Bridge over ocean
1 November 1995 Financial Analysts Journal Volume 51, Issue 6

Enhanced Numerical Methods for Options with Barriers

  1. Emanuel Derman
  2. Iraj Kani
  3. Deniz Ergener
  4. Indrajit Bardhan

Most real-world barrier option values have no analytic solutions, either because the barrier structure is complex or because of volatility skews in the market. Numerical solutions are therefore a necessity, but options with barriers are notoriously difficult to value numerically on binomial or multinomial trees or on finite-difference lattices. Their values converge very slowly as the number of tree or lattice levels increases, often requiring unattainably large computing times for even modest accuracy. This article analyzes the biases implicit in valuing options with barriers on a lattice and suggests a method for enhancing their numerical solution. This method helps to correct these biases and works well in practice.

Read the Complete Article in Financial Analysts Journal Financial Analysts Journal CFA Institute Member Content

We’re using cookies, but you can turn them off in Privacy Settings.  Otherwise, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.  Accepting cookies does not mean that we are collecting personal data. Learn more in our Privacy Policy.