Dr Konstantinos Zachariadis OLD M3.02

This course is available on the MSc in Accounting and Finance, MSc in Applicable Mathematics, MSc in Financial Mathematics, MSc in Risk and Stochastics, MSc in Statistics (Financial Statistics) and MSc in Statistics (Financial Statistics) (Research). This course is not available as an outside option.

This is a more advanced course. Students will be expected to show some familiarity with statistics, calculus and random processes.

Provides a thorough grounding in the theory of derivatives pricing and hedging. This course develops the theories of no-arbitrage asset pricing. Particular emphasis is placed on pricing within a multi-period, mostly continuous-time, framework. A special feature of the course is its coverage of the modern theory of contingent claims valuation by PDE and martingale methods. These asset pricing-methods are applied to the pricing of vanilla and exotic options and corporate liabilities, forwards, futures, as well as fixed income derivatives. The uses of derivatives in hedging and risk-management are discussed as well.

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the LT. 1 hour of seminars in the ST.

Weekly problem sets in classes (10).

Teaching notes will be distributed. No one book covers the entire course. Books recommended include, in increasing level of difficulty, R. McDonald, Derivative Markets (2nd edn, Pearson Education, 2006), J Hull, Options Futures and Other Derivatives (5th edn, Prentice-Hall, 2003), and M Baxter & A Rennie, Financial Calculus (Cambridge University Press, 1996).

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.

Students answer three out of four questions.