro put with strike price of
$1.3/e.
Problem 28.7
rate is 8% and the euro-denominated continuously compounded interest rate is 5%. Volatility is
10%. Find the Black-Scholes price of an at-the-money 1-year euro-denominated dollar put.
Problem 28.8
Futures contracts on superwidgets currently trade for $444 per superwidget. The annual futures
contract price volatility is 0.15, and the annual continuously compounded currency risk-free interest
rate is 0.03.
(a) Find the Black-Scholes price of 2-year European call on superwidget futures contracts with
strike price of $454.
(b) Find the Black-Scholes price of 2-year European put on superwidget futures contracts with
strike price of $454.
Problem 28.9
The dividend yield in the Black-Scholes formula for stock option pricing is analogous to which of
these variables in other related formulas?
(A) The risk-free interest rate in the Black-Scholes formula for stock option pricing.
(B) The risk-free interest rate in the Black formula for futures contract option pricing.
(C) The domestic risk-free interest rate in the Garman-Kohlhagen formula for currency option
pricing.
(D) The foreign risk-free interest rate in the Garman-Kohlhagen formula for currency option pricing.
(E) The volatility in the Black formula for futures contract option pricing.
Problem 28.10
A stock XYZ pays dividends at the continuously compounded rate of 5%. Currently the stock is
trading for $70. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 9%. The volatility is 30%.
Find the Black-Scholes of a European call on futures contracts on XYZ stock with strike price $65
and expiration of six months.
Problem 28.11
A stock XYZ pays no dividends. Currently the stock is trading for $100. The continuously com-
pounded risk-free interest rate is 7%. The volatility is 35%. Find the Black-Scholes of a European
put on futures contracts on XYZ stock with strike price $105 and expiration of one year.
Problem 28.12
On January 1, 2007, the following currency information is given:
Spot exchange rate: $0.82/e
Dollar interest rate= 5% compounded continuously
Euro interest rate = 2.5% compounded continuously
Exchange rate volatility = 0.10.
What is the price of 850 dollar-denominated euro call options with a strike exchange rate $0.80/ethat
expire on January 1, 2008?
Problem 28.13
You are considering the purchase of 100 European call options on a stock, which pays dividends
continuously at a rate proportional to its price. Assume that the Black- Scholes framework holds.
You are given:
(i) The strike price is $25.
(ii) The options expire in 3 months.
(iii) = 0.03.
(iv) The stock is currently selling for $20.
(v) = 0.24.
(vi) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%.
Calculate the price of the block of 100 options.
Problem 28.14
For a six-month European put option on a stock, you are given:
(i) The strike price is $50.00.
(ii) The current stock price is $50.00.
(iii) The only dividend during this time period is $1.50 to be paid in four months.
(iv) = 0.30
Under the Black-Scholes framework, calculate the price of the put option.
Problem 28.15
Consider a one-year 45-strike European put option on a stock S. You are given:
(i) The current stock price, S(0), is 50.00.
(ii) The only dividend is 5.00 to be paid in nine months.

(iii) h2 = Var[ln Fh,1
P
(S)] = 0.01h, 0 h 1.
Under the Black-Scholes framework, calculate the price of 100 units of the put option.
Problem 28.16
Company A is a U.S. international company, and Company B is a Japanese local company. Com-
pany A is negotiating with Company B to sell its operation in Tokyo to Company B. The deal will
be settled in Japanese yen. To avoid a loss at the time when the deal is closed due to a sudden de-
valuation of yen relative to dollar, Company A has decided to buy at-the-money dollar-denominated
yen put of the European type to hedge this risk.
(i) The deal will be closed 3 months from now.
(ii) The sale price of the Tokyo operation has been settled at 120 billion Japanese yen.
(iii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate in the U.S. is 3.5%.
(iv) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate in Japan is 1.5%.
(v) The current exchange rate is 1 U.S. dollar = 120 Japanese yen.
(vi) The yen per dollar exchange rate and the dollar per yen exchange rate have the same daily
volatility 0.261712%.
(vii) 1 year = 365 days; 3 months = 41 year.
Assuming the Black-Scholes pricing framework, calculate Company As option cost.
29 OPTION GREEKS: DELTA, GAMMA, AND VEGA 201
29 Option Greeks: Delta, Gamma, and Vega

In mathematical finance, the Greeks are the quantities representing the sensitivities of derivatives
such as options to a change in underlying parameters on which the value of an instrument or port-
folio of financial instruments is dependent. The name is used because the most common of these
sensitivities are often denoted by Greek letters.
In practice, option values change on account of a number of factors: movements in the price of the
underlying asset, passage of time, changes in volatility of the underlying asset, changes in the rate
of interest, and changes in the dividend yield if the underlying asset pays dividends. There are
formulas that measure the changes in the option price when only one parameter is being changed
while leaving the remaining parameters fixed. Letters from the Greek alphabet are used to represent
these derived measures:
Delta() measures the change in the option price when the stock price increases by $1.
Gamma () measures the change in delta when the stock price increases by $1.
Vega (V) measures the change in the option price for an increase by 1% in volatility.
Theta() measures the change in the option price when time to maturity decreases by 1 day.
Rho () measures the change in the option price when the risk-free interest rate increases by 1%.
Psi () measures the change in the option price when the dividend yield increases by 1%.
Even though greek measures can be camputed for options with any kind of underlying asset, we
will focus our attention on stock options. We will be examining each greek measure in turn, for a
purchased option. The Greek for a written option is opposite in sign to that for the same purchased
option. In this section we will examine the first three Greek measures: Delta, gamma, and vega.
In what follows, the Block-Scholes value of a European call option at time t is given by the formula
Ct = Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T ) N (d2 ).
For a put option the formula is
Pt = Ker(T t) N (d2 ) Se(T ) N (d1 )
where
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d1 =
T t
and
d2 = d1 T t.
The Delta Measure
The option Greek Delta () measures the option price change when the stock price increases by
$1. More formally, the delta of an option is defined as the rate of change of the option value with
respect to stock price:
V
=
S
Proposition 29.1
We have
Call = e(T t) N (d1 )
and
Put = e(T t) N (d1 )
Proof.
Using Problem 29.1 we find
Ct N (d1 ) N (d2 )
Call = = e(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t) Ker(T t)
S S S
N (d1 ) d1 N (d2 ) d2
=e(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t) Ker(T t)
d1 S d2 S
1 d 2
1 1 1 d2
1 S e(r)(T t)
=e(T t) N (d1 ) + e(T t) e 2 Ker(T t) e 2
2 T t 2 K S T t
=e(T t) N (d1 )
A similar argument for the put

According to the previous result, the delta of a call option is positive. Thus, an increase in stock
price increases the option value. On the contrary, the delta of a put option is negative. Hence, an
increase in the stock price decreases the value of the option.
The Black-Scholes formula tells us that a long call option on the stock can be replicated by buying
e(T t) N (d1 ) shares of the stock and borrowing Ker(T t) N (d2 ). For a put option, the replicating
portfolio consists of selling e(T t) N (d1 ) shares and lending Ker(T t) N (d2 ).
Next, we look at the range of values of delta:

An option that is in-the-money will be more sensitive to price changes than an option that is
out-of-the-money. For an option in-the-money with a stock price high relative to the strike price
(i.e. deep-in-the money), the option is most likely to be exercised. In this case, the option exhibits
the price sensitivity of one full share. That is, approaches 1. If the option is out-of-the money,
it is unlikely to be exercised and the option has a low price, behaving like a position with almost
no shares. That is, approaches 0. For an at-the-money option, the option may or may not be
exercised leading to 0 < < 1.
As time of expiration increases, delta is less at high stock prices and greater at low stock prices.
See Figure 29.1.1 Indeed, for a greater time to expiration, the likelihood is greater for an out-of-the
money option be become in-the-money option, and the likelihood is greater that an in-the-money
option to become out-of-the money.
Figure 29.1
Example 29.1
The Black-Scholes price for a certain call option on GS stock is $50. The stock currently trades for
$1000 per share, and it is known that $452 must be borrowed in the replicating portfolio for this
option. Find the delta of the option.
Solution.
We have C = S B with B > 0. Substituting we find 50 = 1000 452. Solving this equatin we
find = 0.502
The Gamma Measure

The option Greek gamma () measures the change in delta when the stock price increases by $1.
More formally, the option Greek gamma is defined as the rate of change in the delta value with
respect to stock price:
2V
= = .
S S 2
1
See [1].
Proposition 29.2
We have
e(T t)
Call = N 0 (d1 )
S T t
and
Put = Call
where
N (d1 ) 1 d2
1
N 0 (d1 ) = = e 2 > 0.
d1 2
Proof.
We show the first part. The second follows from the put-call parity. We have
C
Call = S
S
(e(T t) N (d1 ))
=
S
N (d1 ) d1
=e(T t)
d1 S
(T t)
e N (d1 )
=
S T t d1
It follows from the above result that > 0 for a purchased option. Thus, the call and put option
prices are convex functions. Also, delta increases as the stock price increases. Hence, for a call,
delta ( > 0) approaches 1 as the stock price increases. For a put, delta ( < 0) approaches 0 as
the stock price increases.
Recall that is close to 1 for deep in-the-money options. Thus, cannot change much as the
stock price increases. Therefore, is close to 0. Similarly, for deep out-of-the money options, is
close to zero.
Example 29.2
Suppose that = 0.02 and = 0.5. What is the new value of if the stock price increases by $3?
Solution.
The new value of is 0.05 + 0.02 3 = 0.56
The Vega Measure

Vega (the only greek that isnt represented by a real Greek letter) measures the change in the option
price for an increase by 1% in volatility. More formally, it measures the change in the option price
to changes in volatility:
Ct Pt
V =
or V =
Proposition 29.3
We have
VCall = Se(T t) T tN 0 (d1 ) > 0
and
VPut = VCall .
Proof.
We have
Ct N (d1 ) N (d2 ) N (d1 ) d1 N (d2 ) d2
V = = Se(T t) Ker(T t) = Se(T t) Ker(T t)
d1 d2
3 1
!
2 (T t) 2 ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) (T t) 2

1 d2
1
=Se(T t) e 2
2 2 (T t)
2 )(T t) (T t) 12
!
d2

1 1 S ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5
Ker(T t) e 2 e(r)(T t)
2 K 2 (T t)
3
!
(T t) 1
d2
21 2 (T t) 2
=Se e 2
= Se(T t) T tN 0 (d1 )
2 (T t)
The second result follows from the put-call parity

It follows that higher volatility means higher option prices. Figure 29.2 shows that 40-strike call
vegas tends to be greater for at-the-money options, and greater for options with moderate than
with short times to expiration. The oposite is true for very long-lived options.
Figure 29.2
Remark 29.1
It is common to report vega as the change in the option price per percentage point change in
volatility. This requires dividing the vega formula above by 100. We will follow this practice in the
problems.
Example 29.3
The price of a call option on XYZ is currently $2.00. Suppose that the vega is 0.20 with the (prepaid
forward) volatility of XYZ at 30%.
(a) If the volatility of XYZ rises to 31%, what will the price of the call option be?
(b) If the volatility of XYZ falls to 29%, what will the price of the call option be?
Solution.
(a) The value of the XYZ call will rise to $2.20.
(b) The value of the XYZ call will drop to $1.80
Practice Problems
Problem 29.1
Show that
N (d2 ) 1 d2
1 S
= e 2 e(r)(T t) .
d2 2 K
Problem 29.2
Show that Put = Call e(T t) .
Problem 29.3
Consider a call option an a nondividend paying stock. Suppose that for = 0.4 the option is
trading for $33 an option. What is the new price of the option if the stock price increases by $2?
Problem 29.4
A certain stock is currently currently trading for $95 per share. The annual continuously com-
pounded risk-free interest rate is 6%, and the stock pays dividends with an annual continuously
compounded yield of 3%. The price volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes formula is 32%.
(a) Find the delta of a call option on the stock with strike price of $101 and time to expiration of
3 years.
(b) Find the delta of a put option on the stock with strike price of $101 and time to expiration of
3 years.
Problem 29.5
For otherwise equivalent call options on a particular stock, for which of these values of strike price
(K) and time to expiration (T) would you expect delta to be the highest? The stock price at both
T = 0.3 and T = 0.2 is $50.
(A) K = $43, T = 0.3
(B) K = $43, T = 0.2
(C) K = $55, T = 0.3
(D) K = $55, T = 0.2
(E) K = $50, T = 0.3
(F) K = $50, T = 0.2
Problem 29.6
A certain stock is currently currently trading for $86 per share. The annual continuously com-
pounded risk-free interest rate is 9.5%, and the stock pays dividends with an annual continuously
compounded yield of 3%. The price volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes formula is 35%. Find
the delta of a put option on the stock with strike price of $90 and time to expiration of 9 months.
Problem 29.7
A stock currently trades for $60 per share. For which of these otherwise equivalent options and
strike prices (K) is the gamma the highest?
(A) Call, K = 2
(B) Put, K = 20
(C) Call, K = 45
(D) Put, K = 61
(E) Call, K = 98
(F) Put, K = 102
Problem 29.8
A call option on XYZ stock has a delta of 0.45, and a put option on XYZ stock with same strike
and date to expiration has a delta of 0.55. The stock is currently trading for $48.00. The gamma
for both the call and put is 0.07.
(a) What is the value of for the call and the put if the price of the stock moves up $1?
(b) What is the value of for the call and the put if the price of the stock drops $1?
Problem 29.9
A stock has a price of $567 and a volatility of 0.45. A certain put option on the stock has a price
of $78 and a vega of 0.23. Suddenly, volatility increases to 0.51. Find the new put option price.
Problem 29.10
The stock of GS Inc., has a price of $567. For which of these strike prices (K) and times to
expiration (T, in years) is the vega for one of these otherwise equivalent call options most likely to
be the highest?
(A) K = 564, T = 0.2
(B) K = 564, T = 1
(C) K = 564, T = 30
(D) K = 598, T = 0.2
(E) K = 598, T = 1
(F) K = 598, T = 30
Problem 29.11
A stock is currently selling for $40. The stock pays no dividends. Given that the volatility of the
stock is 30% and the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%. Consider a $45-strike
purchased call on the stock with time to expiration in 6 months. What are the delta, gamma, and
vega?
30 OPTION GREEKS: THETA, RHO, AND PSI 209
30 Option Greeks: Theta, Rho, and Psi

In this section we examine the three remaining option Greeks: Theta, Rho and Psi.
The Theta Measure

The option Greek theta () measures the change in the option price when there is a decrease in
the time to maturity of 1 day (also called time decay). More formally, it is defined as the rate of
change of the option price with respect to the passage of time. We can write
V
=
t
where V is the option value and t is the passage of time or the time with T t periods to expiration.
Proposition 30.1
We have
Se(T t) N 0 (d1 )
Call = e(T t) N (d1 ) rKer(T t) N (d2 ) p
2 (T t)
and
Se(T t) N 0 (d1 )
Put = rKer(T t) N (d2 ) Se(T t) N (d1 ) p
2 (T t)
Proof.
We consider the following version of the Black-Scholes formula
Ct = Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 ).
We have
C
Call =
t
N (d1 ) N (d2 )
=Se(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t) Ker(T t) N (d2 ) Ke(T t)
t t
N (d1 ) d1 N (d2 ) d2
=Se(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t) Ker(T t) N (d2 ) Ke(T t)
d1 t t t
!
1 d2 ln (S/K) r + 0.5 2 r + 0.5 2
1
=Se(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t) e 2 3 +
2 2(T t) 2 T t 2 T t
!
d2 2 2

1 S 1 ln (S/K) r 0.5 r 0.5
Ker(T t) N (d2 ) Ke(T t) e 2 e(r)(T t) 3 +
2 K 2(T t) 2 T t 2 T t

1 d2
1
(T t) (r(T t) (T t)
=Se N (d1 ) Ke + Se e 2
2 2 T t
(Tt )
Se N 0 (d1 )
=Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ke(r(T t)
2 T t
The result for the put can be shown in a similar way
Remark 30.1
If time to expiration is measured in years, theta will be the annualized change in the option value.
To obtain a per-day theta, divide by 365. This is the case we will consider in the problems.
The value of an option is the combination of time value and stock value. When time passes, the
time value of the option decreases, that is, the option becomes less valuable. Thus, the rate of
change of the option price with respect to the passage of time, theta, is usually negative. There are
a few exceptions to this rule. Theta can be positive for deep in-the-money European calls when the
underlying asset has a high dividend yield or for deep in-the-money European puts.
The theta for a purchased call and put at the same strike price and the same expiration time are
not equal (See Problem 30.1). Data analysis shows that time decay is most rapid at expiration
and that the theta for a call is highest (i.e. largest in absolute value) for at-the-money short-lived
options, and is progressively lower (turns less and less negative) as options are in-the-money and
out-of-the money.
The Measure Rho

The option Greek rho () measures the change in the option price when there is an increase in the
interest rate of 1 percentage point. More formally, The rho of an option is defined as the rate of
change of the option price with respect to the interest rate:
V
=
r
where V is the option value.
Proposition 30.2
We have
Call = (T t)Ker(T t) N (d2 )
and
Put = (T t)Ker(T t) N (d2 )
Proof.
We have
Ct N (d1 ) N (d2 )
Call = = Se(T t) + (T t)Ker(T t) N (d2 ) Ker(T t)
r r r
N (d 1 ) d 1 N (d 2 ) d2
=Se(T t) + (T t)Ker(T t) N (d2 ) Ker(T t)
d1 r d2 r

d2

1 1 T t
=Se(T t) e 2 + (T t)Ker(T t) N (d2 )
2

1 d21 S (r)(T t)

r(T t) T t
Ke e 2 e
2 K
2

d2

(T t) 1
d
21 T t r(T t) (T t) 1 21 T t
=Se e + (T t)Ke N (d2 ) Se e
2 2
r(T t)
=(T t)Ke N (d2 )
A similar argument for the put option
Remark 30.2
We will use the above formula divided by 100. That is, the change of option value per 1% change
in interest rate.
The rho for an ordinary stock call option should be positive because higher interest rate reduces
the present value of the strike price which in turn increases the value of the call option. Similarly,
the rho of an ordinary put option should be negative by the same reasoning. Figure 30.1 shows
that for a European call, rho increases with time to maturity. This is also true for increases in the
stock price.
Figure 30.1
The Measure Psi

The option Greek psi () measures the change in the option price when there is an increase in the
continuous dividend yield of 1%. More formally, the psi of an option is defined as the rate of change
of the option price with respect to the dividend yield:
V
=

where V is the value of the option.
Proposition 30.3
We have
Call = (T t)Se(T t) N (d1 )
and
Put = (T t)Se(T t) N (d1 )
To interpret psi as a price change per percentage point change in the dividend yield, divide by
100. It follows that for call options, psi is negative. For put options, psi is positive. Data analysis
shows that for a European call, psi decreases as time to maturity increases. For a European put,
psi increases as time to maturity increases.
Remark 30.3
In the problems we will use the above formula divided by 100.
Example 30.1
Consider a stock with annual volatility of 30% . The stock pays no dividends and is currently selling
for $40. The strike price of a purchased call option is $45 and the time to maturity is six months.
The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. What are , , and ?
Solution.
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40/45) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 )(0.5)

d1 = = = 0.260607
T 0.3 0.5
and
d2 = d1 T t = 0.260607 0.3 0.5 = 0.47274.
Thus, Z 0.260607
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.397198
2
and Z 0.47274
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.318199.
2
We have
1 Se(T t) N 0 (d1 )
Call = [e(T t) N (d1 ) rKer(T t) N (d2 ) p ]
365 2 (T t)
0.2606072
1 0.08(0.5) 40(0.3) e 2
= [0.08(45)e (0.318199) ] = 0.0122
365 2 0.5 2
1 1
Call = [(T t)Ker(T t) N (d2 )] = [0.5(45)e0.08(0.5) (0.318199)] = 0.0688
100 100
1 1
Call = [(T t)Se(T t) N (d1 )] = [(0.5)(40)(0.100396)] = 0.077
100 100
Greek Measures for Portfolios
The Greek measure of a portfolio is the sum of the Greeks of the individual portfolio components.
For a portfolio containing n options with a single underlying stock, where the quantity of each
option is given by ni , 1 i n, we have
n
X
G= ni Gi
i=1
where the G and Gi s are the option Greeks. For example,

n
X
= ni i
i=1
Example 30.2
A portfolio consists of 45 call options on Asset A (with A = 0.22), 14 put options on Asset B
(with B = 0.82), 44 put options on Asset C (with C = 0.33), and 784 call options on Asset
D (with D = 0.01). Find the delta of the entire portfolio.
Solution.
The delta of the entire portfolio is
= (45)(0.22) + (14)(0.82) + (44)(0.33) + (784)(0.01) = 8.26
Practice Problems
Problem 30.1
Show that
Put = Call + rKer(T t) Se(T t) .
Problem 30.2
Prove Proposition 30.3.
Problem 30.3
The stock of GS Co. pays dividends at an annual continuously compounded yield of 0.12. The
annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.34. Certain call options on the stock of
GS Co. have time to expiration of 99 days. 34 days before expiration, the option trades for $56.
(a) Suppose = 0.03(per day). Find the price of the call option 34 days from expiration, all other
things equal.
(b) Suppose = 0.11. Find the price of the call option 34 days from expiration if the interest rate
suddenly increases to 0.66, all other things equal.
(c) Suppose = 0.04. Find the price of the call option 34 days from expiration if the stocks
dividend yield suddenly decreases to 0.02, all other things equal.
Problem 30.4
A stock is currently selling for $40. The stock pays no dividends. Given that the volatility is 30%
and the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%. Consider a $40-strike purchased call
on the stock with time to expiration in 6 months. What are the theta, rho, and psi?
Problem 30.5
Consider a bull spread where you buy a 40-strike call and sell a 45-strike call. Suppose S = $40, =
30%, r = 8%, = 0%, and T = 0.5. What are theta and rho for this portfolio?
Problem 30.6
and the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%. Consider a $40-strike purchased put
on the stock with time to expiration in 6 months. What are the delta, gamma, vega, theta, and
rho?
Problem 30.7
and the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%. Consider a $45-strike purchased put
on the stock with time to expiration in 6 months. What are the delta, gamma, vega, theta, and
rho?
Problem 30.8
Consider a bull spread where you buy a 40-strike put and sell a 45-strike put. Suppose S = $40, =
30%, r = 8%, = 0, and T = 0.5. What are delta, gamma, and vega?
Problem 30.9
Show that the delta of a K1 K2 call bull spread is equal to the K1 K2 put call spread when the
underlying stock pays no dividends. Here K1 < K2 .
Problem 30.10
You compute the delta for a 50-60 bull spread with the following information:
(i) The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 5%.
(ii) The underlying stock pays no dividends.
(iii) The current stock price is $50 per share.
(iv) The stocks volatility is 20%.
(v) The time to expiration is 3 months.
How much does the delta change after 1 month, if the stock price does not change?
31 Option Elasticity and Option Volatility

Suppose a stock price changes from S to S 0 . Let = S 0 S denote the change in the stock price.
Let CV = V 0 V denote the change in an option value. From the definition of the option Greek
, as the change in option value over the change in stock value we can write
CV = .
That is, the change in option value is the change in stock value multiplied by delta.
The option elasticity is defined as the percentage change in the option price relative to the
precentage change in the stock price:
V 0 V
V V S
= S 0 S
= = .
S S
V
Thus, option elasticity gives the percentage change in the option value for a 1% change in the stock
value. It tells us the risk of the option relative to the stock in percentage form.
For a call option we shall use the notation
S
Call =
C
and for a put option
S
Put =
P
For a call option we have S = SeT N (d1 ) SeT N (d1 ) KerT N (d2 ) = C. That is, Call 1.
For a put option < 0 so that Put 0.
Example 31.1
A certain stock is currently trading for $41 per share with a stock price volatility of 0.3. Certain
call options on the stock have a delta of 0.6991 and a price of $6.961. Find the elasticity of such a
call option.
Solution.
The call elasticity is
S 41 0.6911
C = = = 4.071.
C 6.961
This says that if the stock price goes up to $41.41, the call option value goes up to 6.9661+0.04071
6.9661 = $7.25
31 OPTION ELASTICITY AND OPTION VOLATILITY 217
Figure 31.1 displays the elasticity of a call option with strike price of $35 with different maturities.
Figure 31.1
The following observations are in place:
Call increases as stock price decreases.
Call decreases as time to maturity increases.
Call increases as the option becomes more out-of-the money. Call decreases as the option becomes
more in-the-money.
Example 31.2
= 0.08, dividend yield = 0.02, prepaid forward price volatility=0.35. Calculate the elasticity of the
call.
Solution.
We first calculate d1 and d2 . We have
46

ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln 45
+ (0.08 0.02 + 0.352 0.5
d1 = = = 0.29981
T 0.35 0.25
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.29981 0.35 0.25 = 0.12381.
Thus,
Z 0.29981
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.617839
2
and Z 0.12381
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.549267.
2
Thus, the price of the call is
C = 46e0.020.25 0.617839 45e0.080.25 0.549267 = $4.0513.
Now,
Call = eT N (d1 ) = e0.020.25 0.617839 = 0.6148.
Thus,
S 45 0.6148
Call = = = 6.890
C 4.0513
The volatility of an option can be found in terms of the option elasticity.
Proposition 31.1
The volatility of an option is the option elasticity times the volatility of the stock. That is,
option = stock ||.
Proof.
Consider a hedge portfolio consisting of purchased shares of the stock and one short option. The
portfolio value is V S. One period later the portfolio will be worth
(V + V ) (S + S)
where means the change in S or V. If this portfolio is hedged, its value should grow at the risk-free
rate. Hence, the following condition must hold:
(V S)(1 + r) = (V + V ) (S + S).
This leads to the equation

V S S S
=r+ r =r+ r .
V S V S
Using the expression created above for the return on the option as a function of the return on the
stock, we take the variance of the option return:

V S
Var =Var r + r
V S

S
=Var
S

2 S
= Var
S
Taking square root of both sides we obtain
option = stock ||
It follows that the options risk is the risk of the stock times the risk of the option relative to the
stock.
Example 31.3
A certain stock is currently trading for $41 per share with a stock price volatility of 0.3. Certain
call options on the stock have a delta of 0.6991 and a price of $6.961. Find the volatility of such a
call option.
Solution.
The answer is
Call = stock |Call | = 0.3 4.071 = 1.2213
Example 31.4
Consider a 3-year call option on a stock that pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield
of 3%. Suppose that the prepaid forward price volatility is 20% and the elasticity of the call is
3.9711. Find the volatility of the call option.
Solution.
We know from Remark 16.2 that
S
F = stock P
.
F0,T
But
S S
P
= T = eT .
F0,T Se
Thus,
stock = F eT = 0.2w0.033 = 0.1828.
Hence,
Call = stock |Call | = 0.1828 3.9711 = 0.7259
Practice Problems
Problem 31.1
Since C = max{0, ST K}, as the strike decreases the call becomes more in the money. Show that
the elasticity of a call option decreases as the strike price decreases.
Problem 31.2
Which of the following statements is true?
(A) Put 1.
(B) Call 0.
(C) The elasticity of a call increases as the call becomes more out-of-the money.
(D) The elasticity of a call increases as stock price increases.
Problem 31.3
A certain stock is currently trading for $41 per share with a stock volatility of 0.3. Certain put
options on the stock have a delta of 0.3089 and a price of $2.886. Find the elasticity of such a
put option.
Problem 31.4
A European put option on XYZ stock has the following specifications: Strike price = $45, current
stock price = $46, time to expiration = 3 months, annual continuously compounded interest rate =
0.08, dividend yield = 0.02, prepaid forward price volatility=0.35. Calculate the elasticity of such
a put.
Problem 31.5
= 0.08, dividend yield = 0.02, prepaid forward price volatility=0.35. Calculate the volatility of the
call.
Problem 31.6
Given the following information about a 3-year call option on a certain stock:
The prepaid forward price volatility (the volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes formula) is 0.2.
The stock pays dividends at an annual continuously compounded yield of 0.03.
The annual continuously compounded interest rate is 0.07.
Find the elasticity of such a call option.
Problem 31.7
Find the call option volatility in the previous problem
Problem 31.8
Given the following information about a 3-year put option on a certain stock:
The prepaid forward price volatility (the volatility relevant for the Black-Scholes formula) is 0.2.
The stock pays dividends at an annual continuously compounded yield of 0.03.
The annual continuously compounded interest rate is 0.07.
Find the elasticity of such a call option.
Problem 31.9
A call option is modeled using the Black-Scholes formula with the following parameters:
S = 25
K = 24
r = 4%
= 0%
= 20%
T = 1.
Calculate the call option elasticity.
Problem 31.10
For a European call option on a stock within the Black-Scholes framework, you are given:
(iii) The call option will expire in one year.
(iv) The continuously compound risk-free interest rate is 5.5%.
(v) = 0.50
Calculate the volatility of this call option.
Problem 31.11
For a European put option on a stock within the Black-Scholes framework, you are given:
(iii) The put option will expire in one year.
(iv) The continuously compound risk-free interest rate is 3%.
(v) = 0.35
Calculate the volatility of this put option.
32 THE RISK PREMIUM AND SHARPE RATIO OF AN OPTION 223
32 The Risk Premium and Sharpe Ratio of an Option

When buying an asset you lose cash that can be invested at risk-free interest rate and you acquire
the risk of owning the stock. On average you expect to earn interest as compensation for the time
value of money and additional return as compensation for the risk of the stock. This additional
return in known as the risk premium.
In finance, the risk premium on an asset is defined to be the excess return of the asset over the
risk-free rate. Thus, if r denotes the risk-free rate and the expected return on the asset, then the
risk premium on the asset is the difference
r.
Now, consider a call option on a stock. We know that the call can be replicated by buying units
of a share of the stock and borrowing B. A result in finance due to Brealey and Meyer states that
the return on any portfolio is the weighted average of the returns on the assets in the portfolio. We
apply this result to the above portfolio. Let be the expected return on the call, the expected
return on the stock and r the risk-free rate of return. Then
S B
= r.
S B S B
But C = S B so that B = C S. Thus, the above equation can be written as

S S
= + 1 r. (32.1)
C C
S
Since = C
, the above equation reduces to
= + (1 )r
or
r = ( r) .
This says that the risk premium of the option is the risk premium of the stock multiplied by the
option elasticity.
Remark 32.1
Note that in terms of the replicating portfolio, in Equation (32.1), S
C
is the percentage of the value
S
of the option invested in the stock and 1 C is the percentage of the value of the option for
borrowing.
Remark 32.2
Suppose r > 0. Since Call 1, we have r r or . For a put, we know that
Put 0 which leads to r = ( r) 0 < r. That is, < .
We know from Section 31 that Call increases if either the stock price goes down or the strike
price goes up. Therefore, the expected return on a call option increases if either the stock price
goes down or the strike price goes up. That is, the expected return increases if the option is more
out-of-the-money and decreases if the option is more in-the-money.
Example 32.1
You are given the following information of a call option on a stock:
The expected return on the stock is 15% compounded continuously.
The call elasticity is 4.5.
(a) Find the risk premium on the option.
(b) Find the expected annual continuously compounded return on the call option.
Solution.
(a) The risk premium on the option is r = ( r) = (0.15 0.07) 4.5 = 0.36.
(b) The expected return on the option is = 0.36 + 0.07 = 0.63
The Sharpe Ratio of an Option

The Sharpe ratio of an asset is the risk premium per unit of risk in an investment asset (defined
as the standard deviation of the assets excess return.) It is given by
r
Sharp ratio = .

The Sharpe ratio is used to characterize how well the return of an asset compensates the investor
for the risk taken.
Applying this definition to a call option on a stock, we can define the Sharpe ratio of a call by
( r) r
Sharpe ratio for call = = .

Thus, the Sharpe ratio of a call option is equal to the Sharpe ratio of the underlying stock.
The Sharpe ratio for a put option on a stock is
( r) ( r) r
Sharpe ratio for put = = = .
|| ()
Thus, the Sharpe ratio of a put is the opposite of the Sharpe ratio of the stock.
Example 32.2
You expect to get an annual continuously compounded return of 0.3 on the stock of GS Co. The
stock has annual price volatility of 0.22. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate is 0.02. A certain call option on GS Co. stock has elasticity of 2.3. Find the Sharpe ratio of
the call option.
Solution.
The Sharpe ratio is
r 0.3 0.02
= = 1.2727
0.22
The Elasticity and Risk Premium of a Portfolio of Options
Consider a portfolio comprising of n calls with the same underlying stock. For 1 i n, we let
Ci denote the value of the ith call and i the change in the value of the ith call for a $1 change in
the stock. Suppose that there are ni units of the ith call in the portfolio. We define i to be the
percentage of the portfolio value invested in the ith call. That is
ni C i
i = Pn ,
j=1 nj Cj
where nj=1 nj Cj is the portfolio value.

P
Now, a $1 change in the stock results in a change of the portfolio value by
n
X
nj j .
j=1
Now, the elasticity of the portfolio is the percentage change in the portfolio (of calls) price divided
by the percentage change in the stock price, or
Pn
n j j n
! n
Pi=1
n
j=1 nj Cj
X ni Ci Si X
portfolio = 1 = Pn = i i .
S 1=1 j=1 nj Cj Si i=1
Like the case of a single option, it is easy to establish that the risk premium of the portfolio is the
elasticity times the risk premium of the underlying stock.
Example 32.3
Given the following information:
Call Price Elasticity
A $9.986 4.367
B $7.985 4.794
C $6.307 5.227
Find the elasticity of the portfolio consisting of buying one call option on stock A, one call option
on stock B and selling one call option on stock C.
Solution.
The cost of the portfolio is
9.986 + 7.985 6.307 = $11.664.
The elasticity of the portfolio is
3
X 9.986 7.985 6.307
portfolio = i i = 4.367 + 4.794 + 5.227 = 4.1943
i=1
11.664 11.664 11.664
Practice Problems
Problem 32.1
You are given the following information of a call option on a stock:
The expected return on the stock is 30% compounded continuously.
The call elasticity is 2.3.
(a) Find the risk premium on the option.
(b) Find the expected annual continuously compounded return on the call option.
Problem 32.2
A call option on a stock has elasticity of 3.4. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 3.3%
and the Black-Scholes price volatility of the stock is 0.11. Suppose that the risk premium on the
stock is 77% of the stock volatility. Find the expected annual continuously compounded return on
the option.
Problem 32.3
You expect an annual continuously compounded return of 0.145 on the stock of GS, Inc., and an
annual continuously compounded return of 0.33 on a certain call option on that stock. The option
elasticity is 4.44. Find the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate.
Problem 32.4
The price of a put option on a stock is $4.15. The elasticity of the put is 5.35. Consider the
replicating portfolio.
(a) What is the amount of money invested in the stock?
(b) What is the amount of money to be lent at the risk-free interest rate?
Problem 32.5
The stock of GS Co. has a Sharpe ratio of 0.77 and annual price volatility of 0.11. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.033. For a certain call option on GS stock, the
elasticity is 3.4. Find the expected annual continuously compounded return on the option.
Problem 32.6
A call option on a stock has option volatility of 1.45 and elasticity 4.377. The annual continuously
compounded risk-free is 6% and the annual continuously compounded return on the stock is 15%.
Find the Sharpe ratio of such a call option.
Problem 32.7
A stock has volatility of 25%. The annual continuously compounded risk-free is 4% and the annual
continuously compounded return on the stock is 8%. What is the Sharpe ratio of a put on the
stock?
Problem 32.8
Consider the following information:
A $9.986 4.367
B $7.985 4.794
C $6.307 5.227
Find the elasticity of a portfolio consisting of 444 options A, 334 options B, and 3434 options C.
Problem 32.9
Consider again the information of the previous problem. The expected annual continuously com-
pounded return on the stock is 0.24, and the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate is 0.05. Find the risk premium on this option portfolio.
Problem 32.10
A $9.986 4.367
B $7.985 4.794
C $6.307 5.227
A portfolio consists of 444 of options A, 334 of options B and X units of option C. The elasticity
of the portfolio is 5.0543. Find X to the nearest integer.
Problem 32.11
A $9.986 4.367
B $7.985 4.794
C $6.307 C
A portfolio consists of 444 of options A, 334 of options B and 3434 units of option C. The risk
premium of the portfolio is 0.960317. The expected annual continuously compounded return on the
stock is 0.24, and the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.05. Find X.
Problem 32.12
Consider a portfolio that consists of buying a call option on a stock and selling a put option. The
stock pays continuous dividends at the yiel rate of 5%. The options have a strike of $62 and expires
in six months. The current stock price is $60 and the continuously compounded risk-free interest
rate is 13%. Find the elasticity of this portfolio.
Problem 32.13
Given the following information
Option Price Elasticity
Call $10 C
Put $5 P
Consider two portfolios: Portfolio A has 2 call options and one put option. The elasticity of this
portfolio is 2.82. Portfolio B consists of buying 4 call options and selling 5 put options. This delta
of this portfolio is 3.50. The current value of the stock is $86. Determine A and B .
Problem 32.14
An investor is deciding whether to buy a given stock, or European call options on the stock. The
value of the call option is modeled using the Black-Scholes formula and the following assumptions:
Continuously compounded risk-free rate = 4%
Continuously compounded dividend = 0%
Expected return on the stock = 8%
Current stock price = 37
Strike price = 41
Estimated stock volatility = 25%
Time to expiration = 1 year.
Calculate the sharp ratio of the option.
Problem 32.15
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. Consider a stock, and a European call option and a European
put option on the stock. The current stock price, call price, and put price are 45.00, 4.45, and 1.90,
respectively.
Investor A purchases two calls and one put. Investor B purchases two calls and writes three puts.
The current elasticity of Investor As portfolio is 5.0. The current delta of Investor Bs portfolio is
3.4.
Calculate the current put-option elasticity.
Problem 32.16
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. Consider a 1-year European contingent claim on a stock.
You are given:
(i) The time-0 stock price is 45.
(iii) The stock pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional to its price. The dividend yield
is 3%.

(v) The time-1 payoff of the contingent claim is as follows:
Calculate the time-0 contingent-claim elasticity.

33 PROFIT BEFORE MATURITY: CALENDAR SPREADS 231
33 Profit Before Maturity: Calendar Spreads

In this section we discuss the concepts of the holding period profit and calendar spreads.
The holding period profit of a position is defined to be the current value of the position minus
the cost of the position, including interest. For example, consider a call option with maturity time
T and strike price K. Suppose that at time t = 0 the price of the option is C. Let Ct be the price
of the option t < T years later. We want to find the holding period profit at time t. Using the
Black-Scholes formula we have
Ct = Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 ).
Thus, the holding period profit is

Ct Cert .
Example 33.1
75-strike European call option on a nondividend-paying stock. At that time, the price of the call
option was 8.
Today, the stock price is 85. The investor decides to close out all positions.
You are given:
Calculate the eight-month holding profit.
Solution.
We first find the current value (t = 8) of the option. For that we need to find d1 and d2 . We have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (85/75) + (0.05 + 0.5(0.26)2 )(4/12)

d1 = = q = 1.02
T 0.26 4 12
and

r
4
d2 = d1 T = 1.02 0.26 = 0.87.
12
Thus,
Z 1.02
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.846136
2
and Z 0.87
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.80785.
2
Thus,
4
Ct = Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 ) = 85 0.846136 75e0.05 12 0.80785 = 12.3342.
Thus, the eight-month holding profit is

8
12.3342 8e0.05 12 = $4.0631
Calendar Spread
If an investor believes that stock prices will be stable for a foreseeable period of time, he or she can
attempt from the declining time value of options by setting a calendar spread.
In simplest terms, a calendar spread, also called a time spread or horizontal spread, involves
buying an option with a longer expiration and selling an option with the same strike price and a
shorter expiration. The long call usually has higher premium than the short call.
Suppose that the stock price is very low at the expiry of the shorter-lived call. Then the call will
not be exercised and therefore it is worthless. But also, the value of the longer-lived call is close to
zero. So the investor loss is the cost of setting up the spread. If the sotck price is very high, the
shorter-lived call will be exercised and this costs the investor ST K and the long-lived call has
value close to ST K so that the investor again incurs a loss which is the cost of setting the spread.
It ST is close to K, the short-lived call will not be exercised so it is worthless and costs the investor
almost nothing but the long-lived call is still valuable and thus the investor incurs a net gain.
Example 33.2
The current price of XYZ stock is $40. You sell a 40-strike call with three months to expiration
for a premium of $2.78 and at the same time you buy a 40-strike call with 1 year to expiration for
a premium of $6.28. The theta for the long call is 0.0104 and that for the short call is 0.0173.
Assume that the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%, find the profit once the sold option
has expired, if the stock price remains at $40 and nothing else has changed.
Solution.
Three months from now, at a stock price of $40, the written call option will be at-the-money and so
will not be exercised. You keep the entire premium on the option i.e., $2.78, and this value could
have accumulated interest over three months. Thus, your profit from selling the 3-month option is
2.78e0.080.25 = $2.8362.
You also lose some money on your purchased 1-year option because of time decay. Due to time
decay, the option price changes by 90 = 90(0.0104) = 0.936.
You further lose some money in the form of the interest that could have accumulated on the $6.28
premium you paid for the purchased call option, if instead you invested the money at the risk-free
interest rate. That interest is 6.28(e0.080.25 1) = $0.1269. So your net gain from entering into this
spread is
2.8362 0.936 0.1269 = $1.7733
Example 33.3
Suppose that the current month is April, 08 and the stock price is $80. You buy a call option
expiring on Dec, 08 and sell a call expiring on July, 08. Both calls have the same strike $80. The
premium for the long call is $12 and for the short call $7. On May, 08 the price of the stock drops
to $50 and the long-lived call is selling for $1. In terms of premium only, what would be your profit
in May?
Solution.
The cost on April, 08 from creating the spread is 12 7 = $5. On May 08, the short call is nearly
worthless while the long-call can be sold for $1. Thus, the loss from premiums is $4
A calendar spread may be implemented using either call options or put options, but never with
calls and puts used together in the same trade.
Example 33.4
The current price of XYZ stock is $40. You sell a 40-strike put with three months to expiration
for a premium of $2.78 and at the same time you buy a 40-strike put with 1 year to expiration for
a premium of $6.28. The theta for the long put is 0.002 and that for the short put is 0.008.
Assume that the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%, find the profit at the expiration
date of the shorter put, if the stock price remains at $40 and nothing else has changed.
Solution.
Three months from now, at a stock price of $40, the written put option will be at-the-money and so
will not be exercised. You keep the entire premium on the option i.e., $2.78, and this value could
have accumulated interest over three months. Thus, your profit from selling the 3-month option is
2.78e0.080.25 = $2.8362.
You also lose some money on your purchased 1-year option because of time decay. Due to time
decay, the option price changes by 90 = 90(0.002) = 0.18.
You further lose some money in the form of the interest that could have accumulated on the $6.28
premium you paid for the purchased put option, if instead you invested the money at the risk-free
interest rate. That interest is 6.28(e0.080.25 1) = $0.1269. So your net gain (after three months)
from entering into this spread is
2.8362 0.18 0.1269 = $2.53
Practice Problems
Problem 33.1
90-strike European put option on a nondividend-paying stock. At that time, the price of the put
option was 7.
Today, the stock price is 80. The investor decides to close out all positions.
You are given:
Calculate the eight-month holding profit.
Problem 33.2
75-strike European call option on a nondividend-paying stock. Today, the stock price is 85.
You are given:
(iii) The eight-month holding profit is $4.0631.
Calculate the initial cost of the call.
Problem 33.3
Eight months ago the price of a put option on a nondividend-paying stock was $7. Currently
the price of the put is $10.488. Find the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate if the
eight-month holding period profit is $3.7625.
Problem 33.4
You own a calendar spread on a the stock of GS Co., which you bought when the stock was priced
at $22. The spread consists of a written call option with a strike price of $22 and a longer-lived
purchased call option with a strike price of $22. Upon the expiration of the shorter-lived option, at
which stock price will you make the most money on the calendar spread?
(A) $3 (B) $12 (C) $22 (D) $23 (E) $33
Problem 33.5
The current price of XYZ stock is $60. You sell a 60-strike call with two months to expiration for
a premium of $3.45 and at the same time you buy a 60-strike call with 1 year to expiration for
a premium of $18.88. The theta for the long call is 0.05 and that for the short call is 0.04.
Assume that the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 6%, find the profit once the sold option
has expired, if the stock price remains at $60 and nothing else has changed.
Problem 33.6
A reverse calendar spread is constructed by selling a long-term option and simultaneously buying
a short-term option with the same strike price. Would you expect to profit if the stock price moves
away in either direction from the strike price by a great deal?
Problem 33.7
Suppose that the current month is April, 08 and the stock price is $80. You sell a call option
expiring on Dec, 08 and buy a call price expiring on July, 08. Both calls have the same strike $80.
The premium for the long call is $12 and for the short call $7. On May, 08 the price of the stock
drops to $50 and the long-lived call is selling for $1. In terms of premium only, what would be your
profit in May?
Problem 33.8
Currently stock XYZ is selling for $40. You believe that in the next three months the stock price
will be almost the same. Assume that the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. Create a
calendar spread from the following options with the largest profit at the time of expiration of the
short-lived call.
Call option A: K = $40, = 0.017, T =3months, Premium $2.78.
Call option B: K = $40, = 0.01, T =1 year, Premium $3.75.
call Option C: K = $40, = 0.006, T =3years, Premium $7.05
Problem 33.9
Currently, stock XYZ is selling for $40. You believe that in the next three months the stock price
will be almost the same. Assume that the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. Create a
calendar spread from the following options with the largest profit at the time of expiration of the
short-lived call.
Put option A: K = $40, = 0.008, T =3months, Premium $2.78.
Put option B: K = $40, = 0.002, T =1 year, Premium $6.28.
Put option C: K = $40, = 0.0001, T =3years, Premium $9.75.
34 Implied Volatility
In Section 26 we described how to estimate volatility of the underlying asset using previously known
returns. We called such a volatility historical volatility. The problem with this notion of volatility
is that it uses the past to estimte future volatility and thus cannot be considered reliable. In this
section we introduce a different type of volatility that depends on the observed market price of an
option.
Implied volatility of the underlying asset is the volatility that, when used in a particular pricing
model, yields a theoretical value for the option equal to the current market price of that option.
Thus, historical volatility tells us how volatile an asset has been in the past. Implied volatility is
the markets view on how volatile an asset will be in the future.
Now, if we assume that the option price can be modeled by the Black-Scholes formula, and the other
variables stock price (S), strike price (K), annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate
(r), time to expiration (T), and annual continuously compounded dividend yield () are known, the
implied volatility
is then the solution to the equation
Market option price = C(S, K,

, r, T, ). (34.1)
There is no way to solve directly for implied volatility in (34.1). Instead, either iterative methods
(such as Newtons method) or financial softwares are used.
Example 34.1
Suppose we observe a 40-strike 3-month European call option with a premium of $2.78. The stock
price is currently $45, the interest rate is 8%, and the stock pays no dividends. Find the implied
volatility.
Solution.
We want to find
that satisfies the equation
2.78 = C(45, 40,

, 0.08, 0.25, 0).
36%
Using an electronic device, we find
When using the Black-Scholes or the binomial model, it is possible to confine implied volatility
within particular boundaries by calculating option prices for two different implied volatilities. If
one of these prices is greater than the observed option price and the other is less than the observed
option price, then we know that the implied volatility is somewhere between the two values for
which calculations were made.
34 IMPLIED VOLATILITY 237
Remark 34.1
On the actuarial exam, you will be given several ranges within which implied volatility might fall.
Test the extreme values of those ranges and see if the observed option price falls somewhere in
between the prices calculated by considering each of these extreme values. If it does, then you have
obtained the correct value of implied volatility.
Example 34.2
A one-year European call option is currently valued at $60. The following parameters are given:
The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 9%
The continuously compounded dividend yield is 3%
Using a single-period binomial model and assuming the implied volatility of the stock to be at least
6%, determine the interval containing .
(A) less than 10%
(B) At least 10% but less than 20%
(C) At least 20% but less than 30%
(D) At least 30% but less than 40%
(E) At least 40%.
Solution.
We test the option prices that would be generated by volatilities of 0.06, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, and 0.40.
We have

u = e(r)h+ h
= e0.06+ and d = e(r)h h
= e0.06 .
Because we know that > 0.06, we know that d < e0.060.06 = 1, so that Cd = 0. Thus, in calculating
the option price we need to only apply the formula
C =erh [pu Cu + (1 pu )Cd ] = e0.06 [pu Cu + (1 pu )0]

=e0.09 pu [300u 300]
0.06
0.09 e d
=e (300u 300)
ud
0.06
e0.06

0.09 e
=3000e (e0.06+ 1)
e0.06+ e0.06
Now we can insert various values of to find corresponding values of C().
C(0.06) =16.95
C(0.10) =22.60
C(0.20) =36.65
C(0.30) =50.56
C(0.40) =64.27
Thus, the implied volatility is between 0.30 and 0.40 so that the correct answer is (D)
European puts and calls on the same asset, strike, and maturity should have the same implied
volatility to prevent arbitrage. That is, the call and put prices satisfy the put-parity relationship.
A Typical pattern for volatility with regards to strike price and maturity time occurs1 :
For fixed time to maturity, implied volatility tends to decrease as strike price increases.
For fixed strike price, implied volatility tends to decrease as time to expiry increases.
Consider the graph of the implied volatility against the strike price:
If the graph is a skew curvature then we refer to the graph as volatility skew. If the graph
a right-skewed curve then the volatility is higher as the option goes more in-the-money and lower
as the option goes out-of-the money. A similar observation for left-skewed curve. A right-skewed
curve is also called volatility smirk.
When both the in-the-money and out-of-the money options have a higher implied volatility than
at-the-money options, we have a volatility smile.
Rarely, both the in-the-money and out-of-the money options have a lower implied volatility than
at-the-money options, and we have a volatility frown.
Implied volatility is important for a number of reasons. Namely,

(1) It allows pricing other options on the same stock for which there may not be observed market
price. This is done by setting the Black-Scholes formula to the price of a traded option on the same
stock and solving the equation for the volatility. This volatility can be used in conjunction with
the Black-Scholes formula to price options on the same stock with no observed market price.
(2) It is a quick way to describe the level of option prices. That is, a range of option prices for the
same asset can be assigned one single volatility.
(3) Volatility skew provides a measure of how good the Black-Scholes pricing model is. Any as-
1
Since implied volatility changes with respect to time and expiry, the Black-Scholes model does not fully describe
option prices. Nevertheless, it is widely used Benchmark
sets with options displaying a Volatility Skew is displaying inconsistency with the theories of the
Black-Scholes Model in terms of constant volatility.
Practice Problems
Problem 34.1
A stock currently costs $41 per share. In one year, it might increase to $60. The annual continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08, and the stock pays dividends at an annual continuously
compounded yield of 0.03. Find the implied volatility of this stock using a one-period binomial
model.
Problem 34.2
The stock of GS LLC currently costs $228 per share. The annual continuously compounded risk-free
interest rate is 0.11, and the stock pays dividends at an annual continuously compounded yield of
0.03. The stock price will be $281 next year if it increase. What will the stock price be next year
if it decreases? Use a one-period binomial model.
Problem 34.3
For a 1-year European call, the following information are given:
= 0.5. That is, for every increase of $1 in the stock price, the option price increases by $0.50.
Determine the implied volatility.
Problem 34.4
Consider a nondividend-paying stock with a current price of S, and which can go up to 160, or
down to 120, one year from now. Find the implied volatility, , of the stock, assuming the binomial
model framework.
Problem 34.5
Given the following information about a 1-year European put on a stock:
The current price of the stock $35
The observed put option price is $3.58.
Is = 20% the implied volatility of the stock under the Black-Scholes framework?
Problem 34.6
A one-year European call option is currently valued at 0.9645. The following parameters are given:
The current stock price is 10

The continuously compounded dividend yield is 1%
The strike price is 10.
Using a single-period binomial model and assuming the implied volatility of the stock to be at least
5%, determine the interval containing .
(A) less than 10%
(B) At least 10% but less than 20%
(C) At least 20% but less than 30%
(D) At least 30% but less than 40%
(E) At least 40%.
Problem 34.7
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. Consider a one-year at-the-money European put option on
a nondividend-paying stock.
You are given:
(i) The ratio of the put option price to the stock price is less than 5%.
(ii) Delta of the put option is 0.4364.
(iii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 1.2%.
Determine the stocks volatility.
Option Hedging
In this chapter we explore the Black-Scholes framework by considering the market-maker perspective
on options. More specifically, we look at the issues that a market professional encouters. In deriving
the Black-Scholes formula, it is assumed that the market-makers are profit-maximizers who want
to hedge (i.e., minimize) the risk of their option positions. On average, a competetive market-
maker should expect to break even by hedging. It turns out that the break even price is just the
Black-Scholes option price. Also, we will see that the hedging position can be expressed in terms
of Greeks: delta, gamma, and theta.
We have been using the term market-maker in the introduction of this chapter. What do we
mean by that term? By a market-maker we mean a market trader who sells assets or contracts to
buyers and buys them from sellers. In other words, he/she is an intermediary between the buyers
and sellers. Market-makers buy at the bid and sell at the ask and thus profit from the ask-bid
spread. They do not speculate! A market-maker generates inventory as needed by short-selling.
In contrast to market-makers, proprietary traders are traders who buy and sell based on view of
the market, if that view is correct, trading is profitable, if not leads to losses. Mostly speculators
engage in proprietary trading.
243
244 OPTION HEDGING
35 Delta-Hedging
Market-makers have positions generated by fulfilling customer orders. They need to hedge the risk
of these positions for otherwise an adverse price move has the potential to bankrupt the market-
maker.
One way to control risk is by delta-hedging which is an option strategy that aims to reduce
(hedge) the risk associated with price movements in the underlying asset by offsetting long and short
positions. This requires computing the option Greek delta and this explains the use of the term
delta-hedged. For example, a long call position may be delta-hedged by shorting the underlying
stock. For a written call, the position is hedged by buying shares of stock. The appropriate number
of shares is determined by the number delta. The delta is chosen so that the portfolio is delta-
neutral, that is, the sum of the deltas of the portfolio components is zero.
There is a cost for a delta-hedged position: The costs from the long and short positions are not
the same and therefore the market-maker must invest capital to maintain a delta-hedged position.
Delta-hedged positions should expect to earn the risk-free rate: the money invested to maintain a
delta-hedged position is tied up and should earn a return on it and moreover it is riskless.
Next, we examine the effect of an unhedged position.
Example 35.1
Suppose that the current price of a stock is $40. The stock has a volatility of 30% and pays no
dividends. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%. A customer buys a call
option from the market-maker with strike price $40 and time to maturity of 91 days. The call is
written on 100 shares of the stock.
(a) Using the Black-Scholes framework, find C and at day the time of the transaction.
(b) What is the risk for the market-maker?
(c) Suppose that the market-maker leaves his position unhedged. What is the realized profit if the
stock increases to $40.50 the next day?
(d) Suppose that the market maker-hedges his position by buying 0.58240 shares of the stock. What
is his profit/loss in the next day when the price increases to $40.50?
(e) The next day the value of delta has increased. What is the cost of keeping the portfolio hedged?
(f) Now on Day 2, the stock price goes down to $39.25. What is the market-maker gain/loss on
that day?
Solution.
(a) Using the Black-Scholes formula we find
C = SeT N (d1 ) KerT N (d2 )

35 DELTA-HEDGING 245
where
91
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.2080477495.
T 0.3 91 365
and

r
91
d2 = d1 T = 0.2080477495 0.3 = 0.0582533699
365
Thus, Z 0.2080477495
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.582404
2
and Z 0.0582533699
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.523227.
2
Hence,
91
C = 40 0.582404 40e0.08 365 0.523227 = $2.7804
From the market-maker perspective we have = eT N (d1 ) = 0.5824.
(b) The risk for the market-maker who has written the call option is that the stock price will rise.
(c) Suppose the stock rises to $40.50 the next day. We now have
90
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40.50/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.290291
T 0.3 90 365
and

r
90
d2 = d1 T = 0.290291 0.3 = 0.141322.
365
Thus, Z 0.290291
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.614203
2
and Z 0.141322
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.556192.
2
Hence,
90
C = 40.5 0.614203 40e0.08 365 0.556192 = $3.0621.
1
Thus, there is a one day gain on the premium so the market-maker profit is 2.7804e0.08 365 3.0621 =
$0.281. That is a loss of about 28 cents a share or $28 for 100 shares.
246 OPTION HEDGING
(d) On day 0, the hedged portfolio consists of buying 58.24 shares at $40 for a total cost of
58.24 40 = $2329.60. Since the market-maker received only 2.7804 100 = $278.04, he/she
must borrow 2329.60 278.04 = $2051.56. Thus, the initial position from the market-maker per-
spective is 2329.60 + 2051.56 + 278.04 = $0.
The finance charge for a day on the loan is
1
2051.56(e0.08 365 1) = $0.45
If the price of the stock goes up to $40.50 the next day, then there is a gain on the stock, a loss on
the option and a one-day finance charge on the loan. Thus, the market-maker realizes a profit of
58.24(40.50 40) + (278.04 306.21) 0.45 = $0.50.
This process is referred to as marking-the-market. Thus, there is an overnight profit of $0.50.

(e) The delta for the price of $40.50 is = N (d1 ) = 0.6142. In order, to delta-neutralize
the portfolio, the market-maker needs to buy additional 61.42 58.24 = 3.18 shares at a cost of
3.18 40.50 = $128.79. This process is known as rebalancing the portfolio.
(f) Marking-the-market: The new call option price is $2.3282 per share. In this case, there
is a loss on the shares of 61.42 (39.25 40.50) = $76.78 and a gain on the option of about
306.21 232.82 = $73.39, plus the finance charge. Thus, the Day 2 profit is
1
73.39 76.78 (2051.56 + 128.79)(e0.08 365 1) = $3.87.
That is, a loss of $3.87

The daily profit calculation over 5 days for the hedged portfolio is given next.
Table 35.1
From this table, we notice that the return on a delta-hedged position does not depend on the
direction in which the stock price moves, but it does depend on the magnitude of the stock price
move.
The three sources of cash flow into and out of the portfolio in the previous example are:
Borrowing: The market-maker capacity to borrowing is limited by the market value of the
securities in the portfolio. In practice, the market-maker can borrow only part of the funds required
to buy the securities so he/she must have capital to make up the difference.
Purchase or Sale of shares The market-maker must buy-sell shares in order to offset changes
in the option price.
Interest: The finance charges paid on borrowed money.
Remark 35.1
The calculation of the profits in the above example is referred to as mark-to-market profits. With
positive mark-to-market profit the market-maker is allowed to take money out of the portfolio. In
the case of negative mark-to-market profit the investor must put money into the portfolio. A hedged
portfolio that never requires additional cash investments to remain hedged is called a self-financing
portfolio. It can be shown that any portfolio for which the stock moves according to the binomial
model is approximately self-financing. More specifically, the delta-hedged portfolio breaks even if
the stock moves one standard deviation. See Problem 35.6.
Example 35.2
A stock is currently trading for $40 per share. The stock will pay no dividends. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08, and the stock price volatility is 0.3. Suppose
you sell a 40-strike put on 100 shares with 91 days to expiration.
(a) What is delta?
(b) What investment is required for a delta-hedged portfolio?
(c) What is your profit the next day if the stock falls to $39?
(d) What if the stock goes up to $40.50 instead?
Solution.
P = KerT N (d2 ) SeT N (d1 )
where
91
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.20805
T 0.3 91 365
and

r
91
d2 = d1 T = 0.20805 0.3 = 0.0582.
365
248 OPTION HEDGING
Thus,
Z 0.20805
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.582405
2
and Z 0.0582
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.523205.
2
Hence,
91
P = 40e0.08 365 (1 0.523205) 40(1 0.582405) = $1.991
and
= eT N (d1 ) = (1 0.582405) = 0.4176.
The value of delta from the market-maker perspective is = 0.4176.
(b) The market-maker sells 41.76 shares and deposit the amount
41.76 40 + 199.1 = $1869.50
at a savings account earning the risk-free interest rate. The initial position, from the perspective of
the market-maker is
41.76 40 + 199.1 1869.50 = $0.
(c) Suppose the stock falls to $39.00 the next day. We now have
90
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (39/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.03695
T 0.3 90 365
and

r
90
d2 = d1 T = 0.03695 0.3 = 0.1121.
365
Thus,
Z 0.03695
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.514738
2
and Z 0.1121
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.455372.
2
Hence,
90
P = 40e0.08 365 (1 0.455372) 39(1 0.514738) = $2.434.
Hence, there is a gain on the shares but a loss on the option and gain from the interest. The
market-maker overnight profit is
1
41.76(40 39) (243.40 199.10) + 1869.50(e0.08 365 1) = $2.130.
(d) Suppose the stock rises to $40.50 the next day. We now have
90
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40.50/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.290291
T 0.3 90 365
and

r
90
d2 = d1 T = 0.290291 0.3 = 0.141322.
365
Thus, Z 0.290291
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.614203
2
and Z 0.141322
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.556192.
2
Hence,
90
P = 40e0.08 365 (1 0.556192) 40.50(1 0.614203) = $1.7808.
Thus, there is a gain on the option but a loss on the shares and interest gain. The overnight profit
is
1
(199.10 178.08) 41.76 0.50 + 1869.50(e0.08 365 1) = $0.55
250 OPTION HEDGING
Practice Problems
Problem 35.1
you sell a 45-strike call on 100 shares with 91 days to expiration.
(a) What is delta?
(b) What investment is required for a delta-hedged portfolio?
(c) What is your profit the next day if the stock falls to $39?
(d) What if the stock goes up to $40.50?
Problem 35.2
you buy a 40-strike call and sell a 45-strike call both expiring in 91 days. Both calls are written on
100 shares.
(a) What investment is required for a delta-hedged portfolio?
(b) What is your profit the next day if the stock falls to $39?
(c) What if the stock goes up to $40.50 instead?
Problem 35.3
A stock is currently trading for $60 per share. The stock will pay no dividends. The annual con-
tinuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08, and the stock price volatility is 0.25. Suppose
you sell a 60-strike call expiring in 91 days. What is you overnight profit if the stock goes up tp
$60.35?
Problem 35.4
you buy a 45-strike put and sell two 45-strike puts both expiring in 91 days. That is, you enter into
a put ratio spread. Both calls are written on 100 shares.
(a) What investment is required for a delta-hedged portfolio?
(b) What is your profit the next day if the stock falls to $39?
(c) What if the stock goes up to $40.50 instead?
Problem 35.5
1
Suppose that the stock moves up and down according to the binomial model with h = 365 . Assume
that on Days 1 and 5 the stock price goes up and on Days 2, 3, and 4 it goes down. Find the
rh h
magnitude move h. Complete the following table. Hint: Recall that St+h = St e .
Day 0 1 2 3 4 5
Stock Price 40
Problem 35.6
Construct a table similar to Table 35.1 using the stock prices found in the previous problem.
Problem 35.7
A market-maker has sold 100 call options, each covering 100 shares of a dividend-paying stock, and
has delta-hedged by purchasing the underlying stock.
You are given the following information about the market-makers investment:
The continuous dividend yield of the stock is 7%.
The time to expiration of the options is 12 months.
N (d1 ) = 0.5793
N (d2 ) = 0.5000
The price of the stock quickly jumps to $41 before the market-maker can react. This change the price
of one call option to increase by $56.08. Calculate the net profit on the market-maker investment
associated with this price move.
Problem 35.8
Several months ago, an investor sold 100 units of a one-year European call option on a nondividend-
paying stock. She immediately delta-hedged the commitment with shares of the stock, but has not
ever re-balanced her portfolio. She now decides to close out all positions.
(i) The risk-free interest rate is constant.
(ii)
Several Months Ago Now

Stock Price $40 $50
Call Option Price $8.88 $14.42
Put Option Price $1.63 $0.26
Call Option Delta 0.794
The put option in the table above is a European option on the same stock and with the same strike
price and expiration date as the call option.
Calculate her profit.
252 OPTION HEDGING
36 Option Price Approximations: Delta and Delta-Gamma

Approximations
In this section we use finite Taylor approximations to estimate option price movements when the
underlying stock price changes, particularly first and second order (delta and gamma.)
We start by recalling from calculus the Taylor series expansion given by
df h2 d2 f h3 d3 f
f (x + h) = f (x) + h (x) + + (x) + higher order terms.
dx 2 dx2 6 dx3
Let V (St ) denote the option price when the stock price is St . Recall that
V
= .
S
A linear approximation of the value of the option when the stock price is St+h can be found using
Taylor series of first order given by
V (St+h ) = V (St ) + (St ) + higher order terms
where = St+h St is the stock price change over a time interval of length h. We call the approxi-
mation
V (St+h ) V (St ) + (St )
the delta approximation. Notice that the delta approximation uses the value of delta at St .
Recall that the price functions (for a purchased option) are convex functions of the stock price (See
Section 29). The delta approximation is a tangent line to the graph of the option price. Hence, the
delta approximation is always an underestimate of the option price. See Figure 36.1.
Example 36.1
Consider a nondividend paying stock. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate
is 0.08, and the stock price volatility is 0.3. Consider a 40-strike call on 100 shares with 91 days to
expiration.
(a) What is the option price today if the current stock price is $40?
(b) What is the option price today if the stock price is $40.75?
(c) Estimate the option price found in (b) using the delta approximation.
Solution.

36 OPTION PRICE APPROXIMATIONS: DELTA AND DELTA-GAMMA APPROXIMATIONS253
where
91
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.2080477495.
T 0.3 91 365
and

r
91
d2 = d1 T = 0.2080477495 0.3 = 0.0582533699
365
Thus,
Z 0.2080477495
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.582404
2
and Z 0.0582533699
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.523227.
2
Hence,
91
C = 40 0.582404 40e0.08 365 0.523227 = $2.7804
and
= eT N (d1 ) = 0.5824.
(b) Suppose that the option price goes up to $40.75. Then
90
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40.75/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.3320603167
T 0.3 91 365
and

r
91
d2 = d1 T = 0.3320603167 0.3 = 0.1822659371.
365
Thus,
Z 0.3320603167
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.630078
2
and Z 0.1822659371
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.572313.
2
Hence,
91
C($40.75) = 40.75 0.630078 40e0.08 365 0.572313 = $3.2352
254 OPTION HEDGING
(c) Using the delta approximation we find
C($40.75) = C($40) + 0.75 0.5824 = 2.7804 + 0.75 0.5824 = $3.2172.
The error is 3.2172 3.2352 = 0.018
A second method of approximation involves both delta and gamma and uses Taylor approxima-
tion of order two:
1
V (St+h ) = V (St ) + (St ) + 2 (St ) + higher order terms.
2
We define the delta-gamma approximation by
1
V (St+h ) V (St ) + (St ) + 2 (St ).
2
Example 36.2
Consider the information of the previous example.
(a) Find the option Greek gamma.
(b) Estimate the value of C($40.75) using the delta-gamma approximation.
Solution.
(a) We have
0.20804774952
e(T t) N 0 (d1 ) e 2
call = = q = 0.0652.
S T t 91
40 0.3 365
(b) We have the estimate
C($40.75) = 2.7804 + 0.5824(0.75) + 0.5 0.752 0.0652 = $3.2355.
In this case, the error is 3.2355 3.2352 = 0.0003. Thus, the approximation is significantly closer
to the true option price at $40.75 than the delta approximation
Figure 36.1 shows the result of approximating the option price using the delta and delta-gamma
approximations.
Figure 36.1
256 OPTION HEDGING
Practice Problems
Problem 36.1
For a stock price of $40 the price of call option on the stock is $2.7804. When the stock goes up to
$40.75 the price of the option estimated by the delta approximations is $3.2172. Find (40).
Problem 36.2
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08, and the stock price volatility is 0.3. Consider
a 45-strike call on 100 shares with 91 days to expiration. Use delta approximation to estimate
C($44.75).
Problem 36.3
a 45-strike call on 100 shares with 91 days to expiration. Use delta-gamma approximation to
estimate C($44.75).
Problem 36.4
a 40-strike put on 100 shares with 91 days to expiration. Using the delta approximation estimate
P ($40.55).
Problem 36.5
a 40-strike put on 100 shares with 91 days to expiration. Using the delta-gamma approximation
estimate P ($40.55).
Problem 36.6
A stock is currently trading for $1200 per share. A certain call option on the stock has a price of
$35, a delta of 0.72, and a certain value of gamma. When the stock price suddenly falls to $1178,
the call price falls to $23. Using the delta-gamma approximation, what is the gamma of this call
option?
Problem 36.7
A stock is currently trades for $13 per share. A certain call option on the stock has a price of $1.34,
a gamma of 0.025, and a certain value of delta. When the stock price suddenly rises to $19 per
share, the call option price increases to $5.67. Using the delta-gamma approximation, what is the
original delta of this call option?
Problem 36.8
The stock of GS Co. currently trades for $657 per share. A certain call option on the stock has a
price of $120, a delta of 0.47, and a gamma of 0.01. Use a delta-gamma approximation to find the
price of the call option if, after 1 second, the stock of GS Co. suddenly begins trading at $699 per
share.
Problem 36.9
When the stock of GS Co. suddenly decreased in price by $6 per share, a certain put option on
the stock increased in price to $5.99. The put option had an original of 0.49 and a gamma of
0.002. Find the original put option price using the delta-gamma approximation.
Problem 36.10
A stock is currently trading for a price greater than $75 per share. A certain put option on the stock
has a price of $5.92, a delta of 0.323, and a gamma of 0.015. Use a delta-gamma approximation
to find the current price of the stock if, after 1 second, the put is valued at $6.08 when the stock
price is $86.
Problem 36.11
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. The price of a nondividend-paying stock is $30.00.
The price of a put option on this stock is $4.00.
You are given:
(i) = 0.28
(ii) = 0.10.
Using the delta-gamma approximation, determine the price of the put option if the stock price
changes to $31.50.
Problem 36.12
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. Consider an option on a stock.
You are given the following information at time 0:
(i) The stock price is S(0), which is greater than 80.
(ii) The option price is 2.34.
(iii) The option delta is 0.181.
(iv) The option gamma is 0.035.
The stock price changes to 86.00. Using the delta-gamma approximation, you find that the option
price changes to 2.21.
Determine S(0).
258 OPTION HEDGING
37 The Delta-Gamma-Theta Approximation and the Market-

Makers Profit
The delta-gamma approximation discussed in the previous section does not take into consideration
the sensitivity of the option price change due to time passing. Recall that the Greek option theta
measures the options change in price due to time passing. Thus, the change in price over a period
of length h is approximately h(St ). Adding this term to the delta-gamma approximation formula
we obtain
1
V (St , T t h) V (St , T t) + (St , T t) + 2 (St , T t) + h(St , T t). (37.1)
2
This formula is known as the delta-gamma-theta approximation.
Example 37.1
Yesterday, a nondividend paying stock was selling for $40 and a call option on the stock was selling
for $2.7804 and has 91 days left to expiration. The call option on the stock had a delta of 0.5824,
a gamma of 0.0652, and an annaul theta of 6.3145. Today, the stock trades for $40.75. The
annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. Find the new option price using the
delta-gamma-theta approximation.
Solution.
Using the delta-gamma-theta approximation we have
90 91 91 1 91 91
C(40, ) C(40, ) + (40, ) + 2 (40, ) + h(40, )
365 365 365 2 365 365
1 1
=2.7804 + 0.75(0.5824) + 0.752 + (6.3145) = $3.2182
2 365
We next examine the market-maker profit. Consider the case of long delta shares and short a call.
The value of the market-maker investment is the cost of the stock plus the proceeds received from
selling the call, that is,
C(St ) St (St ) < 0.
This amount is borrowed at the risk-free interest rate r. Now, suppose that over the time interval
h, the stock price changes from St to St+h . In this case, the market-maker profit is
(St+h St )(St ) (C(St+h ) C(St )) rh[St C(St )].
But from equation (37.1), using = St+h St , we have
1
C(St+h ) C(St ) = (St ) + 2 (St ) + h.
2
37 THE DELTA-GAMMA-THETA APPROXIMATION AND THE MARKET-MAKERS PROFIT259
Thus, the market-maker profit can be expressed in the form

1 2
Market-Maker Profit =(St ) (St ) + (St ) + h rh[St (St ) C(St )] (37.2)
2

1 2
= (St ) + h(St ) + rh[St (St ) C(St )] .
2
From this equation we observe the following:

Gamma factor: Because the gamma of a purchased call is positive (so a stock price increase will
increase the value of the call) and the market-maker is the writer of the call then the market-maker
will lose money in proportion to the square of the stock price change . Thus, the larger the stock
move, the greater is the loss.
Theta factor: The theta for a purchased call is negative which means that the call value decreases
with time passing. Since the market-maker is the writer of the call, he/she benefits from theta.
Interest cost: The market-maker being the seller has a net investment which requires borrowing
since the (St ) shares are more expensive than one short option. The net cost of borrowing for a
time interval h is the term rh[St (St ) C(St )].
It follows that time passing benefits the market-maker, whereas interest and gamma work against
him or her.
Example 37.2
22 days ago, GS stock traded for $511 per share. A certain call option on the stock had a delta
of 0.66, a gamma of 0.001, and an annual theta of 10.95. The option used to trade for $59. Now
the stock trades for $556. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08.
A hypothetical market-maker has purchased delta shares and short-sold one call. Find what a
market-makers profit on one such option would be using (37.2).
Solution.
Using (37.2) we find

1 2
Market-Maker profit = (St ) + h(St ) + rh[St (St ) C(St )]
2

1 2 22 22
= 45 0.001 + (10.95) + 0.08 [0.66 511 59]
2 365 365
= $1.694246849
Now, we examine the effect of 2 on the profit. Recall from Section 35 that the magnitude of 2
and not the direction of the stock price move affects the market-maker profit. Also, recall that
260 OPTION HEDGING
the market-maker approximately breaks even for a one-standard deviation move in the stock. So if
is measured annually, then a one-standard-deviation move over a period of length h is

= St+h St = St (1 + h) St = St h.
With this expression for , the market-maker profit when the stock moves one standard deviation
is
1 2 2
Market-Maker profit = St (St ) + (St ) + r[St (St ) C(St )] h.
2
Example 37.3
22 days ago, the stock of GS traded for $511 per share. A certain call option on the stock had
a delta of 0.66, a gamma of 0.001, and a daily theta of 0.03. The option used to trade for $59.
Now the stock trades for $556. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08.
A hypothetical market maker has purchased delta shares and short-sold the call. Assume a one-
standard-deviation of stock price move, what is the annual standard deviation of the stock price
movement?
Solution.
We have 21 12
2 452

= = 22 = 0.3586961419
St2 h 5112 365
Greeks in the Binomial Model
We will use some of the relations of this section to compute the binomial Greeks. Consider a
binomial model with period of length h. At time t = 0 we have
Cu Cd
(S, 0) = eh .
uS dS
Thats the only Greek we can compute at that time. After one period, we have
Cuu Cud
(uS, h) = eh
uuS udS
Cud Cdd
(dS, h) = eh
udS ddS
(uS, h) (dS, h)
(S, 0) (Sh , h) = .
uS dS
Now, letting
= udS S
we can use the delta-gamma-theta approximation to write

1
C(udS, 2h) = C(S, 0) + (S, 0) + 2 (S, 0) + 2h(S, 0).
2
Solving this equation for we find
C(udS, 2h) (S, 0) 0.52 (S, 0) C(S, 0)

(S, 0) = .
2h
Here S is the stock price at time t = 0.
Example 37.4
Consider the following three-period binomial tree model for a stock that pays dividends contin-
uously at a rate proportional to its price. The length of each period is 1 year, the continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%, and the continuous dividend yield on the stock is 6.5%.
Approximate the value of gamma at time 0 for the 3-year at-the-money American put on the
stock
Solution.
375 210
We first find u and d. We have u = 300
= 1.25 and s = 300
= 0.70. Thus,
e(r)h d 300e0.100.065 210

pu = = = 0.61022.
ud 375 210
we have
Year 3, Stock Price = u3 S = 585.9375 Since we are at expiration, the option value is Puuu = 0.
262 OPTION HEDGING
Year 3, Stock Price = u2 dS = 328.125 and Puud = 0.

Year 3, Stock Price = ud2 S = 183.75 and Pudd = Pddu = 300 183.75 = 116.25.
Year 3, Stock Price = d3 S = 102.90 and Pddd = 300 102.90 = 197.10.
Year 2, Stock Price = u2 S = 468.75
Puu = max{300 468.75, e0.10 [0.61022 0 + (1 0.61022) 0]}

=0.
Year 2, Stock Price = udS = 262.50
Pud = max{300 262.50, e0.10 [0.61022 0 + (1 0.61022) 116.25]}

=e0.10 [0.61022 0 + (1 0.61022) 116.25]
=41.00
Year 2, Stock Price = d2 S = 147
Pdd = max{300 147, e0.10 [0.61022 116.25 + (1 0.61022) 197.10]}

=300 147
=153.
Hence,
Puu Pud 0 41
(uS, h) = eh = e0.0651 = 0.1863
uuS udS 468.75 262.50
and
Pud Pdd 41 153
(dS, h) = eh = e0.0651 = 0.9087.
udS ddS 262.50 147
Thus,
(uS, h) (dS, h) 0.1863 (0.9087)

(S, 0) (Sh , h) = = = 0.004378
uS dS 375 210
Practice Problems
Problem 37.1
Yesterday, a nondividend paying stock was selling for $40 and a call option on the stock was selling
for $2.7804 and has 91 days left to expiration. The call option on the stock had a delta of 0.5824,
a gamma of 0.0652, and a daily theta of 0.0173. Today, the stock trades for $39.25. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. Find the new option price using the delta-
gamma-theta approximation.
Problem 37.2
A stock is currently trading for $678 per share. 98 days ago, it traded for $450 per share and a
call option on the stock was selling for $56. Now the call option trades for $100. The option has a
delta of 0.33 and a gamma of 0.006. What is the daily option theta? Use the delta-gamma-theta
approximation.
Problem 37.3
A call option on a nondividend-paying stock was valued $6.13 yesterday when the stock price was
$54. Today, the stock price is $56. Estimate the price of option using the delta-gamma-theta
approximation. The option has a delta of 0.5910, a gamma of 0.0296 and an annualized theta of
14.0137.
Problem 37.4
GS stock has a price volatility of 0.55. A certain call option on the stock today costs $71.80. The
option has a delta of 0.32, a gamma of 0.001, and a daily theta of 0.06. The stock price today is
$3000 per share, and the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.1. Find what
a market-makers profit on one such option would be after 1 year using the delta-gamma-theta
approximation. Assume stock price moves one standard deviation.
Problem 37.5
Which of the following are correct for option Greeks?
(I) If the gamma of a call is positive, by writing the call the market-maker will lose money in
proportion to the stock price change.
(II) If the theta for a call is negative, the option writer benefits from theta.
(III) If, in order to hedge, the market-maker must purchase stock, then the net carrying cost is a
component of the overall cost.
Problem 37.6
Yesterday, a stock traded for $75 per share. A certain call option on the stock had a delta of
0.5910, a gamma of 0.0296, and an annual theta of 14.0317. The option used to trade for $6.13.
264 OPTION HEDGING
Now the stock trades for $77. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.10.
A hypothetical market-maker has purchased delta shares and short-sold one call. Find what a
market-makers profit on one such option would be using (37.2).
Problem 37.7
Consider the following three-period binomial tree model for a stock that pays dividends contin-
uously at a rate proportional to its price. The length of each period is 1 year, the continuously
Compute the value of delta at time 0 for the 3-year at-the-money American put on the stock
Problem 37.8
Consider the same three-period binomial tree modelas above for a stock that pays dividends con-
tinuously at a rate proportional to its price. The length of each period is 1 year, the continuously
Estimate the value of theta at time 0 for the 3-year at-the-money American put on the stock
38 THE BLACK-SCHOLES ANALYSIS 265
38 The Black-Scholes Analysis

In this section we describe the Black-Scholes analysis for pricing options which incorporate delta-
hedging with pricing. We first start by listing the assumptions under which the Black-Scholes
equation holds for options:
The risk-free interest rate r and the stock volatility are constant over the life of the option.
Both the stock and the option do not pay dividends during the life of the option.
The stock price moves one standard deviation over a small time interval (i.e., binomial model is
used).
Black and Scholes argued that the market-maker profit is zero for a one-standard-deviation of the
price of a stock. But we know that the market-maker profit in this case is given by the formula

1 2 2
Market-Maker profit = St (St ) + (St ) + r[St (St ) C(St )] h.
2
Thus, setting this equation to 0 and rearranging terms we find the differential equation
1 2 2
St (St ) + rSt (St ) + = rC(St ). (38.1)
2
Since the Greeks , , and are partial derivatives, the previous equation is a partial differential
equation of order 2. We call (38.1) the Black-Sholes partial differential equation. A similar
equation holds for put options.
Example 38.1
A stock has a current price of $30 per share, and the annual standard deviation of its price is 0.3.
A certain call option on this stock has a delta of 0.4118, a gamma of 0.0866, and an annual theta
of 4.3974. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. What is the price
of this call option, as found using the Black-Scholes equation?
Solution.
Using equation (38.1) we can write

1 1 2 2
C(St ) = St (St ) + rSt (St ) +
r 2

1 1 2 2
= 0.3 0.0866 30 + 0.08 0.4118 30 4.3974
0.08 2
=$1.22775
Equation (38.1) holds for European options. The Black-Scholes equation applies to American
options only when immediate exercise is not optimal. We examine this issue more closely. Consider
266 OPTION HEDGING
an American call option where early exercise is optimal. Then the option price is C = S K.
2
Hence, = C
S
= 1, = SC2 = 0, and = C
t
= 0. In this case, equation (38.1) becomes
1 2 2
St 0 + rSt (1) + 0 = r(S K).
2
This leads to rK = 0 which is impossible since r > 0 and K > 0.
Rehedging
Up to this point, we have assumed that market-makers maintain their hedged position every time
there is a change in stock price. Because of transaction costs, this process becomes expensive. So
what would the optimal frequency of rehedging be?
One approach to answer this question is to consider hedging at discrete intervals, rather than every
time the stock price changes. For that purpose we introduce the Boyle-Emanuel framework:
The market-maker shorts a call and delta-hedge it.
Each discrete interval has length h with h in years. That is, rehedging occurring every h years.
Let xi be a standard random variable defined to be the number of standard deviations the stock
price moves during time interval i. We assume that the xi s are independ random variables, that is,
they are uncorrelated across time.
Let Rh,i denote the periodi return (not rate of return!). For xi standard deviations the market-
maker profit is given by

1 2 2 2
Market-Maker profit = S xi + + r[S C] h.
2
Thus,

1 2 2
Rh,i = S + + r[S C] h
2

1 2 2 2
S xi + + r[S C] h
2
1
= 2 S 2 (x2i 1)h
2
Thus, we can write 2
1 2 2
Var(Rh,i ) = S h Var(x2i 1).
2
But x2i is a gamma distribution with = 0.5 and = 2 so that Var(x2i 1) = Var(x2i ) = 2 = 2.
Hence,
1 2 2 2
Var(Rh,i ) = S h .
2
The annual variance of return is

1 1 2 2 2
Annual variance of return = Var(Rh,i ) = S h.
h 2
This says that the annual variance of return is proportional to h. Thus, frequent hedging implies a
smaller h and thus reduces the variance of the return. As an example, lets compare hedging once
a day against hedging hourly. The daily variance of the return earned by the market-maker who
hedges once a day is given by 2
1 2 2
Var(R 1 ,1 ) = S .
365 2 365
Let R 1 ,i be the variance of the return of the market-maker who hedges hourly. But the daily
36524
return of the market-maker who hedges hourly is the sum of the hourly returns. Then, using
independence, we have
24
! 24
X X
Var Rh,i = Var(R 1 ,i )
36524
i=1 i=1
24
X 1 2 2
= [S /(24 365)]2
i=1
2
1
= Var(R 1 ,1 )
24 365
Thus, by hedging hourly instead of daily the market-makers variance daily return is reduced by a
factor of 24.
Example 38.2
A delta-hedged market-maker has a short position in a call option on a certain stock. Readjusted
hedges occur every 2 months. The stock has a price of $45; the standard deviation of this price is
0.33. The gamma of the call option is 0.02. During a particular 2-month period, the stock price
moves by 0.77 standard deviations. Find the variance of the return to the market-maker during
this time period.
Solution.
Using Boyle-Emanuel formula we have
1
Var(R 1 ,1 ) = (S 2 2 /6)2
6 2
1
= (452 0.332 0.02/6)2 = 0.2701676278
2
268 OPTION HEDGING
Practice Problems
Problem 38.1
Show that the Black-Scholes equation does not hold for a put option with optimal early exercise.
Problem 38.2
A certain put option on this stock has a delta of 0.5882, a gamma of 0.0866, and an annual theta
of 1.8880. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. What is the price
of this put option, as found using the Black-Scholes equation?
Problem 38.3
A certain European call option on this stock has a delta of 0.5901, a gamma of 0.0243, and an
annual theta of 4.9231. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. What
is the price of a European put option on the stock? Both options have a strike price of $53 and a
1-year maturity.
Problem 38.4
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. The stock of GS has a price of $93 per share, and
the price has an annual standard deviation of 0.53. A certain European call option on the stock has
a price of $4, a delta of 0.53, and a gamma of 0.01. The annual continuously compounded risk-free
interest rate is 0.02. What is the theta for this call option?
Problem 38.5
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. The price of a stock has a standard deviation of
0.32. A certain put option on this stock has a price of $2.59525, a delta of 0.5882, a gamma of
0.0866, and a theta of 1.8880. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08.
What is the current price of one share of the stock? Round your answer to the nearest dollar.
Problem 38.6
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. The stock of GS has a price of $93 per share, and
the price has an annual standard deviation of 0.53. A certain European call option on the stock
has a price of $4, a delta of 0.53, and an annual theta of 13.0533205. The annual continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.02. What is the gamma for this call option?
Problem 38.7
A stock has a price of $30, and this price has a standard deviation of 0.3. A certain call option
in this stock has a price of $1.22775, a gamma of 0.0866, and a theta of 4.3974. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. Find the delta of this call option.
Problem 38.8
hedges occur every hour. The stock has a price of $50; the standard deviation of this price is 0.30.
The gamma of the call option is 0.0521. During a particular 1-hour period, the stock price moves by
0.57 standard deviations. Find the standard deviation of the hourly returns to the market-maker
during this time period.
Problem 38.9
A delta-hedged market-maker has a long position in a call option on a certain stock. Readjusted
hedges occur every 5 months. The stock has a price of $500; the standard deviation of this price is
0.03. The gamma of the call option is 0.001. During a particular 5-month period, the stock price
moves by 0.23 standard deviations. Find the return for the market-maker during this time period.
Problem 38.10
hedges occur every 2 days. The stock has a price of $80; the standard deviation of this price is 0.3.
The gamma of the call option is 0.02058. Find the variance of the 2-day return if the market-maker
hedges daily instead of every two days.
Problem 38.11
Consider the Black-Scholes framework. A market-maker, who delta-hedges, sells a three-month
at-the-money European call option on a nondividend-paying stock.
You are given:
(ii) The current stock price is 50.
(iii) The current call option delta is 0.6179.
(iv) There are 365 days in the year.
If, after one day, the market-maker has zero profit or loss, determine the stock price move over the
day.
270 OPTION HEDGING
39 Delta-Gamma Hedging
One of the major risk that a market-maker faces is the extreme moves of prices. There are at least
four ways for a delta hedging market-maker to protect against extreme price moves.
(1)Gamma-Neutrality: Recall from the previous section that a delta-hedged portfolio with a
negative gamma results in large losses for increasing move in the stock price. Thus, gamma is
a factor that a delta-hedged market-maker needs to worry about. Since a delta-hedged portfolio
maintains a delta-neutral position, it makes sense for the market-maker to adopt a gamma-neutral
position. But the gamma of a stock is zero so the market-maker has to buy/sell options so as to
offset the gamma of the existing position.
Example 39.1
Suppose that the current price of a stock is $40. The stock has a volatility of 30% and pays no
dividends. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 8%. A customer buys a call
option from the market-maker with strike price $40 and time to maturity of three months. The call
is written on 100 shares of the stock.
(a) Using the Black-Scholes framework, find C, and .
(b) Find C, and for a purchased 45-strike call with 4 months to expiration.
(c) Find the number of purchased 45-strike call needed for maintaining a gamma-hedged position.
(d) Find the number of shares of stock needed for maintaining a delta-hedged position.
Solution.
C = Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 )
where
3
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 12
d1 = = q = 0.208333.
T t 0.3 3 12
and r
3
d2 = d1 T t = 0.208333 0.3 = 0.058333
12
Thus, Z 0.208333
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.582516
2
39 DELTA-GAMMA HEDGING 271
and
Z 0.058333
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.523258.
2
Hence,
3
C = 40 0.582516 40e0.08 12 0.523258 = $2.7847,
= e(T t) N (d1 ) = 0.5825,
and
d2
1
e 2 1
= = 0.0651.
2 S T t
From the market-maker perspective we have = 0.5825 and = 0.0651.
(b) Using the Black-Scholes formula as in (a), we find C = $1.3584, = 0.3285, and = 0.0524.
(c) Let n1 be the number of K1 strike written options and n2 the number of K2 strike purchased
options such that the total gamma is 0. Then, n1 1 + n2 2 = 0 so that
n1 1
n2 = .
2
In our case, n1 = 1, 1 = 0.0651 and 2 = 0.0524. Thus,
0.0651
n2 = = 1.2408.
0.0524
Hence, to maintain a gamma-hedged position, the market-maker must buy 1.2408 of the 45-strike
4-month call. Indeed, we have
40 + 1.240845 = 0.0651 + 1.2408 0.3285 = 0.
(d) Since 40 + 1.240845 = 0.5825 + 1.2408 0.3285 = 0.1749, the market-maker needs to buy
17.49 shares of stock to be delta-hedged (i.e., delta-neutral)
Figure 39.1 compares a delta-hedged position to a delta-gamma hedged positio. Note that the
loses from a large drop in stock prices for a delta-gamma hedged position is relatively small com-
pared to the loses from a delta-hedged position. Moreover, for a large stock price increase, the
delta-hedge causes loss whereas the delta-gamma hedged position causes gains.
272 OPTION HEDGING
Figure 39.1
(2) Static option replication strategy: This strategy uses options to hedge options. It requires
little if any rebalancing and thus the word static compared to dynamic. For example, suppose
that the market-maker sells a call on a share of stock. By the put-call parity relation we can write
C P S + KerT = 0.
To create a hedge that is both delta- and gamma-neutral, the market-maker purchases a put option
with the same strike price and expiration, a share of stock, and borrow money to fund this position.
(3) Buy out of the money options as insurance deep out of the money options are inexpensive but
have positive gammas.
(4) Create a new financial product such as a variance swap (to be discussed in a later section) in
which a market-maker makes a payment if the stock movement in either direction is small, but
receives a payment if the stock movement in either direction is large.
39 DELTA-GAMMA HEDGING 273
Practice Problems
Problem 39.1
A hedged portfolio consists of selling 100 50-strike calls on a share of stock. The gamma of the call
is 0.0521. Find the number of 55-strike call options that a market-maker must purchase in order
to bring the hedged portfolio gamma to zero. The gamma of the purchased call is 0.0441.
Problem 39.2
A hedged portfolio consists of selling 100 50-strike calls on a stock. The gamma of the call is 0.0521
and the delta is 0.5824. A gamma-hedged portfolio is created by purchasing 118.14 55-strike call
options. The gamma of the purchased call is 0.0441 and the delta is 0.3769. Find the number of
shares of stock needed for maintaining a delta-hedged position.
Problem 39.3
A stock is currently trading for $50. A hedged portfolio consists of selling 100 50-strike calls on a
stock. The gamma of the call is 0.0521 and the delta is 0.5824. The price of the call is $3.48.
A gamma-hedged portfolio is created by purchasing 118.14 units of a 55-strike call option. The
gamma of the purchased call is 0.0441 and the delta is 0.3769. The price of this call is $2.05. Find
the cost of establishing the delta-hedged position.
Problem 39.4
Consider the hedged portfolio of the previous problem. Suppose that in the next day the stock
price goes up to $51. For such a move, the price of the 50-strike call option goes up to $4.06 while
the 55-strike call goes up to $2.43. Assume a continuously compounded risk-free rate of 8%, find
the overnight profit of this position.
Problem 39.5
An investor has a portfolio consisting of 100 put options on stock A, with a strike price of 40, and 5
shares of stock A. The investor can write put options on stock A with strike price of 35. The deltas
and the gammas of the options are listed below
40-strike put 35-strike put

Delta 0.05 0.10
Gamma 0.25 0.50
What should be done to delta- and gamma-neutralize the investors portfolio.
Problem 39.6
For two European call options, Call-I and Call-II, on a stock, you are given:
274 OPTION HEDGING
Greek Call-I Call-II

Delta 0.5825 0.7773
Gamma 0.0651 0.0746
Vega 0.0781 0.0596
Suppose you just sold 1000 units of Call-I. Determine the numbers of units of Call-II and stock you
should buy or sell in order to both delta-hedge and gamma-hedge your position in Call-I.
An Introduction to Exotic Options
In this chapter we discuss exotic options. By an exotic option we mean an option which is created
by altering the contractual terms of a standard option such as European and American options
(i.e. Vanilla option). They permit hedging solutions tailored to specific problems and speculation
tailored to particular views. The types of exotic options that we will discuss in this chapter are:
Asian, barrier, compound, gap, and exchange options.
275
276 AN INTRODUCTION TO EXOTIC OPTIONS
40 Asian Options
An Asian option is an option where the payoff is not determined by the underlying price at
maturity but by the average underlying price over some pre-set period of time. Averages can be
either aritmetic or geometric.
T
Suppose that a time interval [0, T ] is partitioned into N equal subintervals each of length h = N .
Let Sih denote the stock price at the end of the ith interval. The arithmetic average of the stock
price is defined by
N
1 X
A(T ) = Sih .
N i=1
This type of average is typically used. However, there are no simple pricing formulas for options
based on the arithmetic average. A different type of average that is computationally easier than
the arithmetic average, but less common in practice, is the geometric arithmetic defined as
1
G(T ) = (S1h S2h SN h ) N .
Simple pricing formulas exist for geometric average options.
Proposition 40.1
The geometric average is less than or equal to the arithmetic average. That is, G(T ) A(G).
Proof. Sih
We know that ex 1+x for all real number x. For 1 i N, let xi = Sih
A(T )
1. Thus, Sih
A(T )
e A(T ) 1 .
Multiplying these inequalities we find
S1h S2h SN h S1h +S2h ++SN h

N
e A(T ) = 1.
A(T ) A(T ) A(T )
Hence,
S1h S2h SN h (A(T ))N
or
1
G(T ) = (S1h S2h SN h ) N A(T )
Example 40.1
Suppose you observe the following prices {345, 435, 534, 354}. What are the arithmetic and geometric
averages?
40 ASIAN OPTIONS 277
Solution.
We have
345 + 435 + 534 + 354
A(T ) = = 417
4
and
1
G(T ) = (345.435.534.354) 4 = 410.405543
The payoff at maturity of an Asian option can be computed using the average stock price either
as the underlying asset price (an average price option) or as strike price (an average strike
option). Hence, there are eight basic kinds of Asian options with payoffs listed next:
Type Payoff
Arithemtic average price call max{0, A(T ) K}
Arithemtic average price put max{0, K A(T )}
Arithemtic average strike call max{0, ST A(T )}
Arithemtic average strike put max{0, A(T ) ST }
Geometric average price call max{0, G(T ) K}
Geometric average price put max{0, K G(T )}
Geometric average strike call max{0, ST G(T )}
Geometric average strike put max{0, G(T ) ST }
Example 40.2
At the end of each of the past four months, Stock GS had the following prices: $345, $435, $534,
and $354. A certain 4-month Asian geometric average price call on this stock has a strike price of
$400. It expires today, and its payoff is computed on the basis of the geometric average of the stock
prices given above. What is the payoff of this option?
Solution.
The payoff is
max{0, G(T ) K} = max{0, 410.405543 400} = $10.405543
Example 40.3
Consider the following information about a European call on a stock:
The time to expiration is one year
The stock pays non dividends
The price is calculated using two-step binomial model where each step is 6 months in length.
(a) Construct the binomial stock price tree including all possible arithmetic and geometric averages
after one year?
(b) What is the price of an Asian arithmetic average price call?
(c) What is the price of an Asian geometric average price call?
Solution.
(a) We first find u and d. We have

u = e(r)h+ h
= e0.080.5+0.3 0.5
= 1.2868
and
d = e(r)h h
= e0.080.50.3 0.5
= 0.84187.
Thus, the risk-neutral probability for an up move is
e(r)h d e0.08(0.5) 0.84187
pu = = = 0.44716.
ud 1.2868 0.84187
The binomial stock price tree with all the possible arithmetic and geometric averages is shown in
the tree below.
(b) The price of an Asian arithmetic average price call is

e0.08(0.5) pu (e0.08(0.5) [pu (47.13) + (1 pu )(18.50)]) = $12.921.
(c) The price of an Asian geometric average price call is
e0.08(0.5) [pu (e0.05(0.5) [pu (45.97) + (1 pu )(18.07)])] = $12.607
Remark 40.1
An Asian option is an example of path-dependent option, which means that the payoff at
expiration depends upon the path by which the stock reached its final price. In the previous
example, the payoff of an Asian call at expiration for the stock price $108.33, using arithmetic
average price, is either $18.50 or $0 depending on the path leading to the price $108.33.
Example 40.4
Show that the price of an arithmetic average price Asian call is greater or equal to a geometric
average price Asian call.
Solution.
By Proposition 40.1 we have G(T ) A(G) so that G(T ) K A(G) K. Thus, max{0, G(T )
K} max{0, A(T ) K}
Next, consider geometric average price and geometric average strike call and put options with
S = K = $40, r = 0.08, = 0.3, = 0 and T = 1. The table below gives the premiums of these
Asian options.
We observe the following:

The value of an average price Asian option decreases as N increases (because the more samples,
the less volatile the average). For Asian options that average the stock price, averaging reduces the
volatility of the value of the underlying asset. Thus, the price of the option at issuance is less than
otherwise equivalent standard option.
The value of an average strike Asian option increases as N increases.
Practice Problems
Problem 40.1
At the end of each of the past four months, a certain stock had the following prices: $345, $435,
$534, and $354. A certain 4-month Asian arithmetic average price call on this stock has a strike
price of $400. It expires today, and its payoff is computed on the basis of the arithmetic average of
the stock prices given above. What is the payoff of this option?
Problem 40.2
A stock price is $1 at the end of month 1 and increases by $1 every month without exception. A
99-month Asian arithmetic average price put on the stock has a strike price of $56 and a payoff
that is computed based on an average of monthly prices. The option expires at the end of month
99. What is the payoff of this option? Recall that 1 + 2 + + n = n(n+1)
2
.
Problem 40.3
A stock price is $1 at the end of month 1 and increases by $1 every month without exception. A
10-month Asian geometric average price call on the stock has a strike price of $2 and a payoff that
is computed based on an average of monthly prices. The option expires at the end of month 10.
What is the payoff of this option?
Problem 40.4
Consider the information of Example 40.3.
(a) What is the price of an Asian arithmetic average strike call?
(b) What is the price of an Asian geometric average strike call?
Problem 40.5
(a) What is the price of an Asian arithmetic average price put?
(b) What is the price of an Asian geometric average price put?
Problem 40.6
(a) What is the price of an Asian arithmetic average strike call?
(b) What is the price of an Asian geometric average strike call?
Problem 40.7
(a) Show that the price of an arithmetic average price Asian put is less than or equal to a geometric
average price Asian put.
(b) Show that the price of an arithmetic average strike Asian call is less than or equal to a geometric
average strike Asian call.

(c) Show that the price of an arithmetic average strike Asian put is greater than or equal to a
geometric average strike Asian put.
Problem 40.8
You have observed the following monthly closing prices for stock XYZ:
Date Stock Price
January 31, 2008 105
February 29, 2008 120
March 31, 2008 115
April 30, 2008 110
May 31, 2008 115
June 30, 2008 110
July 31, 2008 100
August 31, 2008 90
September 30, 2008 105
October 31, 2008 125
November 30, 2008 110
December 31, 2008 115
Calculate the payoff of an arithmetic average Asian call option (the average is calculated based on
monthly closing stock prices) with a strike of 100 and expiration of 1 year.
Problem 40.9
At the beginning of the year, a speculator purchases a six-month geometric average price call option
on a companys stock. The strike price is 3.5. The payoff is based on an evaluation of the stock
price at each month end.
Date Stock Price
January 31 1.27
February 28 4.11
March 31 5.10
Apricl 5.50
May 31 5.13
June 30 4.70
Based on the above stock prices, calculate the payoff of the option.
41 European Barrier Options

The second type of exotic options is the so-called barrier option. By a barrier option we mean an
option whose payoff depends on whether the underlying asset price ever reaches a specified level
or barrier during the life of the option. Thus, a barrier option is another example of a path-
dependent option. If the barriers level is the strike price, then the barrier option is equivalent to a
standard option.
Barrier options either come to existence or go out of existence the first time the asset price reaches
the barrier. Thus, three are three types of barrier options:
Knock-out options: Options go out of existence when the asset price reaches the barrier before
option maturity. These options are called down-and-out when the asset price has to decline to
reach the barrier. They are called up-and-out when the price has to increase to reach the barrier.
Out options start their lives active and become null and void when the barrier price is reached.
Knock-in options: Options come into existence when asset price reaches the barrier before
option maturity. These options are called down-and-in when the asset price has to decline to
reach the barrier. They are called up-and-in when the price has to increase to reach the barrier.
In options start their lives worthless and only become active when barrier price is reached.
Rebate options: Options make a fixed payment if the asset price reaches the barrier. The
payment can be made at the time the barrier is reached or at the time the option expires. If the
latter is true, then the option is a deferred rebate. Up rebate options occur when the barrier is
above the current asset price. Down rebate options occur when the barrier is below the current
price.
The in-out parity of barrier options is given by
knock-in option + knock-out option = standard option
For example, for otherwise equivalent options, we can write
Cup-and-in + Cup-and-out =C
Cdown-and-in + Cdown-and-out =C
Pup-and-in put + Pup-and-out =P
Pdown-and-in + Pdown-and-out =P
Since barrier options premiums are nonnegative, the in-out parity shows that barrier options have
lower premiums than standard options.
Example 41.1
An ordinary call option on a certain stock has a strike price of $50 and time to expiration of 1 year
41 EUROPEAN BARRIER OPTIONS 283
trades for $4. An otherwise identical up-and-in call option on the same stock with a barrier of $55
trades for $2.77. Find the price of an up-and-out call option on the stock with a barrier of $55,a
strike price of $50, and time to expiration of 1 year.
Solution.
Using the in-out parity relation we can write
2.77 + up-and-out call = 4.
Thus, up-and-out call premium = 4 2.77 = $1.23
Example 41.2
The stock of Tradable Co. once traded for $100 per share. Several barrier option contracts were
then written on the stock. Suddenly, the stock price increased to $130 per share which is the
barrier for the options. Find the payoff of
(a) An up-and-out call option with a strike of $120.
(b) An up-and-in call option with a strike of $120.
(c) An up-and-out put option with a strike of $120.
(d) An up-and-in put option with a strike of $120.
(e) A rebate option that pays a rebate of $12
Solution.
(a) The barrier 130 is reached so the option is knocked-out. Therefore, the payoff of the option is
zero.
(b) The barrier 130 is reached so the option is knocked-in. Therefore, the payoff of the option is
max{0, 130 120} = $10.
(c) The barrier 130 is reached so the option is knocked-out. Therefore, the payoff of the option is
zero.
(d) The barrier 130 is reached so the option is knocked-in. Therefore, the payoff of the option is
max{0, 120 130} = $0.
(e) Payoff is $12
Example 41.3
When is a barrier option worthless? Assume that the stock price is greater than the barrier at
issuance for a down-and-out and less than the barrier for up-and-out.
Solution.
Consider an up-and-out call option with barrier level H. For this option to have a positive payoff
the final stock price must exceed the strike price. If H < K then the final stock price exceeds also
the barrier H and hence is knocked-out. Consider a down-and-out put. For this option to have a
positive payoff, the final stock price must be less than the strike price. Suppose H > K, since the
stock price at issuance is greater than H, for the final stock price to be less than K means that the
stock price exceeded H and hence the option is knocked-out
Example 41.4
You are given the following information about a European call option: S = $75, K = $75, =
0.30, r = 0.08, T = 1, and = 0.
(a) Using the Black-Scholes framework, find the price of the call.
(b) What is the price of a knock-in call with a barrier of $74?
(c) What is the price of a knock-out call with a barrier of $74?
Solution.
(a) We have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5)T ln (75/75) + (0.08 + 0.5 0.32 )

d1 = = = 0.4167
T 0.3
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.4167 0.3 = 0.1167.
Thus, Z 0.4167
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.661551
2
and Z 0.1167
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.546541.
2
Hence,
C = SeT N (d1 ) KerT N (d2 ) = 75 0.661551 75e0.08 0.546541 = $11.777.
(b) For a standard call to ever be in the money, it must pass through the barrier. Therefore, the
knock-in call option has the same price as the standard call.
(c) Using the put-call parity for barrier options we find that the price of a knock-out call is zero
Practice problems
Problem 41.1
When is a barrier option the same as an ordinary option? Assume that the stock price has not
reached the barrier.
Problem 41.2
Consider a European up-and-out barrier call option with strike price $75 and barrier $72. What is
the payoff of such a call option?
Problem 41.3
Consider a European call option on a stock with strike price of $50 and time to expiration of 1 year.
An otherwise identical knock-in and knock-out call options with a barrier of $57 trade for $10.35
and $5.15 respectively. Find the price of the standard call option.
Problem 41.4
Consider a European call option on a stock with strike price of $50 and time to expiration of 1 year.
An otherwise identical knock-in and knock-out call options with a barrier of $57 trade for $10.35
and $5.15 respectively. An otherwise identical knock-in call option with a barrier of $54 has a price
of $6.14. Find the price of an otherwise identical knock-out option with a barrier of $54.
Problem 41.5
GS owns a portfolio of the following options on the stock of XYZ:
An up-and-in call with strike of $63 and barrier of $66
An up-and-out put with strike of $78 and barrier of $65
An up rebate option with rebate of $14 and barrier of $61
An up-and-out call with strike of $35 and barrier of $61
Originally, the stock traded at $59 per share. Right before the options expired, the stock began to
trade at $67 per share, its record high. What is GSs total payoff on this portfolio?
Problem 41.6
The stock of GS pays no dividends. The stock currently trades at $54 per share. An up-and-in
call with strike $55 and barrier $60 has a price of $3.04, and an up-and-out call with strike $55
and barrier $60 has a price of $1.32. The options expire in 2 months, and the annual continuously
compounded interest rate is 0.03. Find the price of one ordinary put option on the stock of GS
with strike price of $55 and time to expiration of 2 months.
Problem 41.7
You are given the following information about a call option: S = $40, K = $45, = 0.30, r =
0.08, T = 1,and = 0.
(a) Find the standard price of the option using one-period binomial model.
Problem 41.8
You have observed the following monthly closing prices for stock XYZ:
Date Stock Price
January 31, 2008 105
February 29, 2008 120
March 31, 2008 115
April 30, 2008 110
May 31, 2008 115
June 30, 2008 110
July 31, 2008 100
August 31, 2008 90
September 30, 2008 105
October 31, 2008 125
November 30, 2008 110
December 31, 2008 115
The following are one-year European options on stock XYZ. The options were issued on December
31, 2007.
(i) An arithmetic average Asian call option (the average is calculated based on monthly closing
stock prices) with a strike of 100.
(ii) An up-and-out call option with a barrier of 125 and a strike of 120.
(iii) An up-and-in call option with a barrier of 120 and a strike of 110.
Calculate the difference in payoffs between the option with the largest payoff and the option with
the smallest payoff.
Problem 41.9
Barrier option prices are shown in the table below. Each option has the same underlying asset and
the same strike price.
Type of option Price Barrier
down-and-out $25 30,000
up-and-out $15 50,000
down-and-in $30 30,000
up-and-in $X 50,000
down rebate $25 30,000
up rebate $20 50,000
Calculate X, the price of the up-and-in option.
Problem 41.10
Prices for 6-month 60-strike European up-and-out call options on a stock S are available. Below is
a table of option prices with respect to various H, the level of the barrier. Here, S(0) = 50.
H Price of up-and-out call

60 0
70 0.1294
80 0.7583
90 1.6616
4.0861
Consider a special 6-month 60-strike European knock-in, partial knock-out call option that knocks
in at H1 = 70, and partially knocks out at H2 = 80. The strike price of the option is 60. The
following table summarizes the payoff at the exercise date:
H1 Hit
H1 Not Hit H2 Not Hit H2 Hit
0 2 max{S(0.5) 60, 0} max{S(0.5) 60, 0}
Calculate the price of the option.

42 Compound European Options

In this section we discuss a third type of exotic options. A compound option is an option with
underyling asset another option. Thus, a compound option has two strikes and two expirations
associated with it one for the underlying option and one for the compound option itself.
There are four types of compound options: a call on a call (option to buy a call), a call on a put
(option to buy a put), a put on a call (option to sell a call), and a put on a put (option to sell
a put). For example, consider a call on a call. The owner of the compound option has until the
expiration date of the compound call to decide whether to exercise the compound option. If so,
he/she will receive the underyling call option with its own strike and expiration. If that call option
is exercised, he/she will recive the underlying asset.
Let Ku be the strike price of the underlying call option and Tu be the maturity date. Let Kc be the
strike price of the compound call option and Tc < Tu be the maturity time. Because we are dealing
with European options, the owner of the compound option cannot exericise the option before time
Tc . At time Tu , either the owner will pay Kc and receives the underlying call or do nothing and let
the option expires worthless. The owner will exercise if the price of the underlying call is greater
than Kc . In this case, the payoff is
max{C(STc , Ku , Tu Tc ) Kc , 0}
where C(STc , Ku , Tu Tc ) is the price of the underlying call at time Tc .

Now, let S be the underlying asset price for which the price of the underlying call is the cost of
acquiring it. That is, C(S , Ku , Tu Tc ) = Kc . Then for STc > S we expect that C(STc , Ku , Tu
Tc ) > Ku so that the compound option is exercised. It follows that two conditions must exist
for a compound CallOnCall option to be valuable ultimately: The first is that STc > S and the
second is that STu > Ku . Thus, the pricing of a CallOnCall requires a bivariate normal cummulative
probability distribution as opposed to the univariate distribution in the Black-Scholes formula.
Even though the CallOnCall option looks conceptually like an ordinary option on a stock, it is
mathematically different. That is, the Black-Scholes pricing formula cannot be applied. Even
though the underyling asset of the call is lognormally distributed, the price of the underyling asset
is not.
It can be shown that the pricing of a call on a call satisfies the following parity relationship:
CallOnCall PutOnCall + Kc erTc = BSCall
where BSCall is the price of the underlying option according to the Black-Scholes model. For a put,
the parity relationship is
CallOnPut PutOnPut + Kc erTc = BSPut.

42 COMPOUND EUROPEAN OPTIONS 289
Example 42.1
The Black-Scholes price of Call Option Q which expires is 2 years is $44. The annual continuously-
compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.03. The price of a PutOnCall option on Option Q with a
strike price of $50 and expiring in 1 year is $10. What is the price of a CallOnCall option on Option
Q with a strike price of $50 and expiring in 1 year?
Solution.
Using the put-call parity for compound options we can write
CallOnCall PutOnCall + Kc erTc = BSCall.
We are given PutOnCall = 10, BSCall = 44, r = 0.03, Tc = 1, Kc = 50. Thus,
CallOnCall 10 + 50e0.03 = 44.
Solving this equation we find CallOnCall = $5.477723323
Valuing Options on Dividend-Paying Stocks

Next, we examine the use of the compound option model to price an American call option on a
stock where the stock pays a single dividend of D at time Tc (the expiration time of the compound
option). We can either exercise the option at the cum-divident price1 STc + D, or we can hold the
option until expiration. In the latter case, the underlying option will be priced on the basis of the
stock price STc after the dividend is paid. The call option payoff at Tc is
max{C(STc , Tu Tc ), STc + D Ku }.
By the put-call parity, the value of the unexercised call is
C(STc , Tu Tc ) = P (STc , Tu Tc ) Ku er(Tu Tc ) .
The call option payoff at time Tc can thus be written as
STc + D Ku + max{P (STc , Tu Tc ) [D Ku (1 er(Tu Tc ) )], 0}. (42.1)
The current value of the American call option is the present value of this amount. Note that
max{P (STc , Tu Tc ) [D Ku (1 er(Tu Tc ) )], 0} is the payoff of a call on a put option with strike
price D Ku (1 er(Tu Tc ) ) and maturity date Tc permiting the owner to buy a put option with
strike Ku and maturity date Tu . Letting S0 = P V0,Tc (STc + D) we obtain
CAmer = S0 Ku erTc + CallOnPut.
1
The ex-dividend date is the first date when buying a stock does not entitle the new buyer to the declared
dividend, as the transfer of stock ownership cannot be completed before the company initiates dividend payment.
Before this date, the stock trades cum-dividend.
Remark 42.1
Note that in the above compound option we assume that the strike D K(1 er(Tu Tc ) ) is positive
for otherwise the interest on the strike (over the life of the option from the ex-dividend date to
expiration) would exceed the value of the dividend and early exercise would never be optimal.
Remark 42.2
The compound option that is implicit in the early exercise decision gives the right to acquire a
put option after the dividend is paid. (The put option is acquired if we do not exercise the call.
If the call is unexercised after the dividend, all subsequent valuation will be with respect to the
ex-dividend value of the stock.) Thus, for purposes of valuing the compound option, the underlying
asset is really the stock without the dividend, which is the prepaid forward. In obtaining this put,
the call owner gives up the dividend and earns interest on the strike. Remember that exercising the
compound option is equivalent to keeping the option on the stock unexercised.
Example 42.2
Suppose that a stock will pay a dividend of $2 in 4 months. A call option on the stock has a strike
price of $33 and will expire in 6 months. Four months from now, the stock price is expected to be
$35 and the price of the call will be $3 after the dividend is paid. What will be the value of the call
option in four months?
Solution.
The value of the call option in 4 months is given by
max{C(STc , Tu Tc ), STc + D Ku }.
We are given that STc = 35, Tc = 13 , Tu = 0.5, Ku = 33, D = 2, and C(STc , Tu Tc ) = 3. Thus,
max{3, 35 + 2 33} = $4
Example 42.3
You have perfect knowledge that 3 months from now, a stock will pay a dividend of $5 per share.
Right after it pays the dividend, the stock will be worth $80 per share. A certain put option
on this stock has a strike price of $83, time to expiration of 6 months. The annual continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate r is 0.07.
(a) What is the strike price of the CallOnPut compound option (after the dividend is paid)?
(b) Suppose that three months from now, the CallOnPut compound option has a price of $4.04.
What is the price of the American call?
Solution.
(a) The strike price of the CallOnPut compound option is
D Ku (1 er(Tu Tc ) ) = 5 83(1 e0.07(0.50.25) ) = $3.56.
(b) The price of the American call today is
CAmer = S0 Ku erTc + CallOnPut = 80 83e0.070.25 + 4.04 = $2.48

Practice Problems
Problem 42.1
The annual continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.12. A CallOnCall option on Call
Option A has a price of $53. A PutOnCall option on Option A has a price of $44. Both compound
options have a strike price of $100 and time to expiration of 2 years. Find the Black-Scholes price
of the underlying Option.
Problem 42.2
The Black-Scholes price of Call Option A is $12. A CallOnCall option on Call Option A has a price
of $5. A PutOnCall option on Option A has a price of $3.33. Both compound options have a strike
price of $14 and expire in 3 years. Find the annual continuously-compounded interest rate.
Problem 42.3
The Black-Scholes price of put Option Q which expires is 2 years is $6.51. The annual continuously-
compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.05. The price of a CallOnPut option on Option Q with a
strike price of $3 and expiring in 1 year is $4.71. What is the price of a PutOnPut option on Option
Q with a strike price of $3 and expiring in 1 year?
Problem 42.4
You are given the following information on a CallOnPut option:
The strike price of the underlying option is 43
The strike price of the compound option is 3
The compound option expires in 6 month
The underlying option expires six months after te compound option.
The underlying option is American.
Based on the above binomial stock price tree, calculate the value of the compound otpion.
Problem 42.5
Suppose that a stock will pay a dividend of $2 in 4 months. A call option on the stock has a strike
price of $33 and will expire in 6 months. Four months from now, the stock price is expected to
be $35 and the price of the call will be $3 after the dividend is paid. The annual continuously
compounded risk-free interest rate r is 0.03. If the call option is unexercised, what will be the value
4 months from now of a put option on the stock with a strike price of $33 and time to expiration
of 6 months?
Problem 42.6
You have perfect knowledge that 1 year from now, the stock of GS will pay a dividend of $10 per
share. Right after it pays the dividend, the stock will be worth $100 per share. A certain put option
on this stock has a strike price of $102, time to expiration of 2 years, and will have a price of $12 in
1 year if unexercised. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate r is 0.08. What
will be the price in 1 year (after the dividend is paid) of a call option on this stock with a strike
price of $102 and time to expiration of 2 years?
Problem 42.7
You have perfect knowledge that 1 year from now, the stock of GS will pay a dividend of $10 per
share. Right after it pays the dividend, the stock will be worth $100 per share. A certain put option
on this stock has a strike price of $102, time to expiration of 2 years, and will have a price of $12
in 1 year if unexercised. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate r is 0.08. You
can use a compound CallOnPut option on the GS put to determine the price in 1 year (after the
dividend is paid) of a call option on this stock with a strike price of $102 and time to expiration of
2 years. What is the strike price of such a CallOnPut option?
Problem 42.8
You have perfect knowledge that 3 months from now, a stock will pay a dividend of $6 per share.
Right after it pays the dividend, the stock will be worth $65 per share. A certain put option on this
stock has a strike price of $65, time to expiration of one. The annual continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate r is 0.08.
(a) What is the strike price of the CallOnPut compound option (after the dividend is paid)?
(b) Suppose that the current American call price is $4.49. What is the price of the CallOnPut
compound option?
43 Chooser and Forward Start Options

A chooser option is exactly what its name suggests it is an option which allows the holder to
choose whether his/her option is a call or a put at a predetermined time t. Both options have the
same strike price K.
The payoff at the choice time t is given by:
Payoff = max{C(St , t, T ), P (St , t, T )}
where C(St , t, T ) and P (St , t, T ) denote the respective time-t price of a European call and a put at
the choice date t.
Note that if T = t, that is the chooser option and the underlying options expire simultaneously,
then the chooser payoff is the payoff of a call if ST > K and the payoff of a put if ST < K. That is,
the chooser option is equivalent to a straddle with strike price K and expiration time T.
Now, suppose that the chooser must be exercised at choice time t, using call-put parity at t, the
value of a chooser option at t can be expressed as:
max{C(St , t, T ), P (St , t, T )} =C(St , t, T ) + max{C(St , t, T ), C(St , t, T ) P (St , t, T )}

=C(St , t, T ) + max{0, Ker(T t) St e(T t) }
=C(St , t, T ) + e(T t) max{0, Ke(r)(T t) St }
This says that the chooser option is equivalent to a call option with strike price K and maturity T
and e(T t) put options with strike price Ke(r)(T t) and maturity t.
Example 43.1
Consider a chooser option (also known as an as-you-like-it option) on a nondividend-paying stock.
At time 2, its holder will choose whether it becomes a European call option or a European put
option, each of which will expire at time 3 with a strike price of $90. The time-0 price of the call
option expiring at time 3 is $30. The chooser option price is $42 at time t = 0. The stock price is
$100 at time t = 0. Find the time-0 price of a European call option with maturity at time 2 and
strike price of $90. The risk-free interest rate is 0.
Solution.
The time-0 price of the chooser is given by
chooser option price = C(St , t, T ) + e(T t) max{0, Ke(r)(T t) St }.
We are given that r = = 0, S0 = 100, C(100, 2, 3) = 30, t = 2, T = 3, K = 90. Thus, at time t = 0

we have
42 = 30 + P (90, 2).
43 CHOOSER AND FORWARD START OPTIONS 295
Solving this equatio we find P (90, 2) = 12. Using the put-call parity of European options we can
write
C(90, 2) = P (90, 2) + S0 e2 Ke2r = 12 + 100 90 = $22
Example 43.2
Consider a chooser option on a stock. The stock currently trades for $50 and pays dividend at the
continuously compounded yield of 4%. The choice date is six months from now. The underlying
European options expire 9 months from now and have a strike price of $55. The time-0 price of the
European option is $4. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 10% and the volatility of the
prepaid forward price of the stock is 30%. Find the time-0 chooser option price.
Solution.
The chooser option time-0 price is the time-0 price of a European call with strike $55 and maturity
date of 9 months and the time-0 price of e(T t) = e0.040.25 put options with strike price of
Ke(r)(T t) = 55e(0.100.04)0.25 = $54.1812 and expiration of 6 months. To find the price of such
a put option, we use the Black-Scholes framework. We have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (50/54.1812) + (0.10 0.04 + 0.5 0.32 ) 0.5
d1 = = = 0.1311
T 0.3 0.5
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.1311 0.3 0.5 = 0.3432.
Thus, Z 0.1311
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.447848
2
and Z 0.3432
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.365724.
2
The price of the European put with strike $54.1812 and maturity of six months is
P (54.1812, 0.5) = 54.1812e0.100.5 (1 0.365724) 50e0.040.5 (1 0.447848) = $5.6289.
The time-0 price of the chooser option is
4 + e0.040.25 5.6289 = $9.5729
Forward Start Option

A Forward start option is an option whose strike will be determined at some future date. Like a
standard option, a forward-start option is paid for in the present; however, the strike price is not
fully determined until an intermediate date before expiration.

Consider a forward start option with maturity T. Suppose that at time 0 < t < T the forward start
option will give you one call with T t periods to expiration and strike St . The time-t price of
the forward start option is
C = St e(T t) N (d1 ) St er(T t) N (d2 )
where
ln + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d1 =
T t
and
d2 = d1 T t.
Now, the time-0 price of the forward start option is ert C.
Example 43.3
A nondividend-paying stock currently trades for $100. A forward start option with maturity of nine
months will give you, six months from today, a 3-month at-the-money call option. The expected
stock volatility is 30% and the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. Assume that r, ,
and will remain the same over the next six months.
(a) Find the value of the forward start option six months from today. What fraction of the stock
price does the option cost?
(b) What investment today would guarantee that you had the money in 6 months to purchase an
at-the-money call option?
(c) Find the time-0 price of the forward start option today.
Solution.
(a) After six months, the price of forward start option is found as follows:
ln + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln 1 + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 )(0.25)
d1 = = = 0.2083
T t 0.3 0.25
and
d2 = d1 T t = 0.2083 0.3 0.25 = 0.0583.
Thus, Z 0.2083
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.582503
2
and Z 0.0583
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.523245.
2
Hence, the price of the forward start six months from now is
C = St e(T t) N (d1 ) St er(T t) N (d2 ) = St [0.582503 e0.080.25 0.523245] = 0.069618St .
(b) In six months we will need 0.069618S0.5 dollars to buy the call. Thus, we must have 0.069618
shares of the stock today.
(c) The time-0 price of the forward start option must be 0.069618 multiplied by the time-0 price of
a security that gives St as payoff at time t = 0.5 years, i.e., multiplied by 100 or $6.9618
Example 43.4
A dividend-paying stock currently trades for $50. The continuously-compound dividend yield is
2%. A forward start option with maturity of two years will give you, one year from today, a 1-year
at-the-money put option. The expected stock volatility is 30% and the continuously compounded
risk-free rate is 10%. Assume that r, , and will remain the same over the year.
(a) Find the value of the forward start option one year from today. What fraction of the stock price
does the option cost?
(b) What investment today would guarantee that you had the money in one year to purchase an
at-the-money put option?
Solution.
(a) After one year, the price of forward start option is found as follows:
ln + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln 1 + (0.10 0.02 + 0.5(0.3)2 )(1)

d1 = = = 0.41667
T t 0.3 1
and
d2 = d1 T t = 0.41667 0.3 1 = 0.11667.
Thus,
Z 0.41667
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.66154
2
and Z 0.11667
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.546439.
2
Hence, the price of the forward start one year from now is
P = St er(T t) N (d2 )St e(T t) N (d1 ) = St [(10.546439)e0.10 e0.02 (10.66154)] = 0.0786St .

(b) In one year we will need 0.0786S1 dollars to buy the put. Thus, we must have 0.0786 shares of
the stock today.
(c) The time-0 price of the forward start option must be 0.0786 multiplied by the time-0 price of
a security that gives St as payoff at time t = 1 year, i.e., multiplied by the prepaid forward price
P
F0,1 (St ). Hence, the time-0 price of the forward start option is
P
0.0786F0,1 (St ) = 0.0786e0.10 F0,1 (St ) = 0.0786e0.10 50 = 3.5580
Practice Problems
Problem 43.1
continuously compounded yield of 8%. The choice date is two years from now. The underlying
European options expire in four years from now and have a strike price of $45. The continuously
compounded risk-free rate is 5% and the volatility of the prepaid forward price of the stock is 30%.
Find the delta of the European call with strike price of $45 and maturity of 4 years.
Problem 43.2
Find the delta of the European put with strike price of $47.7826 and maturity of 2 years.
Problem 43.3
Find the delta of the chooser option.
Problem 43.4
Consider a chooser option on a stock that pays dividend at the continuously compounded yield of
5%. After one year, its holder will choose whether it becomes a European call option or a European
put option, each of which will expire in 3 years with a strike price of $100. The time-0 price of a
call option expiring in one year is $9.20. The stock price is $95 at time t = 0. The time-0 price of
the chooser option is $28.32. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 5%. Find the
time-0 price of the European option with strike price of $100 and maturity of 3 years.
Problem 43.5
Consider a chooser option (also known as an as-you-like-it option) on a nondividend-paying stock.
At time 1, its holder will choose whether it becomes a European call option or a European put
option, each of which will expire at time 3 with a strike price of $100. The chooser option price is
$20 at time t = 0. The stock price is $95 at time t = 0. Let C(T ) denote the price of a European
call option at time t = 0 on the stock expiring at time T, T > 0, with a strike price of $100. You
are given:
(i) The risk-free interest rate is 0.
(ii) C(1) = $4
Determine C(3).
Problem 43.6
A dividend-paying stock currently trades for $50. The continuously-compound dividend yield is
2%. A forward start option with maturity of two years will give you, one year from today, a 1-year
at-the-money call option. The expected stock volatility is 30% and the continuously compounded
risk-free rate is 10%. Assume that r, , and will remain the same over the year.
(a) Find the value of the forward start option one year from today. What fraction of the stock price
does the option cost?
(b) What investment today would guarantee that you had the money in one year to purchase an
Problem 43.7
A nondividend-paying stock currently trades for $100. A forward start option with maturity of
nine months will give you, six months from today, a 3-month call option with strike price 105%
of the current stock price. The expected stock volatility is 30% and the continuously compounded
risk-free rate is 8%. Assume that r, , and will remain the same over the next six months.
(a) Find the value of the forward start option six months from today. What fraction of the stock
price does the option cost?
(b) What investment today would guarantee that you had the money in 6 months to purchase an
Problem 43.8
Consider a forward start option which, 1 year from today, will give its owner a 1-year European
call option with a strike price equal to the stock price at that time.
You are given:
(i) The European call option is on a stock that pays no dividends.
(iii) The forward price for delivery of 1 share of the stock 1 year from today is $100.
Under the Black-Scholes framework, determine the price today of the forward start option.
Problem 43.9
You own one share of a nondividend-paying stock. Because you worry that its price may drop
over the next year, you decide to employ a rolling insurance strategy, which entails obtaining one
3-month European put option on the stock every three months, with the first one being bought
immediately.
You are given:
(iii) The current stock price is 45.
(iv) The strike price for each option is 90% of the then-current stock price.
Your broker will sell you the four options but will charge you for their total cost now.
Under the Black-Scholes framework, how much do you now pay your broker?
44 Gap Options
We know by now that the payoff of a standard option is the result of comparing the stock price with
the strike price. In the case of a call, we obtain a nonzero payoff when the stock price is greater
than the strike price. In the case of a put, we obtain a nonzero payoff when the stock price is less
than the strike price. For a gap option, we obtain exactly these payoffs but by comparing the stock
price to a price different than the strike price.
A gap option involves a strike price K1 and a trigger price K2 . We assume that K1 and K2 are
different.1 The trigger price determines whether the option has a nonnegative payoff. For example,
the payoff of a gap call option is given by

ST K1 if ST > K2
Gap call option payoff =
0 if ST K2
The diagram of the gap call options payoff is shown in Figure 44.1.
Figure 44.1
Note that the payoffs of a gap call positive can be either positive or negative. Also, note the gap in
the graph when ST = K2 .
Likewise, we define the payoff of a gap put option by

K1 ST if ST < K2
Gap put option payoff =
0 if ST K2
1
If K1 = K2 a gap option is just an ordinary option.
44 GAP OPTIONS 303
The diagram of the gap put options payoff is shown in Figure 44.2.
Figure 44.2
The pricing formulas of gap otpions are a modification of the Black-Scholes formulas where the
strike price K in the primary formulas is being replaced by K1 and the strike price in d1 is being
replaced by the trigger price K2 . Thus, the price of a gap call option is given by
C = SeT N (d1 ) K1 erT N (d2 )
and that for a gap put option is
P = K1 erT N (d2 ) SerT N (d1 )
where
ln (S/K2 ) + (r + 0.5 2 )T
d1 =
T
and
d2 = d1 T .
It follows that the deltas of an ordinary option and otherwise an identical gap option are equal.
Example 44.1
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. A gap call option on a stock has a trigger price
of $55, a strike price of $50, and a time to expiration of 2 years. The stock currently trades for $53
per share and pays dividends with a continuously compounded annual yield of 0.03. The annual
continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.09, and the relevant price volatility for the
Black-Scholes formula is 0.33. Find the Black-Scholes price of this gap call.
Solution.
ln (S/K2 ) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (53/55) + (0.09 0.03 + 0.5(0.33)2 2
d1 = = = 0.3603
T 0.33 2
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.3603 0.33 2 = 0.8269.
Thus, Z 0.3603
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.359311
2
and Z 0.8269
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.204147
2
Hence,
C = SeT N (d1 ) K1 erT N (d2 ) = 53e0.032 0.359311 50e0.092 0.204147 = $9.409
Because negative payoffs are possible, gap options can have negative premiums.
Example 44.2
of $52, a strike price of $65, and a time to expiration of 3 months. The stock currently trades
for $50 per share and pays dividends with a continuously compounded annual yield of 0.04. The
annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.07, and the relevant price volatility for
the Black-Scholes formula is 0.40. Find the Black-Scholes price of this gap call.
Solution.
ln (S/K2 ) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (50/52) + (0.07 0.04 + 0.5(0.40)2 0.25
d1 = = = 0.05860
T 0.40 0.252
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.05860 0.40 0.252 = 0.25860.
44 GAP OPTIONS 305
Thus, Z 0.05860
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.476635
2
and Z 0.25860
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.397972
2
Hence,
C = SeT N (d1 ) K1 erT N (d2 ) = 50e0.040.25 0.476635 65e0.070.25 0.397972 = $1.825

Practice Problems
Problem 44.1
True or False: When the strike equal the trigger, the premium for a gap option is the same as for
an ordinary option with the same strike.
Problem 44.2
True or False: For a fixed K1 , if K2 > K1 for a gap put option then increasing the trigger price
reduces the premium.
Problem 44.3
True or False: For a fixed K2 , increasing K1 for a gap put option then increasing will reduce the
premium.
Problem 44.4
True or False: For any strike K1 > 0, there is a K2 such that PGap = 0.
Problem 44.5
of $31, a strike price of $29, and a time to expiration of 6 months. The stock currently trades
for $30 per share and pays dividends with a continuously compounded annual yield of 0.03. The
annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.06, and the relevant price volatility for
the Black-Scholes formula is 0.30. Find the Black-Scholes price of this gap call.
Problem 44.6
Let S(t) denote the price at time t of a stock that pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional
to its price. Consider a European gap option with expiration date T, T > 0.
If the stock price at time T is greater than $100, the payoff is
S(T ) 90;
otherwise, the payoff is zero.

You are given:
(i) S(0) = $80
(ii) The price of a European call option with expiration date T and strike price $100 is $4.
(iii) The delta of the call option in (ii) is 0.2.
Calculate the price of the gap option.
44 GAP OPTIONS 307
Problem 44.7
Which one of the following statements is true about exotic options?
(A) Asian options are worth more than European options
(B) Barrier options have a lower premium than standard options
(C) Gap options cannot be priced with the Black-Scholes formula
(D) Compound options can be priced with the Black-Scholes formula
(E) Asina options are path-independ options.
Problem 44.8
Consider three gap calls A, B, and C with underlying asset a certain stock. The strike price of call
A is $48, that of call B is $56 and call C is $50. Suppose that CA = $4.98, CB = $1.90. All three
options have the same trigger price and time to expiration. Find CC .
Problem 44.9
A market-maker sells 1,000 1-year European gap call options, and delta-hedges the position with
shares.
You are given:
(i) Each gap call option is written on 1 share of a nondividend-paying stock.
(ii) The current price of the stock is 100.
(iv) Each gap call option has a strike price of 130.
(v) Each gap call option has a payment trigger of 100.
(vi) The risk-free interest rate is 0%.
Under the Black-Scholes framework, determine the initial number of shares in the delta-hedge.
45 Exchange Options
A exchange option, also known as an outperformance option, is an option that gives the owner
the right to exchange an underlying asset with a strike asset known as the benchmark. Such an
option pays off only when the underyling asset outperforms the strike asset. For example, a call
option on a stock is an exchange option which entails the owner to exchange the stock with cash
when the stock outperforms cash.
The pricing formula for an exchange option is a variant of the Black-Scholes formula. The exchange
call option price is
ExchangeCallPrice = SeS T N (d1 ) KeK T N (d2 )
and that for a put is
ExchangePutPrice = KeK T N (d2 ) SeS T N (d1 )
where
SeS T
ln KeK T
+ 0.5 2 T
d1 =
T
and
d2 = d1 T .
Here, denotes the volatility of ln (S/K) over the life of the option. Hence,
Var[ln (S/K)] =Var[ln (S)] + Var[ln (K)] 2Cov[ln (S), ln (K)]
=S2 + K
2
2S K
where is the correlation between the continuously compounded returns on the two assets.
Example 45.1
One share of Stock A is used as the underlying asset on an exchange option, for which the bench-
mark asset is one share of a Stock B. Currently, Stock A trades for $321 per share, and Stock B
trades for $300 per share. Stock A has an annual price volatility of 0.34 and pays dividends at an
annual continuously compounded yield of 0.22. Stock B has an annual price volatility of 0.66 and
pays dividends at an annual continuously compounded yield of 0.02. The correlation between the
continuously compounded returns on the two assets is 0.84. The exchange option expires in 4 years.
Find the Black-Scholes price of this option.
Solution.
The underlying asset is a share of Stock A and the strike asset is one share of Stock B. Therefore,
we have S = 321 and K = 300. The volatility of ln (S/K) is
q
= S2 + K 2
2S K = 0.342 + 0.662 2 0.84 0.34 0.66 = 0.4173823187.
45 EXCHANGE OPTIONS 309

SeS T
ln KeK T
+ 0.5 2 T
d1 =
T
321e0.224
ln 300e0.024
+ 0.5(0.4173823187)2 (4)
=
0.4173823187 2
= 0.4599204785
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.4599204785 0.4173823187 2 = 1.294685116.
Thus, Z 0.4599204785
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.32278665
2
and Z 1.294685116
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.097714438.
2
The value of the exchange call is
ExchangeCallPrice =SeS T N (d1 ) KeK T N (d2 )
=321e0.224 0.32278665 300e0.024 0.097714438 = $15.91699158
Example 45.2
An exchange call option with expiration of nine months allows the owner to acquire one share of
a stock A for three shares of a stock B. The price of the option is $17.97. Stock A pays dividends
at the continuously compounded yield of 4% and that of stock B is 3%. Stock A currently trades
for $100 and stock B trades for $30. Find the value of an exchange option that allows the owner to
acquire one share of stock B by giving up 13 shares of stock A.
Solution.
Let P (St , Kt , T t) be the price of an option that allows the owner to give up one share of stock
A for three shares of stock B. Then by the put-call parity we have
P P
C(St , Kt , T t) P (St , Kt , T t) = Ft,T (S) Ft,T (K)
or
17.97 P (St , Kt , T t) = 100e0.040.75 3(30)e0.030.75 .
1
Thus, P (St , Kt , T t) = $8.923. Hence, the value of an option allowing its owner to give up 3
shares
of stock A in exchange of 1 share of stock B is 8.923/3 = $2.97
Example 45.3
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. Consider two nondividend-paying stocks whose timet prices
are denoted by S1 (t) and S2 (t), respectively.
You are given:
(i) S1 (0) = 20 and S2 (0) = 11.
(ii) Stock 1s volatility is 0.15.
(iii) Stock 2s volatility is 0.20.
(iv) The correlation between the continuously compounded returns of the two stocks is 0.30.
(vi) A one-year European option with payoff max{22 max{S1 (1), 2S2 (1)}, 0} has a current (time-
0) price of 0.29.
Consider a European option that gives its holder the right to buy either one share of Stock 1 or two
shares of Stock 2 at a price of 22 one year from now. Calculate the current (time-0) price of this
option.
Solution.
Suppose that X = max{S1 (1), 2S2 (1)} is the payoff of a certain asset A. Using (vi) we have the
payoff of a European put option on asset A
max{22 max{S1 (1), 2S2 (1)}, 0} = max{22 X, 0} = 0.29.
We are asked to find the time-0 price of a European call option with payoff, one year from today,
given by
max{max{S1 (1), 2S2 (1)} 22, 0} = max{X 22, 0}.
Using, the put-call parity
C P = S KerT
we find C = 0.29 + A0 22e0.061 where A0 is the time-0 price of asset A. It follows that in order
to find C we must find the value of A0 . Since
max{S1 (1), 2S2 (1)} = 2S2 (1) + max{S1 (1) 2S2 (1), 0}
the time-0 value of A is twice the time-0 value of stock 2 plus the time-0 value of an exchange call
option that allows the owner to give two shares of stock 2 (strike asset) for one share of stock 1
(underlying asset). Hence,
A0 = 2S2 (0) + ExchangeCallPrice
We next find the time-0 value of the exchange call option. We have
q p
= S2 + K 2
2S K = 0.152 + 0.202 2(0.30)(0.15)(0.20) = 0.28373
45 EXCHANGE OPTIONS 311

SeS T
ln KeK T
+ 0.5 2 T
d1 =
T
01
(20)e
ln 211e01
+ 0.5(0.28373)2 (1)
=
0.28373 1
= 0.19406
and
d2 = d1 T = 0.19406 0.28373 1 = 0.47779.
Thus, Z 0.19406
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.423064
2
and Z 0.47779
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.3164.
2
The value of the exchange call is
ExchangeCallPrice =SeS T N (d1 ) KeK T N (d2 )

=20 0.423064 2 11 0.3164 = 1.5$
Hence,
A0 = 2 11 + 1.5 = $23.5
and
C = 0.29 + 23.5 22e0.06 = 3.07
The Lognormal Stock Pricing Model
The Black-Scholes pricing model assumes that the asset prices are lognormally distributed. The
purpose of this chapter is to examine in more details the lognormal distribution.
313
314 THE LOGNORMAL STOCK PRICING MODEL
46 The Normal Distribution

A normal random variable with parameters and 2 has a pdf
1 (x)2
f (x) = e 22 , < x < .
2
This density function is a bell-shaped curve that is symmetric about (See Figure 46.1).
Figure 46.1
To prove that the given f (x) is indeed a pdf we must show that the area under the normal curve is
1. That is, Z
1 (x)2
e 22 dx = 1.
2
x
First note that using the substitution y =
we have
Z Z
1 (x)2 1 y2
e 22 dx = e 2 dy.
2 2
R y2
Toward this end, let I =
e 2 dy. Then
Z 2
Z Z Z
2 x2 +y 2
y2 x2
2
I = e dy dx = e e 2 dxdy

Z Z 2 2
Z
r2
r2
= e rdrd = 2 re 2 dr = 2
0 0 0

Thus, I = 2 and the result is proved. Note that in the process above, we used the polar
substitution x = r cos , y = r sin , and dydx = rdrd.
46 THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION 315
Example 46.1
The width of a bolt of fabric is normally distributed with mean 950mm and standard deviation 10
mm. What is the probability that a randomly chosen bolt has a width between 947 and 950 mm?
Solution.
Let X be the width (in mm) of a randomly chosen bolt. Then X is normally distributed with mean
950 mm and variation 100 mm. Thus,
Z 950
1 (x950)2
P r(947 X 950) = e 200 dx 0.118
10 2 947
Theorem 46.1
If X is a normal distribution with parameters (, 2 ) then Y = aX + b is a normal distribution
with parmaters (a + b, a2 2 ).
Proof.
We prove the result when a > 0. The proof is similar for a < 0. Let FY denote the cdf of Y. Then
FY (x) =P r(Y x) = P r(aX + b x)

xb xb
=P r X = FX
a a
Differentiating both sides to obtain

1 xb
fY (x) = fX
a a

1 xb 2 2
= exp ( ) /(2 )
2a a
1
exp (x (a + b))2 /2(a)2

=
2a
which shows that Y is normal with parameters (a + b, a2 2 )
Note that if Z = X
then this is a normal distribution with parameters (0,1). Such a random
variable is called the standard normal random variable.
Theorem 46.2
If X is a normal random variable with parameters (, 2 ) then
(a) E(X) =
(b) Var(X) = 2 .
Proof.
X
(a) Let Z = be the standard normal distribution. Then

R R x2 x2
E(Z) = xfZ (x)dx = 12 xe 2 dx = 12 e 2 =0

Thus,
E(X) = E(Z + ) = E(Z) + = .
(b) Z
1 x2
2
Var(Z) = E(Z ) = x2 e 2 dx.
2
2
x2
Using integration by parts with u = x and dv = xe we find

x2 x2 R x2
Var(Z) = 2 xe 2
1
+ e 2 dx = 12 e 2 dx = 1.
R

Thus,
Var(X) = Var(Z + ) = 2 Var(Z) = 2
Figure 46.2 shows different normal curves with the same and different .
Figure 46.2
It is traditional to denote the cdf of Z by (x). However, to be consistent with the Black-Scholes
notation, we will use the letter N. That is,
Z x
1 y2
N (x) = e 2 dy.
2
x2
Now, since fZ (x) = N 0 (x) = 12 e 2 then fZ (x) is an even function. This implies that N 00 (x) =
N 0 (x). Integrating we find that N (x) = N (x) + C. Letting x = 0 we find that C = 2N (0) =
2(0.5) = 1. Thus,
N (x) = 1 N (x), < x < . (46.1)
This implies that
P r(Z x) = P r(Z > x).
Now, N (x) is the area under the standard curve to the left of x. The values of N (x) for x 0 are
given in the table below. Equation 46.1 is used for x < 0.
Example 46.2
On May 5, in a certain city, temperatures have been found to be normally distributed with mean
= 24 C and variance 2 = 9. The record temperature on that day is 27 C.
(a) What is the probability that the record of 27 C will be broken next May 5 ?
(b) What is the probability that the record of 27 C will be broken at least 3 times during the
next 5 years on May 5 ? (Assume that the temperatures during the next 5 years on May 5 are
independent.)
(c) How high must the temperature be to place it among the top 5% of all temperatures recorded
on May 5?
Solution.
(a) Let X be the temperature on May 5. Then X has a normal distribution with = 24 and = 3.
The desired probability is given by

X 24 27 24
P r(X > 27) =P r > = P r(Z > 1)
3 3
=1 P r(Z 1) = 1 N (1) = 1 0.8413 = 0.1587
(b) Let Y be the number of times with broken records during the next 5 years on May 5. Then, Y
has a binomial distribution with n = 5 and p = 0.1587. So, the desired probability is
P r(Y 3) =P r(Y = 3) + P r(Y = 4) + P r(Y = 5)
=C(5, 3)(0.1587)3 (0.8413)2 + C(5, 4)(0.1587)4 (0.8413)1
+C(5, 5)(0.1587)5 (0.8413)0
0.03106
(c) Let x be the desired temperature. We must have P r(X > x) = 0.05 or equivalently P r(X
x) = 0.95. Note that

X 24 x 24 x 24
P r(X x) = P r < = Pr Z < = 0.95
3 3 3
From the Z-score Table (at the end of this section) we find P r(Z 1.65) = 0.95. Thus, we set
x24
3
= 1.65 and solve for x we find x = 28.95 C
Next, we point out that probabilities involving normal random variables are reduced to the ones
involving standard normal variable. For example

X a a
P r(X a) = P r =N .

Example 46.3
Let X be a normal random variable with parameters and 2 . Find
(a)P r( X + ).
(b)P r( 2 X + 2).
(c)P r( 3 X + 3).
Solution.
(a) We have
P r( X + ) =P r(1 Z 1)
=N (1) N (1)
=2(0.8413) 1 = 0.6826.
Thus, 68.26% of all possible observations lie within one standard deviation to either side of the
mean.
(b) We have
P r( 2 X + 2) =P r(2 Z 2)
=N (2) N (2)
=2(0.9772) 1 = 0.9544.
Thus, 95.44% of all possible observations lie within two standard deviations to either side of the
mean.
(c) We have
P r( 3 X + 3) =P r(3 Z 3)
=N (3) N (3)
=2(0.9987) 1 = 0.9974.
Thus, 99.74% of all possible observations lie within three standard deviations to either side of the
mean
Sum of Normal Random Variables1 and the Central Limit Theorem

Suppose that X and Y are two jointly normally distributed2 random variables. For any real numbers
a and b, the sum aX + bY is also a normal random variable3 with variance
Var(aX + bY ) =Cov(aX + bY, aX + bY ) = a2 Cov(X, X) + 2abCov(X, Y ) + b2 Cov(Y, Y )

=a2 X
2
+ b2 Y2 + 2abX Y
where
Cov(X, Y )
= p
Var(X)Var(Y )
is the correlation coefficient that measures the degree of linearity between X and Y and Cov(X, Y )
is the covariance of X and Y.
Now, by the linearity of the mean we have E(aX + bY ) = aE(X) + bE(Y ).
The normal distribution arises so frequently in applications due the amazing result known as the
central limit theorem which states that the sum of large number of independent identically
distributed random variables is well-approximated by a normal random variable.
Example 46.4
Let X have a standard normal distribution. Let Z be a random variable independent from X such
that P r(Z = 1) = P r(Z = 1) = 21 . Define Y = XZ.
(a) Show that Y has the standard normal distribution.
(b) Show that X + Y is not normally distributed.
1
See Section 36 of [3]
2
See Section 29 of [3].
3
In general, the sum of two normal random variables is not normal. However, the sum of two independent normal
random variables is normal.
Solution.
(a) We have

FX (x) if Z = 1
FY (x) = P r(Y x) = P r(XZ x) =
1 FX (x) if Z = 1
Taking the derivative of both sides we find fY (x) = fX (x).

1
(b) This follows from the fact that P r(X + Y = 0) = P r(Z = 1) = 2
6= 1
Example 46.5
Suppose that X1 is a random variable with mean 1 and variance 5 and X2 is a normal random
variable independent from X1 with mean 2 and variance 2. The covariance between X1 and X2
is 1.3. What is the distribution X1 X2 ?
Solution.
Since the random variables are normal and independent, the difference is a random variable with
mean E(X1 X2 ) = E(X2 ) E(X2 ) = 1 (2) = 3 and variance
Var(X1 X2 ) = 52 + 22 2(1.3) = 26.4
Remark 46.1
In general, the product of two normal random variables needs not be normal.
Area under the Standard Normal Curve from to x
x 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09
0.0 0.5000 0.5040 0.5080 0.5120 0.5160 0.5199 0.5239 0.5279 0.5319 0.5359
0.1 0.5398 0.5438 0.5478 0.5517 0.5557 0.5596 0.5636 0.5675 0.5714 0.5753
0.2 0.5793 0.5832 0.5871 0.5910 0.5948 0.5987 0.6026 0.6064 0.6103 0.6141
0.3 0.6179 0.6217 0.6255 0.6293 0.6331 0.6368 0.6406 0.6443 0.6480 0.6517
0.4 0.6554 0.6591 0.6628 0.6664 0.6700 0.6736 0.6772 0.6808 0.6844 0.6879
0.5 0.6915 0.6950 0.6985 0.7019 0.7054 0.7088 0.7123 0.7157 0.7190 0.7224
0.6 0.7257 0.7291 0.7324 0.7357 0.7389 0.7422 0.7454 0.7486 0.7517 0.7549
0.7 0.7580 0.7611 0.7642 0.7673 0.7704 0.7734 0.7764 0.7794 0.7823 0.7852
0.8 0.7881 0.7910 0.7939 0.7967 0.7995 0.8023 0.8051 0.8078 0.8106 0.8133
0.9 0.8159 0.8186 0.8212 0.8238 0.8264 0.8289 0.8315 0.8340 0.8365 0.8389
1.0 0.8413 0.8438 0.8461 0.8485 0.8508 0.8531 0.8554 0.8577 0.8599 0.8621
1.1 0.8643 0.8665 0.8686 0.8708 0.8729 0.8749 0.8770 0.8790 0.8810 0.8830
1.2 0.8849 0.8869 0.8888 0.8907 0.8925 0.8944 0.8962 0.8980 0.8997 0.9015
1.3 0.9032 0.9049 0.9066 0.9082 0.9099 0.9115 0.9131 0.9147 0.9162 0.9177
1.4 0.9192 0.9207 0.9222 0.9236 0.9251 0.9265 0.9279 0.9292 0.9306 0.9319
1.5 0.9332 0.9345 0.9357 0.9370 0.9382 0.9394 0.9406 0.9418 0.9429 0.9441
1.6 0.9452 0.9463 0.9474 0.9484 0.9495 0.9505 0.9515 0.9525 0.9535 0.9545
1.7 0.9554 0.9564 0.9573 0.9582 0.9591 0.9599 0.9608 0.9616 0.9625 0.9633
1.8 0.9641 0.9649 0.9656 0.9664 0.9671 0.9678 0.9686 0.9693 0.9699 0.9706
1.9 0.9713 0.9719 0.9726 0.9732 0.9738 0.9744 0.9750 0.9756 0.9761 0.9767
2.0 0.9772 0.9778 0.9783 0.9788 0.9793 0.9798 0.9803 0.9808 0.9812 0.9817
2.1 0.9821 0.9826 0.9830 0.9834 0.9838 0.9842 0.9846 0.9850 0.9854 0.9857
2.2 0.9861 0.9864 0.9868 0.9871 0.9875 0.9878 0.9881 0.9884 0.9887 0.9890
2.3 0.9893 0.9896 0.9898 0.9901 0.9904 0.9906 0.9909 0.9911 0.9913 0.9916
2.4 0.9918 0.9920 0.9922 0.9925 0.9927 0.9929 0.9931 0.9932 0.9934 0.9936
2.5 0.9938 0.9940 0.9941 0.9943 0.9945 0.9946 0.9948 0.9949 0.9951 0.9952
2.6 0.9953 0.9955 0.9956 0.9957 0.9959 0.9960 0.9961 0.9962 0.9963 0.9964
2.7 0.9965 0.9966 0.9967 0.9968 0.9969 0.9970 0.9971 0.9972 0.9973 0.9974
2.8 0.9974 0.9975 0.9976 0.9977 0.9977 0.9978 0.9979 0.9979 0.9980 0.9981
2.9 0.9981 0.9982 0.9982 0.9983 0.9984 0.9984 0.9985 0.9985 0.9986 0.9986
3.0 0.9987 0.9987 0.9987 0.9988 0.9988 0.9989 0.9989 0.9989 0.9990 0.9990
3.1 0.9990 0.9991 0.9991 0.9991 0.9992 0.9992 0.9992 0.9992 0.9993 0.9993
3.2 0.9993 0.9993 0.9994 0.9994 0.9994 0.9994 0.9994 0.9995 0.9995 0.9995
3.3 0.9995 0.9995 0.9995 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9996 0.9997
3.4 0.9997 0.9997 0.9997 0.9997 0.9997 0.9997 0.9997 0.9997 0.9997 0.9998
Practice Problems
Problem 46.1
Scores for a particular standardized test are normally distributed with a mean of 80 and a standard
deviation of 14. Find the probability that a randomly chosen score is
(a) no greater than 70
(b) at least 95
(c) between 70 and 95.
(d) A student was told that her percentile score on this exam is 72%. Approximately what is her
raw score?
Problem 46.2
Suppose that egg shell thickness is normally distributed with a mean of 0.381 mm and a standard
deviation of 0.031 mm.
(a) Find the proportion of eggs with shell thickness more than 0.36 mm.
(b) Find the proportion of eggs with shell thickness within 0.05 mm of the mean.
(c) Find the proportion of eggs with shell thickness more than 0.07 mm from the mean.
Problem 46.3
Assume the time required for a certain distance runner to run a mile follows a normal distribution
with mean 4 minutes and variance 4 seconds.
(a) What is the probability that this athlete will run the mile in less than 4 minutes?
(b) What is the probability that this athlete will run the mile in between 3 min55sec and 4min5sec?
Problem 46.4
You work in Quality Control for GE. Light bulb life has a normal distribution with = 2000 hours
and = 200 hours. Whats the probability that a bulb will last
(a) between 2000 and 2400 hours?
(b) less than 1470 hours?
Problem 46.5
Human intelligence (IQ) has been shown to be normally distributed with mean 100 and standard
deviation 15. What fraction of people have IQ greater than 130 (the gifted cutoff), given that
(2) = .9772?
Problem 46.6
Let X represent the lifetime of a randomly chosen battery. Suppose X is a normal random variable
with parameters (50, 25).
(a) Find the probability that the battery lasts at least 42 hours.
(b) Find the probability that the battery will lasts between 45 to 60 hours.
Problem 46.7
For Company A there is a 60% chance that no claim is made during the coming year. If one or more
claims are made, the total claim amount is normally distributed with mean 10,000 and standard
deviation 2,000 .
For Company B there is a 70% chance that no claim is made during the coming year. If one or
more claims are made, the total claim amount is normally distributed with mean 9,000 and standard
deviation 2,000 .
Assuming that the total claim amounts of the two companies are independent, what is the prob-
ability that, in the coming year, Company Bs total claim amount will exceed Company As total
claim amount?
Problem 46.8
If for a certain normal random variable X, P r(X < 500) = 0.5 and P r(X > 650) = 0.0227, find
the standard deviation of X.
Problem 46.9
Suppose that X is a normal random variable with parameters = 5, 2 = 49. Using the table of
the normal distribution , compute: (a) P r(X > 5.5), (b) P r(4 < X < 6.5), (c) P r(X < 8), (d)
P r(|X 7| 4).
Problem 46.10
A company wants to buy boards of length 2 meters and is willing to accept lengths that are off by
as much as 0.04 meters. The board manufacturer produces boards of length normally distributed
with mean 2.01 meters and standard deviation .
If the probability that a board is too long is 0.01, what is ?
Problem 46.11
Let X be a normal random variable with mean 1 and variance 4. Find P r(X 2 2X 8).
Problem 46.12
Scores on a standardized exam are normally distributed with mean 1000 and standard deviation
160.
(a) What proportion of students score under 850 on the exam?
(b) They wish to calibrate the exam so that 1400 represents the 98th percentile. What should they
set the mean to? (without changing the standard deviation)
Problem 46.13
The daily number of arrivals to a rural emergency room is a Poisson random variable with a mean
of 100 people per day. Use the normal approximation to the Poisson distribution to obtain the
approximate probability that 112 or more people arrive in a day.
Problem 46.14
A machine is used to automatically fill 355ml pop bottles. The actual amount put into each bottle
is a normal random variable with mean 360ml and standard deviation of 4ml.
(a) What proportion of bottles are filled with less than 355ml of pop?
b) Suppose that the mean fill can be adjusted. To what value should it be set so that only 2.5% of
bottles are filled with less than 355ml?
Problem 46.15
Suppose that your journey time from home to campus is normally distributed with mean equal to
30 minutes and standard deviation equal to 5 minutes. What is the latest time that you should
leave home if you want to be over 99% sure of arriving in time for a class at 2pm?
Problem 46.16
Suppose that the current measurements in a strip of wire are assumed to follow a normal distribution
with mean of 12 milliamperes and a standard deviation of 3 (milliamperes).
(a) What is the probability that a measurement will exceed 14 milliamperes?
(b) What is the probability that a current measurement is between 9 and 16 milliamperes?
(c) Determine the value for which the probability that a current measurement is below this value
is 0.95.
Problem 46.17
Suppose that X1 is a random variable with mean 2 and variance 0.5 and X2 is a normal random
variable independent from X1 with mean 8 and variance 14. The correlation coefficient is 0.3.
What is the distribution X1 + X2 ?
47 THE LOGNORMAL DISTRIBUTION 325
47 The Lognormal Distribution

If X is a normal random variable with parameters and then the random variable Y = eX is
called lognormal random variable with parameters and . In other words, Y is lognormal if and
only if ln Y is normal. Equivalently, we can write X = ln Y.
The lognormal density function is given by
1 1 ln x 2
fY (x) = e 2 ( ) , x > 0
x 2
and 0 otherwise. To see this, we have for x > 0
FY (x) = P r(Y x) = P r(X ln x) = FX (ln x).
Differentiating both sides with respect to x we find
1 1 1 ln x 2
fY (x) = fX (ln x) = e 2 ( )
x x 2
where F stands for the cumulative distribution function. Notice that the graph of a lognormal
distribution is nonnegative and skewed to the right as shown in Figure 47.1.
Figure 47.1
The mean of Y is
1 2
E(Y ) = e+ 2 .
Indeed, we have
Z Z
1 1 2 2
X
E(Y ) =E(e ) = x
e fX (x)dx = e 22 [(x) 2 x] dx
2
2
x(+ 2 )
Z
1 2 1 1
=e+ 2 e 2
dx
2
1 2
=e+ 2
since the integral on the right is the total area under a normal density with mean + 2 and variance
2 so its value is 1.
Similarly,
Z Z
1 1 2 2
2 2X
E(Y ) =E(e ) = 2x
e fX (x)dx = e 22 [(x) 4 x] dx
2
2
Z 2
1 x(+2 )
2 1
=e2+2 e 2
dx
2
2
=e2+2
Hence, the variance of Y is
2 2
Var(Y ) = E(Y 2 ) [E(Y )]2 = e2+2 e2+ .
Example 47.1
Show that the product of two independent lognormal variables is lognormal.1
Solution.
Suppose that Y1 = eX1 and Y2 = eX2 are two independent lognormal random variables. Then X1
and X2 are independent normal random variables. Hence, by the previous section, X1 + X2 is
normal. But Y1 Y2 = eX1 +X2 so that Y1 Y2 is lognormal
Example 47.2
Lifetimes of a certain component are lognormally distributed with parameters = 1 day and = 0.5
days. Find the probability that a component lasts longer than four days.
Solution.
Let Y represent the lifetime of a randomly chosen component. We need to find P r(Y > 4). We
have
P r(Y > 4) = P r(eX > 4) = P r(X > ln 4) = P r(X > 1.386)
where X is a normal random variable with mean 1 and variance 0.52 . Using the z-score, we have
1.386 1
z= = 0.77.
0.5
Using the z-table from the previous section we find P r(X < 1.386) = P r( X1
0.5
< 0.77) = 0.7794.
Hence,
P r(Y > 4) = 1 P r(X < 1.386) = 1 0.7794 = 0.2206
1
The sum and the product of any two lognormally distributed random variables need not be lognormally dis-
tributed.
Example 47.3
Suppose that Y is lognormal with parameters and 2 . Show that for a > 0, aY is lognormal with
parameters ln a + and 2 .
Solution.
We have for x > 0
x
FaY (x) = P r(aY x) = P r(Y ) = FY (x/a).
a
Taking the derivative of both sides we find
1 1 1 ln x(ln a+) 2
faY (x) = fY (x/a) = e 2 ( ) , x>0
a x 2
and 0 otherwise. Thus, aY is lognormal with parameters ln a + and 2
Example 47.4
Find the median of a lognormal random variable Y with parameters and 2 .
Solution.
ln
The median is a number > 0 such that P r(Y ) = 0.5. That is N (Z
) = 0.5. From the
z-score table we find that
ln
=0

Solving for we find = e
Example 47.5
Find the mode of a lognormal random variable Y with parameters and 2 .
Solution.
The mode is the point of global maximum of the pdf function. It is found by solving the equation
(fY (x))0 = 0. But
dfY 1 12 ( ln x
2
) 1+ ln x
(x) = e
dx x2 2 2
Setting this equation to 0 and solving for x we find
2
x = e
Practice Problems
Problem 47.1
Which of the following statements best characterizes the relationship between normal and lognormal
distribution?
(A) The lognormal distribution is logarithm of the normal distribution
(B) If ln X is lognormally distributed then X is normally distributed
(C) If X is lognormally distributed then ln X is normally distributed
(D) The two distributions have nothing in common.
Problem 47.2
Which of the following statements are true?
(A) The sum of two independent normal random variables is normal
(B) The product of two normal random variables is normal
(C) The sum of two lognormal random variables is lognormal
(D) The product of two independent lognormal random variables is lognormal.
Problem 47.3
Suppose that X is a normal random variable with mean 1 and standard variation 0.5. Find the
mean and the variance of the random variable Y = eX .
Problem 47.4
For a lognormal variable X, we know that ln X has a normal distribution with mean 0 and standard
deviation of 0.2. What is the expected value of X?
Problem 47.5
1
Suppose Y is lognormal with parameters and 2 . Show that Y
is lognormal with parameters
and 2 .
Problem 47.6
The lifetime of a semiconductor laser has a lognormal distribution with paramters = 10 hours
and = 1.5 hours. What is the probability that the lifetime exceeds 10,000 hours?
Problem 47.7
and = 1.5 hours. What lifetime is exceeded by 99% of lasers?
Problem 47.8
and = 1.5 hours. Determine the mean and the standard deviation of the lifetime of the laser.
Problem 47.9
The time (in hours) to fail for 4 light bulbs are:115, 155, 183, and 217. It is known that the time
to fail of the light bulbs is lognormally distributed. Find the parameters of this random variable.
Problem 47.10
The time (in hours) to fail for 4 light bulbs are:115, 155, 183, and 217. It is known that the time
to fail of the light bulbs is lognormally distributed. Find the probability that the time to fail is
greater than 100 hours.
Problem 47.11
Concentration of pollution produced by chemical plants historically are known to exhibit behavior
that resembles a lognormal distribution. Suppose that it is assume that the concentration of a
certain pollutant, in parts per million, has a lognormal distribution with parameters = 3.2 and
2 = 1. What is the probability that the concentration exceeds 8 parts per million?
Problem 47.12
The life, in thousands per mile, of a certain electronic control for locomotives has a lognormal
distribution with parameters = 5.149 and = 0.737. Find the 5th percentile of the life of such a
locomotive.
Problem 47.13
Let X be a normal random variable with mean 2 and variance 5 What is E(eX )? What is the
median of eX ?
48 A Lognormal Model of Stock Prices

Let St denote the price of a stock at time t. Consider the relative price of an asset between periods
0 and t defined by
St
= 1 + R0,t
S0
S1
where R0,t is the holding period return. For example, if S0 = $30 and S1 = $34.5 then S0
= 1.15
so that R0,t = 15%.
We define the continuously compounded return from time 0 to t by

St
r0,t = ln = ln (1 + R0,t ).
S0
For the above example, r0,1 = ln 1.5 = 13.97% which is lower than the holding period return. Note
that
St St St1 S1
= r0,t = rt1,t + + r0,1 .
S0 St1 St2 S0
Thus, the continuously compounded return from 0 to t is the sum of one-period continuously com-
pounded returns.
Example 48.1
Given the following: S0 = $100, r0,1 = 15%, r1,2 = 3%. Find the stock price after 2 year.
Solution.
We have S2 = S0 er0,2 = S0 er0,1 +r1,2 = 100e0.15+0.03 = 100e0.18 = $119.7222
It is commonly assumed in investments that return are independent and identically distributed
over time. This means that investors can not predict future returns based on past returns and
the distribution of returns is stationary. It follows that if the one-period continuosuly compounded
returns are normally distributed, their sum will also be normal. Even if they are not, then by the
Central Limit Theorem, their sum will be normal. From this, we conclude that the relative price
of the stock is lognormally distributed random variable.
Now, take the period of time from 0 to t and divide it into n equal subintervals each of length h = nt .
Since the continuously compounded returns are identically distributed, we can let E(r(i1)h,ih ) = h
and Var(r(i1)h,ih ) = h2 for 1 i n. Thus,
n
X t
E(r0,t ) = E(r(i1)h,ih ) = nh = h
i=1
h
48 A LOGNORMAL MODEL OF STOCK PRICES 331
and n
X t 2
Var(r0,t ) = Var(r(i1)h,ih ) = nh2 = .
i=1
h h
Hence, the mean and the variance of the continuously compounded returns are proportional to time.
In what follows t will be expressed in years. For t = 1, we let E(r0,1 ) = and Var(r0,1 ) = 2 . Let
be the continuosuly compounded annual yield on the stock. We examine a lognormal model of the
stock price as follows: We assume that the continuously compounded return from time 0 to time
t is normally distributed with mean ( 0.5 2 )t and variance 2 t. Using the Zscore we can
write

St
ln = ( 0.5 2 )t + tZ
S0
and solving for St we find
2
St = S0 e(0.5 )t+ tZ . (48.1)
Example 48.2
Find the expected stock price St .
Solution.
1 2
thatif X is a normal random variable with parameters and then E(eX ) = e+ 2 .
First recall
Let X = ln SS0t . Then X is a normal random variable with parameters ( 0.5 2 )t and 2 t.
Hence,
2 1 2
E(eX ) = e(0.5 )t+ 2 t .
St
But eX = S0
so that
1 2 1 2
E(St ) = e(0.5 )t+ 2 t .
S0
Hence,
E(St ) = S0 e()t .
We call the difference the expected continuously rate of appreciation on the stock
Example 48.3
Find the median stock price. That is the price where 50% of the time prices will be above or below
that value.
Solution.
For the median we want to find the stock price such that
ln (St /S0 ) ( 0.5 2 )t

Pr Z < = 0.5.
t
This happens when

ln (St /S0 ) ( 0.5 2 )t
= 0.
t
Solving we find
2 )t 1 2t
St = S0 e(0.5 = E(St )e 2
1 2
Now, since e 2 t < 1, we use the last equation to write St < E(St ). That is, the median is below
the mean. This says that more than 50% of the time, a lognormally distributed stock price will earn
below its expected return. Note that if is such that ( 0.5 2 )t < 0 then St < S0 < E(St ).
In this case, a lognormally distributed stock will lose money more than half the time.
Example 48.4
A nondividend-paying stock is currently trading for $100. The annual expected rate of return on
the stock is = 10% and the annual standard deviation is = 30%. Assume the stock price is
lognormally distributed.
(a) Using the above model, find an expression for the stock price after 2 years.
(b) What is the expected stock price two years from now?
(c) What is the median stock price?
Solution.
(a) The stock price is
2 )2+
1

2 )2+0.3
S2 = S0 e(0.5 2Z
= 100e(0.1 2 0.3 2Z
.
(b) We have
E(S2 ) = 100e0.12 = $122.14.
(c) The median stock price is
1 2 1 2 (2) 2
E(S2 )e 2 t = 122.14e 2 (0.3) = 122.14e0.3 = $111.63
Now, since
ln (St /S0 ) E (ln (St /S0 ))
Z=
Var (ln (St /S0 ))
we define a one standard deviation move up in the stock price by letting Z = 1 and a one
standard deviation down by letting Z = 1
Example 48.5
Using the same information in the prvious example, find the stock price over 2 years for a one
standard deviation up and a one standard deviation down.
Solution.
A one standard deviation move up over 2 years is given by
1

2 )2+0.3
S2 = 100e(0.1 2 (0.3) 2
= $170.62
and a one standard deviation move down over 2 years is given by

1 2 )20.3

S2 = 100e(0.1 2 (0.3) 2
= $73.03
Estimating the Parameters of the Lognormal Pricing Model

We next see how to estimate the mean and the variance of lognormally distributed price data.
When stocks are lognormally distributed, if Sth is the stock price at the beginning of a period then
the price at the end of the period is found using the formula
2 )h+

St = Sth e(0.5 hZ
.
From this it follows that ln (St /Sth ) is normally distributed with mean ( 0.5 2 )h and
variance 2 h. That is, by using the log of ratio prices at adjacent points in time, we can compute
the continuously compounded mean and variance.
Example 48.6
The table below contains seven weekly stock price observations. The stock pays no dividends.
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Price 100 105.04 105.76 108.93 102.50 104.80 104.13
(a) Estimate the continuously compounded mean and variance.

(b) Estimate the annual expected rate of return.
Solution.
(a) We compute the weekly continuous compounded returns
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Price 100 105.04 105.76 108.93 102.50 104.80 104.13
ln (St /St1 ) 0.0492 0.0068 0.0295 0.0608 0.0222 0.0064
The weekly continuously compounded mean is

0.0492 + 0.0068 + 0.0295 0.0608 + 0.0222 0.0064
X= = 0.00675.
6
The annual continuously compounded mean is 0.0675 52 = 3.51.

The weekly continuously compounded variance is
P6 2
t=1 (ln (St /St1 ) X)
= 0.03822 .
5
The annualized standard deviation is

Annual = 0.0382 52 = 0.274.
(b) The annual expected rate of return is the annual mean of one-half the variance. That is,
= 0.00675 52 + 0.5 0.2742 = 0.3885
Remark 48.1
The above data are hypthetical data. Statistical theory tells us that the observed mean is deter-
mined by the difference between the beginning and ending stock price. What happens in between
is irrelevant. Thus, having frequent observations is not helpful in estimating the mean returns. Ob-
servations taken over a longer period of time are more likely to reflect the true mean and therefore
they increase the precision of the estimate.
Unlike the mean, one can increase the precision of the estimate of the standard deviation by making
more frequent observations.
Practice Problems
Problem 48.1
Suppose that S0 = $100 and S2 = $170.62. Find the relative stock price from time 0 to time 2.
What is the holding period return over the 2 years?
Problem 48.2
The continuously compounded return from time 0 to time 2 is 18%. Find the holding period return
over the 2-year period.
Problem 48.3
Suppose the stock price is initially $100 and the continuously compounded return on a stock is 15%
in one year and r1,2 the next year. What is r1,2 if the stock price after 2 years is $119.722?
Problem 48.4
Suppose the stock price is initially $100 and the continuously compounded return on a stock is 15%
in one year and r1,2 the next year. What is R1,2 if the stock price after 2 years is $119.722?
Problem 48.5
Suppose that the continuously compounded return from time 0 to time t is normal with mean
( 21 2 )t and variance 2 t. The stock pays dividend at the annual continuously compounded
yield of 3%. The annual variance is 0.09. Initially, the stock was trading for $75. Suppose that the
mean for the continuously compounded 2-year return is 0.07. Find the the annual expected rate od
return .
Problem 48.6
mean for the continuously compounded 2-year return is 0.07. Find the expected stock price after 4
years.
Problem 48.7
yield of 3%. The annual variance is 0.09. Initially, the stock was trading for $75. Suppose that
the mean for the continuously compounded 2-year return is 0.07. Find the median price at time 4
years.
Problem 48.8
mean for the continuously compounded 2-year return is 0.07. Also, suppose that the dividends are
reinvested in the stock. Find the median of the investors position at time 4 years.
Problem 48.9
A nondividend-payingstock is currently trading for $100. The annual expected rate of return
= 10% and the annual standard deviation is = 60%. Assume the stock price is lognormally
distributed.
(a) Using the above model, find an expression for the stock price after 2 years.
(b) What is the expected stock price two years from now?
(c) What is the median stock price?
Problem 48.10
Consider a stock with annual variance of 0.16. Suppose that the expected stock price in five years
is $135. Find the median of the stock price at time 5 years.
Problem 48.11
A nondividend-paying stock is currently trading for $100. The annual expected rate of return on
the stock is = 13% and the annual standard deviation is = 25%. Assume the stock price is
lognormally distributed. Find the stock price over 6 months for a one standard deviation up and a
one standard deviation down.
Problem 48.12
A stock is currently trading for $100. The annual expected rate of return on the stock is = 13%
and the annual standard deviation is = 25%. The stock pays dividends at the continuously
compounded yield of 2%. Assume the stock price is lognormally distributed. Find the stock price
over 6 months for a two standard deviation up.
Problem 48.13
The table below contains seven monthly stock price observations. The stock pays no dividends.
Week 1 2 3 4 5
Price 100 104 97 95 103
(a) Estimate the annual continuously compounded mean and standard deviation.
(b) Estimate the annual expected rate of return.
Problem 48.14
Assume the BlackScholes framework.
The price of a nondividend-paying stock in seven consecutive months is:
Month Price
1 54
2 56
3 48
4 55
5 60
6 58
7 62
Estimate the continuously compounded expected rate of return on the stock.

49 Lognormal Probability Calculations

In this section we use the lognormal stock pricing model discussed in the previous section to compute
a number of probabilities and expectations. Among the questions we consdier are the question of
the probability of an option to expire in the money, and given that the option expires in the money,
what will be the expected stock price.
Let K be an arbitrary positive number. K can be the strike price of an option. We would like to
find the probability that a stock price is less than K. Since
2 2
ln (St /S0 )(0.5 2 )t ln St ln S0 (0.5 2 )t
1 1 1 1
e 2 t
= e 2 t
x 2 x 2
the random variable ln St is normally distributed with parameters ln S0 + ( 0.5 2 )t and 2 t.
Now, we have
P r(St < K) =P r(ln St < ln K)

ln St ln S0 ( 0.5 2 )t ln K ln S0 ( 0.5 2 )t

=P r <
t t
ln K ln S0 0.5 2 )t

=P r Z <
t
=N (d2 )
where
ln S0 ln K + ( 0.5 2 )t
d2 = .
t
Now, using the property that N (d2 ) + N (d2 ) = 1 we obtain
P r(St K) = 1 P r(St < K) = N (d2 ).
Remark 49.1
We have found that the probability for a call option to expire in the money is N (d2 ) and that for
a put option is N (d2 ). These probabilities involve the true expected return on the stock. If is
being replaced by the risk-free rate r then we obtain the risk-neutral probability that an option
expires in the money.
Example 49.1
You are given the following information:S0 = 50, = 0.10, = 0.25, and = 0. What is P r(S2 >
$65)?
49 LOGNORMAL PROBABILITY CALCULATIONS 339
Solution.
We are asked to find P r(S2 > 65) = N (d2 ) where
ln S0 ln K + ( 0.5 2 )t ln 50 ln 65 + (0.10 0 0.5 0.252 )(2)

d2 = = = 0.3532.
t 0.25 2
Thus,
P r(St > 65) = N (d2 ) = N (0.3532) = 0.361969
Next, suppose we are interested in knowing the range of prices such that there is 95% probability
that the stock price will be in that range after a certain time. This requires generating a 95%
confidence interval. Using the lognormal distribution, we will discuss how to generate confidence
intervals.
Suppose that we want to be (1 p)% confident that a stock price is in the range [StL , StU ]. This is
equivalent to saying that we want to be p% confident that either St < StL or St > StU . We split this
probability into two, half for each tail. In other words, we want
p
P r(St < StU ) = 2
and P r(St > StU ) = p2 .
But P r(St < StU ) = p

2
implies N (d2 ) = p/2 so that d2 = N 1 (p/2). Hence,
ln StL ln S0 + ( 0.5 2 )t
N 1 (p/2) = .
t
Solving this equation for StL we find

2 )t+ tN 1 (p/2)
StL = S0 e(0.5 .
Likewise, we solve for the StU such that
N 1 (1 p/2) = d2
This gives us
2 )t+ tN 1 (1p/2)
StU = S0 e(0.5 .
Example 49.2
Use the Z-score table to derive the 95% confidence interval if S0 = $100, t = 2, = 0, = 0.10, and
= 0.30.
Solution.
We have p = 5% so that N (d2 ) = 0.025 and N (d2 ) = 0.975. Using the Zscore table we find
N (0.025) = 1.96 and N (0.975) = 1.96. Hence,

2 )t+ tN 1 (p/2) 2 )20.30
StL = S0 e(0.5 = 100e(0.100.50.3 21.96
= $48.599
and
2 )t+ tN 1 (1p/2) 2 )2+0.30
StU = S0 e(0.5 = 100e(0.100.50.3 21.96
= $256.40
There is 95% probability that in two years the stock price will be between $48.599 and $256.40
Portfolio Insurance in the Long Run

Consider a portfolio of stocks. Historical return statistics has indicated that the rate of return from
investing in stocks over a long time has outperformed that from investing in risk-free bonds. That
is, one is led to believe that if a stock is held for sufficiently long period of time, the investment is
as safe as the free-risk bond.
To guarantee that investing in stocks is safe in the long run, it was suggested that a put option is
to be bought today insuring that after T years the stock portfolio would worth at least as much as
if one had instead invested in a zero-coupon bond. If the initial stock price is S0 then one has to
set the strike price of the put option to KT = S0 erT . Using the Black-Scholes model, it was shown
that in the absence of arbitrage the premium of the insurance increases with time to maturity T.
We can use the results of this section to show that the probability of the payoff of the put option
increases with the time to maturity. Suppose that the stock price is lognormally distributed using
the model of the previous section. Assume that the stock pays no dividends. Then the probability
that the bond will outperform the stock is given by
( r)
1 2
2
P r(ST < KT ) = N T .

In the Black-Scholes analysis, the put price depends in part on the risk-neutral probability that the
stock will underperform bonds. We can obtain this probability by setting = r in the previous
equation obtaining
1

P r (ST < KT ) = N T .
2
This says that the risk-neutral probability that the put will pay off is increasing with time.
Example 49.3
Consider a European put option on a stock with initial price S0 . Suppose that the risk-premium
is greater than 0.5 2 . Show that the probability that the option expires in the money is less than
50%.
49 LOGNORMAL PROBABILITY CALCULATIONS 341
Solution.
The probability that the option expires in the money is
P r(ST < S0 erT ) = N (d2 )
where
ln S0 ln K + ( 0.5 2 )t [( r) 0.5 2 ] T
d2 = = .
t
Hence,
!
[0.5 2 ( r)] T
P r(ST < S0 erT ) = N

Since r > 0.5 2 , we find 0.5 2 ( r) < 0 and therefore d2 < 0. This shows that P r(ST <
S0 erT ) < 50%
Practice Problems
Problem 49.1
You are given the following information about a nondividend-paying stock:
(i) The current stock price is 100.
(ii) The stock-price is lognormally distributed.
(iii) The continuously compounded expected return on the stock is 10%.
Consider a nine-month 125-strike European call option on the stock. Calculate the probability that
the call will be exercised.
Problem 49.2
You are given the following information for a stock that pays dividends continuously at a rate
proportional to its price.
(i) The current stock price is 0.25.
(ii) The stocks volatility is 0.35.
(iii) The continuously compounded expected rate of stock-price appreciation is 15%.
Calculate the upper limit of the 90% lognormal confidence interval for the price of the stock in 6
months.
50 CONDITIONAL EXPECTED PRICE AND A DERIVATION OF BLACK-SCHOLES FORMULA343
50 Conditional Expected Price and a Derivation of Black-

Scholes Formula
Given that an option expires in the money, what is the expected stock price? More specifically,
suppose that a call option with a strike K expires in the money, the expected stock price is the
conditional stock price E(ST |ST > K) which is defined to be the ratio of the partial expectation
over the probability that ST > K. That is,
P E(St |St > K)
E(ST |ST > K) =
P r(St > K)
where P E stands for partial expectation which is given by
Z
P E(St |St > K) = St g(St , S0 )dSt
K
where 2
ln St ln S0 (0.5 2 )t
1 12
g(St , S0 ) = e t
.
St 2 2 t
Now, we have
Z
P E(St |St > K) = St g(St , S0 )dSt
K
2
ln St ln S0 (0.5 2 )t
Z
1 12
= e t
dSt
2Z2 t K

1 ln S0 +(0.5 2 )t+ twt 0.5wt2
= 2 )t
e dwt
2 ln Kln S0 (0.5

t
Z
ln S0 +(0.5 )t+0.5 2 t 1
2 12 (wt t)2
=e 2 )t
e dwt
2 ln Kln S0 (0.5

t
Z
1 1 2
=S0 e()t e 2 wt dwt
ln Kln S0 (+0.5 2 )t
2
t
ln S0 ln K + ( + 0.5 2 )t

()t
=S0 e N
t
=S0 e()t N (d1 )
where
ln S0 ln K + ( + 0.5 2 )t
d1 = .
t
Hence,
S0 e()t N (d1 ) N (d1 )
E(St |St > K) = = S0 e()t .
P (St > K) N (d2 )
For a put, See Problem 50.1, we find
N (d1 )
E(St |St < K) = S0 e()t .
N (d2 )
Example 50.1
You are given the following information:S0 = 50, = 0.10, = 0.25, and = 0. What is E(S2 |S2 >
$65)?
Solution.
N (d1 )
We are asked to find E(S2 |S2 > 65) = S0 e()t N (d )
where
2
ln S0 ln K + ( + 0.5 2 )t ln 50 ln 65 + (0.10 0 + 0.5 0.252 )(2)

d2 = = = 0.0004
t 0.25 2
and
ln S0 ln K + ( 0.5 2 )t ln 50 ln 65 + (0.10 0 0.5 0.252 )(2)
d2 = = = 0.3532.
t 0.25 2
Thus, using Excel spreadsheet we find
N (d1 ) = N (0.0004) = 0.50016 and N (d2 ) = N (0.3532) = 0.361969.
Hence,
0.50016
E(S2 |S2 > 65) = 50e0.102 = $84.385
0.361969
Example 50.2
A stock is currently selling for $100. The stock pays dividends at the continuously compounded
yield of 3%. Consider a European call on the stock with strike price of $100 and time to maturity T.
Suppose that the annual rate of return is 3%. Show that the partial expectation of ST conditioned
on ST > 100 increases as the time to maturity increases.
Solution.
We have
P E(St |St > K) = S0 e()t N (d1 ) = 100N (0.5 T ).

It follows that as T increases N (0.5 T ) increases and therefore the partial expectation increases
Derivation of the Black-Scholes Formula

We next examine a derivation of the Black-Scholes formula using the results established above. We
use risk-neutral probability where = r in the formulas above. We let g denote the risk-neutral
pdf, E denote the expectation with respect to risk-neutral probabilities, and P r the risk-neutral
probability.
For a European call option with strike K, the price is defined as the expected value of ert max{0, St
K}. That is,
C(S, K, , r, t, ) = E[ert max{0, St K}]
Now we proceed to establish the Black-Scholes formula based on risk-neutral probability:
C(S, K, , r, t, ) =E[ert max{0, St K}]

Z
rt
=e (St K)g (St , S0 )dSt
K
=ert E (St K|St > K)P r (St > K)
=ert E (St |St > K)P r (St > K) ert E (K|St > K)P r (St > K)
=et S0 N (d1 ) Kert N (d2 )
which is the celebrated Black-Scholes formula.

A similar argument, shows that the price of a put option is given by
P (S, K, , r, t, ) = Kert N (d2 ) S0 et N (d1 ).

Practice Problems
Problem 50.1
The partial expectation of St , conditioned on St < K, is given by
Z K
P E(St |St < K) = St g(St , S0 )dSt
0
where 2
ln St ln S0 (0.5 2 )t
1 21

g(St , S0 ) = e . t
St 2 2 t
What is the expected stock price conditioned on a put option with strike price K expiring in the
money?
Problem 50.2
Derive the Black-Scholes formula for a put:
P (S, K, , r, t, ) = Kert N (d2 ) S0 et N (d1 ).
Problem 50.3
yield of 3%. Consider a European put on the stock with strike price of $100 and time to maturity
T. Suppose that the annual rate of return is 3%. Show that the expectation of ST conditioned on
ST < 100 decreases as the time to maturity increases.
Problem 50.4
yield of 3%. Consider a European put on the stock with strike price of $100 and time to maturity T.
Suppose that the annual rate of return is 3%. Show that the partial expectation of ST conditioned
on ST < 100 decreases as the time to maturity increases.
Problem 50.5
A stock is currently selling for $100. The stock pays no dividends and has annual standard deviation
of 25%. Consider a European call on the stock with strike price of K and time to maturity in 2
years. Suppose that the annual rate of return is 10%. It is found that the partial expectation of St ,
conditioned on St > K is 50e0.2 . Determine the value of K.
Problem 50.6
A stock is currently selling for $50. The stock pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield
of 4%. The annual standard deviation is 30%. Consider a European call on the stock with strike
price of $48 and time to maturity in six months. Suppose that the annual rate of return is 13%.
Find the partial expectation of St if the call expires in the money.
Problem 50.7
A stock is currently selling for $50. The stock pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield
of 4%. The annual standard deviation is 30%. Consider a European call on the stock with strike
price of $48 and time to maturity in six months. Suppose that the annual rate of return is 13%.
Find the conditional expectation that the call expires in the money.
Problem 50.8
A stock is currently selling for S0 . The stock pays dividends at the continuously compounded yield
of 3%. The annual standard deviation on the stock price is 25%. The annual return on the stock is
9%. The partial expectation that the stock will expire in the money in three years is 85.88. Find
the value of S0 .
Problem 50.9
Consider a binomial model in which a put strike price is $50, and the stock price at expiration can
be $20,$40,$60, and $80 with probabilities 1/8,3/8,3/8, and 1/8.
(a) Find the partial expectation for a put to be in the money.
(b) Find the conditonal expectation.
Option Pricing Via Monte Carlo
Simulation
A Monte Carlo option model uses Monte Carlo methods to calculate the price of an option
with complicated features. In general, the technique is to generate several thousand possible (but
random) price paths for the underlying asset via simulation, and to then calculate the associated
payoff of the option for each path. These payoffs are then averaged and discounted to today, and
this result is the value of the option today.
349
350 OPTION PRICING VIA MONTE CARLO SIMULATION
51 Option Valuation as a Discounted Expected Value

In this section, we examine an option pricing that is performed by discounting expected payoff
values at the risk-free rate. We will see that Monte Carlo valuation model exploits the ideas of this
section.
Consider a stock that is currently trading for $41. A European call option on the stock has a strike
price of $40 and expiration of one year. The stock pays no dividends and its price volatility is 30%.
Figure 51.1
We consider a three-period binomial tree. The values of u and d are
1
1
u = e(r)h+ h = e0.08 3 +0.3 3 = 1.221
and 1
(r)h h 0.08 13 0.3
d=e =e 3 = 0.864.
The risk-neutral probability of an up movement is
1
e(r)h d e0.08 3 0.864
pu = = = 0.4566.
ud 1.221 0.864
51 OPTION VALUATION AS A DISCOUNTED EXPECTED VALUE 351
The tree of stock prices, option payoffs, the associated probabilities, and the expected payoff values
are shown in Figure 51.1. The option price can be found be discounting the expected payoff values
obtaining:
C = e0.08 (3.290 + 4.356) = $7.058

which is the same price obtained by using the binomial pricing model as discussed in Section 17.
We can use Figure 51.1 to illustrate Monte Carlo estimation of the option price. Imagine a gambling
wheel divided into four unequal sections: A (corresponds to the payoff $34.362), B ($12.811),
C ($0.00), and D ($0.00). Suppose we spin the wheel 100 times with the following number of
occurrence: A (30), B (22), C (38), and D (10). Then an estimate of the expected payoff is
30 34.362 + 22 12.811 + 38 0 + 10 0
= $13.13.
100
An estimate to the call option price is
C e0.08 13.13 = $12.12.
The procedure we used to price the call option discussed earlier does not work if risk-neutral
probabilities are replaced by true probabilities. The reason is that the discount rate is not the same
at all nodes of the tree. Suppose that the expected rate of return is 15%. Then the true probability
of an upward move is
1
e()h d e(0.150) 3 0.864
p= = = 0.5246.
ud 1.221 0.864
We next find the discount rate at each node of the tree:
eh [pCuuu + (1 p)Cuud ] = erh [pu Cuuu + (1 pu )Cuud
or
1 1
e 3 [0.5246 34.632 + (1 0.5246) 12.811] = e0.08 3 [0.4566 34.632 + (1 0.4566) 12.811].
Solving this equation we find = 0.269. Likewise, we find

Node with Stock price = $43.253 = 0.495
Node with Stock price = $30.606 =N/A

Node with Stock price = $41.00 = 0.357.
With true probabilities, the unique discount rate we used for the risk-neutral probability is now
being replaced by the discount rate for each path. The discount rate of each path is defined to
be the average of the discount rate at each node along the path. In Figure 51.1, there are eight
possible paths for the stock price but only four have a positive option payff, namely the paths:
uuu, uud, udu, and duu. We next find the discounting payoff for each path:
Along the uuu path, the path discount rate is (0.357 + 0.324 + 0.269)/3 = 31.67%. The probability
of the path is p3 = 0.1444 with payoff of $34.632. Hence, the discounted expected value of the path
is e0.3167 0.1444 34.632 = $3.643.
Along the uud path, the path discount rate is (0.357 + 0.324 + 0.269)/3 = 31.67%. The probability
of the path is p2 (1 p) = 0.1308 with payoff of $12.811. Hence, the discounted expected value of
the path is e0.3167 0.1308 12.811 = $1.221.
Along the udu path, the path discount rate is (0.357 + 0.324 + 0.496)/3 = 39.23%. The probability
the path is e0.3923 0.1308 12.811 = $1.132.
Along the duu path, the path discount rate is (0.357 + 0.496 + 0.495)/3 = 44.93%. The probability
the path is e0.4493 0.1308 12.811 = $1.069.
It follows that the call option price is
3.643 + 1.221 + 1.132 + 1.069 = $7.065
Remark 51.1
In remainder of the chapter it is assumed that the world is risk-neutral.
51 OPTION VALUATION AS A DISCOUNTED EXPECTED VALUE 353
Practice Problems
Problem 51.1
Consider a stock that is currently trading for $50. A European put option on the stock has a
strike price of $47 and expiration of one year. The continuously compounded dividend yield is 0.05.
The price volatility is 30%. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 6%. Using a
two-period binomial model, find the risk-neutral probability of two ups, one up and one down, and
two downs.
Problem 51.2
Using the information of the previous problem, construct a figure similar to Figure 51.1
Problem 51.3
Using a gambling wheel with unequal sections, where each section has a probability to one of the
option payoffs in the previous problem, the following occurrence are recorded for 140 spins of the
wheel: 31 (for the uu path), 70 (for the ud or du path) and 39 (for the dd path). Estimate the put
option price.
Problem 51.4
Consider a stock that is currently trading for $50. A European call option on the stock has a
strike price of $47 and expiration of one year. The continuously compounded dividend yield is 0.05.
The price volatility is 30%. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 6%. Using a
two-period binomial model, tree of stock prices, option payoffs, the associated probabilities, and
the expected payoff values.
Problem 51.5
Using a gambling wheel with unequal sections, where each section has a probability to one of the
option payoffs in the previous problem, the following occurrence are recorded for 140 spins of the
wheel: 31 (for the uu path), 70 (for the ud or du path) and 39 (for the dd path). Estimate the call
option price.
Problem 51.6
Given the following information about a 1-year European call option on a stock: The strike price
is $47.
The expected rate of return is 10%.
The continuously compounded yield is 5%.
The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 6 Volatility is 30%.
Find the discount rate at each node in a two-period binomial tree using actual probabilities.
Problem 51.7
Estimate the price of the option in the previous exercise using the discounted expected value ap-
proach.
52 COMPUTING NORMAL RANDOM NUMBERS 355
52 Computing Normal Random Numbers

In this section we discuss a couple of techniques to compute normally distributed random numbers
required for Monte Carlo valuation. Since both techniques involve uniformly distributed random
variables, we start by a discussion of this concept.
A continuous random variable X is said to be uniformly distributed over the interval a x b if
its pdf is given by 1
ba
if a x b
f (x) =
0 otherwise
Rx
Since F (x) = f (t)dt, the cdf is given by

0 if x a
xa
F (x) = ba
if a < x < b
1 if x b

If a = 0 and b = 1 then X is called the standard uniform random variable.
Remark 52.1
The values at the two boundaries a and b are usually unimportant because they do not alter
the value of the integral of f (x) over any interval. Sometimes they are chosen to be zero, and
1 1
sometimes chosen to be ba . Our definition above assumes that f (a) = f (b) = f (x) = ba . In the
case f (a) = f (b) = 0 then the pdf becomes
1
ba
if a < x < b
f (x) =
0 otherwise
Example 52.1
You are the production manager of a soft drink bottling company. You believe that when a machine
is set to dispense 12 oz., it really dispenses 11.5 to 12.5 oz. inclusive. Suppose the amount dispensed
has a uniform distribution. What is the probability that less than 11.8 oz. is dispensed?
Solution.
1
Since f (x) = 12.511.5
= 1,
P r(11.5 X 11.8) = area of rectangle of base 0.3 and height 1 = 0.3
Example 52.2
Suppose that X has a uniform distribution on the interval (0, a), where a > 0. Find P (X > X 2 ).
Solution. Ra R1
If a 1 then P r(X > X 2 ) = 0 a1 dx = 1. If a > 1 then P r(X > X 2 ) = 0 a1 dx = 1
a
. Thus,
P r(X > X 2 ) = min{1, a1 }
The expected value of X is

Z b
E(X) = xf (x)
a
Z b
x
= dx
a ba
b
x2
=
2(b a) a
b 2 a2 a+b
= =
2(b a) 2
and so the expected value of a uniform random variable is halfway between a and b. Because
Z b 2
2 x
E(X ) = dx
a ba
b
x3
=
3(b a) a
b 3 a3
=
3(b a)
a2 + b2 + ab
=
3
then
a2 + b2 + ab (a + b)2 (b a)2
Var(X) = E(X 2 ) (E(X))2 = = .
3 4 12
Example 52.3
You arrive at a bus stop 10:00 am, knowing that the bus will arrive at some time uniformly dis-
tributed between 10:00 and 10:30 am. Let X be your wait time for the bus. Then X is uniformly
distributed in (0, 30). Find E(X) and Var(X).
Solution.
a+b (ba)2 302
We have a = 0 and b = 30. Thus, E(X) = 2
= 15 and Var(X) = 12
= 12
= 75
The first technique to compute normally distributed random variables consists of summing 12 uni-
formly distributed random variables on (0, 1) and subtracting 6. That is, considering the random
variable
Xn

Z= Ui 6
i=1
where the Ui are uniformly distributed random variables on (0, 1). The variance of each Ui is 1/12
and the mean is 1/2. Thus, the mean of Z is
12
=
X 1
E(Z) E(Ui ) 6 = 12 6=0
i=1
2
and the variance is

12 12 X 12
=
X X 1
Var(Z) Var(Ui ) = Var Ui = Var(Ui ) = 1.
i=1 i=1
2 i=1
What we obtain is technically not normally distributed but is symmetric with mean zero and
standard deviation of 1.0, which are three properties associated with the normal distribution. We
can use the central limit theorem and look at Z as a close approximation to a standard normal
random variable.
Example 52.4
Using the function RAND() that generates unifromly distributed random numbers on (0,1) we draw
the set of numbers {0.123, 0.456, 0.013, 0.222, 0.781, 0.345, 0.908, 0.111, 0.415, 0.567, 0.768, 0.777}. Find
the standard normal estimate of this draw.
Solution.
The sum of these numbers is
0.123 + 0.456 + 0.013 + 0.222 + 0.781 + 0.345 + 0.908 + 0.111 + 0.415 + 0.567 + 0.768 + 0.777 = 5.486.
Hence,
Z = 5.486 6 = 0.514
The second technique that we consider uses the inverse of the cumulative standard normal distri-
bution function N (x). The idea is to convert a single uniformly distributed random number to a
normally distributed random number. Let u be a uniformly distributed random number in (0, 1).
The idea is to interpret F (u) as a quantile.1 Thus, if F (u) = 0.5, we interpret it as 50% quantile.
We then use the inverse distribution function, N 1 (u), to find the value from the standard normal
distribution corresponding to that quantile.
Remark 52.2
The above process simulate draws from the standard normal distribution. Exponentiating these
draws we simulate a lognormal random variable. The above procedure of using the inverse cumu-
lative distribution function works for any distribution for which the cdf has an inverse. That is,
suppose that D is a CDF such that D1 exists. Let u be a number from the uniform distribution on
(0, 1). To find the estimate of this draw in the distribution of D we solve the equation D(d) = F (u)
for d or d = D1 (F (u)).
Example 52.5
Find the 30% quantile of the standard normal random variable.
Solution.
We want to find z such that P r(Z z) 0.30 or equivalently N (z) 0.30. Considering the
equation N (z) = 0.30 we find z = N 1 (0.30) = 0.524 using NormSInv in Excel. Using a table,
we have N (z) = 1 N (z) = 1 0.30 = 0.70 0.7019 so that z = 0.53 or z = 0.53
Example 52.6
A draw from a uniformly distributed random variable on (3, 5) is 4.6. Find the corresponding single
draw from the standard normal distribution.
Solution.
We have
4.6 3
F (4.6) = = 0.8.
53
Next, we want to find the 0.8 quantile of the standard normal variable. That is, we want to
find z such that N (z) = 0.8. Using the inverse cumulative standard normal distribution we find
z = N 1 (0.8) = 0.842 using Excel spreadsheet. Using the table we will have z = N 1 (80) =
N 1 (0.7995) = 0.84
1
The q th quantile of a random variable X is the smallest number such that FX (x) = P (X x) q. Quantiles
for any distribution are uniformly distributed which means that any quantile is equally likely to be drawn.
Practice Problems
Problem 52.1
The total time to process a loan application is uniformly distributed between 3 and 7 days.
(a) Let X denote the time to process a loan application. Give the mathematical expression for the
probability density function.
(b) What is the probability that a loan application will be processed in fewer than 3 days ?
(c) What is the probability that a loan application will be processed in 5 days or less ?
Problem 52.2
Customers at Rositas Cocina are charged for the amount of salad they take. Sampling suggests
that the amount of salad taken is uniformly distributed between 5 ounces and 15 ounces. Let X =
salad plate filling weight
(a) Find the probability density function of X.
(b) What is the probability that a customer will take between 12 and 15 ounces of salad?
(c) Find E(X) and Var(X).
Problem 52.3
Suppose thst X has a uniform distribution over the interval (0, 1). Find
(a) F (x);
(b) Show that P (a X a + b) for a, b 0, a + b 1 depends only on b.
Problem 52.4
Using the function RAND() that generates unifromly distributed random numbers on (0,1) we draw
the set of numbers {0.126, 0.205, 0.080, 0.303, 0.992, 0.481, 0.162, 0.786, 0.279, 0.703, 0.752, 0.994}. Find
the standard normal estimate of this draw.
Problem 52.5
Find the 10%quantile of the standard normal random variable.
Problem 52.6
Consider an exponentially distributed random variable X with CDF given by F (x) = 1 e0.5x .
Let 0.21072 be drawn from this distribution. Find the corresponding single draw from the standard
normal distribution.
Problem 52.7
Consider the following three draws from the uniform distribution in (0, 1) : 0.209, 0.881, and 0.025.
Find the corresponding draws from the standard normal distribution.
53 Simulating Lognormal Stock Prices

Recall that for a standard normal distribution Z, a lognormal stock price is given by
2 )t+

St = S0 e(0.5 tZ
. (53.1)
Suppose we want to draw random stock prices for t years from today. We can do that by randomly
drawing a set of standard Zs and substituting the results into the equation above.
Example 53.1
Given the following: S0 = 50, = 0.12, = 0, = 0.30, and T = 3. Find the random set of
lognormally distributed stock prices over 3 years using the set of uniform random numbers on
(0, 1) : 0.209, 0.881, 0.025.
Solution.
We have N (Z1 ) = F (0.209) = 0.209 so that Z1 = N 1 (0.209) = 0.8099. Similarly, Z2 =
N 1 (0.881) = 1.18 and Z3 = N 1 (0.025) = 1.95996. Thus, the new stock prices are

2 )(3)+0.3
S3 =50e(0.1200.50.3 3(0.8099)
= $41.11

(0.1200.50.32 )(3)+0.3 3(1.18)
S3 =50e = $115.60

(0.1200.50.32 )(3)+0.3 3(1.96)
S3 =50e = $22.61
Now, if we want to simulate the path of the stock price over t years (which is useful for pricing
path-dependent options) then we can do so by splitting t into n equal intervals each of length h,
that is, n = ht . In this case, we find the following stock prices:
2 )h+

Sh =S0 e(0.5 hZ(1)
2 )h+

S2h =Sh e(0.5 hZ(2)
.. ..
. =.
2 )h+

Snh =S(n1)h e(0.5 hZ(n)
Note that h i
(0.5 2 )t+ t 1n n
P
i=1 Z(i)
St = S0 e .
Pn
Since 1n i=1 Z(i)1 is a normal random variable on (0, 1), we get the same distribution at time t
with the above equation as if we had drawn a single normal random variable on (0, 1) as in equation
1
Note that the Zi0 s are independent.
53 SIMULATING LOGNORMAL STOCK PRICES 361
(53.1). The advantage of splitting up the problem into n draws is to create a simulation of the path
taken by the stock price.
Example 53.2
Given the folloing information about a stock: T = 1, S0 = 100, = 0.10, = 0, and = 0.30. Find
the simulated stock price one year from today based on the drawing of the following two random
numbers from the uniform distribution on (0, 1) : 0.15 and 0.65.
Solution.
We first find the corresponding draws from the standard normal distribution. We have N (z1 ) =
F (0.15) = 0.15 so that z1 = N 1 (0.15) = 1.0363. Likewise, z2 = N 1 (0.65) = 0.38532. Hence,
h z +z i
(0.5 2 )T + T 1 2
ST =S0 e 2

(0.1000.50.32 )1+0.3 1 1.0363+0.38532

=100e 2
=$112.16
Example 53.3
The price of a stock is to be estimated using simulation. It is known that:
(i) The time-t stock price, St , follows the lognormal distribution: ln (St /St1 ) is normal with mean
( 0.5 2 )t and variance 2 t.
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.12, and = 0.30.
The following are three uniform (0, 1) random numbers:
0.209, 0.881, 0.025.
Use each of these three numbers to simulate a time-3 stock price. Calculate the mean of the three
simulated prices.
Solution.
We have Z(1) = N 1 (0.209) = 0.81, Z(2) = N 1 (0.881) = 1.18, and Z(3) = N 1 (0.025) = 1.96.
Thus,
2 )3+0.3

S11 =50e(0.120.50.3 3(0.81)
= 41.11
2 )3+0.3

S12 =50e(0.120.50.3 31.18
= 115.60

(0.120.50.32 )3+0.3 3(1.96)
S13 =50e = 22.61
Thus, the mean of the three simulated prices is
41.11 + 115.60 + 22.61
= $59.77
3
Practice Problems
Problem 53.1
A stock is currently selling for $100. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 11%. The
continuously compounded dividend yield is 3%. The volatility of the stock according to the Black-
Scholes framework is 30%. Find the new stock prices along a path based on the uniformly distributed
random numbers: 0.12, 0.87, and 0.50, given that T = 1 year. That is, find S 1 , S 2 , and S1 .
3 3
Problem 53.2
A nondividend-paying stock is currently selling for $40. The continuously compounded risk-free
rate is 8%. The volatility of the stock is 30%. Find a simulation of the stock prices along a path
based on the uniformly distributed random numbers: 0.038, 0.424, 0.697, and 0.797, given that
T = 1 year.
Problem 53.3
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Use each of these three numbers to simulate a time-2 stock price. Calculate the mean of the three
simulated prices.
54 MONTE CARLO VALUATION FOR EUROPEAN OPTIONS 363
54 Monte Carlo Valuation for European Options

In this section we discuss the pricing of standard European options using Monte Carlo simulation.
Consider an option on a stock with strike price K and expiration time T. Let ST1 , ST2 , , STn be n
randomly drawn time-T stock prices. Let V (S, T ) denote the time-T option payoff. We define the
time-0 Monte Carlo price of the option by
n
1 rT X
V (S0 , 0) = e V (STi , T ) (54.1)
n i=1
where r is the risk-free interest rate. For the case of a call option we have V (STi , T ) = max{0, STi
K}. For a put, we have V (STi , T ) = max{0, K STi }. Note that equation (54.1) uses simulated
lognormal stock prices to approximate the lognormal stock price distribution. Also, note that the
Monte Carlo valuation uses the risk-neutral probabilities so that the simulated stock price is given
by the formula
2
ST = S0 e(r0.5 )T + T Z .
In the next example, we price a European call option using both the Black-Scholes pricing model
and the Monte Carlo pricing model so that we can assess the performance of Monte Carlo Valuation.
Example 54.1
Consider a nondividend paying stock. The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate
is 0.08, and the stock price volatility is 0.3. Consider a 40-strike call on the stock with 91 days to
expiration.
(a) Within the Black-Scholes framework, what is the option price today if the current stock price
is $40?
(b) Using the Monte Carlo, what is the option price today if the current stock price is $40?
Solution.
where
91
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )T ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 ) 365
d1 = = q = 0.2080477495.
T 0.3 91 365
and

r
91
d2 = d1 T = 0.2080477495 0.3 = 0.0582533699
365
Thus, Z 0.2080477495
1 x2
N (d1 ) = e 2 dx = 0.582404
2
and Z 0.0582533699
1 x2
N (d2 ) = e 2 dx = 0.523227.
2
Hence,
91
C = 40 0.582404 40e0.08 365 0.523227 = $2.7804
(b) We draw random 3-month stock prices using the formula
2 )0.25+0.3

S3months = 40e(0.080.5(0.3) 0.25Z
.
For each stock price, we compute the option payoff
Option payoff = max{0, S3months 40}.
The following table shows the results of Monte Carlo valuation of the call option using 5 trials where
each trial uses 500 random draws.
Trial Computed Call Price
1 2.98
2 2.75
3 2.63
4 2.75
5 2.91
Averaging the prices in the table we find $2.804 versus the Black-Scholes price $2.7804
Example 54.2
A stock is currently selling for $100. The annual continuously compounded yield is 0.02. The
annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.07, and the stock price volatility is 0.25.
Consider a $102-strike put with one year to expiration. Using the four draws from the uniform
distribution on (0,1): 0.90, 0.74, 0.21, 0.48, compute the price of the put using the Monte Carlo
valuation.
Solution.
First we find the corresponding draws from the normal distribution on (0,1):
N (Z1 ) = F (0.90) Z1 = N 1 (0.90) = 1.282

N (Z2 ) = F (0.74) Z1 = N 1 (0.74) = 0.64

N (Z3 ) = F (0.21) Z1 = N 1 (0.21) = 0.806
N (Z4 ) = F (0.48) Z1 = N 1 (0.48) = 0.05
The stock prices are found using the formula
2 )T +

ST = S0 e(r0.5 TZ
.
The four simulated stock prices with their payoffs are shown in the table below
S1i V (S1i , 1)
140.39 0
119.57 0
83.30 18.70
100.63 1.37
Thus, the Monte Carlo time-0 price of the put is
V (100, 0) = e0.07 4[0 + 0 + 18.70 + 1.37] = $4.68
Error Analysis of Monte Carlo Methods

The Monte Carlo valuation is simple but relatively inefficient. A key question in error analysis is
how many simulated stock prices needed in order to achieve a certain desired degree of accuracy.
One approach is to run the simulation different times and see how much variability there is in the
result. For example, the table of Example 54.1 shows the results from running five Monte Carlo
valuations, each consisting of 500 stock price draws. It took 2500 draws to get a close answer to
the correct answer of $2.7804.
The option price estimate obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation is a sample average. Thus an
elementary principle of statistics states that the standard deviation of the estimate is the standard
deviation of the sample (i.e., of the individual price estimates) divided by the square root of the
sample size. Consequently, the error reduces at the rate of 1 over the square root of the sample size.
Thus, the accuracy of the estimate is increased by increasing the sample size. To see this, suppose
is the standard deviation of the sample. We first conduct a Monte Carlo simulation using n1
random drawings. Since the option value is a sample mean, the standard deviation of our estimate

of the option value is / n1 . Now suppose we wanted to reduce that standard deviation of the
estimate in half. How much larger must the sample be? Let this new sample size be n2 . Then its

standard deviation of the estimate of the option price is / n2 . But then
= 1
if and only if n2 = 4n1 .
n2 2 n1
Thus, to achieve a 50% reduction in error, i.e., a 50% increase in accuracy, we must quadruple the
number of random drawings. That is, the standard error reduces only at the rate of the square root
of the sample size, not at the rate of the sample size itself.
Example 54.3
The standard deviation of the 2500 price estimates of Example 54.1 is $4.05. Find the standard
deviation of a sample of 500 draws. What percentage of the correct option price is that?
Solution.
For 500 draws, the standard deviation is
4.05
= = $0.18
n 500
which is 0.18/2.78 = 6.5% of the correct option price
Practice Problems
Problem 54.1
Consider a $102-strike call with six months to expiration. Using the two draws from the uniform
distribution on (0,1): 0.15 and 0.65 compute the price of the call using the Monte Carlo valuation.
Problem 54.2
Consider a $102-strike put with one year to expiration. Using the three draws from the uniform
distribution on (0,1): 0.12, 0.87, and 0.50, compute the price of the put using the Monte Carlo
valuation.
Problem 54.3
How many draws are required in Example 54.1 so that the standard deviation of the estimate is 1%
of the correct price?
Problem 54.4
In a Monte Carlo estimate of a European call, the standard deviation of the individual price es-
timates is found to be 3.46. What is the standard deviation of the estimate in a sample of 10000
draws?
Problem 54.5
In a Monte Carlo estimate of a European call, the standard deviation of the individual price esti-
mates is found to be 3.46. The correct price is $2.74. How many draws are required so that the
standard deviation of the estimate is 2% of the correct price?
55 Monte Carlo Valuation of Asian Options

In this section, we consider the Monte Carlo valuation of an average (either arithmetic or geometric)
price1 Asian option where the payoff is based on an average stock price that replaces the actual
price at expiration. Similar discussion holds for average strike Asian options.
Consider an Asian Call option with strike price K and time to expiration T. Split T into n equal
periods each of length h = Tn . Let Z(i), 1 i n, be random draws from the normal distribution
on (0, 1). We can find the simulated stock prices as follows:
2 )h+

S1 =S0 e(r0.5 hZ(1)
2 )h+

S2 =S1 e(r0.5 hZ(1)
.. ..
. =.
2 )h+

Snh =S(n1)h e(r0.5 hZ(1)
For an average price Asian option the payoff is given by
max{0, S K}
where
S1 + S2 + + Snh
S=
n
in the case of an arithemtic average or
1
S = (S1 S2 Snh ) n
for a geometric average.
Example 55.1
A stock price is currently selling for $100. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 11%. The
continuously compounded yield is 3%. The stock price volatility is 30%. Consider an arithmetic
average price Asian put option with time to maturity of 3 years and strike price of $100. The
stock price at the end of years 1, 2 , and 3 are simulated using the following (0,1) uniform random
numbers: 0.12, 0.87, and 0.50. Find the payoff of this put at expiration.
Solution.
Using NormSInv in Excel spreadsheet we find Z(1) = N 1 (0.12) = 1.175, Z(2) = N 1 (0.87) =
1
The advantage of averaging stock prices is that it reduces the likelihood of large gains or losses.
55 MONTE CARLO VALUATION OF ASIAN OPTIONS 369
1.126, and Z(3) = N 1 (0.50) = 0.000. Thus the yearly stock prices are
2 )T +
2 )+0.3

S1 =S0 e(r0.5 T Z(1)
= 100e(0.110.030.5(0.3) 1(1.175)
= $71.36

(r0.5 2 )T + T Z(1) (0.110.030.5(0.3)2 )+0.3 1(1.126)
S2 =S1 e = 71.36e = $101.04

(r0.5 2 )T + T Z(1) (0.110.030.5(0.3)2 )+0.3 1(0)
S3 =S2 e = 101.04e = $102.57
Thus, the payoff of the put option is
max{0, 100 (71.36 + 101.04 + 102.57)/3} = $8.34
Example 55.2
A stock price is currently selling for $100. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 11%.
The continuously compounded yield is 3%. The stock price volatility is 30%. Consider a geometric
average strike Asian call option with time to maturity of 1 year. The stock price at the end of
four months, eight months, and 12 months are simulated using the following (0,1) uniform random
numbers: 0.12, 0.87, and 0.50. Find the payoff of this call at expiration.
Solution.
Using NormSInv in Excel spreadsheet we find Z(1) = N 1 (0.12) = 1.175, Z(2) = N 1 (0.87) =
1.126, and Z(3) = N 1 (0.50) = 0.000. Thus, the simulated stock prices are
2
2 1
1
S1 =S0 e(r0.5 )T + T Z(1) = 100e(0.110.030.5(0.3) ) 3 +0.3 3 (1.175) = $82.54
2
2 1
1
S2 =S1 e(r0.5 )T + T Z(1) = 82.54e(0.110.030.5(0.3) ) 3 +0.3 3 (1.126) = $101.49
2
2 1
1
S3 =S2 e(r0.5 )T + T Z(1) = 101.49e(0.110.030.5(0.3) ) 3 +0.3 3 (0) = $102.68
Thus, the payoff of the call option is
1
max{0, 102.68 (82.54 101.49 102.68) 3 } = $7.58
Example 55.3
A stock price is currently selling for $100. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 11%.
The continuously compounded yield is 3%. The stock price volatility is 30%. Consider a geometric
average strike Asian call option with time to maturity of 1 year. Find the payoff of this call at
expiration if he stock price at the end of four months, eight months, and 12 months are simulated
using the following (0,1) uniform random numbers:
(a) 0.12, 0.87, and 0.50.
(b) 0.341, 0.7701, and 0.541
(c) 0.6751, 0.111, and 0.078.
Estimate the Monte Carlo valuation of this call option.
Solution.
(a) From the previous example, we found the payoff of the call option to be
1
max{0, 102.68 (82.54 101.49 102.68) 3 } = $7.58.
(b) Using NormSInv in Excel spreadsheet we find Z(1) = N 1 (0.341) = 0.41, Z(2) = N 1 (0.7701) =

(r0.5 2 )T + T Z(1) (0.110.030.5(0.3)2 ) 13 +0.3 13 (0.41)
S1 =S0 e = 100e = $94.24
2
2 1
1
S2 =S1 e(r0.5 )T + T Z(1) = 94.24e(0.110.030.5(0.3) ) 3 +0.3 3 (0.739) = $108.37
2
2 1
1
S3 =S2 e(r0.5 )T + T Z(1) = 108.37e(0.110.030.5(0.3) ) 3 +0.3 3 (0.103) = $111.62

1
max{0, 111.62 (94.24 108.37 111.62) 3 } = $7.16.
(c) Using NormSInv in Excel spreadsheet we find Z(1) = N 1 (0.6751) = 0.454, Z(2) = N 1 (0.111) =

(r0.5 2 )T + T Z(1) (0.110.030.5(0.3)2 ) 13 +0.3 13 (0.454)
S1 =S0 e = 100e = $109.45
2
2 1
1
S2 =S1 e(r0.5 )T + T Z(1) = 109.45e(0.110.030.5(0.3) ) 3 +0.3 3 (1.22) = $89.64

(r0.5 2 )T + T Z(1) (0.110.030.5(0.3)2 ) 13 +0.3 13 (1.41)
S3 =S2 e = 89.64e = $71.04

1
max{0, 71.04 (109.45 89.64 71.04) 3 } = $0.00
The Monte Carlo estimate of the call option price is
e0.11
CAsian = [7.58 + 7.16 + 0.00] = $0.90
3
Practice Problems
Problem 55.1
A stock price is currently selling for $50. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 8%. The
stock pays no dividends. The stock price volatility is 30%. Consider an arithmetic average price
Asian call option with time to maturity of 3 years and strike price of $50. The stock price at the
end of years 1, 2 , and 3 are simulated using the following (0,1) uniform random numbers: 0.983,
0.0384, and 0.7794. Find the payoff of this call at expiration.
Problem 55.2
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Use each of these three numbers to simulate stock prices at the end of four months, eight months,
and 12 motnhs. Calculate the arithmetic mean and the geometric mean of the three simulated
prices.
Problem 55.3
You are given the following:
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of an Asian call option with strike price of $50 based on the arithmetic
average of the simulated prices of Problem 55.2
Problem 55.4
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.

0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of an Asian put option with strike price of $70 based on the arithmetic
Problem 55.5
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of an arithmetic average strike Asian call option based on the simulated
prices of Problem 55.2
Problem 55.6
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of an arithmetic average strike Asian put option based on the simulated
Problem 55.7
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of an Asian call option with strike price of $50 based on the geometric
Problem 55.8
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of an Asian put option with strike price of $70 based on the geometric
Problem 55.9
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of a geometric average strike Asian call option based on the simulated
Problem 55.10
(ii) S0 = 50, = 0.15, and = 0.30.
0.9830, 0.0384, 0.7794.
Find the payoff at expiration of a geometric average strike Asian put option based on the simulated
Problem 55.11
The table below lists the arithemtic and geometric averages of simulated stock prices as well as the
stock price at expiration (i.e., end of one year).
Trial Arithemetic Ave. Geometric Ave. Stock Price at Exp.

1 39.13 37.42 32.43
2 60.77 59.68 47.26
3 61.85 61.35 60.11
4 53.44 53.43 52.44

(a) Find the Monte Carlo estimate of an arithemtic average strike of an Asian put option that
matures in one year.
(b) Find the Monte Carlo estimate of a geometric average strike of an Asian put option that matures
in one year.
56 CONTROL VARIATE METHOD 375
56 Control Variate Method

In this section, we discuss a method, the control variate method, that increases the accuracy of
Monte Carlo valuations.
A control variate in this context is a somewhat similar option to the option we are trying to price
but whose true value is known. We then obtain a simulated value of that option. The difference
between the true value of the control variate and its simulated value is then added to the simulated
value of the option we are trying to price. In this manner, the error in the control variate is added
to the simulated value of the option of interest. Let us see how this method works.
Let Cs be the simulated price of the option we are trying to price. Let Vt be the true value of another
similar option (the control variate) and Vs be its simulated value. Our control variate estimate is
then found as
C = Cs + (Vt Vs ). (56.1)
Since Monte Carlo valuation provides an unbiased estimate, we have E(Vs ) = Vt and E(Cs ) = Ct .
Thus, E(C ) = E(Cs ) = Ct . For the variance of C we have the following result from probability
theory
Var(C ) = Var(Cs Vs ) = Var(Cs ) + Var(Vs ) 2Cov(Cs , Vs ).
This will be less than Var(Cs ) if Var(Vs ) < 2Cov(Cs , Vs ), meaning that the control variate method
relies on the assumption of a large covariance between Cs and Vs . The control variate chosen should
be one that is very highly correlated with the option we are pricing.
The reduction in the variance is
Var(Cs ) Var(C ).
Example 56.1
Consider the pricing of an arithmetic average strike Asian put. A control variate is a geometric
average strike Asian put since we have a formula for such an option.1 Suppose that for a given set
of random stock prices the following results were found
Trial Arithemetic Geometric Stock Price Arithmetic Option Geometric Option
Average Average at Exp. payoff payoff
1 39.13 37.42 32.43 6.70 4.99
2 60.77 59.68 47.26 13.51 12.42
3 61.85 61.35 60.11 1.74 1.24
4 53.44 53.43 52.44 1.00 0.99
Suppose that the continuously compounded risk-free rate is 10%. Find the control variate estimate
of the arithmetic average strike Asian put.
1
See Appendix 19.A of [1].
Solution.
The Monte Carlo estimate for the arithmetic average Asian put is
e0.10
As = [6.70 + 13.51 + 1.74 + 1.00] = $5.19
4
The Monte Carlo estimate for the geometric average Asian put is
e0.10
Gs = [4.99 + 12.42 + 1.24 + 0.99] = $4.44.
4
The true price of the geometric option is $2.02. Hence, the control variate estimate of the arithmetic
average strike option is
A = As + (Gt Gs ) = 5.19 + (2.02 4.44) = $2.77
A better estimate of the option price is to replace (56.1) with the equation
C = Cs + (Vt Vs ).
In this case, E(C ) = Ct and
Var(C ) =Var(Cs ) + 2 Var(Vs ) 2Cov(Cs , Vs )

2
Cov2 (Cs , Vs )

Cov(Cs , Vs )
=Var(Cs ) + Var(Vs ) .
Var(Vs ) Var(Vs )
The variance Var(C ) is minimized when

Cov(Cs , Vs )
= .
Var(Vs )
The minimal variance is
Cov2 (Cs , Vs )

Var(C ) = Var(Cs ) .
Var(Vs )
The variance reduction factor is
Var(C )
= 1 2Cs ,Vs
Var(Cs )
where Cs ,Vs is the correlation coefficient between Cs and Vs .
Estimating Cov(X, Y )/Var(X)

Let {x1 , x2 , , xn } be a set of observations drawn from the probability distribution of a random
variable X. We define the sample mean by
x1 + x2 + + xn
X=
n
The sample variance estimation is given by

Pn
X)2
i=1 (xi
Var(X) = .
n1
If {y1 , y2 , , yn } is a set of observations drawn from the probability distribution of a random

variable Y, then an estimation of the covariance is given by
Pn
i=1 (xi X)(yi Y )
Cov(X, Y ) = .
n1
Thus, an estimation of = Cov(X, Y )/Var(X) is

Pn
i=1 (xi X)(yi Y)
= Pn 2
. (56.2)
i=1 (xi X)
Example 56.2 P
n
xi yi nXY
Show that = Pi=1
n 2 2 .
i=1 xi nX
Soltution.
This follows from
n n
X
2
X 2
(xi X) = (x2i 2Xxi + X )
i=1 i=1
n n n
X X 2 X 2 2
= x2i 2X xi + nX = x2i 2nX + nX
i=1 i=1 i=1
n
X 2
= x2i nX .
i=1
and
n
X n
X n
X n
X
(xi X)(yi Y ) = xi yi Y xi X yi + nXY
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1
Xn
= xi yi nXY nXY + nXY
i=1
n
X
= xi yi nXY
i=1
Example 56.3
Let C(K) denote the Black-Scholes price for a 3-month K-strike European call option on a nondividend-
paying stock.
Let Cs (K) denote the Monte Carlo price for a 3-month K-strike European call option on the stock,
calculated by using 5 random 3-month stock prices simulated under the risk-neutral probability
measure.
You are to estimate the price of a 3-month 52-strike European call option on the stock using the
formula
C (52) = Cs (52) + [C(50) Cs (50)],
where the coefficient is such that the variance of C (52) is minimized.
You are given: (i) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 10%.
(ii) C(50) = $2.67.
(iii) Both Monte Carlo prices, C( 50) and Cs (52), are calculated using the following 5 random 3-
month stock prices:
43.30, 47.30, 52.00, 54.00, 58.90
(a) Based on the 5 simulated stock prices, estimate .
(b) Compute C (52).
Solution.
(a) We know that
Cov(Cs , Vs )
= .
Var(Vs )
We use the of the previous example with xi and yi are simulated payoffs of the 50-strike and
52-strike calls respectively corresponding to the ith simulated price where 1 i 5. Note that the
50-strike call is our control variate. We do not need to discount the payoffs because the effect of
discounting is canceled in the formula of . Thus, we have the following table:
Simulated S0.25 max{0, S0.25 50} max{0, S0.25 52}

43.30 0.00 0.00
47.30 0.00 0.00
52.00 2.00 0.00
54.00 4.00 2.00
58.90 8.90 6.90
Hence,
2 + 4 + 8.90
X= = 2.98
5
2 + 6.90
Y = = 1.78
5
5
X
x2i = 22 + 42 + 8.902 = 99.21
i=1
5
X
xi yi = 4 2 + 8.90 6.90 = 69.41.
i=1
The estimate of is
69.41 5 2.98 1.78
= = 0.78251.
99.21 5 2.982
(b) We have
e0.100.25
Cs (50) = (2 + 4 + 8.90) = $2.91
5
and
e0.100.25
Cs (52) = (2 + 6.90) = $1.736.
5
Hence,
C (52) = Cs (52) + [C(50) Cs (50)] = 1.736 + 0.78251(2.67 2.91) = $1.548

Practice Problems
Problem 56.1
For the control variate method, you are given the following parameters: Cs ,Vs = 0.8, Var(Cs ) = 3,
and var(Vs ) = 5. Calculate
(a) The covariance of Cs and Vs .
(b) The variance of of the control variate estimate.
(c) The variance reduction.
Problem 56.2
For the control variate method with beta, you are given the following: Var(C ) = 0.875, Var(Cs ) = 2.
Find the variance reduction factor.
Problem 56.3
For the control variate method with beta, you are given the following: Var(C ) = 0.875, Var(Cs ) = 2.
Find the coefficient of correlation between Cs and Vs .
Problem 56.4
For the control variate method with beta, you are given the following: Var(Cs ) = 2 and Cs ,Vs = 0.75.
Claculate the variance of the control variate estimate.
Problem 56.5
Let C(K) denote the Black-Scholes price for a 3-month K-strike European call option on a nondividend-
paying stock.
Let Cs (K) denote the Monte Carlo price for a 3-month K-strike European call option on the stock,
calculated by using 5 random 3-month stock prices simulated under the risk-neutral probability
measure.
You are to estimate the price of a 3-month 42-strike European call option on the stock using the
formula
C (42) = Cs (42) + [C(40) Cs (40)],

where the coefficient is such that the variance of C (42) is minimized.
You are given:
(ii) C(40) = $2.7847.
(iii) Both Monte Carlo prices, Cs (40) and Cs (42), are calculated using the following 5 random 3-
month stock prices:
33.29, 37.30, 40.35, 43.65, 48.90

(a) Based on the 5 simulated stock prices, estimate .

(b) Based on the 5 simulated stock prices, compute C (42).
Problem 56.6
Let G denote the Black-Scholes price for a 3-month geometric average strike put option on a
nondividend-paying stock.
Let Gs denote the Monte Carlo price for a 3-month geometric average strike put option on the
stock, calculated by using the following geoemtric average strike prices
37.423, 59.675, 61.353, 53.425
simulated under the risk-neutral probability measure.

The corresponding simulated arithemtic average strike prices are
39.133, 60.767, 61.847, 53.440.
You are to estimate the price of a 3-month arithemtic average strike put option on the stock using
the formula
A = As + [G Gs ],
where the coefficient is such that the variance of A is minimized.
You are given:
(ii) G = $2.02.
(iii) The 3-month simulated stock prices are
32.43, 47.26, 70.11, 52.44
(a) Estimate .
(b) Compute the control varaite estimate A .
57 Antithetic Variate Method and Stratified Sampling

A second variance reduction technique for improving the efficiency of Monte Carlo valuation is the
antithetic variate method. The fundamental idea behind the method is to bring in negative
correlation between two estimates.
Remember that in the standard Monte Carlo simulation, we are generating observations of a stan-
dard normal random variable. The standard normal random variable is distributed with a mean
of zero, a variance of 1.0, and is symmetric. Thus, for each value we draw, there is an equally
likely chance of having drawn the observed value times 1. Consequently, for each value of x we
draw, we can legitimately create an artificially observed companion observation of x. This is the
antithetic variate. This procedure automatically doubles our sample size without having increased
the number of random drawings.
(1)
Let Z(1), Z(2), , Z(n) be n standard normal numbers that simulate stock prices and let Cs be
the corresponding Monte Carlo estimate. Using, the standard normal numbers Z(1), Z(2), , Z(n),
we simulate an additional set of n stock prices and obtain a corresponding Monte Carlo estimate
(2)
Vs .
We next show that the variance of the antithetic estimate is reduced based on the fact that the
(1) (2)
estimates Vs and Vs are negatively correlated:
Var(Vs(1) + Vs(2) ) =Var(Vs(1) ) + Var(Vs(2) ) + 2Cov(Vs(1) , Vs(2) )

=2Var(Vs(1) ) + 2Cov(Vs(1) , Vs(2) )
=2Var(Vs(1) )(1 + )
(1) (2)
where is the coefficient of correlation between Vs and Vs . Since < 0 we conclude that
Var(V (1) )
Var(Vs(1) + Vs(2) ) < 2Var(Vs(1) ) =2
n
where Var(V (1) ) is the variance of the sample {V (Z(1)), V (Z(2)), , V (Z(n))}. Hence, for n 2,
(1) (2)
we have Var(Vs + Vs ) < Var(V (1) ).
Example 57.1
A stock is currently selling for $40. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 0.08. The stock
pays no dividends. The stock price volatility is 0.35. Six months stock prices are simulated using
the standard normal numbers:
0.52, 0.13, 0.25, 1.28.
Find the antithetic control estimate of a call option with strike price $40 and time to maturity of
six months.
57 ANTITHETIC VARIATE METHOD AND STRATIFIED SAMPLING 383
Solution.
The simulated prices are found by means of the following formula:
2 )T +

ST = S0 e(r0.5 TZ
.
Thus, we obtain the following chart

Z
Z S0.5 Option Payoff
0.52 35.50 0.00
0.13 41.70 1.70
0.25 37.95 0.00
1.28 29.41 0.00
0.52 45.92 5.92
0.13 39.10 0.00
0.25 42.96 2.96
1.28 55.43 15.43
Hence, the antithetic variate estimate of the price of the option is
e0.080.5
Cs = (0 + 1.70 + 0 + 0 + 5.92 + 0 + 2.96 + 15.43) = $3.12
8
Stratified Sampling
A third variance reduction technique is the stratified sampling method. The idea behind this
method is to generate random numbers in such a way to improve the Monte Carlo estimate.
Given uniform random numbers U1 , U2 , , Un on (0,1). Divide the interval (0, 1) into k n equal
subintervals. We can use the the given uniform random numbers to generate uniform random in
each of the k intervals by using the formula
i1+Ui
if i k
Ui = k
(ik)1+Ui
k
if i > k
Thus, U1 is a random number in the interval (0, k1 ), U2 belongs to the interval ( k1 , k2 ) and so on. More-
over, the numbers U1 , U1+k , U1+2k , are uniformly distributed in the interval (0, k1 ), the numbers
U2 , U2+k , U2+2k are uniformly distributed in ( k1 , k2 ) and so on.
Example 57.2
Consider the following 8 uniform random numbers in (0,1):
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Ui 0.4880 0.7894 0.8628 0.4482 0.3172 0.8944 0.5013 0.3015
Use the given numbers, to generate uniform random numbers in each quartile, i.e. k = 4.
Solution.
We have
1 1 + U1
U1 = = 0.122
4
2 1 + U2
U2 = = 0.44735
4
3 1 + U3
U3 = = 0.7157
4
4 1 + U4
U4 = = 0.86205
4
(5 4) 1 + U5
U5 = = 0.0793
4
(6 4) 1 + U6
U6 = = 0.4736
4
(7 4) 1 + U7
U7 = = 0.625325
4
(8 4) 1 + U8
U8 = = 0.825375
4
57 ANTITHETIC VARIATE METHOD AND STRATIFIED SAMPLING 385
Practice Problems
Problem 57.1
A stock is currently selling for $40. The continuously compounded risk-free rate is 0.08. The stock
pays no dividends. The stock price volatility is 0.35. Six months stock prices are simulated using
the standard normal numbers:
0.52, 0.13, 0.25, 1.28.
Find the antithetic control estimate of a put option with strike price $40 and time to maturity of
six months.
Problem 57.2
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Ui 0.4880 0.7894 0.8628 0.4482 0.3172 0.8944 0.5013 0.3015
Find the difference between the largest and the smallest simulated uniform random variates gener-
ated by the stratified sampling method.
Problem 57.3
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Ui 0.4880 0.7894 0.8628 0.4482 0.3172 0.8944 0.5013 0.3015
Compute 8 standard normal random variates by Zi = N 1 (Ui ), where N 1 is the inverse of the
cumulative standard normal distribution function.
Problem 57.4
Michael uses the following method to simulate 8 standard normal random variates:
Step 1: Simulate 8 uniform (0, 1) random numbers U1 , U2 , , U8 .
Step 2: Apply the stratified sampling method to the random numbers so that Ui and Ui+4 are
transformed to random numbers Ui and Ui+4 that are uniformly distributed over the interval ((i
1)/4, i/4), i = 1, 2, 3, 4.
. Step 3: Compute 8 standard normal random variates by Zi = N 1 (Ui ), where N 1 is the inverse
of the cumulative standard normal distribution function.
Michael draws the following 8 uniform (0,1) random numbers:
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Ui 0.4880 0.7894 0.8628 0.4482 0.3172 0.8944 0.5013 0.3015
Find the difference between the largest and the smallest simulated normal random variates.
Problem 57.5
Given the following: S0 = 40, = 0.08, = 0, = 0.30, and T = 1. Also given the following uniform
random numbers in (0, 1).
i 1 2 3 4
Ui 0.152 0.696 0.788 0.188
(a) Apply the stratified sampling method with k = 4 to find the uniformly distributed numbers,
U1 , U2 , U3 , U4 .
(b) Compute thet 4 standard normal random numbers Zi = N 1 (Ui ), 1 i 4.
(c) Find the random set of lognormally distributed stock prices over the one year period.
Problem 57.6
Using the information of the previous problem, simulate the stock prices at the end of three months,
six months, nine months, and one year.
Problem 57.7
Using the simulated stock prices of the previous problem, find the payoff of an arithmetic average
price Asian call that expires in one year.
Brownian Motion
Brownian motion is the basic building block for standard derivatives pricing models. For example,
the Black-Scholes option pricing model assumes that the price of the underlying asset follows a
geometric Brownian motion. In this chapter we explain what this means.
387
388 BROWNIAN MOTION
58 Brownian Motion
A Brownian motion1 can be thought of as a random walk where a coin is flipped infinitely fast
and infinitesimally small steps (backward or forward based on the flip) are taken at each point.
That is, a Brownian motion is a random walk occurring in continuous time with movements that
are continuous rather than discrete. The motion is characterized by a family of random variables
Z = {Z(t)} indexed by time t where Z(t) represents the random walk the cumulative sum of all
moves after t periods. Such a family is called a stochastic process.
For a Brownian motion that starts from z, the process Z(t) has the following characteristics:
(1) Z(0) = z.
(2) Z(t + s) Z(t) is normally distributed with mean 0 and variance s.
(3) Z(t + s1 ) Z(t) is independent of Z(t) Z(t s2 ) where s1 , s2 > 0. That is, nonoverlapping
increments are independently distributed. In other words, Z(t + s1 ) Z(t) and Z(t) Z(t s2 )
are independent random variables.
(4) Z(t) is a continuous function of time t. (Continuous means you can draw the motion without
lifting your pen from the paper.)
If z = 0 then the Brownian motion is called a standard or a pure Brownian motion. Also, a
standard Brownian motion is known as Wiener motion.
Example 58.1
What is the variance of Z(t) Z(s)? Here, 0 s < t.
Solution.
We have Z(t) Z(s) = Z(s + (t s)) Z(s) so that by (2), the variance is t s
Example 58.2
Show that E[Z(t + s)|Z(t)] = Z(t).
Solution.
For any random variables X, Y, and Z we know that E(X + Y |Z) = E(X|Z) + E(Y |Z) and
E(X|X) = X. Using these properties, We have
E[Z(t + s)|Z(t)] =E[Z(t + s) Z(t) + Z(t)|Z(t)]

=E[Z(t + s) Z(t)|Z(t)] + E[Z(t)|Z(t)]
=0 + Z(t) = Z(t)
where we used Property (2). The above result implies that Z(t) is a martingale2
1
Named after the Scottish botanist Robert Brown.
2
A stochastic process Z(t) for which E[Z(t + s)|Z(t)] = Z(t) is called a martingale.
58 BROWNIAN MOTION 389
Example 58.3
Suppose that Z(2) = 4. Compute E[Z(5)|Z(2)].
Solution.
We have E[Z(5)|Z(2)] = E[Z(2 + 3)|Z(2)] = Z(2) = 4
Example 58.4
Let Z be a standard Brownian motion. Show that E(Z(t)Z(s)) = min{t, s} where t, s 0.
Solution.
Assume t s. We have
E(Z(t)Z(s)) =E[(Z(s) + Z(t) Z(s))Z(s))] = E[(Z(s))2 ] + E[(Z(t) Z(s))Z(s)]

=s + E[Z(t) Z(s)]E[Z(s)] = s + 0 = min{t, s}
since W (s) is normal with mean 0 and variance s and Z(t) Z(s) and Z(s) are independent
We next show that a standard Brownian motion Z can be approximated by a sum of indepen-
dent binomial random variables. By the continuity of Z, for a small time period h we can estimate
the change in Z from t to t + h by the equation

Z(t + h) Z(t) = Y (t + h) h
where Y (t) is a random draw from a binomial distribution3 . Now, take the interval [0, T ]. Divide
[0, T ] into n equal subintervals each of length h = Tn . Then we have
n n
X X
Z(T ) = [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)] = Y (ih) h
i=1 i=1
n
" #
1 X
= T Y (ih) (58.1)
n i=1
Since E(Y (ih)) = 0, we have

" n
# n
1 X 1 X
E Y (ih) = E(Y (ih)) = 0.
n i=1 n i=1
3
Y (t) = 1 with probability 0.5. Also, E(Y (t)) = 0 and Var(Y (t)) = 1.
390 BROWNIAN MOTION
Likewise, since Var(Y (ih)) = 1 we have

" n
# n
1 X 1X
Var Y (ih) = 1 = 1.
n i=1 n i=1
Hence, we can think of a standard Brownian motion as being approximately generated from the
sum of independent binomial draws with mean 0 and variance h.
Now, by the Central Limit Theorem4 we have that the limit
n
1 X
lim Y (ih)
n n i=1
approaches a standard normal distribution, say W. Hence,

Z(T ) = T W (T ).
It follows that Z(T ) is approximated by a normal random variable with mean 0 and variance T.
In Stochastic calculus, Z(t) can be represented in integral form
Z T
Z(T ) = dZ(t).
0
The integral on the right is called a stochastic integral.

Example 58.5
Let Z be a standard Brownian motion. Calculate E(Z(4)Z(5)).
Solution.
Note that Z(4) = Z(4) Z(0) and Z(5) Z(4) are independent random variables. Thus,
E(Z(4)Z(5)) =E[Z(4){Z(5) Z(4) + Z(4)}] = E[Z(4)2 ] + E[Z(4)(Z(5) Z(4))]
=E[Z(4)2 ] + E[Z(4)]E[Z(5) Z(4)]
=E[Z(4)2 ] [E(Z(4))]2 + E[Z(4)]E[Z(5)]
=Var(Z(4)) = 4
Now, renaming h as dt and the change in Z as dZ(t) we can write the differential form5

dZ(t) = W (t) dt.
In words, this equation says, that over small periods of time, changes in the value of the process
are normally distributed with a variance that is proportional to the length of the time period.
4
See Theorem 40.2 in [3].
5
Differential forms of Brownian motions are called stochastic differential equations
Additional Properties of Z(t)

We next discuss two important properties of Brownian motion that prove to be extremely important.
We continue to use the binomial approximation to the Brownian process. We first introduce the
following definition: Partition an interval [a, b] into n equal subintervals. The quadratic variation
of a stochastic process {Z(t)}atb is defined to be
n
X
lim [Z(ti ) Z(ti1 )]2
n
i=1
if the limit exists (under convergence in probability). In the case of a standard Brownian motion
as defined above we have
n n
X X 2
lim [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)]2 = lim Yih h
n n
i=1 i=1
n
X
= lim Yih2 h = T < .
n
i=1
An important implication of the fact that the quadratic variation of a Brownian process is finite is
that higher-order variations are all zero.
Example 58.6
Let Z be a standard Brownian motion. Show that limn ni=1 [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)]4 = 0.
P
Solution.
We have
n n
X X 4
[Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)]4 = Yih h

i=1
i=1
X n
4 2
= Yih h

i=1
n
X
h2
i=1
T2
= 2
n
Hence,
n
X
lim [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)]4 = 0
n
i=1
392 BROWNIAN MOTION
The total variation of the standard Brownian process is

n n
X X
lim |Z(ti ) Z(ti1 )| = lim |Yih | h
n n
i=1 i=1
n n
X X 1
= lim h = T lim
n
i=1
n
i=1
n
n
X
= T lim n=
n
i=1
This means that the Brownian path moves up and down very rapidly in the interval [0, T ]. That is,
the path will cross its starting point an infinite number of times in the interval [0, T ].
Practice Problems
Problem 58.1
Given that Z follows a Brownian motion. Find the variance of Z(17) Z(5).
Problem 58.2
Let Z be a Brownian motion. Suppose that 0 s1 < t1 s2 < t2 . Given that E(Z(t1 ) Z(s1 )) = 4
and E(Z(t2 ) Z(s2 )) = 5. Find E[(Z(t1 ) Z(s1 ))(Z(t2 ) Z(s2 ))].
Problem 58.3
Let Z represent a Brownian motion. Show that for any constant we have limt0 Z(t + ) = Z().
Problem 58.4
Let Z represent a standard Brownian motion. Show that {Z(t + ) Z()}t0 is also a standard
Brownian motion for a fixed > 0.
Problem 58.5
Let {Z(t)}0t1 represent a standard Brownian motion. Show that {Z(1) Z(1 t)}0t1 is also
a standard Brownian motion.
Problem 58.6
1
Let {Z(t)}t0 represent a standard Brownian motion. Show that {s 2 Z(st)}t0 is a standard
Brownian motion, where s > 0 is fixed.
Problem 58.7
Let Z be a standard Brownian motion. Show that limn ni=1 [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)]3 = 0.
P
394 BROWNIAN MOTION
59 Arithmetic Brownian Motion

With a standard Brownian motion, dZ(t) has an mean of 0 and variance of 1 per unit time. We
can generalize this to allow nonzero mean and an arbitrary variance. Define X(t) by

X(t + h) X(t) = h + Y (t + h) h.

We call h the drift term and h the noise term. Let T > 0. Partition [0, T ] into n subintervals
each of length h = Tn . Then
n
r !
X T T
X(T ) X(0) = + Y (ih)
i=1
n n
n
!
X Y (ih)
=T + T
i=1
n
P
By the Central Limit Theorem T ni=1 Y (ih)

n
approaches a normal distribution with mean 0 and
variance T. Hence, we can write
X(T ) X(0) = T + Z(t)
where Z is the standard Brownian motion. The stochastic differential form of this expression is
dX(t) = dt + dZ(t). (59.1)
A stochastic process {X(t)}t0 that satisfies (59.1) is called an arithmetic Brownian motion.
Note that E(X(t) X(0)) = t and Var(X(T ) X(0)) = Var(t + Z(t)) = 2 . We call the
instantaneous mean per unit time or the drift factor and 2 the instantaneous variance
per unit time. Note that X(t) X(0) is normally distributed with expected mean of t and
variance 2 t. Hence, X(t) is normally distributed with mean X(0) + t and variance 2 t.
Example 59.1
Let {X(t)}t0 be an arithmetic
Brownian motion with drift factor and volatility . Show that
X(t) = X(a) + (t a) + t aW (t) where W is a standard normal random variable.
Solution.
Using (59.1) we can write X(t) X(a) = (t a) + dZ(t) = (t a) + t aW (t). Thus, X(t)
is normally distributed with mean X(a) + (t a) and variance 2 (t a)
59 ARITHMETIC BROWNIAN MOTION 395
Example 59.2
{X(t)}t0 follows an arithmetic Brownian motion such that X(30) = 2. The drift factor of this
Brownian motion is 0.435, and the volatility is 0.75. What is the probability that X(34) < 0?
Solution.
The mean of the normal distributionX(34) is X(30) + (34 30) = 2 + 0.435 4 = 3.74. The
standard deviation is t a = 0.75 34 30 = 1.5. Thus,

0 3.74
P r(X(34) < 0) = P r Z < = N (Z < 2.49) = 0.006387
1.5
Example 59.3
A particular arithmetic Brownian motion is as follows:
dX(t) = 0.4dt + 0.8dZ(t).
(a) What is the drift factor of this Brownian motion?

(b) What is the instantaneous variance per unit time?
Solution.
(a) The drift factor is the instantaneous mean per unit time = 0.4.
(b) The instantaneous variance per unit time is 2 = 0.82 = 0.64
The following observations about equation (59.1) are worth mentioning:

X(t) is normally distributed.
The random term dZ(t) is multiplied by a scale factor that enables us to change the variance.
The dt term introduces a nonrandom drift into the process. Adding dt has the effect of
adding per unit time to X(0).
Example 59.4
Let {X(t)}t0 be an arithmetic Brownian motion starting from 0 with = 0.2 and 2 = 0.125.
Calculate the probability that X(2) is between 0.1 and 0.5.
Solution.
We have that X(2) is normally distributed with mean T = 0.4 and variance 2 T = 0.1252 = 0.25.
Thus,

0.5 0.4 0.1 0.4
P r(0.1 < X(2) < 0.5) = N N = 0.57926 0.274253 = 0.305007
0.5 0.5
396 BROWNIAN MOTION
The Ornestein-Uhlenbeck Process

When modeling commodity prices, one notices that these prices exhibit a tendency to revert to the
mean. That is, if a value departs from the mean in either direction, in the long run, it will tend to
revert back to the mean. Thus, mean-reversion model has more economic logic than the arithmetic
Brownian process described above. We can incorporate mean reversion by modifying the drift term
in (59.1) and obtain:
dX(t) = ( X(t))dt + dZ(t) (59.2)
where is the long-run equilibrium level (or the long-run mean value which X(t) tends to revert);
is the volatility factor, is the speed of reversion or the reversion factor, and Z(t) is the standard
Brownian motion. Equation (59.2) is known as the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process.
Example 59.5
Solve equation (59.2).
Solution.
We introduce the change of variables Y (t) = X(t) . In this case, we obtain the differential form
dY (t) = Y (t)dt + dZ(t)
or
dY (t) + Y (t)dt = dZ(t).
This can be written as
d[et Y (t)] = et dZ(t).
Hence, integrating from 0 to t we obtain
Z t
t
e Y (t) Y (0) = es dZ(s)
0
or Z t
t
Y (t) = e Y (0) + e(ts) dZ(s).
0
Writing the answer in terms of X we find
Z t
t t
X(t) = X(0)e + (1 e )+ e(ts) dZ(s)
0
59 ARITHMETIC BROWNIAN MOTION 397
Practice Problems
Problem 59.1
Let {X(t)}t0 be an arithmetic Brownian motion with X(0) = 0. Show that the random variable
X(t)t

is normally distributed. Find the mean and the variance.
Problem 59.2
Let {X(t)}t0 be an arithmetic Brownian motion with X(0) = 0. Show that the random variable
X(t)t

t
has the standard normal distribution.
Problem 59.3
Let {X(t)}t0 be an arithmetic Brownian motion with X(0) = 0, = 0.1 and 2 = 0.125. Calculate
the probability that X(2) is between 0.1 and 0.3.
Problem 59.4
Consider the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process:
dX(t) dZ(t)
= 0.4dt + 0.20 .
X(t) X(t)
Determine the parameters , , and .
Problem 59.5
Consider the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process:
dX(t) = 0.048dt + 0.30dZ(t) 0.40X(t)dt.
Determine the parameters , , and .
Problem 59.6
Solve the equation
dX(t) = 0.4[0.12 X(t)]dt + 0.30dZ(t)
subject to X(0) = 0.24.
Problem 59.7
The price of Stock R follows a mean reversion process, where the instantaneous mean per unit
time is 54, and the volatility factor is 0.46. The reversion factor for this process is 3.5. At some
time t, you know that dt = 0.24, dZ(t) = 0.94, and the stock price is $46 per share. What is the
instantaneous change in the stock price, i.e., dX(t)?
398 BROWNIAN MOTION
Problem 59.8
The price of Stock S follows a mean reversion process, but the mean is currently unknown. You do
know that at time t, dt = 0.125, dZ(t) = 0.3125, and dX(t), the instantaneous change in the stock
price, is 0.634. Also, X(t), the stock price, is 613, the volatility is 0.53, and the reversion factor for
this process is 0.1531. What is the instantaneous mean per unit time for this process?
Problem 59.9
The price of Stock Q follows an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. The reversion factor for this process
is 0.0906, and the volatility factor is 0.63. At some time t, dt = 1, dZ(t) = 0.9356, and dX(t), the
instantaneous change in the stock price, is 0.0215. What is the price of Stock Q at time t?
Problem 59.10
{X(t)}t0 follows an arithmetic Brownian motion with a drift factor of 0.35 and a volatility of 0.43.
Given that X(4) = 2.
(a) Find the mean of the normal distribution X(13).
(b) Find the standard deviation of the normal distribution X(13).
(c) What is the probability that X(13) > 9?
Problem 59.11
Problem 59.12
60 GEOMETRIC BROWNIAN MOTION 399
60 Geometric Brownian Motion

The arithmetic Brownian motion has many drawbacks, namely,
X(t) can be negative and therefore the arithmetic Brownian process is a poor model for stock
prices.
The mean and variance of changes in dollar terms are independent of the level of the stock price.
In practice, if a stock price doubles, we would expect both the dollar expected return and the dollar
standard deviation of returns to approximately double.
These drawbacks and others can be eliminated with geometric Brownian motion which we discuss
next.
When the drift factor and the volatility in the arithmetic Brownian motion are functions of X(t),
then the stochastic differential form
dX(t) = (X(t))dt + (X(t))dZ(t)
is called an It
o process. In particular, if (X(t)) = X(t) and (X(t)) = X(t) then the previous
equation becomes
dX(t) = X(t)dt + X(t)dZ(t)
or
dX(t)
= dt + dZ(t). (60.1)
X(t)
The process in the previous equation is known as geometric Brownian motion. Note that
equation (60.1) says that the the percentage change in the asset value is normally distributed with
instantaneous mean and instantaneous variance 2 .
Example 60.1
A given geometric Brownian motion can be expressed as follows:
dX(t)
= 0.215dt + 0.342dZ(t).
X(t)
(a) What is the instantaneous mean of the percentage change in the asset value?
(b) What is the instantaneous variance of the percentage change in the asset value?
Solution.
(a) The instantaneous mean of the percentage change in the asset value is = 0.215.
(b) The instantaneous variance of the percentage change in the asset value is 2 = 0.3422 =
400 BROWNIAN MOTION
0.116964
For an arbitrary initial value X(0) equation (60.1) has the analytic solution1
2 )t+

X(t) = X(0)e(0.5 tZ
.
where Z is a normal random variable with parameters 0 and 1. Alternatively, we can write
2 )t+Z(t)
X(t) = X(0)e(0.5 .
where Z is a normal random variable with parameters 0 and t. Note that X(t) is an exponential and
therefore is not normal. However, X(t) is lognormally distributed with mean E(X(t)) = X(0)et
2
(See Example 48.2) and variance Var(X(t)) = e2t X(0)2 (e t 1). See Section 47. It follows that
ln (X(t)) is normally distributed with mean ln (X(0)) + ( 0.5 2 )t and variance 2 t. That is,
ln X(t) = ln X(0) + ( 0.5 2 )t + Z(t).
It follows that when X follows a geometric Brownian motion its logarithm follows an arithmetic
Brownian motion2 , that is,
d[ln X(t)] = ( 0.5 2 )dt + dZ(t).
Example 60.2
The current price of a stock is 100. The stock price follows a geometric Brownian motion with drift
rate of 10% per year and variance rate of 9% per year. Calculate the probability that two years
from now the price of the stock will exceed 200.
Solution.
We want
S(2)
P r(S(2) > 200) = P ln > ln 2 .
S(0)

S(2)
But ln S(0)
is normally distributed with mean ( 0.5 2 )t = (0.10 0.5(0.09) 2 = 0.11 and
2
variance t = 0.09 2 = 0.18. Therefore,

ln 2 0.11
P r(S(2) > 200) = P r Z > = 1 N (1.37) = 1 0.915 = 0.085
0.18
Example 60.3
1
Given a geometric Brownian motion with drift factor 0.10. For h = 365 , suppose that the ratio of
the noise term to the drift term is found to be 22.926. Find the standard deviation .
Solution.
We are given that h
h
= 22.926 or

1
= 22.926. Solving for we find = 0.12
0.10 365
1
The correctness of the solution can be verified using Itos lemma to be discussed in Section 64.
2
This follows from It
os lemma
60 GEOMETRIC BROWNIAN MOTION 401
Practice Problems
Problem 60.1
Stock A follows a geometric Brownian motion where the drift factor is 0.93 and the variance factor
is 0.55. At some particular time t, it is known that dt = 0.035, and dZ(t) = 0.43. At time t, the
stock trades for $2354 per share. What is the instantaneous change in the price of stock A?
Problem 60.2
Stock B follows a geometric Brownian motion where the drift factor is 0.0234 and the variance
factor is 0.953. At some particular time t, it is known that dt = 0.531, dZ(t) = 0.136, and dX(t)
the instantaneous change in the price of the stock is 0.245. What is the stock price at time t?
Problem 60.3
Stock C follows a geometric Brownian motion where the variance factor is 0.35. At some particular
time t, it is known that dt = 0.0143, dZ(t) = 0.0154, and dX(t) the instantaneous change in the
price of the stock is 0.353153. The price of Stock C at time t is $31.23. What is the drift factor
for this Brownian motion?
Problem 60.4
1
Given a geometric Brownian motion with drift factor 0.09. For h = 365 , suppose that the ratio of
the noise term to the drift term is found to be 13.428. Find the standard deviation .
Problem 60.5
{X(t)}t0 follows an geometric Brownian motion with a drift factor of 0.35 and a volatility of 0.43.
We know that X(0) = 2.
(a) What is the mean of the normal distribution ln X(13)
X(0)
?

(b) What is the standard deviation of the normal distribution ln X(13)
X(0)
?
(c) Find P r(X(13) > 9).
Problem 60.6
Let S(t) denote the time-t price of a stock. Let Y (t) = [S(t)]2 . You are given
dY (t)
= 1.2dt 0.5dZ(t), Y (0) = 64,
Y (t)
where {Z(t) : t 0} is a standard Brownian motion.

Let (L, U ) be the 90% lognormal confidence interval for S(2). Find U.
402 BROWNIAN MOTION
Problem 60.7
At time t = 0, Jane invests the amount of W (0) in a mutual fund. The mutual fund employs a
proportional investment strategy: There is a fixed real number , such that, at every point of time,
100% of the funds assets are invested in a nondividend paying stock and 100(1 )% in a risk-free
asset.
You are given:
(i) The continuously compounded rate of return on the risk-free asset is r.
(ii) The price of the stock, S(t), follows a geometric Brownian motion,
dS(t)
= dt + dZ(t), t 0
S(t)
where {Z(t)} is a standard Brownian motion.

Let W (t) denote the Janets fund value at time t, t 0. Show that

S(t) 2
W (t) = W (0) e(1)(r+0.5 )t .
S(0)
Problem 60.8
Consider the Black-Scholes framework. You are given the following three statements on variances,
conditional on knowing S(t), the stock price at time t. Determine the ones that are true.
(i) Var[ln
h S(t + h)|S(t)]
i = 2h
(ii) Var dS(t)
S(t)
|S(t) = 2 dt
(iii) Var[S(t + dt)|S(t)] = S 2 2 dt.
61 ITO PROCESS MULTIPLICATION RULES 403
61 Ito Process Multiplication Rules

In many problems involving Ito processes and geometric Brownian motion, you will encounter
situations where you need to multiply dZ by itself, dt by itself, or dZ by dt. Rules for these products
are known as multiplication rules. But first we define the following: For > 1 we will define
(dt) = 0. This, makes senses since dt represents a very small number.
Example 61.1
Show that (dt)2 = 0.
Solution.
This follows from our definition of (dt) = 0 with = 2
Example 61.2
(a) Show that E[dZ dt] = 0.
(b) Show that E[(dZ dt)2 ] = 0.
(c) Show that Var[dZ dt] = 0.
(d) Show that dZ dt = 0.
Solution.
(a) We have E[dZ dt] = dtE[Z(t)] = 0 since dt is a constant.
(b) We have E[(dZ dt)2 ] = (dt)2 E[(dZ)2 ] = (dt)2 Var(dZ) = (dt)2 (dt) = (dt)3 = 0.
(c) We have Var[dZ dt] = E[(dZ dt)2 ] (E[dZ dt])2 = 0 0 = 0.
(d) This follows from (a) and (c)
Example 61.3
(a) Show that E[(dZ)2 ] = dt.
(b) Show that Var[(dZ)2 ] = 0.
(c) Show that (dZ)2 = dt.
Solution.
(a) We know that E[dZ] = 0 and Var(dZ) = dt. Thus, E[(dZ)2 ] = E[(dZ)2 ][E(dZ)]2 = Var(dZ) =
dt.
(b) We have
2
Var[(dZ)2 ] =E[(dZ)4 ] E[(dZ)2 ]
=E[Y 4 (t)(dt)2 ] (dt)2
=(dt)2 (dt)2 = 0.
(c) It follows from (b) that (dZ)2 is a constant. Thus, using (a) we find that (dZ)2 = dt
404 BROWNIAN MOTION
Example 61.4
Let Z and Z 0 be two standard Brownian motions. Show that dZ dZ 0 = dt where = E[Y (t)Y 0 (t)].
is also known as the correlation of the underlying assets driven by the different Brownian motions.
Solution.
We know that dZ(t) = Y (t) dt and dZ 0 (t) = Y 0 (t) dt. Thus, E(dZ dZ 0 ) = dtE[Y (t)Y 0 (t)] = dt.
We also have,
2
Var(dZ dZ 0 ) =E[(dZ dZ 0 )2 ] (E[dZ dZ 0 ])
notag =(dt)2 E[(Y Y 0 )2 ] 2 (dt)2 = 0. (61.1)
Hence, dZ dZ 0 must be a constant. Since E(dZ dZ 0 ) = dt we conclude that dZ dZ 0 = dt .
Summarizing, the multiplication rules are

(dt)2 =0
dZ dt =0
(dZ)2 =dt
dZ dZ 0 =dt.
Example 61.5
A geometric Brownian motion is described by the stochastic form
dX(t) = 0.07X(t)dt + 0.03X(t)dZ(t).
Calculate (dX(t))2 .
Solution.
We have
(dX(t))2 =[0.07X(t)dt + 0.03X(t)dZ(t)]2
=(0.07X(t))2 (dt)2 + 2(0.07)(0.03)dtdZ(t) + (0.03X(t))2 (dZ(t))2
=0 + 0 + 0.0009X 2 (t)dt
Example 61.6
Let X be a Brownian motion characterized by dX(t) = ( 0.5 2 )dt + dZ(t). For > 0, split
the interval [0, T ] into n equal subintervals each of length h = Tn . Evaluate
n
X
lim [X(ih) X((i 1)h)]2 .
n
i=1
Solution.
We have (See Problem 61.5)
n
X Z T
2
lim [X(ih) X((i 1)h)] = [dX(t)]2
n 0
i=1
Z T
= [( 0.5 2 )2 (dt)2 + 2( 0.5 2 )dtdZ(t) + 2 (dZ(t))2 ]
0
Z T
= 2 dt = 2 T
0
406 BROWNIAN MOTION
Practice Problems
Problem 61.1
Let X be an arithmetic Brownian motion with drift factor and volatility . Find formulas for
(dX)2 and dX dt.
Problem 61.2
Find the simplest possible equivalent expression to (34dZ + 45dt)(42dZ + 3dt).
Problem 61.3
Given that the assets have a correlation = 0.365. Find the simplest possible equivalent expression
to (95dZ + 424dZ 0 )(2dZ + 241dt).
Problem 61.4 RT
Let Z be a standard Brownian motion. Show that the stochastic integral 0 [dZ(t)]4 is equal to 0.
Problem 61.5
Let Z be a standard Brownian motion and T > 0. Partition the interval [0, T ] into n equal subin-
tervals each of length h = Tn . For any positive integer k we define
n
X Z T
k
lim [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)] = [dZ(t)]k .
n 0
i=1
Using the multiplication rules, simplify

n
X n
X n
X
2
X = lim [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)] + lim [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)] + lim [Z(ih) Z((i 1)h)]3 .
n n n
i=1 i=1 i=1
Problem 61.6
Find the mean and the variance of the random variable of the previous problems.
Problem 61.7
Given the following Brownian motion
dX(t) = (0.05 X(t))dt + 0.10dZ(t).
Find (dX(t))2 .
Problem 61.8
Consider the Black-Scholes framework. Let S(t) be the stock price at time t, t 0. Define X(t) =
ln [S(t)].
You are given the following three statements concerning X(t).
(i) {X(t), t 0} is an arithmetic Brownian motion.
(ii) Var[X(t +
Ph) X(t)] = 2 h, t 0, h > 0.
(iii) limn ni=1 [X(ih) X((i 1)h)]2 = 2 T. Which of these statements are true?
Problem 61.9
Define
(i) W (t) = t2 .
(ii) X(t) = [t], where [t] is the greatest integer part of t; for example, [3.14] = 3, [9.99] = 9, and
[4] = 4.
(iii) Y (t) = 2t + 0.9Z(t), where {Z(t) : t 0} is a standard Brownian motion.
Let VT2 (U ) denote the quadratic variation of a process U over the time interval [0, T ].
Rank the quadratic variations of W, X and Y over the time interval [0, 2.4].
408 BROWNIAN MOTION
62 Sharpe ratios of Assets that Follow Geometric Brownian

Motions
We have first encountered the concept of Sharpe ratio in Section 32: In finance, the risk premium
on an asset is defined to be the excess return of the asset over the risk-free rate. Thus, if r denotes
the risk-free rate and the expected return on the asset, then the risk premium on the asset is the
difference
Risk premium = r.
The Sharpe ratio of an asset is the risk premium of a stock divided by its volatility, or, standard
deviation. It is given by
r
Sharpe ratio = = .

The Sharpe ratio is used to characterize how well the return of an asset compensates the investor
for the risk taken.
Consider two nondividend paying stocks that are perfectly correlated. That is, their stock prices
are driven by the same dZ(t). In this case, we can write
dS1 = 1 S1 dt + 1 S1 dZ
dS2 = 2 S2 dt + 2 S2 dZ
It is important to remember that a stock price is assumed to follow a geometric Brownian motion.
We claim that 1 = 2 . Suppose not. Without loss of generality, we can assume 1 > 2 . Buy 11S1
shares of asset 1 (at a cost of 11 ) and sell 21S2 shares of asset 2 (at a cost of 12 ). Invest the cost
1
2
11 in the risk-free bond, which has the rate of return rdt. The return on this portfolio (i.e. the
arbitrage profit) after a short time dt is

dS1 dS2 1 1 1 S1 dt + 1 S1 dZ 2 S2 dt + 2 S2 dZ 1 1
+ rdt = + rdt
1 S1 2 S2 2 1 1 S1 2 S2 2 1
=(1 2 )dt.
Thus, we have constructed a zero-investment portfolio with a positive risk-free return. Therefore,
to preclude arbitrage, the two stocks must have equal Sharpe ratio.
Example 62.1
A nondividend paying stock follows a geometric Brownian motion given by
dS(t) = 0.10Sdt + 0.12Sdt.
Find the risk-free interest rate r is the Sharpe ration of the stock is 0.10.
62 SHARPE RATIOS OF ASSETS THAT FOLLOW GEOMETRIC BROWNIAN MOTIONS409
Solution.
0.10r
We are given = 0.10, = 0.12, and = 0.10. Hence, 0.10 = 0.12
. Solving this equation we find
r = 8.8%
Example 62.2
Nondividend-paying stocks S1 and S2 are perfectly correlated and follow these geometric Brownian
motions:
dS1
= Adt + 0.884dZ
S1
dS2
= 0.3567dt + 0.643dZ.
S2
The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.1. What is A?
Solution.
We know that
1 r 2 r
= ,
1 2
where 1 = A, r = 0.1, 1 = 0.884, 2 = 0.3567, and 2 = 0.643. Thus,
A 0.1 0.3567 0.1
= .
0.884 0.643
Solving this equation we find A = 0.453
Example 62.3
Nondividend-paying stocks S1 and S2 follow these geometric Brownian motions:
dS1
= 0.08dt + 0.23dZ
S1
dS2
= 0.07dt + 0.25dZ.
S2
The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.04. Demonstrate an arbitrage
opportunity.
Solution.
The Sharpe ratio of the first stock is 1 = 0.080.04
0.23
= 0.174. For the second stock, we have 2 =
0.070.04 1
0.25
= 0.12. Since 1 > 2 , an arbitrage opportunity occurs by buying 0.23S1
shares of stock 1,
1 1 1
selling 0.25S2 of stock 2, and borrowing 0.23 0.25 . The arbitrage profit is
(1 2 )dt = (0.174 0.12)dt = 0.054dt

410 BROWNIAN MOTION
Example 62.4
Consider two nondividend-paying assets X and Y. There is a single source of uncertainty which
is captured by a standard Brownian motion {Z(t)}. The prices of the assets satisfy the stochastic
differential equations
dX(t)
= 0.07dt + 0.12dZ(t)
X(t)
and
dY (t)
= Adt + BdZ(t),
Y (t)
where A and B are constants. You are also given:
(i) d[ln Y (t)] = dt + 0.085dZ(t);
(ii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 4%.
Determine A.
Solution.
Since Y follows a geometric Brownian motion, we have d[ln Y (t)] = (A 0.5B 2 )dt + BdZ(t) =
dt + 0.085dZ(t). Hence, A 0.5B 2 = and B = 0.085. Since X and Y have the same underlying
source of risk Z, they have equal Sharpe ratios. That is,
X r Y r
= .
X Y
or
0.07 0.04 A 0.04
= .
0.12 0.085
Solving this equation for A we find A = 0.06125
Sharpe Ratio Under Capital Asset Pricing Model

In CAPM model, the risk-premium of an asset is defined to be
S r = SM (M r)
with
SM S
SM =
M
where SM is the correlation of asset with the market. It follows from this definition that
S r
= = SM M .
S
Example 62.5
A nondividend-paying Stock A has annual price volatility of 0.20. Its correlation with the market is
0.75. A nondividend-paying Stock B has a market correlation equals to 0.4 and Sharpe ratio equals
0.0625. Find the risk-premium of Stock A.
Solution.
M r M r
We are given that BM = 0.4 and B = 0.0625 so that 0.0625 = 0.4 M
. Hence, M = M
=
0.15625. Thus, the Sharpe ratio of Stock A is
A = AM M = 0.75 0.15625 = 0.1171875
and the risk-premium of Stock A is
A r = A A = 0.20 0.1171875 = 0.0234375

412 BROWNIAN MOTION
Practice Problems
Problem 62.1
A nondividend paying stock follows a geometric Brownian motion given by
dS(t) = 0.08Sdt + 0.12Sdt.
Find the risk-free interest rate r is the Sharpe ration of the stock is 0.31.
Problem 62.2
A nondividend-paying stock follows a geometric Brownian motion such that dSS
= 0.5dt + 0.354dZ.
The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.034. What is the Sharpe ratio of
the stock?
Problem 62.3
motions:
dS1
= 0.453dt + 0.884dZ
S1
dS2
= 0.3567dt + AdZ.
S2
The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.1. What is A?
Problem 62.4
motions:
dS1
= 0.152dt + 0.251dZ
S1
dS2
= 0.2dt + 0.351dZ.
S2
What is the annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate?
Problem 62.5
Nondividend-paying stocks S1 and S2 follow these geometric Brownian motions:
dS1
= 0.07dt + 0.12dZ
S1
dS2
= 0.05dt + 0.11dZ.
S2
The annual continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.03. Demonstrate an arbitrage
opportunity.
Problem 62.6
A nondividend-paying Stock A has annual price volatility of 0.28 and Sharpe ratio equals to 0.15.
The beta of the stock with the market is 0.7. Find the market risk-premium.
Problem 62.7
A nondividend-paying Stock A has annual price volatility of 0.28 and Sharpe ratio equals to 0.15.
The beta of the stock with the market is 0.7. A nondividend-paying stock has price volatility of
0.555 and beta 1.3. Find the Sharpe ratio of Stock B.
Problem 62.8
Consider an arbitrage-free securities market model, in which the risk-free interest rate is constant.
There are two nondividend-paying stocks whose price processes are
S1 (t) = S1 (0)e0.1t+0.2Z(t)
S2 (t) = S2 (0)e0.125t+0.3Z(t)
where Z(t) is a standard Brownian motion and t 0.
Determine the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate.
Problem 62.9
Consider two nondividend-paying assets X and Y, whose prices are driven by the same Brownian
motion Z. You are given that the assets X and Y satisfy the stochastic differential equations:
dX(t)
= 0.07dt + 0.12dZ(t)
X(t)
and
dY (t)
= Gdt + HdZ(t),
Y (t)
where G and H are constants.
You are also given:
where A and B are constants. You are also given:
(i) d[ln Y (t)] = 0.06dt + dZ(t);
(ii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 4%.
(iii) < 0.25.
Determine G.
414 BROWNIAN MOTION
Problem 62.10
The prices of two nondividend-paying stocks are governed by the following stochastic differential
equations:
dS1 (t)
= 0.06dt + 0.02dZ(t)
S1 (t)
dS2 (t)
= 0.03dt + kdZ(t)
S2 (t)
where Z(t) is a standard Brownian motion and k is a constant.
The current stock prices are S1 (0) = 100 and S2 (0) = 50. The continuously compounded risk-free
You now want to construct a zero-investment, risk-free portfolio with the two stocks and risk-free
bonds.
If there is exactly one share of Stock 1 in the portfolio, determine the number of shares of Stock 2
that you are now to buy. (A negative number means shorting Stock 2.)
63 THE RISK-NEUTRAL MEASURE AND GIRSANOVS THEOREM 415
63 The Risk-Neutral Measure and Girsanovs Theorem

Consider a stock that pays dividend at the compounded yield . The true price process that is
observed in the world is given by
dS(t)
= ( )dt + dZ(t) (63.1)
S(t)
where dZ(t) is the unexpected portion of the stock return and Z(t) is a martingale under the true
probability distribution.
In risk-neutral pricing, we need a risk-neutral version of the above process. The random part of
the process will involve a Brownian motion Z that is martingale under a transformed probability
distribution, lets call it Q. This transformed probability distribution is referred to as the risk-
neutral measure.
To find Z and the associated Q, we let Z(t)
= Z(t)+ r t. A result, known as Girsanovs theorem,

is a standard Brownian
asserts the existence of a unique risk-neutral measure Q under which Z(t)

motion and Z is martingale under Q. Differentiating Z and rearranging yields
r dt.
dZ(t) = dZ(t)

Put this back in equation (63.1) we obtain
dS(t)
= (r )dt + dZ(t).
S(t)
We refer to this equation as the risk-neutral price process. Notice that the volatility is the same
for the true price process and the risk-neutral price process.
Example 63.1
The true price process of a stock that pays dividends at the continuously compounded yields is
dS(t)
= 0.09dt + dZ(t).
S(t)
The corresponding risk-neutral price process is
dS(t)
= 0.05dt + dZ(t).
S(t)
The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. Find and .

416 BROWNIAN MOTION
Solution.
We know that r = 0.05 or 0.08 = 0.05. Solving for , we find = 0.03. On the other hand,
we know that = 0.09 or 0.03 = 0.09. Thus, = 0.12
Example 63.2
The risk-neutral price process of a dividend paying stock is given by
dS(t)
= 0.05dt + 0.12dZ(t).
S(t)
It is known that the risk-premium of the stock is 0.14. Find the drift factor of the true price process
model.
Solution.
We have r () = 0.05 and r = 0.14. Thus, the drift factor is = 0.140.05 = 0.09
Example 63.3
The risk-neutral price process for a nondividend-paying stock is
dS(t)
= 0.07dt + 0.30dZ(t).
S(t)
The expected rate of return on the stock is 0.13. Find the Sharpe ratio of the stock.
Solution.
We have r = r 0 = 0.07 so that r = 0.07. The price volatility of the stock is = 0.30. Thus,
the Sharpe ratio of the stock is
r 0.13 0.07
= = 0.20
0.30
63 THE RISK-NEUTRAL MEASURE AND GIRSANOVS THEOREM 417
Practice Problems
Problem 63.1
Consider a stock that pays dividends. The volatility of the stock price is 0.30. The Sharpe ratio of
the stock is 0.12. Find the true price model.
Problem 63.2
The risk-neutral price process of a dividend paying stock is given by
dS(t)
= 0.05dt + 0.12dZ(t).
S(t)
It is known that the drift factor in the true price process is 0.09. Find the risk-premium of the
stock.
Problem 63.3
The risk-neutral price model of a dividend paying stock is given by
dS(t)
= 0.05dt + 0.12dZ(t).
S(t)
The continuously compounded yield on the stock is 0.03. Find the continuously compounded risk-
free interest rate.
Problem 63.4
The true price process of a stock that pays dividends at the continuously compounded yields is
dS(t)
= 0.13dt + dZ(t).
S(t)
The corresponding risk-neutral price process is
dS(t)
= 0.08dt + dZ(t).
S(t)
The expected rate of return on the stock is 0.15. Find and r.
Problem 63.5
The risk-neutral price process of dividend paying stock is
dS(t)
= 0.04dt + 0.12dZ(t).
S(t)
The continuously compounded yield is 0.03. It is known that the expected rate of return on the
stock is twice the risk-free interest rate. Find .
418 BROWNIAN MOTION
Problem 63.6
You are given:
(i) S(t) is the price of a stock at time t.
(ii) The stock pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional to its price. The dividend yield is
1%.
(iii) The stock-price process is given by
dS(t)
= 0.05dt + 0.25dZ(t)
S(t)
where {Z(t)} is a standard Brownian motion under the true probability measure.
(iv) Under the risk-neutral probability measure, the mean of Z(0.5) is 0.03.
Calculate the continuously compounded risk-free interest rate.
LEMMA
64 SINGLE VARIATE ITOS 419
64 Single Variate It
os Lemma
In this section we discuss Itos Lemma which is essential in the derivation of Black-Scholes Equation.
Lemma 64.1 (Itos)

Assume that the process S satisfies the following stochastic differential equation
dS(t) = (S, t)dt + (S, t)dZ(t)
where Z is the standard Bronwian motion. Then for any twice continuously differentiable function
f (S, t), the change in f is given by
2f

f f 1 2 f
df (S, t) = + (S, t) + (S, t) 2 dt + (S, t) dZ(t).
t S 2 S S
Proof.
Using Taylor expansion we find
df (S, t) =f (S + dS, t + dt) f (S, t)

f f 1 2f
= dS + dt + 2
(dS)2
S t 2 S
1 2f 2
f 3
+ 2
(dt)2 + dSdt + terms in(dt) 2 and higher
2 t St
Now, using the multiplication rules we have:
(dt) = 0, > 1.
dt dZ = 0
(dZ)2 = dt
(dS)2 = 2 (S, t)dt
dS dt = 0.
Hence,
f f 1 2f 2
df (S, t) = ((S, t)dt + (S, t)dZ(t)) + dt + (S, t)dt
S t 2 S 2
2f

f f 1 f
= + (S, t) + 2 (S, t) 2 dt + (S, t) dZ(t)
t S 2 S S
420 BROWNIAN MOTION
Example 64.1
Suppose that S(t) follows a geometric Brownian motion:
dS(t) = S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t).
Find d[sin S(t)].
Solution.
Let f (S, t) = sin S(t). Then
f
=0
t
f
= cos S(t)
S
2f
= sin S(t).
S 2
Using Itos lemma we can write
f 1 2f f
d[sin S(t)] = dt + 2
(dS(t))2 + dS(t)
t 2 S S
1
= sin S(t)(dS)2 + cos S(t)dS(t)
3
1
= sin S(t) 2 S 2 (t)dt + cos S(t)[S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t)]
3
1 2 2
= S(t) cos S(t) S (t) sin S(t) dt + S(t) cos S(t)dZ(t)
2
Example 64.2
Suppose that S(t) follows a geometric Brownian motion:
dS(t) = ( )S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t).
Let f be a twice differentiable function of S and t. Find df (S, t).
Solution.
We have (S, t) = ( )S(t) and (S, t) = S(t). Hence,
1 2 2 2f

f f f
df (S, t) = + ( )S(t) + S (t) 2 dt + S(t) dZ(t)
t S 2 S S
LEMMA
Example 64.3
Suppose that S(t) satisfies the geometric Brownian motion
dS = ( )S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t).
Show that
d[ln S(t)] = ( 0.5 2 )dt + dZ(t).
Solution.
Let f (S, t) = ln S(t). Then
f
=0
t
f 1
=
S S
2f 1
2
= 2
S S
Now, the result follows from Ito lemma. Using stochastic integration we find
2 )t+Z(t)
S(t) = S(0)e(0.5
Example 64.4
The price of a stock is a function of time. You are given:
2
The expression for a lognormal stock price is S(t) = S(0)e(0.5 )t+Z(t) .
The stock price is a function of the Brownian process Z.
Itos lemma is used to characterize the behavior of the stock as a function of Z(t).
Find an expression for dS.
Solution.
We let f (Z, t) = S(t). Thus,
f S(t)
= = ( 0.5 2 )S(t)
t t
f
=S(t)
Z
2f
= 2 Z(t).
Z 2
422 BROWNIAN MOTION
f 1 2f f
dS(t) = dt + 2
(dZ(t))2 + dZ(t)
t 2 Z Z
1
=( 0.5 2 )S(t)dt + 2 S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t)
2
=( )S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t)
LEMMA
Practice Problems
Problem 64.1
Assume that S(t) follows an arithmetic Brownian motion: dS(t) = dt + dZ(t). Use Itos Lemma
to find d(2S 2 (t)).
Problem 64.2
Assume that S(t) follows a mean-reverting process: dS(t) = ( S(t))dt + dZ(t). Use Itos
Lemma to find d(2S 2 (t)).
Problem 64.3
dS(t)
Assume that S(t) follows a geometric Brownian process: S(t)
= dt + dZ(t). Use Itos Lemma to
find d(2S 2 (t)).
Problem 64.4
Assume that S(t) follows an arithmetic Brownian motion: dS(t) = dt + dZ(t). Use Itos Lemma
to find d(35S 5 (t) + 2t).
Problem 64.5
(i) S(t) is the value of one British pound in U.S. dollars at time t.
(ii) dS(t) = 0.1S(t)dt + 0.4S(t)dZ(t).
(iii) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate in the U.S. is r = 0.08.
(iv) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate in Great Britain is r = 0.10.

(v) G(t) = S(t)e(rr )(T t) is the forward price in U.S. dollars per British pound, and T is the
maturity time of the currency forward contract.
Based on Itos Lemma, find an expression for dG(t).
Problem 64.6
X(t) is an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process defined by
dX(t) = 2[4 X(t)]dt + 8dZ(t),
where Z(t) is a standard Brownian motion.
Let
1
Y (t) = .
X(t)
You are given that
dY (t) = (Y (t))dt + (Y (t))dZ(t)

for some functions (y) and (y).
Determine (0.5).
424 BROWNIAN MOTION
Problem 64.7
Let {Z(t)} be a standard Brownian motion. You are given:
(i) U (t) = 2Z(t) 2
(ii) V (t) = [Z(t)]2 t
(iii) Z t
2
W (t) = t Z(t) 2 sZ(s)ds.
0
Which of the processes defined above has / have zero drift?
Problem 64.8
The stochastic process {R(t)} is given by
Z t p
t t
R(t) = R(0)e + 0.05(1 e ) + 0.1 est R(s)dZ(s).
0
where {Z(t)} is a standard Brownian motion. Define X(t) = [R(t)]2 .

Find dX(t).
Problem 64.9
The price of a stock is governed by the stochastic differential equation:
dS(t)
= 0.03dt + 0.2dZ(t)
S(t)
where {Z(t)} is a standard Brownian motion. Consider the geometric average
1
G = [S(1)S(2)S(3)] 3 .
Find the variance of ln [G].
Problem 64.10
Let x(t) be the dollar/euro exchange rate at time t. That is, at time t, e1 = $x(t).
Let the constant r be the dollar-denominated continuously compounded risk-free interest rate. Let
the constant re be the euro-denominated continuously compounded risk-free interest rate.
You are given
dx(t)
= (r re )dt + dZ(t),
x(t)
where {Z(t)} is a standard Brownian motion and is a constant.
1
Let y(t) be the euro/dollar exchange rate at time t. Thus, y(t) = x(t) .. Show that
dy(t)
= (re r + 2 )dt dZ(t).
y(t)
65 VALUING A CLAIM ON S A 425
65 Valuing a Claim on S a
In this section, we want to compute the price of a claim whose payoff depends on the stock price
raised to some power.
Suppose that a stock with an expected instantaneous return of , dividend yield of , and instan-
taneous velocity follows a geometric Brownian motion given by
dS(t) = ( )S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t).
Consider a claim with payoff S(T )a at time T. Lets examine the process followed by S a . Let
f (S, t) = S(t)a . Then
f
=0
t
f
=aS(t)a1
S
2f
=a(a 1)S(t)a2 .
S 2
f 1 2f f
d[S(t)a ] = dt + (dS(t))2
+ dS(t)
t 2 S 2 S
1
= a(a 1)S(t)a2 (dS(t))2 + aS(t)a1 dS(t)
2
1
= a(a 1)S(t)a2 [( )S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t)]2 + aS(t)a1 [( )S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t)]
2
1
= a(a 1)S(t)a2 2 dt + aS(t)a1 [( )S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t)]
2
1
=[aS(t)a ( ) + a(a 1)S(t)a 2 ]dt + aS(t)a dZ(t)
2
Hence,
d[S(t)a ] 1
a
= [a( ) + a(a 1) 2 ]dt + adZ(t).
S(t) 2
Thus, S a follows a geometric Brownian motion with drift factor a( ) + 21 a(a 1) 2 and risk
adZ(t). Now we expect the claim to be perfectly correlated with the stock price S which means
that the stock and the claim have equal Sharpe ratio. But the Sharpe ratio of the stock is ( r)/.
Since the volatility of the claim is a we expect the claim risk-premium to be a( r). Hence, the
expected return of the claim is a( r) + r.
The following result gives us the forward and prepaid forward prices for the claim.
426 BROWNIAN MOTION
Theorem 65.1
The prepaid forward price of a claim paying S(T )a at time T is
p 2 ]T
F0,T [S(T )a ] = erT S(0)a e[a(r)+0.5a(a1) .
The forward price for this claim is
2 ]T
F0,T [S(T )a ] = S(0)a e[a(r)+0.5a(a1) .
Proof.
The risk-neutral price process of the claim is given by
d[S(t)a ] 1
a
= [a(r ) + a(a 1) 2 ]dt + adZ(t).
S(t) 2
The expected value of the claim at time T under the risk-neutral measure, which we denote by E
is
2
E[S(T )a ] = S(0)a e[a(r)+0.5a(a1) ]T .
By Example 15.2, the expected price under the risk-neutral measure is just the forward price. That
is, the forward price of the claim is
2 ]T
F0,T [S(T )a ] = E[S(T )a ] = S(0)a e[a(r)+0.5a(a1) .
Discounting this expression at the risk-free rate gives us the prepaid forward price
p 2 ]T
F0,T [S(T )a ] = erT S(0)a e[a(r)+0.5a(a1)
Example 65.1
Examine the cases of a = 0, 1, 2.
Solution.
If a = 0 the claim does not depend on the stock price so it is a bond. With a = 0 the prepaid
forward price is
p 2
F0,T [S(T )0 ] = erT S(0)0 e[0(r)+0.50(01) ]T = erT
which is the price of a bond that pays $1 at time T.
If a = 1 then the prepaid forward price is
p 2 ]T
F0,T [S(T )] = erT S(0)e[(r)+0.5(11) = S(0)eT
which is the prepaid forward price on a stock.
If a = 2 then the prepaid forward price is
p 2 ]T 2 )T
F0,T [S(T )2 ] = erT S(0)2 e[2(r)+0.5(2)(21) = S(0)2 e(r2+
Example 65.2
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. For t 0, let S(t) be the timet price of a nondividend-
(i) S(0) = 0.5
(ii) The stock price process is
dS(t)
= 0.05dt + 0.2dZ(t)
S(t)
(iii) E[S(1)a ] = 1.4, where a is a negative constant.
Determine a.
Solution.
Since
2 )T +Z(T )
S(T ) = S(0)e(0.5
we can write
2 )T +aZ(T )
S(T )a = S(0)a ea(0.5
Thus,
2 ]T
E[S(T )a ] = S(0)a e[a()+0.5a(a1) .
From (iii), we have
2
1.4 = 0.5a ea(0.050)+0.5a(a1)0.2 .
Taking the natural logarithm of both sides to obtain
ln 1.4 = a ln 0.5 + 0.05a + 0.5a(a 1)(0.04).
This leads to the quadratic equation
0.02a2 + (ln(0.5) + 0.03)a ln 1.4 = 0.
Solving this equation for a we find a = 0.49985 or a = 33.65721. Since a < 0 we discard the
positive value
428 BROWNIAN MOTION
Practice Problems
Problem 65.1
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. Let S(t) be the price of a nondividend-paying
stock at time t 0. The stocks volatility is 18%, and the expected return on the stock is 8%. Find
an expression for the instantaneous change d[S(t)a ], where a = 0.5.
Problem 65.2
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. Let S(t) be the price of a stock at time t 0. The
stocks volatility is 20%, the expected return on the stock is 9%, and the continuous compounded
yield is 2%. Find an expression for the instantaneous change d[S(t)a ], where a = 0.5.
Problem 65.3
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. Let S(t) be the price of a stock at time t 0. The
stocks volatility is 20%, the expected return on the stock is 9%, and the continuous compounded
yield is 2%. Suppose that S(1) = 60. Find E[d[S(1)0.5 ]].
Problem 65.4
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. For t 0, let S(t) be the timet price of a nondividend-
(i) S(0) = 0.5
(ii) The stock price process is
dS(t)
= 0.05dt + 0.2dZ(t)
S(t)
(iii) E[S(1)a ] = 1.4, where a is a negative constant.
Consider a contingent claim that pays S(1)a at time 1. Calculate the time-0 price of the contingent
claim.
Problem 65.5
Assume that the Black-Scholes framework holds. Let S(t) be the price of a nondividend-paying
stock at time t 0. The stocks volatility is 20%, and the continuously compounded risk-free
You are interested in contingent claims with payoff being the stock price raised to some power.
F or0 t < T, consider the equation
P
Ft,T [S(T )x ] = S(T )x
where the left-hand side is the prepaid forward price at time t of a contingent claim that pays S(T )x
at time T. A solution for the equation is x = 1.
Determine another x that solves the equation.
Problem 65.6
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. Consider a derivative security of a stock.
You are given:
(i) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.04.
(ii) The volatility of the stock is .
(iii) The stock does not pay dividends.
(iv) The derivative security also does not pay dividends.
(v) S(t) denotes the time-t price of the stock.
k
(iv) The time-t price of the derivative security is [S(t)] 2 , where k is a positive constant.
Find k.
Problem 65.7
Let S(t) be the time-t price of a stock that pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional to
its price.
You are given:
(i)
dS(t)
= dt + 0.4dZ(t),
S(t)

where {Z(t)} is a standard Brownian motion under the risk-neutral probability measure;
(ii) for 0 t T, the time-t forward price for a forward contract that delivers the square of the
stock price at time T is
Ft,T (S 2 ) = S 2 (t)e0.18(T t) .
Calculate .
Problem 65.8
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. For a stock that pays dividends continuously at a rate
proportional to its price, you are given:
(i) The current stock price is 5.
(ii) The stocks volatility is 0.2. (iii) The continuously compounded expected rate of stock-price
appreciation is 5%.
Consider a 2-year arithmetic average strike option. The strike price is
1
A(2) = [S(1) + S(2)].
2
430 BROWNIAN MOTION
Calculate Var[A(2)].
The Black-Scholes Partial Differential
Equation
In the derivation of the option pricing, Black and Scholes assumed that the stock price follows
geometric Brownian motion and used Itos lemma to describe the behavior of the option price.
Their analysis yields a partial differential equation, which the correct option pricing formula must
satisfy. In this chapter, we derive and examine this partial differential equation.
431
432 THE BLACK-SCHOLES PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION
66 Differential Equations for Riskless Assets

In this section we will describe the pricing of a bond or a stock under certainty, i.e., the owner of
the asset receives the risk-free return. It turns out that the pricing formula is the solution of a
boundary value differential equation. That is, the differential equation describing the change in the
price together with a boundary condition determine the price of either the bond or the stock at any
point in time.
Let S(t) the value of a risk-free zero-coupon bond that pays $1 at time T. Then over a small time
interval h, the price of the bond changes by rhS(t). That is,
S(t + h) S(t) = rhS(t)
or
S(t + h) S(t)
= rS(t).
h
Letting h 0 we obtain the differential equation
dS(t)
= rS(t).
dt
Example 66.1
Solve the differential equation
dS(t)
= rS(t).
dt
subject to condition S(T ) = $1.
Solution.
Separating the variables we find
dS(t)
= rdt.
S(t)
Integrate both sides from t to T to obtain
Z T Z T
dS
=r dt.
t S t
Thus,
ln (S(T )/S(t)) = r(T t)
or
S(t) = S(T )er(T t) .
66 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS FOR RISKLESS ASSETS 433
Using the termianl boundary condition, S(T ) = 1 we find that the price of the bond is given by
the formula
S(t) = er(T t) .
This solution confirms what we already know: The price of a risk free zero coupon bond at time t
is the discount factor back from the time when the bond matures to time t
Now, let S(t) be the value of a stock that pays continuous dividend at the rate of . Keep in
mind that we are pricing the stock under certainty so that the random nature of future stock prices
is ignored and the stock receives only the risk-free rate. Then for a small time period h, the current
price of the stock is equal to the dividends paid plus the future stock price, discounted back for
interest:
S(t) = [hS(t) + S(t + h)](1 + rh)1 .
This can be rewritten in the form
S(t + h) S(t) + hS(t) = rhS(t).
This equation says that the stock return is the change in the stock price plus dividend paid. The
previous equation can be rewritten in the form
S(t + h) S(t)
= (r )S(t).
h
Letting h 0 we find
dS(t)
= (r )S(t).
dt
Using the method of separation of variables, the general solution to this equation is
S(t) = Ae(r)(T t) .
If S0 is the stock price at time t = 0 then we have the initial boundary condition S(0) = S0 . In
this case, A = S0 e(r)T . Hence,
S(t) = S0 e(r)t .
The price of a risk free stock at time t is the initial price accumulated at a rate of r . The price
of a risk free stock at time t is its forward price.
Now, if the stock pays continuous dividends in the amount D(t), then we have the equation
S(t) = [S(t + h) + hD(t + h)](1 + rh)1

which can be rewritten as
S(t + h) S(t) + hD(t + h) = rhS(t)
or
S(t + h) S(t)
+ D(t + h) = rS(t).
h
Letting h 0 we find the differential equation
dS(t)
+ D(t) = rS(t).
dt
If we inpose the terminal boundary condition S(T ) = S, then by solving the intial value problem
by the method of integrating factor1 we find the solution
Z T
S(t) = r(T t) .
D(s)er(st) ds + Se
t
Example 66.2
A stock pays continuous dividends in the amount of D(t) = $8. The continuously compounded
risk-free interest rate is 0.10. Suppose that S(3) = $40. Determine the price of the stock two years
from now. Assume that the future random nature of the stock price is ignored.
Solution.
We have
Z 3
S(2) = 8e0.10(s2) ds + 40e0.10(32)
2
Z 3
=8e 0.20
e0.10s ds + 40e0.10
2
3
0.20
10e0.10s 2 + 40e0.10 = $43.81

=8e
1
See Practice Problems 66.1-66.3.
66 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS FOR RISKLESS ASSETS 435
Practice Problems
Problem 66.1
Consider the differential equation
dS(t)
rS(t) = D(t).
dt
Show that this equation is equivalent to
d rt
e S(t) = ert D(t).

dt
Problem 66.2
Find the general solution of the differential equation
dS(t)
rS(t) = D(t).
dt
Problem 66.3
Find the solution to the boundary value problem
dS(t)
rS(t) = D(t), 0 t T
dt

with S(T ) = S.
Problem 66.4
The price S(t) of a bond that matures in T 4 years satisfies the differential equation
dS(t)
= 0.05S(t)
dt
subject to the boundary condition S(T ) = $100. Find T if S(2) = $70.50.
Problem 66.5
The price S(t) of a bond that matures in 3 years satisfies the differential equation
dS(t)
= rS(t)
dt
subject to the boundary condition S(3) = $100. Find r if S(1) = $81.87.
Problem 66.6
Find the differential equation satisfied by the expression
Z T
S(t) == 0.10(T t) .
S(s)e0.10(st) ds + Se
t
67 Derivation of the Black-Scholes PDE

There are several assumptions involved in the derivation of the Black-Scholes equation. It is im-
portant to understand these properly so as to see the limitations of the theory. These assumptions
are summarised below :
1. The efficient market hypothesis is assumed to be satisfied. In other words, the markets are
assumed to be liquid, have price-continuity, be fair and provide all players with equal access to
available information. This implies that zero transaction costs are assumed in the Black-Scholes
analysis.
2. It is assumed that the underlying asset is perfectly divisible and that short selling with full use
of proceeds is possible.
3. Constant risk-free interest rates are assumed. In other words, we assume that there exists a
risk-free security which returns $1 at time T when er(T t) is invested at time t.
4. As we will see later, the Black-Scholes analysis requires continuous trading. This is, of course,
not possible in practice as the more frequently one trades, the larger the transaction costs.
5. The prinicple of no arbitrage is assumed to hold.
6. The price of the underlying asset is assumed to follow a geometric Brownian process of the form
dS(t) = S(t)dt + S(t)dZ(t) where Z(t) is the risk term or the stochastic term.
It should be obvious that none of these principles can be perfectly satisfied. Transaction costs exist
in all markets, all securities come in discrete units, short selling with full use of proceeds is very
rare, interest rates vary with time and we will later see that there is evidence that the price of most
stocks do not precisely follow a geometric Brownian process.
Let V = V [S, t] be the value of a call or a put option written on an underlying asset with value
S(t) at time t. Then according to Itos lemma, V changes over the infinitesimal time interval dt
according to
1 2 2 2V

V V V
dV = + S 2
+ S dt + S dZ(t).
t 2 S S S
Let us now assume that we have one option with value V and shares of the underlying asset
where as yet undetermined, with > 0 for a shares held long and < 0 for shares held short.
The value of this portfolio at any time t is
= V [S, t] + S.
Over the time dt, the gain in the value of the portfolio is
d = dV + dS.
or
2V

V 1 V V
d = + 2 S 2 2 + S dt + S dZ(t) + (Sdt + SdZ(t)).
t 2 S S S
67 DERIVATION OF THE BLACK-SCHOLES PDE 437
If we choose = V S
then the stochastic terms cancel so that the gain is deterministic which
means the gain cannot be more or less than the gain in the value of the portfolio were it invested
at the risk-free itnerest rate r. That is, we must have

V
d = rdt = r V S dt.
S
Now, equating the two expressions of d we find
V 1 2V V
+ 2 S 2 2 + rS rV = 0.
t 2 S S
This is the famous Black-Scholes equation for the value of an option.
For a dividend paying asset the corresponding Black-Scholes formula is given by
V 1 2V V
+ 2 S 2 2 + (r )S rV = 0.
t 2 S S
The Black-Scholes equation applies to any derivative asset. What distinguishes the different assets
are the boundary conditions. For a zero-coupon bond that matures at time T and pays $1 at
maturity, the boundary condition is that it must be worth $1 at time T. For a prepaid forwanrd
contract on a share of stock, the boundary condition is that the prepaid forward contract is worth a
share at maturity. For a European call option the boundary condition is max{0, S(T ) K} whereas
for a European put the boundary condition is max{0, K S(T )}. A derivation of the solution of
the Black-Scholes for European options was discussed in Section 50.
Binary Options
A binary option is a type of option where the payoff is either some fixed amount of some asset or
nothing at all. The two main types of binary options are the cash-or-nothing binary option and
the asset-or-nothing binary option.1
Example 67.1
A cash-or-nothing binary option pays some fixed amount of cash if the option expires in-the-money.
Suppose you buy a cash-or-nothing option with on a stock with strike price $100 and payoff of $350.
What is the payoff of the option if the stock price at expiration is $200? What is the stock price is
$90?
Solution.
If the stock price at expiration is $200 then the payoff of the option is $350. If its stock is trading
below $100, nothing is received
1
These options are also called all-or-nothing options or digital options.
Example 67.2
A cash-or-nothing call option pays out one unit of cash if the spot is above the strike at maturity.
Its Black-Sholes value now is given by
V [S(t), t] = er(T t) N (d2 )
where
ln (S(t)/K) + (r 0.5 2 )(T t)
d2 = .
T t
Show that V satisfies the Black-Scholes partial differential equation.
Solution.
N (d1 ) N (d2 ) N (d1 )
For this problem, we refer the reader to Section 29 and Section 30 where expressions for t
, t , S ,
and NS(d2 )
were established. We have
!
r 0.5 2 r 0.5 2

1 S d21 (r)(T t) ln (S/K)
Vt =rV + er(T t) e 2e 3 +
2 K 2(T t) 2 T t 2 T t
1 d2
1 1 e(r)(T t)
VS =er(T t) e 2
2 K T t
r(T t) 1
d2
21 1 e(r)(T t)
VSS = d1 e e
2 K S 2 (T t)
Thus,
1
Vt + 2 S 2 VSS + (r )SVS rV = 0
2
Example 67.3
Suppose that V = ert ln S is a solution to Black-Scholes equation. Given that r = 0.08 and = 0.30,
find .
Solution.
We have
V =ert ln S
Vt =rert ln S
VS =ert S 1
VSS = ert S 2
Substituting into the differential equation we find

1
rert ln S + (0.30)2 S 2 (ert S 2 ) + (0.08 )S(ert S 1 ) rert ln S = 0.
2
Reducing this expression we find
0.5(0.3)2 ert + (0.08 )ert = 0
or
0.5(0.30)2 + 0.08 = 0.
Solving this equation we find = 3.5%
Practice Problems
Problem 67.1
The price of a zero-coupon bond that pays $1 at time T is given by V (t, T ) = er(T t) . Show that
V satisfies the Black-Scholes formula with boundary condition V (T, T ) = $1.
Problem 67.2
The price of a preapid forward contract on a share of stock is given by V [S(t), t] = S(t)e(T t) .
Show that V satisfies the Black-Scholes formula with boundary condition V [S(T ), T ] = S(T ).
Problem 67.3 2r
The underlying asset pays no dividends. Show that the value function V [S(t), t] = ert S 1 2 satisfies
the Black-Scholes partial differential equations.
Problem 67.4
Suppose you were interested in buying binary call options for common shares of ABC company
with a strike price of $50 per share and a specified binary payoff of $500. What would you receive
if the stock is trading above $50 when the expiration date is reached? What if the stock is trading
below $50 per share at the expiration date.
Problem 67.5
A cash-or-nothing put option pays out one unit of cash if the spot is below the strike at maturity.
V [S(t), t] = er(T t) N (d2 ) = er(T t) (1 N (d2 ))
where
ln (S(t)/K) + (r 0.5 2 )(T t)
d2 = .
T t
Problem 67.6
An asset-or-nothing call option pays out one unit of asset if the spot is above the strike at maturity.
V [S(t), t] = Se(T t) N (d1 )
where
ln (S(t)/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d1 = .
T t
Problem 67.7
An asset-or-nothing put option pays out one unit of asset if the spot is below the strike at maturity.
V [S(t), t] = Se(T t) N (d1 ) = Se(T t) (1 N (d1 ))
where
ln (S(t)/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d1 = .
T t
Problem 67.8
When a derivative claim makes a payout D(t) at time t, the Black-Scholes equation takes the form
1
Vt + 2 S 2 VSS + ( )SVS + D(t) rV = 0.
2
You are given the following: r = 0.05, = 0.02, D(t) = 0.04V (t), V (t) = e0.01t ln S. Determine the
value of .
Problem 67.9
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. Consider a stock and a derivative security on the stock.
You are given:
(i) The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate, r, is 5.5%.
(ii) The time-t price of the stock is S(t).
(iii) The time-t price of the derivative security is ert ln [S(t)].
(v) The stock pays dividends continuously at a rate proportional to its price. (vi) The derivative
security does not pay dividends.
Calculate , the dividend yield on the stock.
68 The Black-Scholes PDE and Equilibrium Returns

In this section we derive the Black-Scholes partial differential equation based on the condition that
the expected return on the option must be equal the equilibrium expected return on the underlying
asset.
Let V = V [S(t), t] denote the value of an option with a stock as underlying asset. Using Itos lemma
we can write
V 1 2V 2 V
dV = dt + (dS) + dS.
t 2 S 2 S
If the stock price follows a geometric Brownian motion then
dS = ( )Sdt + SdZ(t).
Thus, using the mutliplication rules, we can write

1 2 2
dV = S VSS + ( )SVS + Vt dt + SVS dZ(t).
2
The term involving dZ is the random element or the unexpected return on the option. In contrast,
the term involving dt is deterministic or the expected return on the option.
We define the instantaneous expected return on the option by the expression
0.5 2 S 2 VSS + ( )SVS + Vt

option = .
V
The unexpected return on a stock is given by SdZ(t). Likewise, we define the unexpected return
on an option by option V dZ(t). But from the equation above, the unexpected return is SVS dZ(t).
Hence, option V dZ(t) = SVS dZ(t) which implies
SVS
option = .
V
Since elasticity is defined as the percentage change of option price divided by the percentage change
in stock price we find the options elasticity to be
V V
V S SVS
= S
= V
= .
S S
V
Therefore,
option = .
68 THE BLACK-SCHOLES PDE AND EQUILIBRIUM RETURNS 443
Since the option value and stock value are driven by the same standard Brownian motion, they
must have the same Sharpe ratios. That is,
r option r
=
option
and from this we find the risk-premium on the option
option r = ( r).
The quantity ( r) + r is referred to as the equilibrium expected return on the stock. It
follows that the expected return on the option is equal to the equilibrium expected return on the
stock. From this fact we have This implies
option r =( r)
1 2 2 SVS
S VSS + ( )SVS + Vt r = ( r)
2 V
1 2 2 SVS
S VSS + ( )SVS + Vt r ( r) =0
2 V
1
Vt + 2 S 2 VSS + (r )SVS rV =0
2
which is the Black-Scholes equation.
Example 68.1
The following information are given regarding an option on a stock: r = 0.08, = 0.02, =
0.30, S(t) = 50, Vt = 3.730, VS = 0.743, and VSS = 0.020. Find the value of the option.
Solution. Using the Black-Scholes formula, we find

0.5(0.30)2 (50)2 (0.020) + (0.08 0.02)(50)(0.743) 3.730 = 0.08V.
Solving this equation for V we find V = 9.3625
Example 68.2
0.30, S(t) = 50, Vt = 3.730, VS = 0.743, and VSS = 0.020. Find the instantaneous expected return
on the option if the stock risk-premium is 0.13.
Solution. We have
0.5 2 S 2 VSS + ( )SVS + Vt 0.5(0.30)2 (50)2 (0.020) + 0.13(50)(0.743) 3.730
option = = = 0.3578
V 9.3625
Example 68.3
Consider a European put option on a nondividend-paying stock with exercise date T, T > 0. Let
S(t) be the price of one share of the stock at time t, t 0. For 0 t T, let P (s, t) be the price
of one unit of the call option at time t, if the stock price is s at that time. You are given:
(i) dS(t)
S(t)
= 0.11dt + dZ(t), where is a positive constant and {Z(t)} is a Brownian motion.
(ii) dP (S(t),t)
P (S(t),t)
= (S(t), t)dt + P (S(t), t)dZ(t), 0 t T.
(iii) P (S(0), 0) = 7.
(iv) At time t = 0, the cost of shares required to delta-hedge one unit of the put option is 18.25.
Determine (S(0), 0).
Solution.
We have
SVS
option r = ( r)
V
which, for this problem, translates to
S(t)
(S(t), t) 0.08 = (0.11 0.08).
P (S(t), t)
We are given that

S(0) 18.25
= = 2.61.
P (S(0), 0) 7
Hence,
(S(0), 0) = 2.61(0.11 0.08) + 0.08 = 0.0017
Remark 68.1
The Black-Scholes equation in the previous section was derived by assuming no arbitrage; this
involved hedging the option. The equilibrium and no-arbitrage prices are the same. The equilibrium
pricing approach shows that the Black-Scholes equation does not depend on the ability to hedge
the option.
68 THE BLACK-SCHOLES PDE AND EQUILIBRIUM RETURNS 445
Practice Problems
Problem 68.1
The following information are given regarding an option on a stock: r = 0.08, = 0.30, S(t) =
50, Vt = 3.730, VS = 0.743, VSS = 0.020, and V = 9.3625. Find the continuously compounded
yield .
Problem 68.2
The following information are given regarding an option on a stock: = 0.02, = 0.30, S(t) =
50, Vt = 3.730, VS = 0.743, VSS = 0.020, and V = 9.3625. Find the continuously compounded
risk-free rate r.
Problem 68.3
0.30, S(t) = 50, Vt = 3.730, VS = 0.743, and VSS = 0.020. Find the options elasticity.
Problem 68.4
0.30, S(t) = 50, Vt = 3.730, VS = 0.743, and VSS = 0.020. Find the options risk-premium if the
stocks risk-premium is 0.13.
Problem 68.5
0.30, S(t) = 5, Vt = 0.405, VS = 0.624, VSS = 0.245. Find the options elasticity.
Problem 68.6
Consider a European call option on a nondividend-paying stock with exercise date T, T > 0. Let
S(t) be the price of one share of the stock at time t, t 0. For 0 t T, let C(s, t) be the price
of one unit of the call option at time t, if the stock price is s at that time. You are given:
(i) dS(t)
S(t)
= 0.1dt + dZ(t), where is a positive constant and {Z(t)} is a Brownian motion.
(ii) dC(S(t),t)
C(S(t),t)
= (S(t), t)dt + C (S(t), t)dZ(t), 0 t T.
(iii) C(S(0), 0) = 6.
(iv) At time t = 0, the cost of shares required to delta-hedge one unit of the call option is 9.
Determine (S(0), 0).
69 The B-S Equation and the Risk Neutral Pricing

Since , the expected return on the stock, does not appear in the Black-Scholes equation, the
actual expected return on a stock is irrelevant for pricing an option on the stock. The pricing is
only dependent on the risk-free rate and so it was observed that the Black-Scholes pricing model is
consistent with any possible world where there is no arbitrage. Thus, it makes sense when valuing
an option to select the world with the easiest option valuation. The easiet valuation environment
is the risk-neutral environment.
As disucssed in Section 63, the true stock price process that is observed in the world follows a
Brownian motion given by
dS(t)
= ( )dt + dZ(t).
S(t)
The risk-neutral price process is given by
dS(t)
= (r )dt + dZ(t)
S(t)
where Z is a standard Brownian process (the risk-neutral process). Notice that the volatility is the
same for the true price process and the risk-neutral price process.
Since,
1
dV = (Vt + 2 S 2 VSS + ( )SVS )dt + SVS dZ(t),
2
the actual expected change per unit of time in the option price is given by
E(dV ) 1
= Vt + 2 S 2 VSS + ( )SVS .
dt 2
Likewise, we define the expected change per unit of time in the option value with respect to the
risk-neutral distribution to be
E (dV ) 1
= Vt + 2 S 2 VSS + (r )SVS
dt 2
where E is the expectation with respect to the risk-neutral probability distribution. Hence, the
Black-Scholes equation can be rewritten as
E (dV )
= rV. (69.1)
dt
In other words, in the risk-neutral environment, the expected increase in the value of the option is
at the risk free rate.
69 THE B-S EQUATION AND THE RISK NEUTRAL PRICING 447
Example 69.1
Given the following information about a European option: r = 0.08, = 0.02, = 0.3, Vt =
4.567, VS = 0.123, VSS = 0.231, S = 25. Find the expected change of the option value with respect
to the risk-neutral distribution.
Solution.
Using the Black-Scholes equation we have
1
rV = 4.567 + (0.3)2 (25)2 (0.231) + (0.08 0.02)(25)(0.123) = 2.11.
2
Thus,
E (dV )
= rV = 2.11
dt
In their paper, Black and Scholes established that the solution to equation (69.1) is just the expected
value of the derivative payoff under the risk-neutral probability distribution discounted at the risk-
free rate. For example, in the case of a European call option on the stock with boundary condition
C(T ) = max{S(T ) K}, the price of the call is given by
Z
r(T t)
C=e [S(T ) K]f (S(T ))dS(T )
K

where f (S(T )) equals the risk-neutral probability density function for the stock price at time T,
given the observed stock price is S(t) at time t < T and the integral is the expected value of the
the payoff on the call in the risk neutral environment.
Example 69.2
Find the premium of a European put in the risk-neutral environment that satisfies equation (69.1).
Solution.
Since the payoff of the put is K S(T ) for S(T ) < K, the expected payoff in the risk-neutral
environment is: Z K
[K S(T )]f (S(T ))dS(T ).
0
Discounting back to time t at the risk-free rate, the put premium is:
Z K
r(T t)
P =e [K S(T )]f (S(T ))dS(T )
0
Remark 69.1
The above result shows that the discounted risk-neutral expectations are prices of derivatives. This
is also true for risk-neutral probabilities. See pp. 692-3 of [1].
Practice Problems
Problem 69.1
Given the following information about a European option: r = 0.08, = 0.02, = 0.3, Vt =
0.405, VS = 0.624, VSS = 0.245, S = 5. Find the expected change per unit time of the option value
with respect to the risk-neutral distribution.
Binary Options
Binary options, also knwon as digital options, were first introduced in Section 67. In this chapter,
we discuss a family of binary options known as all-or-nothing options. They include two types
of options: cash-or-nothing and asset-or-nothing.
449
450 BINARY OPTIONS
70 Cash-or-Nothing Options
A cash-or-nothing call option with strike K and expiration T is an option that pays its owner
$b if S(T ) > K and zero otherwise. In the Black-Scholes framework, P (S(T ) > K) = N (d2 ) (See
Section 49) where
ln (S(t)/K) + (r 0.5 2 )(T t)
d2 = .
T t
From Remark 69.1, the price of this call is just the discounted risk-neutral probability. That is,
CashCall = ber(T t) N (d2 ).
Example 70.1
Find the price of a cash-or-nothing put.
Solution.
A cash-or-nothing put option with strike K and expiration T is an option that pays its owner $b
if S(T ) < K and zero otherwise. In the Black-Scholes framework, P (S(T ) < K) = N (d2 ) =
1 N (d2 ) (See Section 49). The price of this put is the discounted risk-neutral probability. That
is,
CashPut = ber(T t) N (d2 ).
Remark 70.1
Note that the pricing formula of a cash-or-nothing options satisfy the Black-Scholes equation. See
Example 67.2. Also, note that if x = K we obtain the second term of the Black-Scholes formula.
Example 70.2
Find an expression for CashCall + CashPut.
Solution.
We have
CashCall + CashPut = xer(T t) N (d2 ) + xer(T t) (1 N (d2 )) = xer(T t)
We next examine the delta of cash-or-nothing options. For a cash-or-nothing call option we have
N (d2 ) d2
CashCall = (ber(T t) N (d2 )) = ber(T t)
S d2 S
d2
2
e 2 1
=ber(T t) .
2 S T t
70 CASH-OR-NOTHING OPTIONS 451
Example 70.3
An option will pay its owner $10 three years from now if the stock price at that time 3 is greater
than $40. You are given: S0 = 40, = 30%, r = 8%, and = 2%. Find the delta of this option.
Solution.
0.0252
e 2 1
CashCall = 10e0.080.25 = 0.6515
2 40(0.30) 0.25
The delta for a cash-or-nothing put is
(1 N (d2 )
CashPut = (ber(T t) N (d2 )) = ber(T t)
S S
d2
2
e 2 1
= ber(T t) .
2 S T t
Example 70.4
An option will pay its owner $10 three years from now if the stock price at that time 3 is less than
$40. You are given: S0 = 40, = 30%, r = 8%, and = 2%. Find the delta of this option.
Solution.
2
0.025
0.080.25 e 1
2
CashPut = 10e = 0.6515
2 40(0.30) 0.25
Delta-Heding of Cash-or-Nothing Options

Recall the formula for delta in the case of a cash-or-nothing option:
d2
2
e 2 1
CashCall = ber(T t) .
2 S T t
Since
ln (S/K) (r 0.5 2 ) T t
d2 = +
S T t S
we see that as t approaches T , d2 0 for ST = K and therefore CashCall approaches infinity.
For ST 6= K, we have d2 so that CashCall approaches 0. Thus, if a cash-or-nothing option
is getting very close to expiration, and the current stock price is close to K, then a very small
movement in the stock price will have a very large effect on the payoff of the option. The delta for
an at-the-money cash-or-nothing option gets very big as it approaches expiration. Thus, it is very
hard to hedge cash-or-nothing options. That is why cash-or-nothing options are rarely traded.
452 BINARY OPTIONS
Example 70.5
An option will pay its owner $40 three months from now if the stock price at that time 3 is greater
than $40. You are given: S0 = 40, = 30%, r = 8%, K = $40 and = 0%. Find payoff diagram of
this cash-or-nothing call as function of ST . Compare this diagram with an ordinary call option.
Solution.
The diagrams are shown in Figure 70.1
Figure 70.1
Remark 70.2
An ordinary put or call is easier to hedge because the payoff is continuousthere is no discrete jump
at the strike price as the option approaches expiration.
Example 70.6
A collect-on-delivery call (COD) costs zero initialy, with the payoff at expiration being 0 if
S < K ,and S K P if S K. The problem in valuing the option is to determine P, the amount
the option holder pays if the option is in-the-money at expiration. The premium P is determined
once for all when the option is created. Find a formula for P.
Solution.
The payoff on the collect-on-delivery call is that from an ordinary call with with strike price K,
minus that from a cash-or-nothing call with with strike K that pays P.
Since we pay nothing initially for the collect-on-delivery call, the initial value of the portfolio must
be zero. Thus, the premium on the cash-or-nothing option is equal to the premium of the ordinary
European call at time t = 0. This implies the equation
P er(T t) N (d2 ) = Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 ).
Solving this equation for P we find
Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 )

P =
er(T t) N (d2 )
454 BINARY OPTIONS
Practice Problems
Problem 70.1
An option will pay its owner $10 three years from now if the stock price at that time 3 is greater
than $40. You are given: S0 = 40, = 30%, r = 8%, and = 2%. What is the premium for this
option?
Problem 70.2
An option will pay its owner $10 three years from now if the stock price at that time 3 is less than
$40. You are given: S0 = 40, = 30%, r = 8%, and = 2%. What is the premium for this option?
Problem 70.3
Option A pays $10 three years from now if the stock price at that time 3 is greater than $40. Option
B pays $40 three years from now if the stock price at that time 3 is less than $40. You are given:
S0 = 40, = 30%, r = 8%, and = 0%. What is the value of the two options?
Problem 70.4
The premium for a cash-or-nothing call that pays one is 0.5129. The premium for a similar cash-
or-nothing put is 0.4673. If the time until expiration is three months, what is r?
Problem 70.5
The premium for a cash-or-nothing call that pays one is 0.5129. The premium for a similar cash-
or-nothing put is 0.4673. The continuously-compounded risk-free interest rate is 0.08. If the time
until expiration is T years, what is T ?
Problem 70.6
An option will pay its owner $40 three months from now if the stock price at that time 3 is less
than $40. You are given: S0 = 40, = 30%, r = 8%, K = $40 and = 0%. Find payoff diagram of
this cash-or-nothing put as function of ST . Compare this diagram with an ordinary put option.
Problem 70.7
A collect-on-delivery call (COD) costs zero initialy, with the payoff at expiration being 0 if
S < 90 ,and S K P if S 90. You are also given the following: r = 0.05, = 0.01, = 0.4, S =
$70T t = 0.5. Find P.
Problem 70.8
A cash-or-nothing call that will pay $1 is at-the-money, with one day to expiration. You are given:
= 20%, r = 6%, = 0%.
A market maker has written 1000 of these calls. He buys shares of stock in order to delta hedge his
position. How much does he pay for these shares of stock?
Problem 70.9
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. You are given:
(i) S(t) is the price of a nondividend-paying stock at time t.
(ii) S(0) = 10
At time t = 0, you write a one-year European option that pays 100 if [S(1)]2 is greater than 100
and pays nothing otherwise.
You delta-hedge your commitment.
Calculate the number of shares of the stock for your hedging program at time t = 0.
Problem 70.10
Assume the Black-Scholes framework. For a European put option and a European gap call option
on a stock, you are given:
(i) The expiry date for both options is T.
(ii) The put option has a strike price of 40.
(iii) The gap call option has strike price 45 and payment trigger 40.
(iv) The time-0 gamma of the put option is 0.07.
(v) The time-0 gamma of the gap call option is 0.08.
Consider a European cash-or-nothing call option that pays 1000 at time T if the stock price at that
time is higher than 40.
Find the time-0 gamma of the cash-or-nothing call option. Hint: Consider a replicating portfolio
of the cash-or-nothing option.
456 BINARY OPTIONS
71 Asset-or-Nothing Options
An asset-or-nothing call option with strike K and expiration T is an option that gives its owner
one unit of a share of the stock if S(T ) > K and zero otherwise. In the Black-Scholes framework,
the value of this option in risk-neutral environment is1
N (d1 )
AssetCall = er(T t) E[St |St > K]P r(St > K) = S0 er(T t) e(r)(T t) N (d2 ) = S0 e(T t) N (d1 )
N (d2 )
where
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d1 = .
T t
Note that the price given above is the first term of the Black-Scholes formula for a European option.
Example 71.1
An option will give its owner a share of stock three months from now if the stock price at that time
is greater than $40. You are given: S0 = $40, = 0.30, r = 0.08, = 0. What is the premium for
this option?
Solution.
We have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 )(0.25)
d1 = = = 0.208.
T t 0.30 0.25
Thus, N (d1 ) = 0.582386 and
AssetCall = S0 e(T t) N (d1 ) = 40e00.25 (0.582386) = $23.29
Example 71.2
Find the price of an asset-or-nothing put.
Solution.
An asset-or-nothing put option with strike K and expiration T is an option that gives its owner to
receive one unit of a share of stock if S(T ) < K and zero otherwise. In the Black-Scholes framework,
the time 0 value of this option is
N (d1 )
AssetPut = er(T t) E[St |St < K]P r(St < K) = S0 er(T t) e(r)(T t) N (d2 ) = S0 e(T t) N (d1 )
N (d2 )
which is the second term in the Black-Scholes formula for a European put
1
See Section 50.
71 ASSET-OR-NOTHING OPTIONS 457
Example 71.3
An option will gives its owner to receive a share of stock three years from now if the stock price at
that time is less than $40. You are given S0 = 40, = 0.03, r = 0.08, = 0. What is the premium
for this option?
Solution.
We have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 )(0.25)

d1 = = = 0.208.
T t 0.30 0.25
Thus, N (d1 ) = 0.582386 and
AssetPut = S0 e(T t) N (d1 ) = 40e00.25 (1 0.582386) = $16.70
In monetary value, the owner of a European call gets ST K, if ST > K. Therefore, a European
call is equivalent to the difference between an asset-or-nothing call and a cash-or-nothing call that
pays K. That is,
Premium of a European call = Premium of an asset-or-nothing call Premium of a

cash-or-nothing call that pays K
or
BSCall = Se(T t) N (d1 ) Ker(T t) N (d2 )
which is the Black-Scholes formula for a European call. Likewise, the owner of a European put
gets K ST , if ST < K. Therefore, a European put is equivalent to the difference between a
cash-or-nothing put that pays K and an asset-or-nothing put. That is,
Premium of a European put = Premium of a cash-or-nothing put that pays K Premium of an

asset-or-nothing put
or
BSPut = Ker(T t) N (d2 ) Se(T t) N (d1 )
458 BINARY OPTIONS
which is the Black-Scholes formula for a European put.

Next, lets examine the delta of an asset-or-nothing call. We have
AssetCall
AssetCall =
S
N (d1 )
=e(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t)
S
N (d1 ) d1
=e(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t)
d1 S
d2
1
e 2 1
=e(T t) N (d1 ) + Se(T t)
2 S T t
d2
1
e 2 1
=e(T t) N (d1 ) + e(T t)
2 T t
Example 71.4
An option will give its owner a share of stock three months from now if the stock price at that
time is greater than $40. You are given: S0 = $40, = 0.30, r = 0.08, = 0. Find the delta of this
option.
Solution.
We have
ln (S/K) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln (40/40) + (0.08 0 + 0.5(0.3)2 )(0.25)
d1 = = = 0.208.
T t 0.30 0.25
Thus, N (d1 ) = 0.582386 and

d2
1
(T t) (T t) e 2 1
AssetCall =e N (d1 ) + e
2 T t
0.2082
e 2 1
=0.582386 +
2 0.30 0.25
=3.185
Example 71.5
Express the premium of a gap call option with payoff ST K1 if ST > K2 in terms of asset-or-nothing
call option and cash-or-nothing call.
Solution.
The owner of a gap call gets ST K1 , if ST > K2 . Therefore, a gap call is equivalent to the difference
between an asset-or-nothing call with K = K2 , and a cash-or-nothing call with K = K2 that pays
K1 .
Therefore, as discussed previously, the premium of a gap call is
AssetCall K1 CashCall = Se(T t) N (d1 ) K1 er(T t) N (d2 )
where d1 and d2 are calculated using K = K2
Remark 71.1
For the same reason as with cash-or-nothing options, the delta for an at-the-money asset-or-nothing
option gets very big as it approaches expiration. Thus, it is very hard to hedge asset-or-nothing
options. That is why asset-or-nothing options are rarely traded.
460 BINARY OPTIONS
Practice Problems
Problem 71.1
An option will give its owner a share of stock three years from now if the stock price at that time
is greater than $100. You are given: S0 = $70, = 0.25, r = 0.06, = 0.01. What is the premium
for this option?
Problem 71.2
is less than $100. You are given: S0 = $70, = 0.25, r = 0.06, = 0.01. What is the premium for
this option?
Problem 71.3
Find an expression for AssetCall + AssetPut.
Problem 71.4
is greater than $100. You are given: S0 = $70, = 0.25, r = 0.06, = 0.01. What is the delta of
this option?
Problem 71.5
Find the delta of an asset-or-nothing put.
Problem 71.6
is less than $100. You are given: S0 = $70, = 0.25, r = 0.06, = 0.01. What is the delta of this
option?
Problem 71.7
Express the premium of a gap put option with payoff K1 ST if ST < K2 in terms of asset-or-nothing
put option and cash-or-nothing put.
Problem 71.8
The premium for a cash-or-nothing call is 0.5129. The premium for a similar asset-or-nothing call
is 23.30. If K = 40, what is the premium for a similar European Call.
Problem 71.9
The premium for a European call is 2.7848. The premium for a similar cash-or-nothing call is
0.5129. The premium for a similar asset-or-nothing call is 23.30. Determine the strike price K.
Problem 71.10
The premium for a asset-or-nothing call is 47.85. The premium for a similar asset-or-nothing put
is 40.15. The stock pays no dividends. What is the current stock price?
Problem 71.11
Your company has just written one million units of a one-year European asset-or-nothing put option
on an equity index fund.
The equity index fund is currently trading at 1000. It pays dividends continuously at a rate
proportional to its price; the dividend yield is 2%. It has a volatility of 20%.
The options payoff will be made only if the equity index fund is down by more than 40% at the
end of one year. The continuously compounded risk-free interest rate is 2.5%
Using the Black-Scholes model, determine the price of the asset-or-nothing put options.
462 BINARY OPTIONS
72 Supershares
In this section, we discuss a type of binary options known as supershares. In an article published
in 1976, Nils Hakansson proposed a financial intermediary that would hold an underlying portfolio
and issue claims called supershares against this portfolio to investors. A supershare is a security,
which on its expiration date entitles its owner to a given dollar value proportion of the assets of
the underlying portfolio, provided the value of those assets on that date lies between a lower value
KL and an upper value KU . Otherwise, the supershare expires worthless. That is, the payoff of a
supershare is:
0 ST < KL
ST
Payoff = KL ST KU
KL
0 ST > KU
Consider a portfolio that consists of K11 units of long asset-or-nothing call options with strike K1 and
1
K1
units of short asset-or-nothing call options with strike price K2 . Then the payoff at expiration of
this portfolio is exactly the payoff of the supershare mentioned above with KL = K1 and KU = K2
with K1 < K2 . Hence,
1
Premium of the supershare = K1
(AssetCall(K1 ) AssetCall(K2 ))
That is,
S (T t)
SS = e [N (d1 ) N (d01 )]
K1
where
ln (S/K1 ) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d1 =
T t
and
ln (S/K2 ) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t)
d01 =
T t
Example 72.1
Find the premium of a supershare for the following data: S = 100, r = 0.1, = 0.05, = 0.2, K1 =
100, K2 = 105, and T t = 0.5 years.
Solution.
We have
ln (S/K1 ) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln (100/100) + (0.1 0.05 + 0.5(0.2)2 )(0.5)
d1 = = = 0.247487
T t 0.2 0.5
72 SUPERSHARES 463
and
ln (S/K2 ) + (r + 0.5 2 )(T t) ln (100/105) + (0.1 0.05 + 0.5(0.2)2 )(0.5)
d01 = = = 0.097511.
T t 0.2 0.5
Thus, N (0.247487) = 0.597734 and N (0.097511) = 0.461160. The premium of the supershare is
S (T t) 100 0.050.5
SS = e [N (d1 ) N (d01 )] = e [0.597734 0.461160] = $0.1332
K1 100
Practice Problems
Problem 72.1
Consider a supershare based on a portfolio of nondividend paying stocks with a lower strike of 350
and an upper strike of 450. The value of the portfolio on November 1, 2008 is 400. The risk-free
rate is 4.5% and the volatility is 18%. Using this data, calculate the price of the supershare option
on February 1, 2009.
464 BINARY OPTIONS
Interest Rates Models
In this chapter we examine pricing models for derivatives with underlying assets either bonds
or interest rates. That is, pricing models for bond options and interest rate options. As with
derivatives on stocks, prices of interest rates or bonds derivatives are characterized by a partial
differential equation that is essentially the same as the Black-Scholes equation.
465
466 INTEREST RATES MODELS
73 Bond Pricing Model with Arbitrage Opportunity

In this section, we examine a bond pricing model that gives rise to arbitrage opportunities. We
examine the hedging of one bond with other bonds. The type of hedging that we consider in this
section is referred to as duration-hedging.
By analogy to modeling stocks, we will assume that the time-t bond price P (r, t, T ) follows an Ito
process
dP
= (r, t)dt q(r, t)dZ(t). (73.1)
P
Also, we will assume that the short-term interest rate follows the Ito process
dr = a(r)dt + (r)dZ(t). (73.2)
We first examine a bond pricing model based on the assumption that the yield curve is flat.1 We
will show that this model gives rise to arbitrage opportunities.
Under the flat yield curve asumption, the price of zero-coupon bonds is given by
P (r, t, T ) = er(T t) .
The purchase of a T2 year zero-coupon bond (T2 < T1 ) can be delta-hedged by purchasing N
T1 year zero-coupon bonds and lending W = P (r, t, T2 ) N P (r, t, T1 ) at the short-term
interest rate r. W can be positive or negative. If W > 0 then we lend. If W < 0 then we borrow.
Also, N can be positive or negative. If N < 0 (i.e., t < T2 < T1 ) then we sell rather than buy the
T2 year bond.
Now, let I(t) be the value of the delta-hedged position at time t. Then we have
I(t) = N P (r, t, T1 ) + P (r, t, T2 ) + W = 0.
Since W is invested in short-term (zero-duration) bonds, at the next instant we must have
dW (t) = rW (t)dt.
1
In finance, the yield curve is the relation between the interest rate (or cost of borrowing) and the time to
maturity of the debt for a given borrower. A flat yield curve is a yield curve where the interest rate is the same
for all maturities.
73 BOND PRICING MODEL WITH ARBITRAGE OPPORTUNITY 467
Also, using Itos lemma we have
dI(t) =N dP (r, t, T1 ) + dP (r, t, T2 ) + dW

1 2
=N Pr (r, t, T1 )dr + Prr (r, t, T1 )(dr) + Pt (r, t, T1 )dt
2

1 2
+ Pr (r, t, T2 )dr + Prr (r, t, T2 )(dr) + Pt (r, t, T2 )dt + dW (t)
2

1 2 2
=N (T1 t)P (r, t, T1 )dr + (T1 t) P (r, t, T1 )dt + rP (r, t, T1 )dt
2

1 2 2
+ (T2 t)P (r, t, T2 )dr + (T2 t) P (r, t, T2 )dt + rP (r, t, T2 )dt + rW (t)dt
2
We select N in such a way to eliminate the effect of interest rate change, dr, on the value of the
portfolio. Thus, we set
(T2 t)P (r, t, T2 )
N = , t 6= T1 , t < T2 .
(T1 t)P (r, t, T1 )
t
Note that the ratio TT12 t is the ratio of the duration of the bond maturing at T2 to the duration of
the bond maturing at T1 . With this choice of N, we have

1 2 2
dI(t) =N (T1 t) P (r, t, T1 )dt + rP (r, t, T1 )dt
2

1 2 2
+ (T2 t) P (r, t, T2 )dt + rP (r, t, T2 )dt + rW (t)dt
2
1
=[N P (r, t, T1 ) + P (r, t, T2 ) + W (t)]rdt + 2 N (T1 t)2 P (r, t, T1 ) + (T2 t)2 P (r, t, T2 ) dt

2
1 2 (T2 t)P (r, t, T2 ) 2 2
= (T1 t) P (r, t, T1 )dt + (T2 t) P (r, t, T2 )dt
2 (T1 t)P (r, t, T1 )
1
= 2 (T2 T1 )(T2 t)P (r, t, T2 )dt 6= 0.
2
Thus, this gives rise to an arbitrage since the delta-hedged portfolio is risk-free and has zero invest-
ment.
With the above pricing model, we encounter two difficulties with pricing binds:
A casual specified model may give rise to arbitrage opportunities.
In general, hedging a bond portfolio based on duration does not result in a perfect hedge.
Example 73.1
Suppose the yield curve is flat at 8%. Consider 3year and 6year zero-coupon bonds. You buy
one 3year bond and sell an appropriate quantity N of the 6year bond to duration-hedge the
position. Determine N.
Solution.
We are given that t = 0, T1 = 6, T2 = 3, and r = 0.08. Thus, P (0.08, 0, 3) = e0.08(30) = $0.78663
and P (0.08, 0, 6) = e0.08(60) = $0.61878. The number of 6year bonds that must be sold to
duration-hedge the position is
(T2 t)P (r, t, T2 ) (3 0) 0.78663
N = = = 0.63562
(T1 t)P (r, t, T1 ) (6 0) 0.61878
Example 73.2
position. What is the total cost of the duration-hedge strategy? How much will you owe in one
day?
Solution.
The total cost of the duration-hedge strategy is
W (0) = P (r, t, T2 ) N P (r, t, T1 ) = 0.78663 + 0.63562 0.61878 = $0.39332.
Since W < 0, we have to borrow $0.39332 at the short-term rate of 8% to finance the position.
After one day, we owe the lender 0.39332e0.08/365 = $0.3934
Example 73.3
position. Suppose that the yield curve can move up to 8.25% or down to 7.75% over the course of
one day. Do you make or lose money on the hedge?
Solution.
The hedged position has an initial value of $0. After one day, the short-term rate increases to 8.25%
and the new value of the position is
1 1
e0.0825(3 365 ) 0.63562e0.0825(6 365 ) 0.39332e 365 = $0.00002255.
0.08
The hedged position has an initial value of $0. After one day, the short-term rate decreases to
7.75% and the new value of the position is
1 1
e0.0775(3 365 ) 0.63562e0.0775(6 365 ) 0.39332e 365 = $0.00002819.
0.08
Thus, there is a lose of about $0.00003

73 BOND PRICING MODEL WITH ARBITRAGE OPPORTUNITY 469
Practice Problems
Problem 73.1
position. Determine the time-0 prices of the two bonds.
Problem 73.2
Suppose the yield curve is flat at 8%. Consider 2year and 7year zero-coupon bonds. You buy one
2year bond and sell an appropriate quantity N of the 7year bond to duration-hedge the position.
Determine the quantity of the 7year bonds to be purchased to duration-hedge the position.
Problem 73.3
position. Find the total cost of financing this position.
Problem 73.4
position. Suppose that the yield curve can move up to 8.5% or down to 7.5% over the course of one
day. Do you make or lose money on the hedge?
Problem 73.5
Suppose the yield curve is flat at 6%. Consider 4year 5%-coupon bond and an 8year 7%-coupon
bond. All coupons are annual. You buy one 4year bond and purchase an appropriate quantity N
of the 8year bond to duration-hedge the position. Determine the time-0 prices of the two bonds.
Problem 73.6
bond. All coupons are annual. You buy one 4year bond and purchase an appropriate quantity
N of the 8year bond to duration-hedge the position. Determine the (modified) durations of each
P
bond. Hint: The modified duration is given by D = t
P
.
Problem 73.7
of the 8year bond to duration-hedge the position. Determine the number of 8year bonds to be
purchased for this position.
Problem 73.8
of the 8year bond to duration-hedge the position. What is the total cost of the duration-hedge
strategy? How much will you owe in one day?
Problem 73.9
of the 8year bond to duration-hedge the position. Suppose that the yield curve can move up to
6.25% over the course of one day. Do you make or lose money on the hedge?
Problem 73.10
of the 8year bond to duration-hedge the position. Suppose that the yield curve can move down
to 5.75% over the course of one day. Do you make or lose money on the hedge?
74 A BLACK-SCHOLES ANALOGUE FOR PRICING ZERO-COUPON BONDS 471
74 A Black-Scholes Analogue for Pricing Zero-Coupon Bonds

In this section, we continue studying the bond-hedging problem with a general pricing model
P (r, t, T ) rather than the specific pricing model of the previous section.
At the next instant, the change in the bonds price is
1
dP (r, t, T ) =Pr (r, t, T )dr + Prr (r, t, T )(dr)2 + Pt (r, t, T )dt
2
1 2
= a(r)Pr (r, t, T ) + Prr (r, t, T )(r) + Pt (r, t, T ) dt + Pr (r, t, T )(r)dZ(t)
2
Define

1 1 2
(r, t, T ) = a(r)Pr (r, t, T ) + Prr (r, t, T )(r) + Pt (r, t, T )
P (r, t, T ) 2
1
q(r, t, T ) = Pr (r, t, T )(r)
P (r, t, T )
In this case, we can describe the change in the price of the bond by the equation
dP (r, t, T )
= (r, t, T )dt q(r, t, T )dZ(t).
P (r, t, T )
Thus, the instantaneous rate of return on a bond maturing at time T has a mean (r, t, T ) and
standard deviation q(r, t, T ). That is, the expected return on the bond over the next instant is
(r, t, T ).1 Note that Pr (r, t, T ) < 0 so that q(r, t, T ) > 0.2
Now we consider again the delta-hedged portofolio that consists of buying a T2 year zero-coupon
bond, buying N T1 year zero-coupon bonds, and financing the strategy by lending W = P (r, t, T2 )
N P (r, t, T1 ). Let I(t) denote the value of the portfolio at time t. Then
I(t) = N P (r, t, T1 ) + P (r, t, T2 ) + W = 0
and
dI(t) =N [(r, t, T1 )dt q(r, t, T1 )dZ(t)]P (r, t, T1 )

+[(r, t, T2 )dt q(r, t, T2 )dZ(t)]P (r, t, T2 ) + rW (t)dt
1
We will assume that (r, t, T ) > r since a bond is expected to earn more than the risk-free rate due to the fact
that owning a bond is riskier than lending at the risk-free rate.
2
Bond prices decrease when interest rates increase because the fixed interest and principal payments stated in the
bond will become less attractive to investors.
For the short-term interest rate to be the only source of uncertainty, that is, for the bond price to
be driven only by the short-term interest rate, we choose N such that the dZ terms in the previous
equation are eliminated. This occurs when
P (r, t, T2 )q(r, t, T2 ) Pr (r, t, T2 )
N = = .
P (r, t, T1 )q(r, t, T1 ) Pr (r, t, T1 )
In this case, we have
dI(t) =[N (r, t, T1 )P (r, t, T1 ) + (r, t, T2 )P (r, t, T2 ) + rW ]dt
P (r, t, T2 )q(r, t, T2 )
=[(r, t, T1 ) + (r, t, T2 )P (r, t, T2 ) rP (r, t, T2 )
q(r, t, T1 )
P (r, t, T2 )q(r, t, T2 )
+r ]dt
q(r, t, T1 )
P (r, t, T2 )
= {q(r, t, T2 )[r (r, t, T1 )] + q(r, t, T1 )[(r, t, T2 ) r]} dt
q(r, t, T1 )
Since the cost of the portfolio is zero, and its return in not random, to preclude arbitrage we must
have dI(t) = 0. Thus, we obtain
(r, t, T1 ) r (r, t, T2 ) r
= .
q(r, t, T1 ) q(r, t, T2 )
This equation says that the two bonds have the same Sharpe ratio. This is consistent with what
we proved about prices of two assets driven by the same random term dZ(t). It follows that all
zero-coupon bonds have the same Sharpe ratio regardless of maturity. Denoting the Sharpe ratio
for a zero-coupon bond by (r, t) we have
(r, t, T ) r
(r, t) = .
q(r, t, T )
Substituting the expressions for (r, t, T ) and q(r, t, T ) into the Sharpe ratio formula for a zero-
coupon bond that matures at time T , we have
(r, t, T ) r
(r, t) =
q(r, t, T )
1
P (r,t,T )
[a(r)Pr (r, t, T ) + 21 (r)2 Prr (r, t, T ) + Pt (r, t, T )] r
(r, t) = 1
P (r,t,T (r)Pr (r, t, T )
1
(r, t)(r)Pr (r, t, T ) =a(r)Pr (r, t, T ) + (r)2 Prr (r, t, T ) + Pt (r, t, T ) rP (r, t, T )
2
1
rP (r, t, T ) = (r)2 Prr (r, t, T ) + [a(r) + (r)(r, t)]Pr (r, t, T ) + Pt (r, t, T ) (74.1)
2
When the short-term interest rate is the only source of uncertainty, equation (74.1) must be satisfied
by any zero-coupon bond. Equation (74.1) is analogous to the Black-Scholes equation for Stocks
(See Section 67).
As with stocks, we define the Greeks of a bond as follows:
P
=
r
2P
= 2
r
P
=
t
Example 74.1
Find the Greeks of the bond price model P (r, t, T ) = er(T t) .
Solution.
We have
P
= = (T t)er(T t)
r
2P
= 2 = (T t)2 er(T t)
r
P
= = rer(T t)
t
It follows that the approximation of the change in price of a zero-coupon bond is given by
1 1
dP = Pr dr + Prr (dr)2 + Pt dt = dr + (dr)2 + dt.
2 2
Example 74.2
For t T, let P (r, t, T ) be the price at time t of a zero-coupon bond that pays $1 at time T, if the
short-rate at time t is r.
You are given:
(i) P (r, t, T ) = A(t, T )exp[B(t, T )r] for some functions A(t, T ) and B(t, T ).
(ii) B(0, 3) = 2.
Based on P (0.05, 0, 3), you use the delta-gamma approximation to estimate P (0.03, 0, 3), and denote
the value as PEst (0.03, 0, 3). Find PPEst (0.03,0,3
(0.05,0,3)
.
Solution.
By the delta-gamma-theta approximation we have
1
P (r(t + dt), t + dt, T ) P (r(t), t, T ) [r(t + dt) r(t)]Pr + [r(t + dt) r(t)]2 Prr + Pt dt.
2
The question is asking us to use only the delta-gamma approximation so that we will neglect the
term Pt dt. Also, we let r(t + dt) = 0.05, r(t) = 0.03, and t + dt t. Moreover, we have
P (r, t, T ) =A(t, T )eB(t,T )r(t)
Pr (r(t), t, T ) = B(t, T )P (r(t), t, T )
Prr (r(t), t, T ) =[B(t, T )]2 P (r(t), t, T )
Thus,
1
P (0.05, 0, 3)PEst (0.03, 0, 3) = (0.050.03)B(0, 3)PEst (0.03, 0, 3)+ (0.050.03)2 [B(0, 3)]2 PEst (0.03, 0, 3)
2
or
PEst (0.03, 0, 3)[1 0.02 2 + 0.0002 22 ] = P (0.05, 0, 3).
Thus,
PEst (0.03, 0, 3) 1
= = 1.0408
P (0.05, 0, 3) 1 0.02 2 + 0.0002 4
The risk-premium of a zero-coupon bond that matures at time T is the expected return minus
the risk-free return which is equal to the Sharpe ratio times the bonds volatility
Risk-premium of bond = (r, t, T ) r = (r, t)q(r, t, T ).
Now consider an asset that has a percentage price increase of dr where
dr = a(r)dt + (r)dZ(t).
Since the percentage change in price of a zero-coupon bond and the percentage price increase of the
asset are driven by the same standard Brownian motion, they must have the same Sharpe ratio:
a(r) r (r, t, T ) r
= = (r, t).
(r) q(r, t, T )
where the asset Sharpe ratio is defined by3
a(r) r
.
(r)
In this case, the risk-premium of the asset is defined by
a(r) r = (r)(r, t).
3
A bond decreases in value as the short-term rate increases whereas the asset value increases as the short-term
rate increases. Since the risk-premium of the bond is positive, the risk premium of the asset must be negative.
Otherwise, it would be possible to combine the asset with the zero-coupon bond to create a risk-free portfolio that
earned more than the risk-free of return.
Example 74.3
An asset has a percentage price increse of dr where
dr = 0.25(0.10 r)dt + 0.01dZ.
Find the Risk-premium of the asset and the Sharpe ratio.
Solution.
We have a(r) = 0.25(0.10 r) and (r) = 0.01. Thus, the risk-premium of the asset is a(r) r =
0.025 1.25r. The Sharpe ratio is
a(r) r 0.025 1.25r 1.25r 0.025

= = = 125r 2.5
(r) 0.01 0.01
Example 74.4
The change in a zero-bond price is $0.008651. Given the following information: Pr = 1.70126, Prr =
1
4.85536, dt = 365 , and dr = 0.0052342. Estimate .
Solution.
We have
1
dP =Pr dr + Prr (dr)2 + Pt dt
2
1 1
0.008651 = 1.70126(0.0052342) + (4.85536)(0.0052342)2 + Pt .
2 365
Thus,

1 2
= 365 0.008651 + 1.70126(0.0052342) (4.85536)(0.0052342) 0.06834
2
Practice Problems
Problem 74.1
The price of a zero-coupon bond that matures at time T is given by the expression P (r, t, T ) =
A(t, T )eB(t,T )r where A(t, T ) and B(t, T ) are differentiable functions of t. Find , and .
Problem 74.2
An asset has a percentage price increse of dr where
dr = 0.34(0.09 r)dt + 0.26dZ.
Find the Risk-premium of the asset and the Sharpe ratio.
Problem 74.3
1
The following information are given: Pr = 1.70126, Prr = 4.85536, Pt = 0.0685, dt = 365
, and
dr = 0.0052342. Estimate the change in the price P using the approximation.
Problem 74.4

Show that q(r, t, T ) = (r) r ln [P (r, t, T )].
Problem 74.5
The price of a zero-coupon bond that matures to $1 at time T follows an Ito process
dP (r, t, T )
= (r, t, T )dt q(r, t, T )dZ(t).
P (r, t, T )
Find q(r, t, T ) if P (r, t, T ) = A(t, T )eB(t,T )r .
Problem 74.6
Find (r, t, T ) in the previous exercise if the the Sharpe ratio of the zero-coupon bond is a constant
.
75 ZERO-COUPON BOND PRICING: RISK-NEUTRAL PROCESS 477
75 Zero-Coupon Bond Pricing: Risk-Neutral Process

We next consider the risk-neutral process for the short-term interest rate. For that purpose, we
first notice the following
dP (r, t, T )
=(r, t, T )dt q(r, t, T )dZ(t)
P (r, t, T )
=rdt q(r, t, T )dZ(t) + [(r, t, T ) r]dt

(r, t, T ) r
=rdt q(r, t, T ) dZ(t) dt
q(r, t, T )
=rdt q(r, t, T )[dZ(t) (r, t)dt]
Using Girsanovs theorem, the transformation

= dZ(t) (r, t)dt
dZ(t)
transforms the standard Brownian process, Z(t), to a new standard Brownian process that is mar-
tingale under the risk-neutral probability measure. In this case, the process for the bond price can
be written as
dP (r, t, T )
= rdt q(r, t, T )dZ(t).
P (r, t, T )
This shows that the expected return on the bond is r. It follows that the Sharpe ratio of a zero-
coupon bond under the risk-neutral distribution is 0.
The Ito process for r using this new Brownian motion is
dr =a(r)dt + (r)dZ(t)
+ (r, t)]
=a(r)dt + (r)[dZ(t)

=[a(r) + (r)(r, t)]dt + (r)dZ(t).
It has been proven that the solution to equation (74.1) subject to the boundary condition P (r, T, T ) =
$1 is given by
P (r(t), t, T ) = E (eR(t,T ) )
where E is the expectation based on the risk-neutral distribution and R(t, T ) is the cumulative
interest rate given by Z T
R(t, T ) = r(s)ds.
t
R(t,T ) E (R(t,T ))
Now by Jensens inequality, E (e ) 6= e . That is, it is not correct to say that the
price of a zero-coupon bond is found by discounting at the expected interest rate.
In summary, an approach to modeling zero-coupon bond prices is exactly the same procedure used
to price options of stocks:
We begin with a model that describes the interest rate and then use equation (74.1) a partial
differential equation that describes the bond price.
Next, using the PDE together with the boundary conditions we can determine the price of the
bond.
Example 75.1
The realistic process for the short-term interest rate is given by
dr = 0.3(0.12 r)dt + 0.03dZ
and the risk-neutral process is given by

dr = 0.3(0.125 r)dt + 0.03dZ.
Determine the Sharpe ratio (r, t).
Solution.
We have that
0.3(0.125 r) = 0.3(0.12 r) + 0.03(r, t).
Solving this equation we find
(r, t) = 0.05
Delta-Gamma Approximations for Bonds
Using Ito lemma, the change in the price of a zero-coupon bond under the risk-neutral probability
measure is given by
1
dP =Pr (r, t, T )dr + Prr (r, t, T )(dr)2 + Pt (r, t, T )dt
2
=Pr (r, t, T ) [a(r) + (r)(r, t)]dt + (r)dZ
1 2
+ Prr (r, t, T ) [a(r) + (r)(r, t)]dt + (r)dZ + Pt (r, t, T )dt
2
1
= (r) Prr (r, t, T ) + [a(r) + (r)(r, t)]Pr (r, t, T ) + Pt (r, t, T ) dt + (r)Pr dZ
2
2
The expected change of price per unit time is
E (dP ) 1
= (r)2 Prr (r, t, T ) + [a(r) + (r)(r, t)]Pr (r, t, T ) + Pt (r, t, T ).
dt 2
75 ZERO-COUPON BOND PRICING: RISK-NEUTRAL PROCESS 479
This and equation (74.1) imply

E (dP )
= rP.
dt
This says that under the risk-neutral probability distribution measure, a bond has an expected
return that is equal to the risk-free rate of return. The approximation is exact if the interest rate
moves one standard deviation.
Example 75.2 Rt p
Find the differential of U (t) = 0 ea(st) r(s)dZ(s).
Solution.
We have
Z t p
at as
dU (t) =d e e r(s)dZ(s)
0
Z t p Z t
p

at as at as
=d[e ] e r(s)dZ(s) + e d e r(s)dZ(s)
0 0
Z t p p
at
= ae dt eas r(s)dZ(s) + eat eat r(t)dZ(t)
Z0 t p p
= aeat dt eas r(s)dZ(s) + r(t)dZ(t)
0
Example 75.3
Suppose that the short-term interest rate is given by
Z t p
at at
r(t) = r(0)e + b(1 e )+ ea(st) r(s)dZ(s).
0
Find an expression for dr(t).
Solution.
We have
Zt p p
at at
dr(t) =[r(0) + b]ae dt ae dt eas r(s)dZ(s) + r(t)dZ(t)
Z0 t p
p
at at at as
= a r(0)e be + e e r(s)dZ(s) dt + r(t)dZ(t)
0
Z t p
p
at at at as
= a r(0)e + b(1 e ) + e e r(s)dZ(s) dt + abdt + r(t)dZ(t)
0
p
= ar(t)dt + abdt + r(t)dZ(t)
p
=a(b r(t))dt + r(t)dZ(t)
Practice Problems
Problem 75.1
The realistic process for the short-term interest rate is given by

dr = 0.3(0.12 r)dt + 0.03dZ.
short-rate at time t is r. The Sharpe ratio of this bond is 0.05. Find the risk-neutral process of the
short-term interest rate.
Problem 75.2
The risk-neutral process of a zero-coupon bond is given by
dP (0.08, 0, 10)
= 0.08dt 0.095dZ.
P (0.08, 0, 10)
Find the Sharpe ratio (0.08, 0) of a zero-coupon bond under the risk-neutral distribution.
Problem 75.3
be the transformation
Suppose that the Sharpe ratio of a zero-coupon bond is (r, t) = 0.05. Let Z(t)

defined in this section. Find Z(4) if Z(4) = 1.4766.
Problem 75.4
Suppose that r(t) = (br(0) )eat with r(0) =
b1
, b > 1. Find the stochastic differential equation
satisfied by r.
Problem 75.5
Suppose that r(t) = (br(0) )eat with r(0) =
b1
, b > 1. Find an expression for R(t, T ).
Problem 75.6
The risk-neutral process for a zero-coupon bond is given by
dP (r, t, T )
= 0.08dt 0.095dZ.
P (r, t, T )
E (dP )
Determine P
.
Problem 75.7
The risk-neutral process for a zero-coupon bond is given by
dP (r, t, T )
= rdt 0.0453dZ.
P (r, t, T )
E (dP )
Determine r if P
= 0.07dt.
76 THE RENDLEMAN-BARTTER SHORT-TERM MODEL 481
76 The Rendleman-Bartter Short-Term Model

In this and the next two sections, we discuss several bond pricing models based on equation (74.1),
in which all bond prices are driven by the short-term interest rate r with
dr = a(r)dt + (r)dZ.
In this section, we look at the Rendleman-Barter model. The Rendleman-Bartter model in

finance is a short rate model describing the evolution of interest rates. It is a type of one factor
model as it describes interest rate movements as driven by only one source of market risk.
We first start by looking at short-term interest rate model that follows the arithemtic Brownian
motion
dr = adt + dZ.
This says that the short-rate is normally distributed with mean r(0) + at and variance 2 t. There
are several problems with this model, namely:
The short-rate can assume negative values which is not realistic in practice.
The process is not mean-reverting because the drift term a is constant. For example, if a > 0,
the short-rate will drift up over time forever. In practice, short-rate exhibits mean-reversion1 .
The volatility of the short-rate is constant regardless of the rate. In practice, the short-rate is
more volatile if rates are high.
To overcome the above mentioned obstacles, the Rendleman-Bartter model replaces the arithemtic
motion by a standard geometric Brownian motion, that is, the instantaneous interest rate follows
a geometric Brownian motion:
dr = ardt + rdZ
where the drift parameter, a, represents a constant expected instantaneous rate of change in the
interest rate, while the standard deviation parameter, , determines the volatility of the interest
rate.
The process for r is of the same type as that assumed for a stock price in Section 48. That is, the
natural logarithm of the rate follows an arithmetic Brownian motion2 :

r(t)
ln = (a 0.5 2 )t + Z(t)
r(0)
and solving for r(t) we find

2 )t+Z(t)
r(t) = r(0)e(a0.5 .
1
When rates are high, the economy tends to slow down and borrowers require less funds. As a result rates decline.
When rates are low, there tends to be a high demand for funds on the part of the borrowers and rates tend to rise
2
See Problems 76.3 - 76.4
This shows that the rate can never be negative. Also, the volatility increases with the short-term
rate. This follows from the fact that the variance of the short-term rate over a small increment of
time is
Var(r(t + dt)|r(t)) = r2 2 dt.
Unlike stock prices, the only disadvantage that was observed with this model is that it does not
incorporate mean-reversion.
Example 76.1
The Rendleman-Bartter one-factor interest rate model with the short-term rate is given by the
process
dr = 0.001rdt + 0.01rdZ(t).
Suppose that the relevant Sharpe ratio is (r) = 0.88. Find the process satisfied by r under the
risk-neutral probability measure.
Solution.
We have
= (0.001r + 0.88 0.01r)dt + 0.01dZ(t)
dr = [a(r) + (r)(r)]dt + (r)dZ(t)
Example 76.2
The Rendleman-Bartter one-factor interest rate model with the short-term rate is given by the
process
dr = 0.001rdt + 0.01rdZ(t).
Determine Var(r(t + h)|r(t)).
Solution.
We have Var(r(t + h)|r(t)) = r2 2 h = 0.012 r2 h
76 THE RENDLEMAN-BARTTER SHORT-TERM MODEL 483
Practice Problems
Problem 76.1
Consider the Rendleman-Bartter model dr(t) = ar(t)dt + r(t)dZ(t). Find an expression of r(t) in
integral form.
Problem 76.2
Consider the Rendleman-Bartter model dr(t) = ar(t)dt + r(t)dZ(t). Show that
d[ln r(t)] = (a 0.5 2 )dt + dZ(t).
Hint: Apply Itos lemma to the function f (r, t) = ln [r(t)].
Problem 76.3
ln [r(t)] = ln [r(0)] + (a 0.5 2 )tZ(t).
Problem 76.4
2 )tZ(t)
r(t) = r(0)e(a0.5 .
Problem 76.5
Consider the Rendleman-Bartter model dr(t) = ar(t)dt + r(t)dZ(t). Show that for t > s we have
2 )(ts)+(Z(t)Z(s))
r(t) = r(s)e(a0.5 .
Problem 76.6
Consider the Rendleman-Bartter model dr(t) = ar(t)dt + r(t)dZ(t). Determine a formula for
E[r(t)|r(s)], t > s. See Section 47.
Problem 76.7
Consider the Rendleman-Bartter model dr(t) = ar(t)dt + r(t)dZ(t). Determine a formula for
Var[r(t)|r(s)], t > s. See Section 47.
77 The Vasicek Short-Term Model

The Vasicek model for the short-term interest rate is given by the process
dr = a(b r)dt + dZ(t).
Thus, the interest rate follows an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process (See equation (59.2)). The term
a(b r)dt induces mean-reversion. The parameter b is the level to which the short term revert. If
r > b, the short-term rate is expected to decrease toward b. If r < b, the short-term rate is expected
to increase toward b. The parameter a is a positive number that reflects the speed of the reversion
to b. The higher a is, the faster the reversion is.
The Vasicek model is mean-reverting, but it exhibits the two problems of the arithmetic model
discussed at the beginning of Section 76, namely:
Interest rates in this model can become negative.
The volatility of the short-rate is the same whether the rate is high or low.
When solving for the zero-coupon boond price, it is assumed that the Sharpe ration for interest
rate risk is some constant . In this case, we have the following differential equation
1 2
Prr + [a(b r) + ]Pr + Pt rP = 0.
2
For a 6= 0, the solution to this differential equation subject to the condition P (r, T, T ) = $1 is given
by
P (r, t, T ) = A(t, T )eB(t,T )r(r)
where
B 2 (t,T ) 2
A(t, T ) =er(B(t,T )+tT ) 4a
1 ea(T t)
B(t, T ) =
a
0.5 2
r =b +
a a2
where r is the yield to maturity on an infinitely lived bond, that is the value the yield will approach
as T goes to infinity.
For a = 0, we have
B(t, T ) =T t
2 2 (T t)3
A(t, T ) =e0.5(T t) + 6
r =undefined
77 THE VASICEK SHORT-TERM MODEL 485
Example 77.1
Show that A(0, T t) = A(t, T ) and B(0, T t) = B(t, T ).
Solution.
For a 6= 0, we have
1 ea(T t0) 1 ea(T t)
B(0, T t) = = = B(t, T )
a a
and
B 2 (0,T t) 2 B 2 (t,T ) 2
A(0, T t) = erB(0,T t)+0(T t)) 4a = er(B(t,T )+tT ) 4a = A(t, T ).
Likewise, we can establish the results for the case a = 0
Example 77.2
A Vasicek model for a short-rate is given by
dr = 0.2(0.1 r)dt + 0.02dZ(t).
The Sharpe ratio for interest rate risk is = 0. Determine the yield to maturity on an infinitely
lived bond.
Solution.
We are given: a = 0.2, b = 0.1, = 0.02, and = 0. The yield to maturity on an infinitely lived
bond is
0.5 2 0.02 0.5 0.022
r =b+ = 0.1 + 0 = 0.095
a a2 0.2 0.22
Example 77.3
dr = 0.2(0.1 r)dt + 0.02dZ(t).
The Sharpe ratio for interest rate risk is = 0. Determine the value of B(0, 10).
Solution.
1ea(T t)
We use the formula B(t, T ) = a
. We are given: a = 0.2, b = 0.1, = 0.02, t = 0, T = 10 and
= 0. Thus,
1 e0.2(100)
B(1, 2) = = 4.323
0.2
Now, the price P (r, t, T ) of a zero-coupon bond in the Vasicek model follows an Ito process
dP (r, t, T )
= (r, t, T ) q(r, t, T ).
P (r, t, T )
Example 77.4
Show that q(r, t, T ) = B(t, T ).
Solution.
We have
Pr (r, t, T ) P (r, t, T )
q(r, t, T ) = =
P (r, t, T ) r
= B(t, T ) = B(t, T )
Example 77.5
Show that (r, t, T ) = r + B(t, T ).
Solution.
Since the Sharpe ratio for interest rate risk in the Vasicek model is given by a constant , we can
write
(r, t, T ) r (r, t, T ) r
= = .
q(r, t, T ) B(t, T )
From this, it follows that
(r, t, T ) = r + B(t, T )
Example 77.6
For a Vasicek bond model you are given the following information:
a = 0.15
b = 0.1
r = 0.05
= 0.05
Calculate the expected change in the interest rate, expressed as an annual rate.
Solution.
The given Vasicek model is described by the process
dr = 0.15(0.10 r)dt + 0.05dZ(t).
The expected change in the interest rate is
E(dr) = 0.15(0.10 r)dt = (0.015 0.15r)dt.
Since r = 0.05 we obtain
E(dr) = (0.015 0.15 0.05)dt = 0.0075dt.
The expected change in the interest rate, expressed as an annual rate, is then
E(dr)
= 0.0075
dt
Practice Problems
Problem 77.1
dr = 0.34(0.09 r)dt + 0.26dZ(t).
The Sharpe ratio for interest rate risk is = 0.88. Determine the yield to maturity on an infinitely
lived bond.
Problem 77.2
dr = 0.34(0.09 r)dt + 0.26dZ(t).
The Sharpe ratio for interest rate risk is = 0.88. Determine the value of B(2, 3).
Problem 77.3
dr = 0.2(0.1 r)dt + 0.02dZ(t).
The Sharpe ratio for interest rate risk is = 0. Determine the value of A(0, 10).
Problem 77.4
dr = 0.2(0.1 r)dt + 0.02dZ(t).
The Sharpe ratio for interest rate risk is = 0. Determine the price of a zero-coupon bond with
par value of $100 and that matures in 10 years if the risk-free annual interest rate is 8%.
Problem 77.5
You are using the Vasicek one-factor interest-rate model with the short-rate process calibrated as
dr(t) = 0.6[b r(t)]dt + dZ(t).
short-rate at time t is r. The price of each zero-coupon bond in the Vasicek model follows an Ito
process,
dP (r, t, T )
= (r, t, T )dt q(r, t, T )dZ(t), t T.
P (r, t, T )
You are given that (0.04, 0, 2) = 0.04139761. Find (0.05, 1, 4).
Problem 77.6
You are given:
(i) The true stochastic process of the short-rate is given by
dr(t) = [0.09 0.5r(t)]dt + 0.3dZ(t),
(ii) The risk-neutral process of the short-rate is given by

dr(t) = [0.15 0.5r(t)]dt + (r(t))dZ(t),

where {Z(t)}is a standard Brownian motion under the risk-neutral probability measure.
(iii) g(r, t) denotes the price of an interest-rate derivative at time t, if the short-rate at that time is
r. The interest-rate derivative does not pay any dividend or interest.
(iv) g(r(t), t) satisfies
dg(r(t), t) = (r(t), g(r(t), t))dt 0.4g(r(t), t)dZ(t).
Determine (r, g).
Problem 77.7
You are given:
(i) The true stochastic process of the short-rate is given by
dr(t) = [0.008 0.1r(t)]dt + 0.05dZ(t),
(ii) The risk-neutral process of the short-rate is given by

dr(t) = [0.013 0.1r(t)]dt + 0.05dZ(t),

where {Z(t)}is a standard Brownian motion under the risk-neutral probability measure.
(iii) For t T, let P (r, t, T ) be the price at time t of a zero-coupon bond that pays $1 at time T, if
the short-rate at time t is r. The price of each zero-coupon bond follows an Ito process,
dP (r, t, T )
= (r, t, T )dt q(r, t, T )dZ(t), t T.
P (r, t, T )
Determine (0.04, 2, 5).

Problem 77.8
Let P (r, t, T ) denote the price at time t of $1 to be paid with certainty at time T, t T, if the
short rate at time t is equal to r. For a Vasicek model you are given:
P (0.04, 0, 2) =0.9445
P (0.05, 1, 3) =0.9321
P (r , 2, 4) =0.8960
Calculate r .
78 The Cox-Ingersoll-Ross Short-Term Model

The Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) bond pricing model assumes that the risk natural process for the
short interest rate is given by
dr = a(b r)dt + rdZ.
Note that the variance of the short-term rate over a small increment of time is
Var(r(t + dt)|r(t)) = Var(dr) = 2 rdt.
This says that the standard deviation of the short-term rate is proportional to the square root of r.
Thus, as r increases the volatility increases. Like the Vasicek model, the drift term a(b r) induces
mean reversion. Also, it should be noted that the interest rate in this model can never become
negative. For example, if r = 0 in the CIR model, the drift factor a(b r) becomes ab > 0, while
the volatility factor is 0 = 0, so the interest rate will increase.
The Sharpe ratio in the CIR model takes the form

r
(r, t) =

and the bond price satisfies the differential equation
1 2 2P P P
r 2 + [a(b r) + r] + rP = 0.
2 r r t
The solution to this equation that satisfies the condition P (r, T, T ) = $1 is given by
P (r, t, T ) = A(t, T )eB(t,T )r(t)
where
" # 2ab2
2e(a++)(T t)/2
A(t, T ) =
(a + + )(e(T t) 1) + 2
2(e(T t) 1)
B(t, T ) =
(a + + )(e(T t) 1) + 2
q
= (a + )2 + 2 2
As in the Vasicek model, the terms A(t, T ) and B(t, T ) are independent of the short-term rate. The
yield to maturity of a long lived bond in the CIR model is given by
ln [P (r, t, T )] 2ab
r = lim = .
T T t a++
78 THE COX-INGERSOLL-ROSS SHORT-TERM MODEL 491
From the process of the bond price
dP (r, t, T )
= (r, t, T )dt q(r, t, T )dZ(t)
P (r, t, T )
we find
Pr (r, t, T ) 1
q(r, t, T ) = (r) = [B(t, T )]P (r, t, T ) r = B(t, T ) r
P (r, t, T ) P (r, t, T )
and
(r, t, T ) r
(r, t) =
q(r, t, T )

r (r, t, T ) r
=
B(t, T ) r
(r, t, T ) =r + rB(t, T )
Example 78.1
A CIR short-rate model is described by the process dr = 0.18(0.1 r)dt + 0.17 rdZ. Given that
the Sharpe ratio is zero. Find .
Solution.
We have 0 = (r, t) = r . This implies that = 0
Example 78.2
the Sharpe ratio is zero. Determine the value of .
Solution.
We have a = 0.18, b = 0.10, = 0.17, and = 0. Thus,
q p
= (a + )2 + 2 2 = 0.18 + 0 + 2(0.17)2 = 0.30033
Example 78.3
the Sharpe ratio is zero. Determine the value of B(0, 5).
Solution.
We have a = 0.18, b = 0.10, = 0.17, = 0, = 0.30033, t = 0, and T = 5. Substituting these
values into the formula
2(e(T t) 1)
B(t, T ) =
(a + + )(e(T t) 1) + 2
we find B(0, 5) = 3.06520
Example 78.4
the Sharpe ratio is zero. Determine the value of A(0, 5).
Solution.
We have a = 0.18, b = 0.10, = 0.17, = 0, = 0.30033, t = 0, and T = 5. Substituting these
values into the formula
" # 2ab2
(a++)(T t)/2
2e
A(t, T ) =
(a + + )(e(T t) 1) + 2
we find A(0, 5) = 0.84882
Example 78.5
the Sharpe ratio is zero. Determine the price of a zero-coupon bond that pays $ in five years if the
risk-free interest rate is assumed to be 8%. What is the yield on the bond?
Solution.
We have
P (0.08, 0, 5) = A(0, 5)eB(0,5)(0.08) = 0.84882e3.065200.08 = $0.66424.
The yield on the bond is
ln [P (0.08, 0, 5)0
yield = = 0.08182
5
Example 78.6
What is the yield on a long lived zero
coupon bond under the CIR short-rate model described by
the process dr = 0.18(0.1 r)dt + 0.17 rdZ with zero Sharpe ratio?
Solution.
The yield is
2ab 2(0.18)(0.10)
r= = = 0.075
a++ 0.18 + 0 + 0.30033
Vasicek Model Versus CIR Model
We next compare the various features of Vasicek and CIR models:
In the Vasicek model, interest rates can be negative. In the CIR model, negative interest rates are
impossible. As one;s time horizon T increases, the likelihood of interest rates becoming negative in
the Vasicek model greatly increases as well.
In the Vasicek model, the volatility of the short-term interest rate is constant. In the CIR model,
the volatility of the short-term interest rate increases as the short-term interest rate increases.
The short-term interest rate in both models exhibit mean reversion.
In both the Vasicek and the CIR model, the delta and gamma Greeks for a zero-coupon bond are
based on the change in the short-term interest rate.
With a relatively high volatility (lower panel of Figure 78.1), the CIR yields tend to be higher
than the Vasicek yields. This occur because the Vasicek yields can be negative.
With a relatively low volatility (upper panel of Figure 78.1), the mean-reversion effect outweighs
the volatility effect, and the Vasicek yields tend to be a bit higher than the CIR yields. Also, both
models produce upward sloping yield curves.
An Exogenously Prescribed Time Zero Yield Curve

An exogenous prescription of the time-zero yield curve in a financial model would mean that
you knowempirically, or from some source external to the modelthe data regarding the yields
to maturity for many different time horizons, where currently, t = 0. Then you would be able to
put that data into the model and get consistent results as well as the ability to predict yields to
maturity for other time horizons. A model based on m parameters can only be used consistently
with exogenously prescribed data consisting of m 1 or fewer data points. To elborate, suppose
your model is described by the two-parameter equation x + y = 2. If we are just given x, we can
solve for y consistently with the model. If we are given both x and y, however, we will not always
be able to do so. For instance, if x = 3 and y = 4, there is no way for x + y to equal 5. If you have
even more externally prescribed data, the likelihood of the model working decreases even further.
The Vasicek and CIR have each exactly four inputs: a, b, , and r. A yield curve can consist of
many more than four yields which means that the two models dont have enough inputs to fully
describe an existing yield curve. Another way to say this is that the time zero yield curve cannot
be exagenously prescribed using either the Vasicek or CIR model.
Example 78.7
For which of these exogenously prescribed data sets regarding yields to maturity for various time
horizons can the Vasicek and CIR models be used? More than one answer may be correct. Each
data has the form [t, T, r].
Set A: [0, 1, 0.22], [0, 2, 0.26], [0, 3, 0.28]
Set B: [0, 0.5, 0.04], [0, 5, 0.05]
Set C: [0, 1, 0.12], [0, 2, 0.09], [0, 3, 0.18], [0, 6, 0.21], [0, 7, 0.03]
Set D: [0, 1, 0.11], [0, 2, 31], [0, 7, 0.34], [0, 8, 0.54].
Solution.
The time-zero yield curve for an interest rate model can only be interpreted consistently with the
model (in most cases) when the number of data points in the time-zero yield curve is less than the
number of parameters in the model. The Vasicek and CIR models each have 4 parameters: a, b, ,
and r. So only data sets with 3 points or fewer can have the models consistently applied to them.
Thus, only Sets A and B, with 3 and 2 data points respectively, can have the models applied to
them
Figure 78.1
Practice Problems
Problem 78.1
State two shortcomings of the Vasicek model that the CIR does not have.
Problem 78.2
Which of the following statements are true? More than one answer may be correct.
(a) The Vasicek model incorporates mean reversion.
(b) The CIR model incorporates mean reversion.
(c) In the Vasicek model, interest rates can be negative.
(d) In the CIR model, interest rates can be negative.
(e) In the Vasicek model, volatility is a function of the interest rate.
(f) In the CIR model, volatility is a function of the interest rate.
Problem 78.3
Assume the CIR model holds. A particular interest rate follows this Brownian motion:

dr = 0.22(0.06 r)dt + 0.443 rdZ.
At some particular time t, r = 0.11. Then, r suddenly becomes 0.02. What is the resulting change
in the volatility?
Problem 78.4
Assume that the CIR model holds. When a particular interest rate is 0, the Brownian motion it
follows is dr = 0.55dt.
You know that a + b = 0.99 and a > 1. What is the drift factor of the Brownian motion in this
model when r = 0.05?
Problem 78.5
Find the risk-neutral process that corresponds to the CIR model

dr = a(b r)dt + rdZ.
Problem 78.6
The realistic process of the CIR model is given by

dr = a(0.08 r)dt + 0.04 rdZ
and the risk-neutral process is given by

dr = 0.2(0.096 r)dt + 0.04 rdZ.
Determine the values of a and .
Problem 78.7
The CIR short-rate process is given by

dr = 0.0192(0.08 r)dt + 0.04 rdZ
Determine the value of (0.07, t).
Problem 78.8
the Sharpe ratio is zero. Find the delta and the gamma of a zero-coupon bond that pays $1 in five
years under this model if the risk-free interest rate is assumed to be 0.08.
Problem 78.9
the Sharpe ratio is zero. Find the theta of a zero-coupon bond that pays $1 in five years under this
model if the risk-free interest rate is assumed to be 0.08.
Problem 78.10
The Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) interest-rate model has the short-rate process:
p
dr(t) = a[b r(t)]dt + r(t)dZ(t),
where {Z(t)} is a standard Brownian motion.
short-rate at time t is r. The price of each zero-coupon bond in the Vasicek model follows an Ito
process,
dP (r, t, T )
= (r, t, T )dt q(r, t, T )dZ(t), t T.
P (r, t, T )
You are given that (0.05, 7, 9) = 0.06. Find (0.04, 11, 13).
Problem 78.11
The short-rate process {r(t)} in a Cox-Ingersoll-Ross model follows
p
dr(t) = [0.011 0.1r(t)]dt + 0.08 r(t)dZ(t),
For t T, let P (r, t, T ) denote the price at time t of a zero-coupon bond that pays $1 at time T, if
the short-rate at time t is r.
You are given:
(i) The Sharpe ratio takes the form (r, t) = c r.
(ii) limT ln [P (r,0,T
T
)]
= 0.1 for each r > 0.
Find the constant c.
79 THE BLACK FORMULA FOR PRICING OPTIONS ON BONDS 497
79 The Black Formula for Pricing Options on Bonds

In this section, we discuss the Black model, a variant of the Black-Scholes pricing model, for pricing
zero-coupon bond options.
Consider a syear zero-coupon bond. When this bond is purchased at time T then it will pay $1
at time T + s. Consider a forward contract that calls for timeT delivery of the bond maturing at
time T + s. Let P (T, T + s) be the price of the bond at time T. Let Pt (T, T + s) be the timet price
agreed upon to be paid at Time T. Thus, PT (T, T + S) = P (T, T + s). For t < T, Pt (T, T + S) is a
forward price which we will represent as Pt (T, T + s) = Ft,T [P (T, T + s)]. It can be shown that
P (t, T + s)
Ft,T [P (T, T + s)] =
P (t, T )
where P (t, T ) is the time-t price of a bond that pays $1 at time T.
Example 79.1
The time-0 price of a 2-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.8495. The time-0 price of a
3-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.7722. What is the 1-year forward price in year 2?
Solution.
P (0,3)
We are asked to find F = P (0,2)
. That is,
P (0, 3) 0.7722
F = = = $0.90901
P (0, 2) 0.8495
Now, consider a European call option with strike K, expiration date T, and underlying asset the
forward price of a syear zero-coupon bond. The payoff of this option at time T is
Call option payoff = max{0, P (T, T + s) K}.
Under the assumption that the bond forward price is lognormally distributed with constant volatility
, the Black formula for the call option is given by The Black formula for a European call option
on an underlying strike at K, expiring T years in the future is given by
C = P (0, T )[F N (d1 ) KN (d2 )],
where
ln (F/K) + ( 2 /2)T
d1 =
T
ln (F/K) ( 2 /2)T
d1 = = d1 T
T
and where F = F0,T [P (T, T + s)]. The price of an otherwise equivalent European put option on the
bond is
P = P (0, T )[KN (d2 ) F N (d1 )].
Since P (0, T )F = P (0, T + s), the Black formula simply uses the time-0 price of a zero-coupon bond
that matures at time T + s as the underlying asset.
Example 79.2
3-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.7722. What is the price of a European call option
that expires in 2 years, giving you the right to pay $0.90 to buy a bond expiring in 1 year? The
1-year forward price volatility is 0.105.
Solution.
We have
P (0, 3)
F = = 0.90901
P (0, 2)
ln (F/K) + ( 2 /2)T ln (0.90901/0.90) + 0.5(0.105)2 (2)
d1 = = = 0.14133
T 0.105 2

d2 = d1 T = 0.14133 0.105 2 = 0.00716
N (d1 ) = 0.556195, N (d2 ) = 0.497144.
Thus,
C = 0.8495[0.90901 0.556195 0.90 0.497144] = $0.0494
Example 79.3
3-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.7722. What is the price of a European put option
that expires in 2 years, giving you the right of selling a bond expiring in 1 year for the price of
$0.90? The 1-year forward price volatility is 0.105.
Solution.
By the Black model, the price is
P = P (0, T )[KN (d2 )F N (d1 )] = 0.8495[0.90(10.497144)0.90901(10.556195)] = $0.04175

79 THE BLACK FORMULA FOR PRICING OPTIONS ON BONDS 499
Practice Problems
Problem 79.1
2-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.8495. What is the 1-year bond forward price in
year 1?
Problem 79.2
2-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.8495. What is the price of a European call option
that expires in 1 year, giving you the right to pay $0.9009 to buy a bond expiring in 1 year? The
1-year forward price volatility is 0.10.
Problem 79.3
2-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.8495. What is the price of a European put option
that expires in 1 year, giving you the right of selling a bond expiring in 1 year for the price of
$0.9009? The 1-year forward price volatility is 0.10.
Problem 79.4
The time-0 price of a 2-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.8853. The time-0 price of
a 5-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.6657. A European call option that expires in
2 years enables you to purchase a 3-year bond at expiration at a purchase price of $0.7799. The
forward price of the bond is lognormally distributed and has a volatility of 0.33. Find the value of
F in the Black formula for the price of this call option.
Problem 79.5
d1 in the Black formula for the price of this call option.
Problem 79.6
d2 in the Black formula for the price of this call option.
Problem 79.7
forward price of the bond is lognormally distributed and has a volatility of 0.33. Assume the Black
framework, find the price of this call option.
Problem 79.8
a 5-year zero-coupon bond with par value $1 is $0.6657. A European put option that expires in 2
years enables you to sell a 3-year bond at expiration for the price of $0.7799. The forward price of
the bond is lognormally distributed and has a volatility of 0.33. Find the price of this put option.
Bibliography
[1] R.L. McDonald , Derivatives Markets, 2nd Edition (2006), Pearson.
[2] M.B. Finan , A Basic Course in the Theory of Interest and Derivatives Markets: A Preparation
for Exam FM/2, (2008).
[3] M.B. Finan , A Probability Course for the Actuaries: A Preparation for Exam P/1, (2007).
[4] SOA/CAS, Exam MFE Sample Questions.
[5] G. Stolyarov, The Actuarys Free Study Guide for Exam 3F /MFE.
501

A Discussion of Financial Economics in A PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Discussion of Financial Economics in A PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Discussion of Financial Economics in A PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Discussion of Financial Economics in Actuarial Models

A Preparation for the Actuarial Exam MFE/3F

For Pallavi and Amin

Parity and Other Price Options Properties 9

Option Pricing in Binomial Models 99

24 Random Walk and the Binomial Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

The Black-Scholes Model 183

Option Hedging 243

An Introduction to Exotic Options 275

The Lognormal Stock Pricing Model 313

Option Pricing Via Monte Carlo Simulation 349

Brownian Motion 387

The Black-Scholes Partial Differential Equation 431

Binary Options 449

Interest Rates Models 465

The concept of no-arbitrage:

(b) Only on Dec 17, 2005

Strike Call Put

Then satisfies the equation

Derivative Maximum Minimum Position with Respect Strategy

(1 y%) Max[S(T )/S(0), (1 + g%)T ].

You are given the following information:

Consider the following two portfolios:

options. Match the charts with the option strategies.

2 Put-Call Parity for European Options

C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = P V0,T (F0,T K).

P = C S0 + erT K = 12 80 + 90e0.08(0.5) = $18.47

C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = P V (F0,T K)

year costs $66.59.

3 Put-Call Parity of Stock Options

In this case, Equation (2.1) takes the form

C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = S0 PV0,T (Div) PV0,T (K)

or in the case of a continuously compounded risk-free interest rate r

For a stock with continuous dividends we have

F0,T = F V0,T (S0 eT )

C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = S0 eT P V0,T (K).

PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K) = 2e0.1239(0.5) + 100e0.1239(0.75) = $93.01

4 Conversions and Reverse Conversions

PV0,T (K) = S0 eT + P(K, T) C(K, T).

A reverse conversion or simply a reversal is the opposite to conversion. In this strategy, a

P (K, T ) = S0 + C(K, T ) + PV0,T (K) = 42 + 10.80 + 50e0.13 = $5.84

S0 = C(K, T ) + P (K, T ) (PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K)).

(PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K)) = S0 P(K, T) + C(K, T).

PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K) = S0 + P(K, T) C(K, T).

C(K, T ) = S0 + P (K, T ) (PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K)).

P (K, T ) = C(K, T ) S0 + PV0,T (Div) + PV0,T (K).

Problem 4.9 (Synthetic Options)

Problem 4.10 (Synthetic Options)

5 Parity for Currency Options

where r is the dollar-denominated interest rate.

the put-call parity

C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = x0 ere T erT K.

C = 0.10 + 1.25e0.042 1.20e0.062 = $0.19

A foreign currency-denominated option on the dollar is defined in a similar way as above by

C(K, T ) P (K, T ) = x0 erT ere T K

where x0 is the exchange rate in e/$.

C = 0.08 + 0.8e0.062 0.833e0.042 =e 0.0206

6 Parity of European Options on Bonds

B0 = 5a20 0.04 + 105(1.04)20 = $115.87