A comprehensive overview of weak convergence of stochastic processes and its application to the study of financial markets. Split into three parts, the first recalls the mathematics of stochastic processes and stochastic calculus with special emphasis on contiguity properties and weak convergence of stochastic integrals. The second part is devoted to the analysis of financial theory from the convergence point of view. The main problems, which include portfolio optimization, option pricing and hedging are examined, especially when considering discrete-time approximations of continuous-time dynamics. The third part deals with lattice- and tree-based computational procedures for option pricing both on stocks and stochastic bonds. More general discrete approximations are also introduced and detailed. Includes detailed examples.

Financial market modeling is a prime example of a real-life application of probability theory and stochastics. This authoritative book discusses the discrete-time approximation and other qualitative properties of models of financial markets, like the Black-Scholes model and its generalizations, offering in this way rigorous insights on one of the most interesting applications of mathematics nowadays.

The theory of Markov decision processes focuses on controlled Markov chains in discrete time. The authors establish the theory for general state and action spaces and at the same time show its application by means of numerous examples, mostly taken from the fields of finance and operations research. By using a structural approach many technicalities (concerning measure theory) are avoided. They cover problems with finite and infinite horizons, as well as partially observable Markov decision processes, piecewise deterministic Markov decision processes and stopping problems. The book presents Markov decision processes in action and includes various state-of-the-art applications with a particular view towards finance. It is useful for upper-level undergraduates, Master's students and researchers in both applied probability and finance, and provides exercises (without solutions).

This book contains lectures delivered at the celebrated Seminar in Mathematical Finance at the Courant Institute. The lecturers and presenters of papers are prominent researchers and practitioners in the field of quantitative financial modeling. Most are faculty members at leading universities or Wall Street practitioners.The lectures deal with the emerging science of pricing and hedging derivative securities and, more generally, managing financial risk. Specific articles concern topics such as option theory, dynamic hedging, interest-rate modeling, portfolio theory, price forecasting using statistical methods, etc.

This invaluable book contains lectures presented at the Courant Institute's Mathematical Finance Seminar. The audience consisted of academics from New York University and other universities, as well as practitioners from investment banks, hedge funds and asset-management firms.

The De Gruyter Series in Probability and Stochastics is devoted to the publication of high-level monographs and specialized graduate texts in any branch of modern probability theory and stochastics, along with their numerous applications in other parts of mathematics, physics and informatics, in economics and finance, and in the life sciences. The aim of the series is to present recent research results in the form of authoritative and comprehensive works that will serve the probability and stochastics community as basis for further research. Editorial Board Itai Benjamini, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Jean Bertoin, Universität Zürich, Switzerland Michel Ledoux, Université de Toulouse, France René L. Schilling, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany

Leveraging the research efforts of more than sixty experts in the area, this book reviews cutting-edge practices in machine learning for financial markets. Instead of seeing machine learning as a new field, the authors explore the connection between knowledge developed by quantitative finance over the past forty years and techniques generated by the current revolution driven by data sciences and artificial intelligence. The text is structured around three main areas: 'Interactions with investors and asset owners,' which covers robo-advisors and price formation; 'Risk intermediation,' which discusses derivative hedging, portfolio construction, and machine learning for dynamic optimization; and 'Connections with the real economy,' which explores nowcasting, alternative data, and ethics of algorithms. Accessible to a wide audience, this invaluable resource will allow practitioners to include machine learning driven techniques in their day-to-day quantitative practices, while students will build intuition and come to appreciate the technical tools and motivation for the theory.