Research
OptionMetrics data is an essential component of many studies performed by both academics and practitioners. Below is a partial list of academic papers that used OptionMetrics data:
In this paper, we show that the difference between the implied volatilities of call and put options on individual equities has strong predictive power for aggregate stock market returns. This predictability is inconsistent with a rational risk premia or liquidity-based explanation. It is, however, consistent with the implied volatility spread capturing private information, based on its ability to forecast future cash flow growth and discount rate shocks.Read More »
We establish bounds on Black-Scholes implied volatility that improve on the uniform bounds previously derived by Tehranchi. Our upper bound is uniform, while the lower bound holds for most options likely to be encountered in practical applications. We further demonstrate the practical effectiveness of our new bounds by showing how the efficiency of the bisection algorithm is improved for a snapshot of SPX options quotes.Read More »
We present a new framework to investigate the profitability of trading the volatility spread, the upward bias on implied volatility as an estimator of future realized volatility. The scheme incorporates the first four option-implied moments in a growth-optimal payoff that is statically replicated using a portfolio of options. Removing the upward bias on implied volatility worsens the likelihood score of … Read More »
As has been pointed out by a number of researchers, the normally calculated delta does not minimize the variance of changes in the value of a trader’s position. This is because there is a non-zero correlation between movements in the price of the underlying asset and movements in the asset’s volatility. The minimum variance delta takes account of both price … Read More »
Conventional wisdom is that put options are effective drawdown protection tools. Unfortunately, in the typical use case, put options are quite ineffective at reducing drawdowns versus the simple alternative of statically reducing exposure to the underlying asset. This paper investigates drawdown characteristics of protected portfolios via simulation and a study of the CBOE S&P 500 5% Put Protection Index. Unless your option purchases and their maturities are timed just right around equity drawdowns, they may offer little downside protection. In fact, they could make things worse by increasing rather than decreasing drawdowns and volatility per unit of expected return.Read More »
We document empirically that the returns from shorting out-of-the-money S&P 500 put options are concentrated in the few days preceding their expiration. Back-month options generate almost no returns, and front-month options do so only towards the end of the option cycle. The concentration of the option premium at the end of the cycle reflects changes in options’ risk characteristics. Specifically, … Read More »
This paper explains the negative relation between the realized idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) and expected returns. Using implicit information from the cross-section of options we extract expectations about the volatility of idiosyncratic volatility (IVOLVOL) in an almost model-free fashion. We show that IVOL is mean-reverting and that IVOLVOL serves as proxy for the meanreversion speed. Running double sorts on both measures … Read More »
We propose a neural network approach to price EU call options that significantly outperforms some existing pricing models and comes with guarantees that its predictions are economically reasonable. To achieve this, we introduce a class of gated neural networks that automatically learn to divide-and-conquer the problem space for robust and accurate pricing. We then derive instantiations of these networks that are ‘rational by design’… Read More »
Abstract: We examine the impact of accounting quality, used as a proxy for information risk, on the behavior of equity implied volatility around quarterly earnings announcements. Using US data during 1996-2010, we observe that lower (higher) accounting quality significantly relates to higher (lower) levels of implied volatility (IV) around announcements. Worse accounting quality is further associated with a significant increase … Read More »
Abstract: In this study, we examine the options market reaction to bank loan announcements for the population of US firms with traded options and loan announcements during 1996–2010. We get evidence on a significant options market reaction to bank loan announcements in terms of levels and changes in short-term implied volatility and its term structure, and observe significant decreases in … Read More »