# All Questions

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### Correlation between prices or returns?

If you are interested in determining whether there is a correlation between the Federal Reserve Balance Sheet and PPI, would you calculate the correlation between values (prices) or period-to-period ...
83k views

I am preparing for the CFA level 2 exam, I got confused by the concept Z-spread and OAS. When a call option is added to a bond, since it is not favorable to the bond buyer, they would require more ...
9k views

### Baye's rule for conditional expectations (Proof review)

The Baye's rule for conditional expectations states $$E^Q[X|\mathcal{F}]E^P[f|\mathcal{F}]=E^P[Xf|\mathcal{F}]$$ With $f=dQ/dP$ - thus being the Radon-Nikodyn derivative and $X$ being ...
6k views

Using total return calculations is critical in developing security selection models. The standard way to measure total return is to develop a series of price-adjusted data. Investopedia describes the ...
552 views

### What is the Risk Neutral Measure?

What is the Risk Neutral Measure? I don't believe this has been answered on the internet well and with all the parts connecting. So: What is the risk neutral measure/pricing? Why do we need it? How ...
8k views

### Should Sharpe ratio be computed using log returns or relative returns?

I am trying to reconcile some research with some published values of 'Sharpe ratio', and would like to know the 'standard' method for computing the same: Based on daily returns? Monthly? Weekly? ...
20k views

### Should I use an arithmetic or a geometric calculation for the Sharpe Ratio?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of using the arithmetic Sharpe Ratio vs the geometric Sharpe Ratio? Is one more correct? Or is one better in certain circumstances?
14k views

### Delta of binary option

What is the Delta of an at-the-money binary option with a payo out $0$ at $<100$ dollars, and payout $1$ at $>100$ dollars, as it approaches expiry? This is from a sample interview exam. I ...
10k views

### Best method for interpolating yield curve? [Multiple questions]

I'm building a spot curve for US Treasuries. My original selection of cash treasury include all the on-the-run bills, notes, bonds from 6 months to 30 years, as well as some selected off-the-run ...
18k views

### Formula for forward price of bond

What is the formula for the forward price of a bond (assuming there are coupons in the interim period, and that the deal is collateralised) Please also prove it with an arbitrage cashflow scenario ...
4k views

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### Why is the GARCH intercept supposed to be strictly positive?

Maybe it's a simple question but I don't really understand why it is theoretically required. Let's take the standard GARCH(1,1) $$\sigma^2_{t+1}=\omega+\alpha\epsilon^2_{t}+\beta\sigma^2_{t}$$ In most ...
9k views

### Proof of gamma profit formula

http://www.volcube.com/resources/options-articles/gamma-hedging-trading-strategies-part-i/ I would like to have proven to me the above formula, mostly because I don't quite understand it. The formula ...
929 views

### Importance Sampling for pricing options with longstaff and schwartz

I have been asking this similar question before. However, I really want to be concrete and get and concrete explanation. I have been reading the paper by Moreni and try to implement the same ...
3k views

### Dynamic Hedge of Quanto Options

Can anybody explain to me step-by-step how can I dynamically hedge and/or replicate a quanto option with the foreign underlying asset, the foreign cash account and the domestic cash account as ...
6k views

### What is an efficient method to find implied volatility?

I have a code that finds the implied volatility using the Newton-Raphson method. I set the number of trial to 1000 but sometimes it fails to converge and doesn't find the result. Is there a better ...
47k views

### How does Yahoo finance calculate Beta?

I am trying to replicate the beta value that yahoo calculates but I am getting different results. According to Yahoo, its beta is calculated using 5 year returns against the SP500: yahoo beta I ...
631 views

### Why are FRA/futures convexity adjustments necessary?

This would be my explanation for the reason that convexity adjustments must exist: Futures are margined daily, such that if a trader is paid a future and rates goes up then money is paid into their ...
8k views

### How does Cornish-Fisher VaR (aka modified VaR) scale with time?

I am thinking about the time-scaling of Cornish-Fisher VaR (see e.g. page 130 here for the formula). It involves the skewness and the excess-kurtosis of returns. The formula is clear and well ...
2k views

### Black-Litterman, how to choose the uncertainty in the views $\Omega$ for smooth transitions from prior to posterior

In Black-Litterman we get a new vector of expected returns of the form: \begin{align} \Pi_{BL} = \Pi + \underbrace{\tau \Sigma P^T[P\tau\Sigma P^T+\Omega]^{-1}}_{\text{correction}}[Q-P\Pi] \end{align} ...
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### Prove that the butterfly condition is always greater than zero

I need to prove that the butterfly condition is always positive under no arbitrage theorem. We are constructing a long butterfly using European call options ...
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### The most general conditions under which Ito lemma holds

Prompted by a question that came up in the comments here, namely why we can apply the Ito lemma to a function of the form $f(x)=(x-K)^{+}$, I would be interested in knowing what are the least ...
163 views

### How far the spot price is likely to go from the current level in three months if its volatility is 15.7%

On Page 24 of N. Taleb's "Dynamic Hedging" the author gives the following example Example: Assume that an asset trades at \\$100, with interest rates at 6% (annualized) and volatility at 15.7%. ...
173 views

### Exotic option arbitrage

Suppose an exotic European option has a sub hedging (price being lower than the target) portfolio of vanilla European options all with the same expiry as the exotic option. The sub hedging portfolio ...
167k views

### How can I go about applying machine learning algorithms to stock markets?

I am not very sure, if this question fits in here. I have recently begun, reading and learning about machine learning. Can someone throw some light onto how to go about it or rather can anyone share ...
4k views

### What papers have progressed the field of quantitative finance in recent years (post 2000)?

My question is pretty simple: what papers do you feel are foundational to quantitative finance? I'm compiling a personal reading list already, drawn from Wilmott forums, papers referenced in ...
26k views

### How to build a factor model?

Factor models such as Fama-French or the other ones that are partially summarized here work on the cross-section of asset returns. How are the factors built, how are sensitivities/coefficients ...