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Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 43 No. 4 2008

Recovering Risk Neutral Densities from Option Prices: A New Approach

Leonidas Rompolis1; Elias Tzavalis2

1 University of Cyprus · 2 Athens University of Economics and Business

Abstract

In this paper we present a new method of approximating the risk neutral density (RND) from option prices based on the C-type Gram-Charlier series expansion (GCSE) of a probability density function. The exponential form of this type of GCSE guarantees that it will always give positive values of the risk neutral probabilities, and it can allow for stronger deviations from normality, which are two drawbacks of the A-type GCSE used in practice. To evaluate the performance of the suggested expansion of the RND, the paper presents simulation and empirical evidence.

DOI
10.1017/s0022109000014435
Volume
43
Issue
4
Pages
1037-1053
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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