The subject of numerical methods in finance has recently emerged as a new discipline at the intersection of probability theory, finance, and numerical analysis. The methods employed bridge the gap between financial theory and computational practice, and provide solutions for complex problems that are difficult to solve by traditional analytical methods. Although numerical methods in finance have been studied intensively in recent years, many theoretical and practical financial aspects have yet to be explored. This volume presents current research and survey articles focusing on various numerical methods in finance. The book is designed for the academic community and will also serve professional investors.

Helping readers accurately price a vast array of derivatives, this self-contained text explains how to solve complex functional equations through numerical methods. It addresses key computational methods in finance, including transform techniques, the finite difference method, and Monte Carlo simulation. Developed from his courses at Columbia University and the Courant Institute of New York University, the author also covers model calibration and optimization and describes techniques, such as Kalman and particle filters, for parameter estimation.

Numerical Methods in Finance describes a wide variety of numerical methods used in financial analysis.

Featuring international contributors from both industry and academia, Numerical Methods for Finance explores new and relevant numerical methods for the solution of practical problems in finance. It is one of the few books entirely devoted to numerical methods as applied to the financial field. Presenting state-of-the-art methods in this area

Any financial asset that is openly traded has a market price. Except for extreme market conditions, market price may be more or less than a “fair” value. Fair value is likely to be some complicated function of the current intrinsic value of tangible or intangible assets underlying the claim and our assessment of the characteristics of the underlying assets with respect to the expected rate of growth, future dividends, volatility, and other relevant market factors. Some of these factors that affect the price can be measured at the time of a transaction with reasonably high accuracy. Most factors, however, relate to expectations about the future and to subjective issues, such as current management, corporate policies and market environment, that could affect the future financial performance of the underlying assets. Models are thus needed to describe the stochastic factors and environment, and their implementations inevitably require computational finance tools.

This book presents a variety of computational methods used to solve dynamic problems in economics and finance. It emphasizes practical numerical methods rather than mathematical proofs and focuses on techniques that apply directly to economic analyses. The examples are drawn from a wide range of subspecialties of economics and finance, with particular emphasis on problems in agricultural and resource economics, macroeconomics, and finance. The book also provides an extensive Web-site library of computer utilities and demonstration programs. The book is divided into two parts. The first part develops basic numerical methods, including linear and nonlinear equation methods, complementarity methods, finite-dimensional optimization, numerical integration and differentiation, and function approximation. The second part presents methods for solving dynamic stochastic models in economics and finance, including dynamic programming, rational expectations, and arbitrage pricing models in discrete and continuous time. The book uses MATLAB to illustrate the algorithms and includes a utilities toolbox to help readers develop their own computational economics applications.

Numerical methods in finance have emerged as a vital field at the crossroads of probability theory, finance and numerical analysis. Based on presentations given at the workshop Numerical Methods in Finance held at the INRIA Bordeaux (France) on June 1-2, 2010, this book provides an overview of the major new advances in the numerical treatment of instruments with American exercises. Naturally it covers the most recent research on the mathematical theory and the practical applications of optimal stopping problems as they relate to financial applications. By extension, it also provides an original treatment of Monte Carlo methods for the recursive computation of conditional expectations and solutions of BSDEs and generalized multiple optimal stopping problems and their applications to the valuation of energy derivatives and assets. The articles were carefully written in a pedagogical style and a reasonably self-contained manner. The book is geared toward quantitative analysts, probabilists, and applied mathematicians interested in financial applications.