Technical paper
Honour your contribution
What is the best method for determining the risk contribution of a component in a portfolio? An exploration of the pros and cons of three important methods, showing that none dominates the others.
Mean-reverting smiles
Commodity markets such as crude oil exhibit mean reversion as well as option smiles. The authors construct a model suitable for pricing exotic options in these markets
Exotic spectra
Eigenfunction expansions can also be applied to finance. The method is particularly suited to barrier and Asian options, with convergence properties that compare favourably with Monte Carlo.
Globalisation and equity index exposure
Equity diversification
Inside insider trading
Securities regulators need techniques to detect insider trading if it occurs and determine the extent of possible sanctions. Here, the author proposes a new probabilistic methodology particularly suited to illiquid markets.
New products, new risks
Structured equity products marketed in Europe present considerable risk management challenges. The author shows the danger of using naive model-based approaches to price and hedge them.
Globalisation and equity index exposure
Does the global presence of large multinational companies diminish the diversification effect inequity portfolios? Gary Robinson argues that this is indeed the case, and suggests a remedy
Analytical approach to credit risk modelling
The increasing popularity of VAR-based credit portfolio risk models has led to a growing recognition that Monte Carlo techniques are inadequate for economic capital calculations. Here, Michael Pykhtin and Ashish Dev present a new analytical alternative…
Himalaya options
Nothing epitomises the challenges of complex equity derivatives better than the so-called ‘mountain range’ products. In the second article looking at the challenges of this market, Marcus Overhaus analyses a particular product, the Himalayan option,…
The need for hybrid models
In response to the above article, the authors argue that pure firm-value approaches to default prediction are fundamentally flawed.?
The vol smile problem
The author examines a wide range of volatility smile models in the context of the liquidity of the forex options markets
Predictive Merton models
Do default indicators such as agency ratings improve upon the predictive power of KMV’s proprietary default prediction methodology?
Credit model evaluation
With the new Basel Capital Accord scheduled for implementation in 2005, banks are having to evaluate the credit scoring models that will enable them to meet the minimum standards for Basel’s internal ratings-based (IRB) approach. Selecting an appropriate…