Given a Brownian motion (Bt)t[greater-or-equal, slanted]0 and a general target law [mu] (not necessarily centered or even in ) we show how to construct an embedding of [mu] in B. This embedding is an extension of an embedding due to Perkins, and is optimal in the sense that it simultaneously...

The aim of this article is to find bounds on the prices of exotic derivatives, and in particular the lookback option, in terms of the (market) prices of call options. This is achieved without making explicit assumptions about the dynamics of the price process of the underlying asset, but rather...

The paper proposes an original class of models for the continuous-time price process of a financial security with nonconstant volatility. The idea is to define instantaneous volatility in terms of exponentially weighted moments of historic log-price. The instantaneous volatility is therefore...

The third moment of returns is important for asset pricing, but it is hard to measure precisely, particularly at long horizons. This paper proposes a definition of the realized third moment that is computed from high-frequency returns. It provides an unbiased estimate of the true third moment of...

The academic literature on pension governance is sparse and this book will fill some important gaps by bringing together original contributions from around the world on subjects related to the area. The book initially lays out the main frameworks for pension fund governance and then goes on to...

The UK Pension Protection Fund (PPF), established by the 2004 Pensions Act to protect beneficiaries of defined benefit pension schemes when the sponsor becomes insolvent and the scheme is underfunded, is required to finance itself through a levy on participating schemes. In July 2005, the PPF...

We develop a model of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), a defined benefit pension guarantee system for the UK, based on an analogy between pension liabilities and corporate debt obligations. We show that the PPF is likely to face many years of low claims interspersed irregularly with periods of...

The paper explores the economic value of being able to span market outcomes through the use of options. We model an economy with a single risky asset. Consumption takes place at one date, corresponding to the horizon of all investors. Options on the consumption good are not redundant securities...