Option Pricing

Fast and explicit European option pricing under tempered stable processes ArXiv ID: 2510.01211 “View on arXiv” Authors: Gaetano Agazzotti, Jean-Philippe Aguilar Abstract We provide series expansions for the tempered stable densities and for the price of European-style contracts in the exponential Lévy model driven by the tempered stable process. These formulas recover several popular option pricing models, and become particularly simple in some specific cases such as bilateral Gamma process and one-sided TS process. When compared to traditional Fourier pricing, our method has the advantage of being hyperparameter free. We also provide a detailed numerical analysis and show that our technique is competitive with state-of-the-art pricing methods. ...

Controllable Generation of Implied Volatility Surfaces with Variational Autoencoders ArXiv ID: 2509.01743 “View on arXiv” Authors: Jing Wang, Shuaiqiang Liu, Cornelis Vuik Abstract This paper presents a deep generative modeling framework for controllably synthesizing implied volatility surfaces (IVSs) using a variational autoencoder (VAE). Unlike conventional data-driven models, our approach provides explicit control over meaningful shape features (e.g., volatility level, slope, curvature, term-structure) to generate IVSs with desired characteristics. In our framework, financially interpretable shape features are disentangled from residual latent factors. The target features are embedded into the VAE architecture as controllable latent variables, while the residual latent variables capture additional structure to preserve IVS shape diversity. To enable this control, IVS feature values are quantified via regression at an anchor point and incorporated into the decoder to steer generation. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the generative model enables rapid generation of realistic IVSs with desired features rather than arbitrary patterns, and achieves high accuracy across both single- and multi-feature control settings. For market validity, an optional post-generation latent-space repair algorithm adjusts only the residual latent variables to remove occasional violations of static no-arbitrage conditions without altering the specified features. Compared with black-box generators, the framework combines interpretability, controllability, and flexibility for synthetic IVS generation and scenario design. ...

Fast reliable pricing and calibration of the rough Heston model ArXiv ID: 2508.15080 “View on arXiv” Authors: Svetlana Boyarchenko, Marco de Innocentis, Sergei Levendorskiĭ Abstract The paper is an extended and modified version of the preprint S.Boyarchenko and S.Levendorskiĭ Correct implied volatility shapes and reliable pricing in the rough Heston model". We combine a modification of the Adams method with the SINH-acceleration method S.Boyarchenko and S.Levendorskii (IJTAF 2019, v.22) of Fourier inversion (iFT) to price vanilla options under the rough Heston model. For moderate or long maturities and strikes near spot, thousands of prices are computed in several milliseconds (ms) in Matlab on a Mac with moderate specs, with relative errors $\lesssim 10^{"-4"}$. Even for options close to expiry and far-OTM, the pricing takes a few tens or hundreds of ms. We show that, for the calibrated parameters in El Euch and Rosenbaum (Math.Finance 2019, v.29), the model implied vol surface is much flatter and fits the market data poorly; thus the calibration in op.cit. is a case of ghost calibration’’ (M.Boyarchenko and S.Levendorskiĭ, Quant. Finance 2015, v.15): numerical error and model specification error offset each other, creating an apparently good fit that vanishes when a more accurate pricer is used. We explain how such errors arise in popular iFT implementations that use fixed numerical parameters, yielding spurious smiles/skews, and provide numerical evidence that SINH acceleration is faster and more accurate than competing methods. Robust error control is ensured by a general Conformal Bootstrap principle that we formulate; the principle is applicable to many Fourier-pricing methods. We outline how this principle and our method enable accurate calibration procedures that are hundreds of times faster than approaches commonly used in the industry. Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the authors only. No other representation should be attributed. ...

Marketron Through the Looking Glass: From Equity Dynamics to Option Pricing in Incomplete Markets ArXiv ID: 2508.09863 “View on arXiv” Authors: Igor Halperin, Andrey Itkin Abstract The Marketron model, introduced by [“Halperin, Itkin, 2025”], describes price formation in inelastic markets as the nonlinear diffusion of a quasiparticle (the marketron) in a multidimensional space comprising the log-price $x$, a memory variable $y$ encoding past money flows, and unobservable return predictors $z$. While the original work calibrated the model to S&P 500 time series data, this paper extends the framework to option markets - a fundamentally distinct challenge due to market incompleteness stemming from non-tradable state variables. We develop a utility-based pricing approach that constructs a risk-adjusted measure via the dual solution of an optimal investment problem. The resulting Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation, though computationally formidable, is solved using a novel methodology enabling efficient calibration even on standard laptop hardware. Having done that, we look at the additional question to answer: whether the Marketron model, calibrated to market option prices, can simultaneously reproduce the statistical properties of the underlying asset’s log-returns. We discuss our results in view of the long-standing challenge in quantitative finance of developing an unified framework capable of jointly capturing equity returns, option smile dynamics, and potentially volatility index behavior. ...

Binary Tree Option Pricing Under Market Microstructure Effects: A Random Forest Approach ArXiv ID: 2507.16701 “View on arXiv” Authors: Akash Deep, Chris Monico, W. Brent Lindquist, Svetlozar T. Rachev, Frank J. Fabozzi Abstract We propose a machine learning-based extension of the classical binomial option pricing model that incorporates key market microstructure effects. Traditional models assume frictionless markets, overlooking empirical features such as bid-ask spreads, discrete price movements, and serial return correlations. Our framework augments the binomial tree with path-dependent transition probabilities estimated via Random Forest classifiers trained on high-frequency market data. This approach preserves no-arbitrage conditions while embedding real-world trading dynamics into the pricing model. Using 46,655 minute-level observations of SPY from January to June 2025, we achieve an AUC of 88.25% in forecasting one-step price movements. Order flow imbalance is identified as the most influential predictor, contributing 43.2% to feature importance. After resolving time-scaling inconsistencies in tree construction, our model yields option prices that deviate by 13.79% from Black-Scholes benchmarks, highlighting the impact of microstructure on fair value estimation. While computational limitations restrict the model to short-term derivatives, our results offer a robust, data-driven alternative to classical pricing methods grounded in empirical market behavior. ...

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. ...

Analytic estimation of parameters of stochastic volatility diffusion models with exponential-affine characteristic function for currency option pricing ArXiv ID: 2507.11868 “View on arXiv” Authors: Mikołaj Łabędzki Abstract This dissertation develops and justifies a novel method for deriving approximate formulas to estimate two parameters in stochastic volatility diffusion models with exponentially-affine characteristic functions and single- or two-factor variance. These formulas aim to improve the accuracy of option pricing and enhance the calibration process by providing reliable initial values for local minimization algorithms. The parameters relate to the volatility of the stochastic factor in instantaneous variance dynamics and the correlation between stochastic factors and asset price dynamics. The study comprises five chapters. Chapter one outlines the currency option market, pricing methods, and the general structure of stochastic volatility models. Chapter two derives the replication strategy dynamics and introduces a new two-factor volatility model: the OUOU model. Chapter three analyzes the distribution and surface dynamics of implied volatilities using principal component and common factor analysis. Chapter four discusses calibration methods for stochastic volatility models, particularly the Heston model, and presents the new Implied Central Moments method to estimate parameters in the Heston and Schöbel-Zhu models. Extensions to two-factor models, Bates and OUOU, are also explored. Chapter five evaluates the performance of the proposed formulas on the EURUSD options market, demonstrating the superior accuracy of the new method. The dissertation successfully meets its research objectives, expanding tools for derivative pricing and risk assessment. Key contributions include faster and more precise parameter estimation formulas and the introduction of the OUOU model - an extension of the Schöbel-Zhu model with a semi-analytical valuation formula for European options, previously unexamined in the literature. ...

Accelerated Portfolio Optimization and Option Pricing with Reinforcement Learning ArXiv ID: 2507.01972 “View on arXiv” Authors: Hadi Keramati, Samaneh Jazayeri Abstract We present a reinforcement learning (RL)-driven framework for optimizing block-preconditioner sizes in iterative solvers used in portfolio optimization and option pricing. The covariance matrix in portfolio optimization or the discretization of differential operators in option pricing models lead to large linear systems of the form $\mathbf{“A”}\textbf{“x”}=\textbf{“b”}$. Direct inversion of high-dimensional portfolio or fine-grid option pricing incurs a significant computational cost. Therefore, iterative methods are usually used for portfolios in real-world situations. Ill-conditioned systems, however, suffer from slow convergence. Traditional preconditioning techniques often require problem-specific parameter tuning. To overcome this limitation, we rely on RL to dynamically adjust the block-preconditioner sizes and accelerate iterative solver convergence. Evaluations on a suite of real-world portfolio optimization matrices demonstrate that our RL framework can be used to adjust preconditioning and significantly accelerate convergence and reduce computational cost. The proposed accelerated solver supports faster decision-making in dynamic portfolio allocation and real-time option pricing. ...

American options valuation in time-dependent jump-diffusion models via integral equations and characteristic functions ArXiv ID: 2506.18210 “View on arXiv” Authors: Andrey Itkin Abstract Despite significant advancements in machine learning for derivative pricing, the efficient and accurate valuation of American options remains a persistent challenge due to complex exercise boundaries, near-expiry behavior, and intricate contractual features. This paper extends a semi-analytical approach for pricing American options in time-inhomogeneous models, including pure diffusions, jump-diffusions, and Levy processes. Building on prior work, we derive and solve Volterra integral equations of the second kind to determine the exercise boundary explicitly, offering a computationally superior alternative to traditional finite-difference and Monte Carlo methods. We address key open problems: (1) extending the decomposition method, i.e. splitting the American option price into its European counterpart and an early exercise premium, to general jump-diffusion and Levy models; (2) handling cases where closed-form transition densities are unavailable by leveraging characteristic functions via, e.g., the COS method; and (3) generalizing the framework to multidimensional diffusions. Numerical examples demonstrate the method’s efficiency and robustness. Our results underscore the advantages of the integral equation approach for large-scale industrial applications, while resolving some limitations of existing techniques. ...

Applying Informer for Option Pricing: A Transformer-Based Approach ArXiv ID: 2506.05565 “View on arXiv” Authors: Feliks Bańka, Jarosław A. Chudziak Abstract Accurate option pricing is essential for effective trading and risk management in financial markets, yet it remains challenging due to market volatility and the limitations of traditional models like Black-Scholes. In this paper, we investigate the application of the Informer neural network for option pricing, leveraging its ability to capture long-term dependencies and dynamically adjust to market fluctuations. This research contributes to the field of financial forecasting by introducing Informer’s efficient architecture to enhance prediction accuracy and provide a more adaptable and resilient framework compared to existing methods. Our results demonstrate that Informer outperforms traditional approaches in option pricing, advancing the capabilities of data-driven financial forecasting in this domain. ...