Download PDF Introduction There is empirical evidence that index options, especially puts, are overpriced relative to individual stock options. Dispersion trading is a strategy aimed to capitalize from this mispricing. The aim of this article is to explore whether dispersion trading can still generate positive returns, but to generate a Read more…
Download PDF An Introduction to Momentum Strategies In this article we aim to develop a cross-sectional option returns momentum strategy in which we trade the best performing options based on their past returns. This strategy aims to capture both movement in the underlying stock as well as different movements in Read more…
Download PDF An Introduction to the Dairy Industry The dairy industry’s global value in 2022 was around $893 billion and is projected to grow $1243 billion by 2028 having witnessed strong growth in the past years with a strong likelihood for that momentum to continue. It is currently facing some Read more…
Download PDF Introduction 50 years ago, the financial industry changed forever with the introduction of the Black-Scholes model for options pricing. However, the story started much earlier with less sophisticated approaches and has evolved significantly over the last century, encompassing notable frameworks such as the binomial tree in discrete time, Read more…
Download PDF What are 0DTEs? Zero Days to Expiry (0DTE) options are options that expire on the same day they are purchased; this gives them an unusually high amount of leverage that is hard to find anywhere else. Due to theta, the extrinsic value of an option declines exponentially as Read more…
Download PDF In the past few years, cryptocurrencies have made the headlines on many different occasions and many think that they are here to stay, for better or worse. Regardless of their social impact, we believe that they have introduced interesting contrasts to traditional finance in their market microstructures. In Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Emerging Markets Debt is making a comeback in Google search bars. The term refers to sovereign bonds issued by less-developed countries. In fact, the words “debt” and “emerging” are closely linked: debt permits a country to raise fresh capital and with that to grow towards standards reflected Read more…
Download PDF You might have heard of Decentralized Finance, or DeFi for short, in the news lately. It is a part of the broad blockchain ecosystem that has taken the world by storm in the last couple of years. But what is DeFi, and what opportunities does it present? This Read more…
Download PDF Introduction This article will ostensibly be a distillation and discussion of the paper ‘Ex-Dividend Arbitrage in Option Markets’ by Hao, Kalay and Mayhew. [1] They find that a significant fraction of American call option holders do not behave in line with rational exercise policy regarding dividends, leaving money Read more…
Download PDF Introduction An ATM equity long straddle position is delta neutral. If systematic risk is the only factor predicting expected returns, a delta neutral strategy should have an expected return equal to the risk-free rate. In this article we will review academic literature suggesting that not only is this Read more…
We gave a brief introduction to put writing strategies already earlier this semester. We since thought about possible modifications of such strategies and their effects on return characteristics and return predictability. The positive returns of put writing strategies can be motivated from risk premia, as we show in the first Read more…
Equity put-option writing strategies represent an alternative to attain equity-like returns with less volatility. In fact, by writing a put-option the seller collects the option premium and gains exposure to value changes in the underlying equity. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) publishes already since 2007 daily return data for Read more…
“Option Greeks” is the common name for the sensitivities in price of options or, in general, of derivatives and portfolios of derivatives, with respect to different factors, such as spot price of the underlying, implied volatility, risk-free interest rate, etc. Each Greek represents the ratio between the change in price Read more…
The aim of this article is to walk the reader through the implementation of the Black-Scholes model for option pricing in VBA. Firstly, we’ll recap the theoretical framework. Secondly, we’ll provide the code to put the theory into practice and show some basic (but hopefully relevant) applications. The Theory – Read more…
Reserve Currencies A reserve currency is defined as a currency held by government for international payment purposes. The most important usages are: Repay back international debt (generally issued in reserve currencies) Defend the domestic currency against depreciation Improve the government credit rating Reserve currencies are many. The IMF chooses the Read more…