Estimating the quadratic variation (QV) using high‐frequency financial data is studied in this article, and this work makes two major contributions: first, the fundamental Itô isometry
is generalized to some extent, and as an application example, the widely known convergence property of realized volatility (RV) estimator of QV is analyzed by alternatively utilizing this generalized Itô isometry; second, we intuitively establish two types of new estimators of QV which permit volatility varying with time. To construct such estimators, the RV combined with realized bipower variation and RV with realized quarticity are employed, respectively. By applying the generalized Itô isometry, we further show that each of the proposed estimators can converge to QV, at a rate of O(n−1/2), almost surely and in mean square sense, both of which are stronger than the existing convergence in probability. Moreover, the error of approximation is also provided for each estimation. In addition, the obtained convergence property for both types of estimators is demonstrated by empirical investigations based on high‐frequency data of IBM stock.
This paper studies the pricing problem of American options using a nonparametric entropy approach. First, we derive a general expression for recovering the risk-neutral moments of underlying asset return and then incorporate them into the maximum entropy framework as constraints. Second, by solving this constrained entropy problem, we obtain a discrete risk-neutral (martingale) distribution as the unique pricing measure. Third, the optimal exercise strategies are achieved via the least-squares Monte Carlo algorithm and consequently the pricing algorithm of American options is obtained. Finally, we conduct the comparative analysis based on simulations and IBM option contracts. The results demonstrate that this nonparametric entropy approach yields reasonably accurate prices for American options and produces smaller pricing errors compared to other competing methods.
The paper by Liu (2010) introduces a method termed the canonical least-squares Monte Carlo (CLM) which combines a martingale-constrained entropy model and a least-squares Monte Carlo algorithm to price American options. In this paper, we first provide the convergence results of CLM and numerically examine the convergence properties. Then, the comparative analysis is empirically conducted using a large sample of the S&P 100 Index (OEX) puts and IBM puts. The results on the convergence show that choosing the shifted Legendre polynomials with four regressors is more appropriate considering the pricing accuracy and the computational cost. With this choice, CLM method is empirically demonstrated to be superior to the benchmark methods of binominal tree and finite difference with historical volatilities.
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