Mean-reverting stock model and its effect on calls
Question
A stock is modelled by . How does it behave, what do and represent, and how do they change the price of a call option?
Short answer
They do not affect the call price. The drift pulls towards the level , with setting the speed of reversion, and the noise is proportional to . But a traded stock can be hedged, so under the risk-neutral measure its drift is replaced by and only (and ) enter the price. The real-world drift parameters change forecasts and P&L, not the no-arbitrage value.
Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q3.43, p.84; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.
See the hint and the full worked solution in the question bank (free account).
Open the worked solution