Option on a forward price
Question
Suppose the asset underlying a European call is not the share itself but the forward price for buying that share. How would you value such an option?
Short answer
Use Black's formula: , . A forward costs nothing to enter, so under the risk-neutral measure it is a driftless lognormal martingale with the stock's volatility (for deterministic rates). Pricing is Black-Scholes with the forward in place of the spot and zero carry.
Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q2.30, p.19; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.
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Open the worked solutionLessons behind this question
- Market Model and Risk-Neutral Valuation
- Option Mechanics: Calls, Puts, Moneyness, Intrinsic Value, and Exchange vs. OTC Markets
- Option Trading Strategies: Spreads, Combinations, and Payoff Engineering
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