barrierbyls

Price European or American barrier options using Monte Carlo simulations

Syntax

[Price,Paths,Times,Z] = barrierbyls(RateSpec,StockSpec,OptSpec,Strike,Settle,ExerciseDates,BarrierSpec,Barrier)

[Price,Paths,Times,Z] = barrierbyls(___,Name,Value)

Description

[Price,Paths,Times,Z] = barrierbyls(RateSpec,StockSpec,OptSpec,Strike,Settle,ExerciseDates,BarrierSpec,Barrier) calculates barrier option prices on a single underlying asset using the Longstaff-Schwartz model. barrierbyls computes prices of European and American barrier options.

For American options, the Longstaff-Schwartz least squares method is used to calculate the early exercise premium.

Note

Alternatively, you can use the Barrier object to price Barrier options. For more information, see Get Started with Workflows Using Object-Based Framework for Pricing Financial Instruments.

[Price,Paths,Times,Z] = barrierbyls(___,Name,Value) adds optional name-value pair arguments.

Examples

Price an American Barrier Down In Put Option

Compute the price of an American down in put option using the following data:

Rates = 0.0325;
Settle = datetime(2016,1,1);
Maturity = datetime(2017,1,1);
Compounding = -1;
Basis = 1;

Define a RateSpec.

 RateSpec = intenvset('ValuationDate',Settle,'StartDates',Settle,'EndDates',Maturity, ...
     'Rates',Rates,'Compounding',Compounding,'Basis',Basis)

RateSpec = struct with fields:
           FinObj: 'RateSpec'
      Compounding: -1
             Disc: 0.9680
            Rates: 0.0325
         EndTimes: 1
       StartTimes: 0
         EndDates: 736696
       StartDates: 736330
    ValuationDate: 736330
            Basis: 1
     EndMonthRule: 1

Define a StockSpec.

 AssetPrice = 40;
 Volatility = 0.20;
 StockSpec = stockspec(Volatility,AssetPrice)

StockSpec = struct with fields:
             FinObj: 'StockSpec'
              Sigma: 0.2000
         AssetPrice: 40
       DividendType: []
    DividendAmounts: 0
    ExDividendDates: []

Calculate the price of an American barrier down in put option.

Strike = 45;
OptSpec = 'put';
Barrier = 35;
BarrierSpec = 'DI';
AmericanOpt = 1;

Price = barrierbyls(RateSpec,StockSpec,OptSpec,Strike,Settle,Maturity,BarrierSpec,...
Barrier,'NumTrials',2000,'AmericanOpt',AmericanOpt)

Price = 
4.7306

Input Arguments

RateSpec — Interest-rate term structure

structure

Interest-rate term structure (annualized and continuously compounded), specified by the RateSpec obtained from intenvset. For information on the interest-rate specification, see intenvset.

Data Types: struct

StockSpec — Stock specification for underlying asset

structure

Stock specification for the underlying asset. For information on the stock specification, see stockspec.

stockspec handles several types of underlying assets. For example, for physical commodities the price is StockSpec.Asset, the volatility is StockSpec.Sigma, and the convenience yield is StockSpec.DividendAmounts.

Data Types: struct

OptSpec — Definition of option

character vector with values 'call' or 'put' | string array with values "call" or "put"

Definition of the option as 'call' or 'put', specified as a character vector or string array with a value of "call" or "put".

Data Types: char | string

Strike — Option strike price value

scalar numeric

Option strike price value, specified as a scalar numeric.

Data Types: double

Settle — Settlement or trade date

datetime scalar | string scalar | date character vector

Settlement or trade date for the barrier option, specified as a scalar datetime, string, or date character vector.

To support existing code, barrierbyls also accepts serial date numbers as inputs, but they are not recommended.

ExerciseDates — Option exercise dates

datetime array | string array | date character vector

Option exercise dates, specified as a datetime array, string array, or date character vectors:

• For a European option, there is only one ExerciseDates on the option expiry date which is the maturity of the instrument.

• For an American option, use a 1-by-2 vector of exercise date boundaries. The option can be exercised on any date between or including the pair of dates on that row. If only one non-NaN date is listed, the option can be exercised between Settle and the single listed date in ExerciseDates.

To support existing code, barrierbyls also accepts serial date numbers as inputs, but they are not recommended.

BarrierSpec — Barrier option type

character vector with values: 'UI', 'UO', 'DI', 'DO'

Barrier option type, specified as a character vector with the following values:

• 'UI' — Up Knock-in

  This option becomes effective when the price of the underlying asset passes above the barrier level. It gives the option holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell (call/put) the underlying security at the strike price if the underlying asset goes above the barrier level during the life of the option.

• 'UO' — Up Knock-out

  This option gives the option holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell (call/put) the underlying security at the strike price as long as the underlying asset does not go above the barrier level during the life of the option. This option terminates when the price of the underlying asset passes above the barrier level. Usually with an up-and-out option, the rebate is paid if the spot price of the underlying reaches or exceeds the barrier level.

• 'DI' — Down Knock-in

  This option becomes effective when the price of the underlying stock passes below the barrier level. It gives the option holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell (call/put) the underlying security at the strike price if the underlying security goes below the barrier level during the life of the option. With a down-and-in option, the rebate is paid if the spot price of the underlying does not reach the barrier level during the life of the option.

• 'DO' — Down Knock-up

  This option gives the option holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell (call/put) the underlying asset at the strike price as long as the underlying asset does not go below the barrier level during the life of the option. This option terminates when the price of the underlying security passes below the barrier level. Usually, the option holder receives a rebate amount if the option expires worthless.

Option	Barrier Type	Payoff if Barrier Crossed	Payoff if Barrier not Crossed
Call/Put	Down Knock-out	Worthless	Standard Call/Put
Call/Put	Down Knock-in	Call/Put	Worthless
Call/Put	Up Knock-out	Worthless	Standard Call/Put
Call/Put	Up Knock-in	Standard Call/Put	Worthless

Data Types: char

Barrier — Barrier level

scalar numeric

Barrier level, specified as a scalar numeric.

Data Types: double

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

Example: Price = barrierbyls(RateSpec,StockSpec,OptSpec,Strike,Settle,Maturity,BarrierSpec,Barrier,Rebate,1000)

AmericanOpt — Option type

0 (European) (default) | values [0,1]

Option type, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'AnericanOpt' and a NINST-by-1 positive integer scalar flags with values:

• 0 — European

• 1 — American

Note

For American options, the Longstaff-Schwartz least squares method is used to calculate the early exercise premium. For more information on the least squares method, see https://people.math.ethz.ch/%7Ehjfurrer/teaching/LongstaffSchwartzAmericanOptionsLeastSquareMonteCarlo.pdf.

Data Types: double

Rebate — Rebate value

0 (default) | scalar numeric

Rebate value, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'Rebate' and a scalar numeric. For Knock-in options, the Rebate is paid at expiry. For Knock-out options, the Rebate is paid when the Barrier is reached.

Data Types: double

NumTrials — Number of independent sample paths

1000 (default) | nonnegative integer

Number of independent sample paths (simulation trials), specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'NumTrials' and a scalar nonnegative integer.

Data Types: double

NumPeriods — Number of simulation periods per trial

100 (default) | nonnegative integer

Number of simulation periods per trial, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'NumPeriods' and a scalar nonnegative integer.

Data Types: double

Z — Time series array of dependent random variates

vector

Time series array of dependent random variates, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'Z' and a NumPeriods-by-1-by-NumTrials 3-D time series array. The Z value generates the Brownian motion vector (that is, Wiener processes) that drives the simulation.

Data Types: double

Antithetic — Indicator for antithetic sampling

false (default) | scalar logical flag with value of true or false

Indicator for antithetic sampling, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'Antithetic' and a value of true or false.

Data Types: logical

Output Arguments

Price — Expected prices for barrier options

matrix

Expected prices for barrier options, returned as a NINST-by-1 matrix.

Paths — Simulated paths of correlated state variables

vector

Simulated paths of correlated state variables, returned as a NumPeriods + 1-by-1-by-NumTrials 3-D time series array of simulated paths of correlated state variables. Each row of Paths is the transpose of the state vector X(t) at time t for a given trial.

Times — Observation times associated with simulated paths

vector

Observation times associated with simulated paths, returned as a NumPeriods + 1-by-1 column vector of observation times associated with the simulated paths. Each element of Times is associated with the corresponding row of Paths.

Z — Time series array of dependent random variates

vector

Time series array of dependent random variates, returned as a NumPeriods-by-1-by-NumTrials 3-D array when Z is specified as an input argument. If the Z input argument is not specified, then the Z output argument contains the random variates generated internally.

More About

Barrier Option

A Barrier is a type of exotic option whose existence or payoff depends on the price of the underlying asset reaching a certain barrier level during the option's life.

A Barrier option has not only a strike price but also a barrier level and sometimes a rebate. A rebate is a fixed amount that is paid if the option cannot be exercised because the barrier level has been reached or not reached. The payoff for this type of option depends on whether the underlying asset crosses the predetermined trigger value (barrier level), indicated by Barrier, during the life of the option. For more information, see Barrier Option.

References

[1] Hull, J. Options, Futures and Other Derivatives. Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall, 2000, pp. 646–649.

[2] Aitsahlia, F., L. Imhof, and T.L. Lai. “Pricing and hedging of American knock-in options.” The Journal of Derivatives. Vol. 11.3 , 2004, pp. 44–50.

[3] Rubinstein M. and E. Reiner. “Breaking down the barriers.” Risk. Vol. 4(8), 1991, pp. 28–35.

Version History

Introduced in R2016b

R2022b: Serial date numbers not recommended

Although barrierbyls supports serial date numbers, datetime values are recommended instead. The datetime data type provides flexible date and time formats, storage out to nanosecond precision, and properties to account for time zones and daylight saving time.

To convert serial date numbers or text to datetime values, use the datetime function. For example:

t = datetime(738427.656845093,"ConvertFrom","datenum");
y = year(t)

y =

        2021

There are no plans to remove support for serial date number inputs.