This paper constructs and compares various total return world stock indices based on daily data. Due to diversification these indices are noticeably similar. A diversification theorem identifies any diversified portfolio as a proxy for the growth optimal portfolio. The paper constructs a...

This paper constructs and compares various total return world stock indices based on daily data. Due to diversification these indices are noticeably similar. A diversification theorem identifies any diversified portfolio as a proxy for the growth optimal portfolio. The paper constructs a...

A stochastic process v(t) is considered as a model for asset's spot volatility. A new approach is introduced for predicting future spot volatility and future volatility surface using a finite set of observed option prices. When the volatility parameter σ2 in the Black-Scholes formula[image...

A new market-based approach to evaluating options on an asset is offered. The model corresponds to the real situations encountered in the market: option prices are not uniquely determined by their underlying asset but mainly by another factor, namely stochastic market volatility (or simply SMV)....

We review the nature of some well-known phenomena such as volatility smiles, convexity adjustments and parallel derivative markets. We propose that the market is incomplete and postulate the existence of intrinsic risks in every contingent claim as a basis for understanding these phenomena. In a...

In this paper distributions are identified which suitably fit log-returns of the world stock index when these are expressed in units of different currencies. By searching for a best fit in the class of symmetric generalized hyperbolic distributions the maximum likelihood estimates appear to...

Without requiring the existence of an equivalent risk-neutral probability measure this paper studies a class of one-factor local volatility function models for stock indices under a benchmark approach. It is assumed that the dynamics for a large diversified index approximates that of the growth...

This paper considers a modification of the well known constant elasticity of variance model where it is used to model the growth optimal portfolio (GOP). It is shown that, for this application, there is no equivalent risk neutral pricing measure and therefore the classical risk neutral pricing...

The analysis of diffusion processes in financial models is crucially dependent on the form of the drift and diffusion coefficient functions. A new model for a stock market index process is proposed in which the index is decomposed into an average growth process and an ergodic diffusion. The...

This paper proposes a new explanation for the smile and skewness effects in implied volatilities. Starting from a microeconomic equilibrium approach, we develop a diffusion model for stock prices explicitly incorporating the technical demand induced by hedging strategies. This leads to a...