Recognizing that robust decision making is vital in risk management, this book provides concepts and algorithms for computing the best decision in view of the worst-case scenario. The main tool used is minimax, which ensures robust policies with guaranteed optimal performance that will improve further if the worst case is not realized. The applications considered are drawn from finance, but the design and algorithms presented are equally applicable to problems of economic policy, engineering design, and other areas of decision making. Critically, worst-case design addresses not only Armageddon-type uncertainty. Indeed, the determination of the worst case becomes nontrivial when faced with numerous--possibly infinite--and reasonably likely rival scenarios. Optimality does not depend on any single scenario but on all the scenarios under consideration. Worst-case optimal decisions provide guaranteed optimal performance for systems operating within the specified scenario range indicating the uncertainty. The noninferiority of minimax solutions--which also offer the possibility of multiple maxima--ensures this optimality. Worst-case design is not intended to necessarily replace expected value optimization when the underlying uncertainty is stochastic. However, wise decision making requires the justification of policies based on expected value optimization in view of the worst-case scenario. Conversely, the cost of the assured performance provided by robust worst-case decision making needs to be evaluated relative to optimal expected values. Written for postgraduate students and researchers engaged in optimization, engineering design, economics, and finance, this book will also be invaluable to practitioners in risk management.

The book is the first monograph on this highly important subject.

It's not hard to understand why options trading continues to growin popularity, especially among sophisticated investors with largestock portfolios. Options are a cheaper and therefore, inherentlyless risky way of speculating on the price movements of stocks orother under-lying goods, yet, due to their volatility, they providemore price action per dollar than do stocks. And, when traded inconjunction with stock portfolios, options can significantlyenhance an investor's ability to manipulate the risk and returncharacteristics of their entire investment. Yet, despite these andother advantages of options, many investors shy away from thishighly lucrative type of speculation because of the seemingimpenetrability of many of its underlying concepts and technicalprinciples. Now in a book that demystifies options for financial professionals,Professor Robert W. Kolb, one of the nation's leading authoritieson the subject, provides readers with a solid grounding in theprinciples and practices of options trading. An excellent resourcefor investors who need to quickly get up to speed in options,Understanding Options offers a balanced presentation that buildsswiftly from the most basic concepts and terms to advanced tradingstrategies and techniques. Written in plain English and filled withreal-life examples and case studies, it schools readers in: * All essential terms, concepts, principles, and practices * Popular trading techniques and their payoffs * Option strategies * Option hedging * Formal trading models, including the Binomial and Merton models * Options on stock indexes, foreign currency, and futures * Option pricing in both the American and European markets * The options approach to corporate securities * And much more Concise yet comprehensive, authoritative yet highly accessible,Understanding Options gives you everything you need to feel rightat home in the lucrative world of options. Comprehensive, practical, authoritative--the fastest, mostaccessible route to the lucrative world of options From the basics of what an option is to advanced techniques forprofiting from options in a variety of markets, UnderstandingOptions covers all the bases. Written by a leading internationalauthority on options trading, this practical, hands-on guide offersdetailed, step-by-step coverage of option trading techniques andtheir payoffs, option strategies, European and American optionpricing, option hedging, and much more. It also explores options onstock indexes, foreign currency, and futures, and takes a closelook at the options approach to corporate securities. A concise, yet comprehensive, introduction to options for financialprofessionals * Gets you quickly up and running with all the essential knowledgeyou need to break into the options markets * Featuring a balanced presentation that moves swiftly from basicterms and concepts to advanced trading models * Packed with easy-to-follow examples and case studies that lucidlyillustrate all points covered

Originally published in 2003, Mathematical Techniques in Finance has become a standard textbook for master's-level finance courses containing a significant quantitative element while also being suitable for finance PhD students. This fully revised second edition continues to offer a carefully crafted blend of numerical applications and theoretical grounding in economics, finance, and mathematics, and provides plenty of opportunities for students to practice applied mathematics and cutting-edge finance. Ales Cerný mixes tools from calculus, linear algebra, probability theory, numerical mathematics, and programming to analyze in an accessible way some of the most intriguing problems in financial economics. The textbook is the perfect hands-on introduction to asset pricing, optimal portfolio selection, risk measurement, and investment evaluation. The new edition includes the most recent research in the area of incomplete markets and unhedgeable risks, adds a chapter on finite difference methods, and thoroughly updates all bibliographic references. Eighty figures, over seventy examples, twenty-five simple ready-to-run computer programs, and several spreadsheets enhance the learning experience. All computer codes have been rewritten using MATLAB and online supplementary materials have been completely updated. A standard textbook for graduate finance courses Introduction to asset pricing, portfolio selection, risk measurement, and investment evaluation Detailed examples and MATLAB codes integrated throughout the text Exercises and summaries of main points conclude each chapter

A comprehensive overview of weak convergence of stochastic processes and its application to the study of financial markets. Split into three parts, the first recalls the mathematics of stochastic processes and stochastic calculus with special emphasis on contiguity properties and weak convergence of stochastic integrals. The second part is devoted to the analysis of financial theory from the convergence point of view. The main problems, which include portfolio optimization, option pricing and hedging are examined, especially when considering discrete-time approximations of continuous-time dynamics. The third part deals with lattice- and tree-based computational procedures for option pricing both on stocks and stochastic bonds. More general discrete approximations are also introduced and detailed. Includes detailed examples.