Portfolio theory and much of asset pricing, as well as many empirical applications, depend on the use of multivariate probability distributions to describe asset returns. Traditionally, this has meant the multivariate normal (or Gaussian) distribution. More recently, theoretical and empirical work in financial economics has employed the multivariate Student (and other) distributions which are members of the elliptically symmetric class. There is also a growing body of work which is based on skew-elliptical distributions. These probability models all exhibit the property that the marginal distributions differ only by location and scale parameters or are restrictive in other respects. Very often, such models are not supported by the empirical evidence that the marginal distributions of asset returns can differ markedly. Copula theory is a branch of statistics which provides powerful methods to overcome these shortcomings. This book provides a synthesis of the latest research in the area of copulae as applied to finance and related subjects such as insurance. Multivariate non-Gaussian dependence is a fact of life for many problems in financial econometrics. This book describes the state of the art in tools required to deal with these observed features of financial data. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Finance.

This book sheds light on the emotional side of risk taking behaviour using an innovative cross-disciplinary approach, mixing financial competences with psychology and affective neuroscience. In doing so, it shows the implications for market participants and regulators in terms of transparency and communication between intermediaries and customers.

The latest tools and techniques for pricing and risk management This book introduces readers to the use of copula functions to represent the dynamics of financial assets and risk factors, integrated temporal and cross-section applications. The first part of the book will briefly introduce the standard the theory of copula functions, before examining the link between copulas and Markov processes. It will then introduce new techniques to design Markov processes that are suited to represent the dynamics of market risk factors and their co-movement, providing techniques to both estimate and simulate such dynamics. The second part of the book will show readers how to apply these methods to the evaluation of pricing of multivariate derivative contracts in the equity and credit markets. It will then move on to explore the applications of joint temporal and cross-section aggregation to the problem of risk integration.

Developed over 20 years of teaching academic courses, the Handbook of Financial Risk Management can be divided into two main parts: risk management in the financial sector; and a discussion of the mathematical and statistical tools used in risk management. This comprehensive text offers readers the chance to develop a sound understanding of financial products and the mathematical models that drive them, exploring in detail where the risks are and how to manage them. Key Features: Written by an author with both theoretical and applied experience Ideal resource for students pursuing a master’s degree in finance who want to learn risk management Comprehensive coverage of the key topics in financial risk management Contains 114 exercises, with solutions provided online at www.crcpress.com/9781138501874

This is a succinct guide to the application and modelling of dependence models or copulas in the financial markets. First applied to credit risk modelling, copulas are now widely used across a range of derivatives transactions, asset pricing techniques and risk models and are a core part of the financial engineer's toolkit.

Zusammenfassung: This book offers an up-to-date introductory treatment of computational techniques applied to problems in finance, placing issues such as numerical stability, convergence and error analysis in both deterministic and stochastic settings at its core. The first part provides a welcoming but nonetheless rigorous introduction to the fundamental theory of option pricing, including European, American, and exotic options along with their hedge parameters, and combines a clear treatment of the mathematical framework with practical worked examples in Python. The second part explores the main computational methods for valuing options within the Black-Scholes framework: lattice, Monte Carlo, and finite difference methods. The third and final part covers advanced topics for the simulation of financial processes beyond the standard Black-Scholes setting. Techniques for the analysis and simulation of multidimensional financial data, including copulas, are covered and will be of interest to those studying machine learning for finance. There is also an in-depth treatment of exact and approximate sampling methods for stochastic differential equation models of interest rates and volatilities. Written for advanced undergraduate and masters-level courses, the book assumes some exposure to core mathematical topics such as linear algebra, ordinary differential equations, multivariate calculus, probability, and statistics at an undergraduate level. While familiarity with Python is not required, readers should be comfortable with basic programming constructs such as variables, loops, and conditional statements

The mathematical and statistical tools needed in the rapidly growing quantitative finance field With the rapid growth in quantitative finance, practitioners must achieve a high level of proficiency in math and statistics. Mathematical Methods and Statistical Tools for Finance, part of the Frank J. Fabozzi Series, has been created with this in mind. Designed to provide the tools needed to apply finance theory to real world financial markets, this book offers a wealth of insights and guidance in practical applications. It contains applications that are broader in scope from what is covered in a typical book on mathematical techniques. Most books focus almost exclusively on derivatives pricing, the applications in this book cover not only derivatives and asset pricing but also risk management—including credit risk management—and portfolio management. Includes an overview of the essential math and statistical skills required to succeed in quantitative finance Offers the basic mathematical concepts that apply to the field of quantitative finance, from sets and distances to functions and variables The book also includes information on calculus, matrix algebra, differential equations, stochastic integrals, and much more Written by Sergio Focardi, one of the world's leading authors in high-level finance Drawing on the author's perspectives as a practitioner and academic, each chapter of this book offers a solid foundation in the mathematical tools and techniques need to succeed in today's dynamic world of finance.

Praise for How I Became a Quant "Led by two top-notch quants, Richard R. Lindsey and Barry Schachter, How I Became a Quant details the quirky world of quantitative analysis through stories told by some of today's most successful quants. For anyone who might have thought otherwise, there are engaging personalities behind all that number crunching!" --Ira Kawaller, Kawaller & Co. and the Kawaller Fund "A fun and fascinating read. This book tells the story of how academics, physicists, mathematicians, and other scientists became professional investors managing billions." --David A. Krell, President and CEO, International Securities Exchange "How I Became a Quant should be must reading for all students with a quantitative aptitude. It provides fascinating examples of the dynamic career opportunities potentially open to anyone with the skills and passion for quantitative analysis." --Roy D. Henriksson, Chief Investment Officer, Advanced Portfolio Management "Quants"--those who design and implement mathematical models for the pricing of derivatives, assessment of risk, or prediction of market movements--are the backbone of today's investment industry. As the greater volatility of current financial markets has driven investors to seek shelter from increasing uncertainty, the quant revolution has given people the opportunity to avoid unwanted financial risk by literally trading it away, or more specifically, paying someone else to take on the unwanted risk. How I Became a Quant reveals the faces behind the quant revolution, offering you?the?chance to learn firsthand what it's like to be a?quant today. In this fascinating collection of Wall Street war stories, more than two dozen quants detail their roots, roles, and contributions, explaining what they do and how they do it, as well as outlining the sometimes unexpected paths they have followed from the halls of academia to the front lines of an investment revolution.

Risk models are models of uncertainty, engineered for some purposes. They are “educated guesses and hypotheses” assessed and valued in terms of well-defined future states and their consequences. They are engineered to predict, to manage countable and accountable futures and to provide a frame of reference within which we may believe that “uncertainty is tamed”. Quantitative-statistical tools are used to reconcile our information, experience and other knowledge with hypotheses that both serve as the foundation of risk models and also value and price risk. Risk models are therefore common to most professions, each with its own methods and techniques based on their needs, experience and a wisdom accrued over long periods of time. This book provides a broad and interdisciplinary foundation to engineering risks and to their financial valuation and pricing. Risk models applied in industry and business, heath care, safety, the environment and regulation are used to highlight their variety while financial valuation techniques are used to assess their financial consequences. This book is technically accessible to all readers and students with a basic background in probability and statistics (with 3 chapters devoted to introduce their elements). Principles of risk measurement, valuation and financial pricing as well as the economics of uncertainty are outlined in 5 chapters with numerous examples and applications. New results, extending classical models such as the CCAPM are presented providing insights to assess the risks and their price in an interconnected, dependent and strategic economic environment. In an environment departing from the fundamental assumptions we make regarding financial markets, the book provides a strategic/game-like approach to assess the risk and the opportunities that such an environment implies. To control these risks, a strategic-control approach is developed that recognizes that many risks resulting by “what we do” as well as “what others do”. In particular we address the strategic and statistical control of compliance in large financial institutions confronted increasingly with a complex and far more extensive regulation.

Now in its fourth edition, this book offers a detailed yet concise introduction to the growing field of statistical applications in finance. The reader will learn the basic methods of evaluating option contracts, analyzing financial time series, selecting portfolios and managing risks based on realistic assumptions about market behavior. The focus is both on the fundamentals of mathematical finance and financial time series analysis, and on applications to given problems concerning financial markets, thus making the book the ideal basis for lectures, seminars and crash courses on the topic. For this new edition the book has been updated and extensively revised and now includes several new aspects, e.g. new chapters on long memory models, copulae and CDO valuation. Practical exercises with solutions have also been added. Both R and Matlab Code, together with the data, can be downloaded from the book’s product page and www.quantlet.de