Options pricing: using simulation for option pricing

ABSTRACT

Monte Carlo simulation is a popular method for pricing financial options and other derivative securities because of the availability of powerful workstations and recent advances in applying the tool. The existence of easy-to-use software makes simulation accessible to many users who would otherwise avoid programming the algorithms necessary to value derivative securities. This paper presents examples of option pricing and variance reduction, and demonstrates their implementation with Crystal Ball 2000, a spreadsheet simulation add-in program.

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