In this thesis, we present two different approaches for the stochastic volatility and stochastic interest rate model with jump and analyze the performance of four alternative models. In the first approach, suggested by Scott, the closed form solution for prices on European call stock options are developed by deriving characteristic functions with the help of martingale methods. Here, we study the asset price process and give in detail the derivation of the European call option price process. The second approach, suggested by Bashki-Cao-Chen, describes the closed form solution of European call option by deriving the partial integro-differential equation. In this one we g ive the derivations of both asset price dynamics and the European call option price process. Finally, in the application part of the thesis, we examine the performance of four alternative models using General Electric Stock Option Data. These models are constructed by using the theoretical results of the second approach.

Dažnai realių stochastinių sistemų dinamikos negalime aprašyti Markovo procesu, nes operacijų trukmės paprastai nėra pasiskirstę pagal eksponentinį dėsnį. Darbe buvo išnagrinėtas tokių atsitiktinių dydžių aproksimavimas dviejų eksponentinių atsitiktinių dydžių mišiniu. Paprasčiausioms sistemoms kartais galima gauti analizines formules sistemos būsenų stacionarioms tikimybėms suskaičiuoti, tačiau daugeliui sistemų to padaryti negalima. Būtent tokių sistemų tyrimui, panaudojus aproksimavimo algoritmus, buvo sukurta programinė įranga, kuri leidžia modeliuoti daugelį stochastinių sistemų. Magistro darbo užduotis: Sukurti stochastinių sistemų modelių aproksimavimo Markovo modeliais algoritmus ir programinę įrangą. Buvo iškelti tokie tikslai: Ištirti pasiskirstymo funkcijų aproksimavimo eksponentinių skirstinių mišiniu galimybes; Sukurti universalią programinę priemonę, kuri pagal pateiktą sistemos aprašymą, skaičiuotų jos stacionariąsias tikimybes bei funkcionavimo charakteristikas; Sukurtos programinės priemonės pagalba, sudaryti ir ištirti aptarnavimo sistemų ir vertybinių popierių įkainojimo modelius. Sukurta programinė įranga pasižymi universalumu ir paprastumu vartotojui. Sistemos funkcionavimą galima aprašyti turint minimalias C++ Builder programavimo kalbos žinias. Magistro darbe sukurta programinė įranga buvo pritaikyta aptarnavimo sistemoms modeliuoti, akcijų kainų dinamikai aprašyti bei opcionams įkainoti. / Application of numerical methods with approximation allows to extend a class of systems represented by Markovian processes under investigation compared with analytical methods. So a goal was stated to create algorithms for modeling stochastic systems approximating them by Markovian models. To reach this goal the following tasks were solved: Analyze possibilities to approximate stochastic systems’ models by Markovian models; Create a multipurpose software that would calculate stationary probabilities for given system described in an event-based language; Apply created software for models of service systems and stock valuation. Created software is universal and easy-to-use for anyone that has at least basic knowledge in C++ language. This software was applied for modeling of service systems, for description of share price variability as Markovian process and for option pricing.

Many problems in financial world are being modeled by means of differential equation. These problems are time dependent, highly nonlinear, stochastic and heavily depend on the previous history of time. A variety of financial products exists in the market, such as forwards, futures, swaps and options. Our main focus in this thesis is to use the numerical analysis tools to solve some option pricing problems. Depending upon the inter-relationship of the financial derivatives, the dimension of the associated problem increases drastically and hence conventional methods (for example, the finite difference methods or finite element methods) for solving them do not provide satisfactory results. To resolve this issue, we use a special class of numerical methods, namely, the mesh free methods. These methods are often better suited to cope with changes in the geometry of the domain of interest than classical discretization techniques. In this thesis, we apply these methods to solve problems that price standard and non-standard options. We then extend the proposed approach to solve Heston' volatility model. The methods in each of these cases are analyzed for stability and thorough comparative numerical results are provided.

Conic finance is a brand new quantitative finance theory. The thesis is on the applications of conic finance on South African Financial Markets. Conic finance gives a new perspective on the way people should perceive financial markets. Particularly in incomplete markets, where there are non-unique prices and the residual risk is rampant, conic finance plays a crucial role in providing prices that are acceptable at a stress level. The theory assumes that price depends on the direction of trade and there are two prices, one for buying from the market called the ask price and one for selling to the market called the bid price. The bid-ask spread reects the substantial cost of the unhedgeable risk that is present in the market. The hypothesis being considered in this thesis is whether conic finance can reduce the residual risk? Conic finance models bid-ask prices of cashows by applying the theory of acceptability indices to cashows. The theory of acceptability combines elements of arbitrage pricing theory and expected utility theory. Combining the two theories, set of arbitrage opportunities are extended to the set of all opportunities that a wide range of market participants are prepared to accept. The preferences of the market participants are captured by utility functions. The utility functions lead to the concepts of acceptance sets and the associated coherent risk measures. The acceptance sets (market preferences) are modeled using sets of probability measures. The set accepted by all market participants is the intersection of all the sets, which is convex. The size of this set is characterized by an index of acceptabilty. This index of acceptability allows one to speak of cashows acceptable at a level, known as the stress level. The relevant set of probability measures that can value the cashows properly is found through the use of distortion functions. In the first chapter, we introduce the theory of conic finance and build a foundation that leads to the problem and objectives of the thesis. In chapter two, we build on the foundation built in the previous chapter, and we explain in depth the theory of acceptability indices and coherent risk measures. A brief discussion on coherent risk measures is done here since the theory of acceptability indices builds on coherent risk measures. It is also in this chapter, that some new acceptability indices are introduced. In chapter three, focus is shifted to mathematical tools for financial applications. The chapter can be seen as a prerequisite as it bridges the gap from mathematical tools in complete markets to incomplete markets, which is the market that conic finance theory is trying to exploit. As the chapter ends, models used for continuous time modeling and simulations of stochastic processes are presented. In chapter four, the attention is focussed on the numerical methods that are relevant to the thesis. Details on obtaining parameters using the maximum likelihood method and calibrating the parameters to market prices are presented. Next, option pricing by Fourier transform methods is detailed. Finally a discussion on the bid-ask formulas relevant to the thesis is done. Most of the numerical implementations were carried out in Matlab. Chapter five gives an introduction to the world of option trading strategies. Some illustrations are used to try and explain the option trading strategies. Explanations of the possible scenarios at the expiration date for the different option strategies are also included. Chapter six is the appex of the thesis, where results from possible real market scenarios are presented and discussed. Only numerical results were reported on in the thesis. Empirical experiments could not be done due to limitations of availabilty of real market data. The findings from the numerical experiments showed that the spreads from conic finance are reduced. This results in reduced residual risk and reduced low cost of entering into the trading strategies. The thesis ends with formal discussions of the findings in the thesis and some possible directions for further research in chapter seven. / Thesis (MSc (Risk Analysis))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Conic finance is a brand new quantitative finance theory. The thesis is on the applications of conic finance on South African Financial Markets. Conic finance gives a new perspective on the way people should perceive financial markets. Particularly in incomplete markets, where there are non-unique prices and the residual risk is rampant, conic finance plays a crucial role in providing prices that are acceptable at a stress level. The theory assumes that price depends on the direction of trade and there are two prices, one for buying from the market called the ask price and one for selling to the market called the bid price. The bid-ask spread reects the substantial cost of the unhedgeable risk that is present in the market. The hypothesis being considered in this thesis is whether conic finance can reduce the residual risk? Conic finance models bid-ask prices of cashows by applying the theory of acceptability indices to cashows. The theory of acceptability combines elements of arbitrage pricing theory and expected utility theory. Combining the two theories, set of arbitrage opportunities are extended to the set of all opportunities that a wide range of market participants are prepared to accept. The preferences of the market participants are captured by utility functions. The utility functions lead to the concepts of acceptance sets and the associated coherent risk measures. The acceptance sets (market preferences) are modeled using sets of probability measures. The set accepted by all market participants is the intersection of all the sets, which is convex. The size of this set is characterized by an index of acceptabilty. This index of acceptability allows one to speak of cashows acceptable at a level, known as the stress level. The relevant set of probability measures that can value the cashows properly is found through the use of distortion functions. In the first chapter, we introduce the theory of conic finance and build a foundation that leads to the problem and objectives of the thesis. In chapter two, we build on the foundation built in the previous chapter, and we explain in depth the theory of acceptability indices and coherent risk measures. A brief discussion on coherent risk measures is done here since the theory of acceptability indices builds on coherent risk measures. It is also in this chapter, that some new acceptability indices are introduced. In chapter three, focus is shifted to mathematical tools for financial applications. The chapter can be seen as a prerequisite as it bridges the gap from mathematical tools in complete markets to incomplete markets, which is the market that conic finance theory is trying to exploit. As the chapter ends, models used for continuous time modeling and simulations of stochastic processes are presented. In chapter four, the attention is focussed on the numerical methods that are relevant to the thesis. Details on obtaining parameters using the maximum likelihood method and calibrating the parameters to market prices are presented. Next, option pricing by Fourier transform methods is detailed. Finally a discussion on the bid-ask formulas relevant to the thesis is done. Most of the numerical implementations were carried out in Matlab. Chapter five gives an introduction to the world of option trading strategies. Some illustrations are used to try and explain the option trading strategies. Explanations of the possible scenarios at the expiration date for the different option strategies are also included. Chapter six is the appex of the thesis, where results from possible real market scenarios are presented and discussed. Only numerical results were reported on in the thesis. Empirical experiments could not be done due to limitations of availabilty of real market data. The findings from the numerical experiments showed that the spreads from conic finance are reduced. This results in reduced residual risk and reduced low cost of entering into the trading strategies. The thesis ends with formal discussions of the findings in the thesis and some possible directions for further research in chapter seven. / Thesis (MSc (Risk Analysis))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Derivative pricing, and in particular the pricing of options, is an important area of current research in financial mathematics. Experts debate on the best method of pricing and the most appropriate model of a price process to use. In this thesis, a ``Switching Black-Scholes'' model of a price process is proposed. This model is based on the standard geometric Brownian motion (or Black-Scholes) model of a price process. However, the drift and volatility parameters are permitted to vary between a finite number of possible values at known times, according to the state of a hidden Markov chain. This type of model has been found to replicate the Black-Scholes implied volatility smiles observed in the market, and produce option prices which are closer to market values than those obtained from the traditional Black-Scholes formula. As the Markov chain incorporates a second source of uncertainty into the Black-Scholes model, the Switching Black-Scholes market is incomplete, and no unique option pricing methodology exists. In this thesis, we apply the methods of mean-variance hedging, Esscher transforms and minimum entropy in order to price options on assets which evolve according to the Switching Black-Scholes model. C programs to compute these prices are given, and some particular numerical examples are examined. Finally, filtering techniques and reference probability methods are applied to find estimates of the model parameters and state of the hidden Markov chain. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Applied Mathematics, 2003.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo principal aplicar o modelo de precificação de opções de taxas de juros proposto por Barbachan e Ornelas (2003), com base nos modelos de taxa de juro e avaliação de opções de Cox, Ingerssol e Ross (1985), para avaliação de opções de compra sobre o Índice de Taxa Média de Depósitos Interfinanceiros de Um Dia (IDI), negociadas na BM&FBovespa. Para estimação dos parâmetros deste modelo, foi empregado o método de Máxima Verossimilhança. Neste contexto, também fez-se uso da fórmula de precificação de opções proposta por Black (1976), adaptada para o mercado de derivativos brasileiros, conforme implementação verificada no trabalho de Gluckstern et al. (2002). Tal aplicação torna-se interessante, pois este modelo é amplamente utilizado pelo mercado brasileiro para avaliação de opções sobre o IDI. De forma a verificar a aderência dos preços teóricos gerados pelos modelos, em comparação aos preços de mercado, métricas de erro foram empregadas. De forma geral, nossos resultados mostraram que ambos os modelos apresentam erros sistemáticos de precificação, onde o modelo CIR subavalia os prêmios das opções e o modelo de Black superprecifica. No entanto, bons resultados foram encontrados ao avaliarmos opções in-the-money e out-of-money com o modelo de Black. / This work aims to apply the interest rate option pricing model proposed by Barbachan and Ornelas (2003), based on the interest rate model and option pricing model developed by Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (1985), to evaluate call options on the 1 day Brazilian Interfinancial Deposits Index - IDI, traded at BM&FBovespa. The Maximum Likelihood method was applied to estimate the model parameters. In this context, the option pricing formula proposed by Black (1976), adapted for the Brazilian derivative Market, was also used, according implementation verified in Gluckstern et al. (2002). This application becomes interesting because this model is widely used by the Brazilian Market to evaluate options on IDI. In order to verify the adherence of theoretical prices generated by the models, in comparison to the Market prices, error metrics were applied. In general, our results pointed out that both models presented systematic pricing errors, in which the CIR model underestimates the option prices and Black’s model overestimates. However, good results were found on the evaluation of options in-the-money and out-of-money with the Black’s Model.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo principal aplicar o modelo de precificação de opções de taxas de juros proposto por Barbachan e Ornelas (2003), com base nos modelos de taxa de juro e avaliação de opções de Cox, Ingerssol e Ross (1985), para avaliação de opções de compra sobre o Índice de Taxa Média de Depósitos Interfinanceiros de Um Dia (IDI), negociadas na BM&FBovespa. Para estimação dos parâmetros deste modelo, foi empregado o método de Máxima Verossimilhança. Neste contexto, também fez-se uso da fórmula de precificação de opções proposta por Black (1976), adaptada para o mercado de derivativos brasileiros, conforme implementação verificada no trabalho de Gluckstern et al. (2002). Tal aplicação torna-se interessante, pois este modelo é amplamente utilizado pelo mercado brasileiro para avaliação de opções sobre o IDI. De forma a verificar a aderência dos preços teóricos gerados pelos modelos, em comparação aos preços de mercado, métricas de erro foram empregadas. De forma geral, nossos resultados mostraram que ambos os modelos apresentam erros sistemáticos de precificação, onde o modelo CIR subavalia os prêmios das opções e o modelo de Black superprecifica. No entanto, bons resultados foram encontrados ao avaliarmos opções in-the-money e out-of-money com o modelo de Black. / This work aims to apply the interest rate option pricing model proposed by Barbachan and Ornelas (2003), based on the interest rate model and option pricing model developed by Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (1985), to evaluate call options on the 1 day Brazilian Interfinancial Deposits Index - IDI, traded at BM&FBovespa. The Maximum Likelihood method was applied to estimate the model parameters. In this context, the option pricing formula proposed by Black (1976), adapted for the Brazilian derivative Market, was also used, according implementation verified in Gluckstern et al. (2002). This application becomes interesting because this model is widely used by the Brazilian Market to evaluate options on IDI. In order to verify the adherence of theoretical prices generated by the models, in comparison to the Market prices, error metrics were applied. In general, our results pointed out that both models presented systematic pricing errors, in which the CIR model underestimates the option prices and Black’s model overestimates. However, good results were found on the evaluation of options in-the-money and out-of-money with the Black’s Model.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo principal aplicar o modelo de precificação de opções de taxas de juros proposto por Barbachan e Ornelas (2003), com base nos modelos de taxa de juro e avaliação de opções de Cox, Ingerssol e Ross (1985), para avaliação de opções de compra sobre o Índice de Taxa Média de Depósitos Interfinanceiros de Um Dia (IDI), negociadas na BM&FBovespa. Para estimação dos parâmetros deste modelo, foi empregado o método de Máxima Verossimilhança. Neste contexto, também fez-se uso da fórmula de precificação de opções proposta por Black (1976), adaptada para o mercado de derivativos brasileiros, conforme implementação verificada no trabalho de Gluckstern et al. (2002). Tal aplicação torna-se interessante, pois este modelo é amplamente utilizado pelo mercado brasileiro para avaliação de opções sobre o IDI. De forma a verificar a aderência dos preços teóricos gerados pelos modelos, em comparação aos preços de mercado, métricas de erro foram empregadas. De forma geral, nossos resultados mostraram que ambos os modelos apresentam erros sistemáticos de precificação, onde o modelo CIR subavalia os prêmios das opções e o modelo de Black superprecifica. No entanto, bons resultados foram encontrados ao avaliarmos opções in-the-money e out-of-money com o modelo de Black. / This work aims to apply the interest rate option pricing model proposed by Barbachan and Ornelas (2003), based on the interest rate model and option pricing model developed by Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (1985), to evaluate call options on the 1 day Brazilian Interfinancial Deposits Index - IDI, traded at BM&FBovespa. The Maximum Likelihood method was applied to estimate the model parameters. In this context, the option pricing formula proposed by Black (1976), adapted for the Brazilian derivative Market, was also used, according implementation verified in Gluckstern et al. (2002). This application becomes interesting because this model is widely used by the Brazilian Market to evaluate options on IDI. In order to verify the adherence of theoretical prices generated by the models, in comparison to the Market prices, error metrics were applied. In general, our results pointed out that both models presented systematic pricing errors, in which the CIR model underestimates the option prices and Black’s model overestimates. However, good results were found on the evaluation of options in-the-money and out-of-money with the Black’s Model.

Short selling is important for price efficiency as it helps negative information to be incorporated into prices. As short selling requires borrowing stock in advance, the equity lending market plays a central role in price efficiency. For instance, when the costs of borrowing certain equities are high, these stocks are likely to be overpriced. Unfortunately, not much is known about the equity lending market, particularly the Brazilian market. Here, we have investigated a particular feature of the equity lending contract, namely, the lender recall option. Lending contracts either i) allow the lender to recall the stock at an earlier date than initially agreed, or ii) allow no early recall, that is, they are fixed term contracts. We have derived a simple model for recall option pricing and confirmed the model empirically / A venda descoberta desempenha uma importante participação na eficiência da precificação de ativos, pois permite incorporar informações negativas aos seus preços. Como a venda descoberta requer que um ativo seja alugado previamente, o mercado de aluguel de ativos tem um papel central na formação eficiente de preços. Por exemplo, quando os custos de aluguel são altos, ativos estão provavelmente sobrevalorizados. Infelizmente pouco se conhece a fundo sobre o mercado de aluguel de ativos. Neste artigo, investigamos uma característica do aluguel de ações, propriamente dita, a opção de liquidação antecipada pelo doador. Contratos de aluguel, quanto a este aspecto, podem i) permitir que o doador requeira suas ações antes do prazo acordado ou ii) não permitir esta opção, possuindo prazo fixo. Derivamos um modelo simples de precificação desta opção e confirmamos o modelo empiricamente