What is the options formula?

If you're not valuing options that are deep in the money (subject to early exercise), then any of these models are going to give virtually identical values. Unless you're doing big size, you can use Black Scholes, binomial, Bjerksund Stensland, Whaley (quadratic), or whatever and the difference between the theoretical prices they produce will be for all practical purposes irrelevant.
 
Quote from Xuanxue:

For implied volatility there're the B&S model, GARCH model, and Binomial Model.
More...

GARCH is a separate category; it is not used to compute implied volatility, rather, it looks back at price data and computes actual (historic) volatility.

Any pricing model can be used to produce an implied volatility. You just keep feeding different volatilities (guesses) into the model until one produces the price for which you are trying to find the IV. That's all the computer is doing when it determines an implied volatility for you. You cannot directly solve any of these models for volatility.
 
As a long time fan of Nova, this is officially awesome!

Quote from Xuanxue:

For implied volatility there're the B&S model, GARCH model, and Binomial Model.

Most Quants use GARCH-based models over a broad range of sectors and if there hasn't been a liking to an equation improving on the B&S model, which, is prefered if you want to get close to accuracy and real-time, then traders gravitate toward either the Stochastic Volatility model or a larger period Binomial Tree, like 50, 100, or 200.

It's all about the math and unlike the clown two clicks to the north I don't profess to understand a great deal of it yet, to make it conform to any other product other than god damned options.

Anyway, you likely got the valuation idea from my request in the implied volatility thread so the links and information contained in it is a decent place to start.

And you might like this:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/stockmarket/formula.html
More...
 
I was attempting to learn these formulas for possible arbitrage of options (from studying options chains where a stock would not move and random options would rise 10%). However, as a small time trader, I don't believe I could delve into this yet.

What do normal options traders use any of these formulas and models for, if anything?
 
Quote from TraderGreg:

I was attempting to learn these formulas for possible arbitrage of options (from studying options chains where a stock would not move and random options would rise 10%). However, as a small time trader, I don't believe I could delve into this yet.

What do normal options traders use any of these formulas and models for, if anything?
More...

Forget about arbitrage unless you can predict volatility better than the market. The important bit is predicting volatility to use in the pricing model, not which pricing model you actually use. Without good estimates it's garbage in garbage out!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top