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 ). For , at the longer call is worth at least and at least , so it dominates the payoff of the shorter call; no-arbitrage then gives 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.
See the hint and the full worked solution in the question bank (free account).
Open the worked solutionLessons behind this question
Start with a free lesson: Options is part of a free topic. Create a free account, no card needed, to read it in full with worked solutions.
Read it free