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Expectation of the normal exponential martingale

Question

With XX standard normal and θ\theta a real constant, define Z=exp⁡ ⁣(θX−12θ2)Z=\exp\!\left(\theta X-\tfrac12\theta^2\right). Compute E[Z]\mathbb{E}[Z].

Short answer

11. The normal MGF gives EeθX=eθ2/2\mathbb{E}e^{\theta X}=e^{\theta^2/2}, which exactly cancels the factor e−θ2/2e^{-\theta^2/2}. This is the Radon-Nikodym density used in Girsanov changes of measure.

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