Derivatives

Asymptotic universal moment matching properties of normal distributions ArXiv ID: 2508.03790 “View on arXiv” Authors: Xuan Liu Abstract Moment matching is an easy-to-implement and usually effective method to reduce variance of Monte Carlo simulation estimates. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that moment matching will always reduce simulation variance for general integration problems at least asymptotically, i.e. when the number of samples is large. We study the characterization of conditions on a given underlying distribution $X$ under which asymptotic variance reduction is guaranteed for a general integration problem $\mathbb{“E”}[“f(X)”]$ when moment matching techniques are applied. We show that a sufficient and necessary condition for such asymptotic variance reduction property is $X$ being a normal distribution. Moreover, when $X$ is a normal distribution, formulae for efficient estimation of simulation variance for (first and second order) moment matching Monte Carlo are obtained. These formulae allow estimations of simulation variance as by-products of the simulation process, in a way similar to variance estimations for plain Monte Carlo. Moreover, we propose non-linear moment matching schemes for any given continuous distribution such that asymptotic variance reduction is guaranteed. ...

NUFFT for the Fast COS Method ArXiv ID: 2507.13186 “View on arXiv” Authors: Fabien LeFloc’h Abstract The COS method is a very efficient way to compute European option prices under Lévy models or affine stochastic volatility models, based on a Fourier Cosine expansion of the density, involving the characteristic function. This note shows how to compute the COS method formula with a non-uniform fast Fourier transform, thus allowing to price many options of the same maturity but different strikes at an unprecedented speed. ...

Function approximations for counterparty credit exposure calculations ArXiv ID: 2507.09004 “View on arXiv” Authors: Domagoj Demeterfi, Kathrin Glau, Linus Wunderlich Abstract The challenge to measure exposures regularly forces financial institutions into a choice between an overwhelming computational burden or oversimplification of risk. To resolve this unsettling dilemma, we systematically investigate replacing frequently called derivative pricers by function approximations covering all practically relevant exposure measures, including quantiles. We prove error bounds for exposure measures in terms of the $L^p$ norm, $1 \leq p < \infty$, and for the uniform norm. To fully exploit these results, we employ the Chebyshev interpolation and show exponential convergence of the resulting exposure calculations. As our main result we derive probabilistic and finite sample error bounds under mild conditions including the natural case of unbounded risk factors. We derive an asymptotic efficiency gain scaling with $n^{“1/2-\varepsilon”}$ for any $\varepsilon>0$ with $n$ the number of simulations. Our numerical experiments cover callable, barrier, stochastic volatility and jump features. Using 10,000 simulations, we consistently observe significant run-time reductions in all cases with speed-up factors up to 230, and an average speed-up of 87. We also present an adaptive choice of the interpolation degree. Finally, numerical examples relying on the approximation of Greeks highlight the merit of the method beyond the presented theory. ...

Tensor train representations of Greeks for Fourier-based pricing of multi-asset options ArXiv ID: 2507.08482 “View on arXiv” Authors: Rihito Sakurai, Koichi Miyamoto, Tsuyoshi Okubo Abstract Efficient computation of Greeks for multi-asset options remains a key challenge in quantitative finance. While Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is widely used, it suffers from the large sample complexity for high accuracy. We propose a framework to compute Greeks in a single evaluation of a tensor train (TT), which is obtained by compressing the Fourier transform (FT)-based pricing function via TT learning using tensor cross interpolation. Based on this TT representation, we introduce two approaches to compute Greeks: a numerical differentiation (ND) approach that applies a numerical differential operator to one tensor core and an analytical (AN) approach that constructs the TT of closed-form differentiation expressions of FT-based pricing. Numerical experiments on a five-asset min-call option in the Black-Sholes model show significant speed-ups of up to about $10^{“5”} \times$ over MC while maintaining comparable accuracy. The ND approach matches or exceeds the accuracy of the AN approach and requires lower computational complexity for constructing the TT representation, making it the preferred choice. ...

Arbitrage with bounded Liquidity ArXiv ID: 2507.02027 “View on arXiv” Authors: Christoph Schlegel, Quintus Kilbourn Abstract We derive the arbitrage gains or, equivalently, Loss Versus Rebalancing (LVR) for arbitrage between \textit{“two imperfectly liquid”} markets, extending prior work that assumes the existence of an infinitely liquid reference market. Our result highlights that the LVR depends on the relative liquidity and relative trading volume of the two markets between which arbitrage gains are extracted. Our model assumes that trading costs on at least one of the markets is quadratic. This assumption holds well in practice, with the exception of highly liquid major pairs on centralized exchanges, for which we discuss extensions to other cost functions. ...

Empirical Models of the Time Evolution of SPX Option Prices ArXiv ID: 2506.17511 “View on arXiv” Authors: Alessio Brini, David A. Hsieh, Patrick Kuiper, Sean Moushegian, David Ye Abstract The key objective of this paper is to develop an empirical model for pricing SPX options that can be simulated over future paths of the SPX. To accomplish this, we formulate and rigorously evaluate several statistical models, including neural network, random forest, and linear regression. These models use the observed characteristics of the options as inputs – their price, moneyness and time-to-maturity, as well as a small set of external inputs, such as the SPX and its past history, dividend yield, and the risk-free rate. Model evaluation is performed on historical options data, spanning 30 years of daily observations. Significant effort is given to understanding the data and ensuring explainability for the neural network. A neural network model with two hidden layers and four neurons per layer, trained with minimal hyperparameter tuning, performs well against the theoretical Black-Scholes-Merton model for European options, as well as two other empirical models based on the random forest and the linear regression. It delivers arbitrage-free option prices without requiring these conditions to be imposed. ...

On Quantum BSDE Solver for High-Dimensional Parabolic PDEs ArXiv ID: 2506.14612 “View on arXiv” Authors: Howard Su, Huan-Hsin Tseng Abstract We propose a quantum machine learning framework for approximating solutions to high-dimensional parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) that can be reformulated as backward stochastic differential equations (BSDEs). In contrast to popular quantum-classical network hybrid approaches, this study employs the pure Variational Quantum Circuit (VQC) as the core solver without trainable classical neural networks. The quantum BSDE solver performs pathwise approximation via temporal discretization and Monte Carlo simulation, framed as model-based reinforcement learning. We benchmark VQCbased and classical deep neural network (DNN) solvers on two canonical PDEs as representatives: the Black-Scholes and nonlinear Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations. The VQC achieves lower variance and improved accuracy in most cases, particularly in highly nonlinear regimes and for out-of-themoney options, demonstrating greater robustness than DNNs. These results, obtained via quantum circuit simulation, highlight the potential of VQCs as scalable and stable solvers for highdimensional stochastic control problems. ...

Model-Free Deep Hedging with Transaction Costs and Light Data Requirements ArXiv ID: 2505.22836 “View on arXiv” Authors: Pierre Brugière, Gabriel Turinici Abstract Option pricing theory, such as the Black and Scholes (1973) model, provides an explicit solution to construct a strategy that perfectly hedges an option in a continuous-time setting. In practice, however, trading occurs in discrete time and often involves transaction costs, making the direct application of continuous-time solutions potentially suboptimal. Previous studies, such as those by Buehler et al. (2018), Buehler et al. (2019) and Cao et al. (2019), have shown that deep learning or reinforcement learning can be used to derive better hedging strategies than those based on continuous-time models. However, these approaches typically rely on a large number of trajectories (of the order of $10^5$ or $10^6$) to train the model. In this work, we show that using as few as 256 trajectories is sufficient to train a neural network that significantly outperforms, in the Geometric Brownian Motion framework, both the classical Black & Scholes formula and the Leland model, which is arguably one of the most effective explicit alternatives for incorporating transaction costs. The ability to train neural networks with such a small number of trajectories suggests the potential for more practical and simple implementation on real-time financial series. ...

Deep Learning for Continuous-time Stochastic Control with Jumps ArXiv ID: 2505.15602 “View on arXiv” Authors: Patrick Cheridito, Jean-Loup Dupret, Donatien Hainaut Abstract In this paper, we introduce a model-based deep-learning approach to solve finite-horizon continuous-time stochastic control problems with jumps. We iteratively train two neural networks: one to represent the optimal policy and the other to approximate the value function. Leveraging a continuous-time version of the dynamic programming principle, we derive two different training objectives based on the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation, ensuring that the networks capture the underlying stochastic dynamics. Empirical evaluations on different problems illustrate the accuracy and scalability of our approach, demonstrating its effectiveness in solving complex, high-dimensional stochastic control tasks. ...

Error Analysis of Deep PDE Solvers for Option Pricing ArXiv ID: 2505.05121 “View on arXiv” Authors: Jasper Rou Abstract Option pricing often requires solving partial differential equations (PDEs). Although deep learning-based PDE solvers have recently emerged as quick solutions to this problem, their empirical and quantitative accuracy remain not well understood, hindering their real-world applicability. In this research, our aim is to offer actionable insights into the utility of deep PDE solvers for practical option pricing implementation. Through comparative experiments in both the Black–Scholes and the Heston model, we assess the empirical performance of two neural network algorithms to solve PDEs: the Deep Galerkin Method and the Time Deep Gradient Flow method (TDGF). We determine their empirical convergence rates and training time as functions of (i) the number of sampling stages, (ii) the number of samples, (iii) the number of layers, and (iv) the number of nodes per layer. For the TDGF, we also consider the order of the discretization scheme and the number of time steps. ...