Doctoral Degrees (Pure Mathematics)

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Lie group analysis of exotic options.
(2013) Okelola, Michael.; Govinder, Keshlan Sathasiva.; O'Hara, John Gerard.
Exotic options are derivatives which have features that makes them more complex than vanilla traded products. Thus, finding their fair value is not always an easy task. We look at a particular example of the exotic options - the power option - whose payoffs are nonlinear functions of the underlying asset price. Previous analyses of the power option have only obtained solutions using probability methods for the case of the constant stock volatility and interest rate. Using Lie symmetry analysis we obtain an optimal system of the Lie point symmetries of the power option PDE and demonstrate an algorithmic method for finding solutions to the equation. In addition, we find a new analytical solution to the asymmetric type of the power option. We also focus on the more practical and realistic case of time dependent parameters: volatility and interest rate. Utilizing Lie symmetries, we are able to provide a new exact solution for the terminal pay off case. We also consider the power parameter of the option as a time dependent factor. A new solution is once again obtained for this scenario.