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SP 3a Aalto 2017 Handout
SP 3a Aalto 2017 Handout
Options, Futures and
Structured Products
Jos van Bommel
Aalto ‐ Period 5 2017
Class 3a
The Greeks, The VIX, The Smile
Delta hedging
Last time, we saw that a call option can be
replicated with a dynamically hedged portfolio of
underlyings financed with a debt of B.
(it turns out that a put option can be replicated
with a short position in the underlying and a
loan..)
And delta of calls and puts change over time.
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Delta of a Call
120
100
80
Slope =
60
40
20
0
30 50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210
Intrinsic Value Deviation 1
0.8
0.6
0.4
Delta as a function of S
0.2
0
30 50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210
Delta hedging
Banks and other institutional investors buy and write many options
(and structured products).
These exposures are managed separately per underlying.
E.g. at Nordea, there may be a trader (or a team of traders) who
manages the options on the US‐dollar.
Her key objective is to keep the portfolio delta‐neutral.
If Nordea sells a Call‐contract for 1 mio US dollar with = 0.55, the
trader should buy $550,000 (or buy options and/or futures with =
0.55).
So that, if the dollar appreciates, the gain on the dollars exactly offsets
the loss on the written option.
However, after the appreciation of the $, the hedge ratio of the option
will have increased.. Telling the trader to purchase more dollars..
So as to avoid losing (or making!) money..
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Delta hedging
If the dollar appreciates, the gain on the dollars bought exactly
offsets the loss on the written call‐option.
Does it?
No! the value‐diagram of the option is convex…
Delta hedging is only perfect if it is done continuously,
Or ‘very often’.. (daily or hourly).
Notice that also the volatility , the time to maturity, T, and the
interest, r, will change over time..
The Greeks
Measure the SENSITIVITY of the value of options
(and Option‐portfolios) to the value determinants
Denote is the value of an option portfolio
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Delta and Gamma
120
100
80
60
40
Intrinsic Value Deviation 1
0.8
0.6
Delta as a function of S
Gamma =
0.4
0.2
0
30 50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210
Theta = Time decay
100
90
80
70
Option Price
60
= /T 50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Stock Price
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Vega = Sensitivity to Volatility
100
90
80
70
Option Price
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Stock Price
vega is the same for
a call and for a put
Rho = Sensitivity to interest rates
100
90
80
70
Option Price
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Stock Price
Rho for a Call
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Dynamic hedging
Traders who hedge option portfolios at banks also try to be
neutral w.r.t. the other Greeks.
A computer system constantly computes the value of the portfolio
and its Greeks.
The hedging teams will be given limits per exposure, and will
need permission to go above/below this limit.
Example: the upper limit for the delta for a Stoxx‐option portfolio
is set €1 mio. What does this mean?
If the index is at 3380, the sum of the options’ deltas should be
less than 296..
What should the trader do if the portfolio’s becomes is higher
than the upper limit?
Dynamic hedging ‐ Example
Consider a portfolio that is delta‐neutral, but it has a gamma of
300 and a vega of 400… What does this mean?
Assume that the rho and theta are close to zero, and that the
following options can be traded:
Delta Gamma Vega
Option 1 0.6 0.5 2.0
Option 2 0.5 0.8 1.6
To make our portfolio gamma and vega neutral, we need to solve:
300 + w1∙0.5 + w2∙0.8 = 0
400 + w1∙2.0 + w2∙1.6 = 0
w1 = 200, w2 = ‐500.
This decreases the delta with 130, so need to buy 130 underlyings
Notice: the underlying itself has zero gamma, vega, theta, rho (!)
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Implied Volatility
For every option quote you can compute the implied volatility.
We can use the “Goal Seek” function of Excel:
The value according to your option
calculator
The price quote
The volatility input
Implied Volatility
(of Facebook)
X Market Price Implied Vol
ITM 120 26.2 29%
ATM 140 12.7 25%
OOTM 160 4.5 22%
They are not the same! How can this be?
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Implied Volatility and Price
Bid * Ask *
DEC17 7100 531.15 21.6% 538.25 21.9%
DEC17 7000 482.35 21.8% 487.05 22.0%
DEC17 6900 427.30 21.6% 431.95 21.8%
DEC17 6800 380.25 21.6% 387.00 21.9%
Which option would you buy?
The volatility Smile
In larger samples, with time‐consistent (congruous)
transaction prices and quotes, the historic implied
volatility is not the same for all strikeprices:
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The volatility Smile
In fact, recent evidence suggests a ‘smirk’
The volatility Smile
Explanations for the volatility smile
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The VIX
The VIX is the implied volatility of the S&P500 index.
It is computed from several S&P put and call options, so as to
capture the volatility of the next 30 calendar days implied by
option prices.
The idea to track implied volatility came from two Finance
Professors (Brennan and Galai, 1986)
The S&P VIX is available since 1989.
Since then several other VIX‐indices have been constructed
(different sectors (oil, NASDAQ, Russel), different horizons,.. )
Since 2004 you can trade VIX‐futures on the CBOE, and since 2006
also VIX‐options.
These can be used to speculate or vega‐hedge..
The VIX
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