Rescaling volatility when four years becomes one unit
Question
A one-year call is priced with annual volatility and . Now price a four-year call, but measure time in four-year units so that again. What volatility should be entered into the formula?
Short answer
. Only total variance matters, and variance grows linearly in time. A four-year unit has four times the variance of a one-year unit, so scales by : . (The interest rate would be scaled by as well.)
Adapted from Crack, Heard on the Street, Q2.18, p.27; 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
- The Black-Scholes PDE, Formula and Implied Volatility
- Derivation — From Binomial Trees to Black-Scholes in the Continuous Limit
- The Black-Scholes Formula Derived via Change of Measure
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