# All Questions

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### Algorithm to fit AR(1)/GARCH(1,1) model of log-returns

I am fitting numerically an AR(1)/GARCH(1,1) process to index and stock log-returns, $r_t=\log(P_t/P_{t-1})$, where $P_t$ is the price at time $t$, and thus far am not clear on where the observed log ...
5k views

### 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 ...
1k views

### 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 ...
2k views

### 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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### Estimation of Geometric Brownian Motion drift

One can find many papers about estimators of the historical volatility of a geometric Brownian motion (GBM). I'm interested in the estimation of the drift of such a process. Any link on this topic ...
766 views

### How to compute performance attribution between daily rebalanced strategies?

I have a daily rebalanced portfolio of several strategies. After one month, I now want to attribute the performance to the different strategies. There are several ways to do it. For instance one ...
843 views

### How do I eliminate developed currency funding cross rate risk in an EMFX position?

Back in the "old days" (ie 5-10 years ago) when we wanted to be long or short an emerging currency (say the ZAR, BRL, or TRY) we simply did everything against the pre-eminent currency of the day, the ...
6k views

### What are the main limitations of Black Scholes?

Pls explain and discuss these limitations, and explain which models can I use to overcome these limitations. Alternatively, provide examples of how to modify the original Black Scholes to overcome ...
6k views

### Why using 3 months forward to hedge fx risk on a fund of funds portfolio?

In my previous job, a fund of funds, they used 3 months forward FX contracts (renewed every 3 months) to protect their portfolio against currency risk. If I do understand why forwards are useful for ...
872 views

### What is the expected return I should use for the momentum strategy in MV optimization framework?

As all research on the momentum strategies are focused on the indicator, i.e. the entry point, there seems not much discussion on its expected return? Though there are some discussions on the exit ...
2k views

### What is the ideal ratio of in-sample length to out-of-sample length?

Suppose you are running a portfolio of quantitative strategies and that you develop a new potential strategy to be added to the mix. Assume for simplicity that the new strategy is independent of the ...
2k views

### Easiest and most accessible derivation of Black-Scholes formula

I am preparing a QuantFinance lecture and I am looking for the easiest and most accessible derivation of the Black-Scholes formula (NB: the actual formula, not the differential equation). My favorite ...
2k views

### Drawbacks & Caveats of using (N)Esper for ESP/CEP in trading systems?

Esper and its .NET port NEsper are components that enable Complex Event Processing (CEP) and Event Stream Processing (ESP) engines. They are especially suitable for trading applications. They can, ...
1k views

### What are some computational bottlenecks that quants face? [closed]

What are the current computational (non-network) bottlenecks now in a quant's workflow? What computational tasks would be revolutionary with a 10-100x improvement in performance using general purpose ...
366 views

### How to account for market movement when some exchanges are closed?

Daily data, such as open and close prices, is often available for much longer periods than high-frequency data. However, whenever backtesting any strategy that examines instruments traded in different ...
4k views

### How to estimate probability of default from bond prices?

How do you use bond prices/yields to infer probabilities of default? I would think of it as follows: Create a relationship between default free (e.g., Germany) and defaultable (e.g., Greece) bond ...
396 views

### How to “uncluster” a set of financial data?

I am attempting to evaluate and compare the profit factor of different "test runs" of a FOREX trading strategy. My problem is that, despite an average time between orders of 2hr+, some of these runs ...