# Tag Info

6

The Hull-White model can represents the risk free rate as a stochastic process, that is, in terms of expected return and volatility. The zero curve only gives you expected returns and you have to find a source to calibrate volatility, as FQuant told you. Common volatility sources used for this calibration are historical series of the zero curve or ...

4

The one-factor Hull-White model is given by $$dr(t) = (\theta(t) - \alpha\; r(t))\,dt + \sigma\, dW(t)\,\!.$$ The zero curves are only sufficient for the calibration of the parameter $\theta(t)$, which is given in terms of them by $$\theta\mathrm{(t)=}\frac{\partial f(0,t)}{\partial T}+\alpha f(0,t)+\frac{\sigma^2}{2a}(1-e^{-2\alpha t}),$$ where ...

3

In fact you can calibrate $\theta(t)$ piecewise constant and $\alpha$ and $\sigma$ to bond prices only. You don't need the swaption prices in mM. If you let $\sigma(t)$ depend on $t$ (this is called the generalized Hull-White model) then you need information about the options market. For the model as you write it you don't necessarily need MC to calculate ...

3

General knowledge: The reference for short rates models is: Interest Rate Models, by D. Brigo & F. Mercurio, Springer Worth the cost. You can find a summary of the propeties of the "dr" models p15 & p19: Interest Rate Models: Paradigm shifts in recent years, D. Brigo, Columbia University Seminar You will see the quote p19: "Pricing models need to ...

3

I will refer to "Interest Rate Models - Theory and Practice: With Smile, Inflation and Credit" by Damiano Brigo and Fabio Mercurio. In chapter 3 (One-factor short-rate models) they have a very nice table which lists some of the properties of instantaneous short rate models. In both of your models you know the distribution of $r_t$. The huge difference ...

2

The claim that interest rates don't follow long term trends is not consistent with observed data. The idea of mean reversion is that interest rates do not rise or fall without bound, but are limited by economic and political factors. But there is no indication that this oscillation of short rates should happen around a constant mean. Allowing the mean ...

2

Once the single-factor Hull-White model is calibrated, you can compute zero-coupon bond prices in closed form (i.e., without running simulations). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull%E2%80%93White_model#Analysis_of_the_one-factor_model .

1

The Heath-Jarrow-Morton representations of short interest rate models (such as Hull-White) will give you an expression for the evolution of the entire forward curve, but it doesn't make the problem any easier. The closed form ZC formulae you mention above are probably your best bet.

Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible