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Monotonicity of a call price in maturity

Question

How does the value of a call on a non-dividend-paying stock change with its time to expiry? Prove your claim.

Short answer

It is non-decreasing in maturity (with r≥0r\ge0). For T2>T1T_2>T_1, at T1T_1 the longer call is worth at least ST1−Ke−r(T2−T1)≥ST1−KS_{T_1}-Ke^{-r(T_2-T_1)}\ge S_{T_1}-K and at least 00, so it dominates the payoff of the shorter call; no-arbitrage then gives C(T2)≥C(T1)C(T_2)\ge C(T_1) today. Equivalently, an American call with more time has more rights, and for non-dividend stocks it equals the European.

Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q2.16, p.17; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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