# All Questions

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### How does left tail risk differ from right tail risk?

How does left tail risk differ from right tail risk? In what context would an analyst use these metrics?
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### Solving Path Integral Problem in Quantitative Finance using Computer

I've asked this question here at Physics SE, but I figured that some parts would be more appropriate to ask here. So I'm rephrasing the question again. We know that for option value calculation, path ...
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### What mathematical models did Harry Markopolos run to prove that Bernie Madoff 1% a month gain was a Ponzi scheme?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-man-who-figured-out-madoffs-scheme-27-02-2009/ Asked how long it took him to figure out something was wrong, Markopolos said, "It took me five minutes to know ...
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### Topological methods in finance

Recently a promising start-up (Ayasdi) has made headlines. They are a spin-off of the Applied and Computational Algebraic Topology group of Stanford University (ComTop). What they basically do is ...
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### Meta-view of different time-series similarity measures?

While I spend most of my StackExchange time on MathematicaSE, I'm in the business and follow the questions and answers on this site with great interest. Recently questions like the following (and ...
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### Enhancing Monte-Carlo convergence (crude method)

I am currently doing a project involving Monte-Carlo method. I wonder if there is papers dealing with a "learning" refinement method to enhance the MC-convergence, example : Objective : estimate of ...
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### What approaches are there for stress testing a portfolio?

Wikipedia lists three of them: Extreme event: hypothesize the portfolio's return given the recurrence of a historical event. Current positions and risk exposures are combined with the historical ...
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### What techniques are used for testing order book implementations?

I am finishing the implementation of a limit order book for modeling NASDAQ. The order book works off of the ITCH feed. My question is what techniques are typically used for testing order books. I am ...
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### What is a good topic on financial time series analysis for master thesis?

Can someone suggest a topic or some reasonably narrow area in financial time series analysis (e.g. statistical, machine learning, etc.) which can make a good topic for a master thesis? By 'good' I ...
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### Modelling with negative interest rates

For a project, I am interested to model the impact of recently negative interest bonds on the portfolio. The literature on modelling negative interest rates is limited, and the only theory I could ...
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### Value-at-Risk of the sum of two dependent lognormal random variables

Hy I posted this question first at mathflow.net they suggested me this page, which I was not aware of. Question: Let $(X_1,X_2)$ be a multivariate normal random vector ($X_1$ and $X_2$ need not be ...
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### Relationship between Large Cap and Small Cap Volatility

Relative value of large cap volatility. We all track the VIX as a measure of volatility, but we often forget that the VIX is volatility indicator for the large cap index within the SP500. We can ...
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### Are BSDE's used in practice?

In the academic applied probability/math finance community, Backwards Stochastic Differential Equations (BSDE's) are extremely popular, and they provide a single framework for several different ...
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### How to prove that markets are incomplete under the Stochastic Volatility model?

Has anyone ever formally proved that Markets are incomplete under the stochastic volatility model? I know that if there are more random sources than traded assets, then the market is incomplete but ...
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### Quantitative Analysis Games on Investing?

I have been playing a quantitative investing game (instructions here) that is actually quite interesting, teams have some time to decide their next moves. It requires all kind of knowledge such as ...
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### Any recommendations for textbooks for an undergraduate course in mathematical finance? [closed]

I'll teach an introductory course on mathematical finance in the near future. The course is intended to entertain and broaden some well-prepared advanced undergrad mathematics majors, some physics ...
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### Comparing backtesting returns with real trading returns

I have 10 years of backtested simulated performance of some trading strategy (using historical prices), and N months of actual trading performance. What statistical test can I do find out if I'm on ...
624 views

### How to price a Swing Option?

I'm working in the commodity market and I've to price Swing Options with MATLAB, preferably with finite element. Has anyone already priced these kind of derivatives? I'm thinking about using the ...
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### Applicability of PCA to get historical volatilities to calibrate interest rates trees

My question in short is as follows: can I take main principal component of historical covariance matrix and use it as historical volatilities when fitting a binomial tree? Here's more detailed ...
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### Where can I find a database of ALL ETFs, sorted by age?

I have a portfolio allocation strategy I want to backtest, but I need a large "universe" of ETFs for it to choose from at each time period. I was thinking of starting with a criteria such as "all ...
1k views

### How do I price OANDA box options?

How do I price OANDA box options without using their slow and machine-unfriendly user interface?: http://fxtrade.oanda.com (free demo account) sells "box options": If you already know what a ...
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### performance of historical VaR parameters

An historical VaR measure is parameterized in terms of the confidence level and also number of periods. Specifically, the $\alpha$% T-period VaR is defined as the portfolio loss x in market value over ...
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### What is a martingale?

What is a martingale and how it compares with a random walk in the context of the Efficient Market Hypothesis?
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### What are some good technical and non-technical books for a math lover to get in to quantitative analysis? [closed]

To get the ball rolling... I will answer this question this evening For people aware & unaware I think it would be a great way to introduce the group, resources for fundamental knowledge & ...
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### Why does implied volatility show an inverse relation with strike price when examining option chains?

When looking at option chains, I often notice that the (broker calculated) implied volatility has an inverse relation to the strike price. This seems true both for calls and puts. As a current ...
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### What is Ito's lemma used for in quantitative finance?

Further to my question asked here: prior post and which left some points unanswered, I have reformulated the question as follows: What is Ito's lemma used for in quantitative finance? and when is it ...
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### Hedging stocks with VIX futures

It seems that VIX futures could be a great hedge for a long-only stock portfolio since they rise when stocks fall. But how many VIX futures should I buy to hedge my portfolio, and which futures ...
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### Is it possible to use a series of option prices to predict the most likely path of an asset?

I've always wondered about this. If you have a series of options, with the expires spaced let's say one week between them, and you search for each expiration date the option with the smallest ...
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### Why a self-financing replicating portfolio should always exist?

According to my understanding the derivation of the Black-Scholes PDE is based on the assumption that the price of the option should change in time in such a way that it should be possible to ...
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### Deterministic interpretation of stochastic differential equation

In Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance Sec. Ed. in vol. 3 on p. 784 and p. 809 the following stochastic differential equation: $$dS=\mu\ S\ dt\ +\sigma \ S\ dX$$ is approximated in discrete time by ...
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### How does one measure the effect of latency on potential returns?

I am looking to evaluate the hypothetical advantage one trading system has over another in terms of the possible returns given their latency. Irene Aldridge wrote a piece (How Profitable Are ...
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### Effective Euro-USD (EURUSD) Exchange Rate Prior to Euro's Existence

Motivation: I am running a quantitative analysis that requires long-term, exchange rate data. Problem: Does anyone have methods for dealing with the EURUSD exchange rate prior to the Euro's ...
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### Rationale for OIS discounting for collateralized derivatives?

Can someone explain to me the rationale for why the market may be moving towards OIS discounting for fully collateralized derivatives?
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### Reference request: Survey article on GPU in Finance

I would like to get and idea of how people use GPUs in finance. I can find some specific papers or books on the subject. GPUs in binomial model, finite difference, monte carlo,... But I couldn't ...