Financial Derivatives and Their Applications

A special issue of Risks (ISSN 2227-9091).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1971

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Finance, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
Interests: credit derivatives; option pricing under transaction costs; market power in derivatives markets

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Financial derivatives, namely equity, index, and exchange-traded fund (ETF) options, futures options, and credit default swaps, have become major components of trading in the financial markets, with the growth in their traded value exceeding by far in several cases that of their underlying instruments. Although there have been many theoretical and empirical studies for the valuation of these derivatives, there are still several ongoing debates about the inconsistencies of the theory with the empirical facts. There are also several understudied issues, such as the structure of the financial markets and the regulatory role of public policies. This Special Issue invites contributions that address these inconsistencies and omissions. These contributions can include but are not limited to, the following topics listed in the keywords part.

Prof. Dr. Stylianos Perrakis
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • index options
  • equity options
  • credit derivatives
  • option values under frictionless equilibrium
  • pricing kernel
  • volatility and jump risks
  • option markets under transaction costs
  • stochastic dominance option pricing
  • risk arbitrage
  • market making
  • market power

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4282 KiB  
Article
Using Futures Prices and Analysts’ Forecasts to Estimate Agricultural Commodity Risk Premiums
by Gonzalo Cortazar, Hector Ortega and José Antonio Pérez
Risks 2025, 13(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/risks13010009 - 10 Jan 2025
Viewed by 629
Abstract
This paper presents a novel 5-factor model for agricultural commodity risk premiums, an approach not explored in previous research. The model is applied to the specific cases of corn, soybeans, and wheat. Calibration is achieved using a Kalman filter and maximum likelihood, with [...] Read more.
This paper presents a novel 5-factor model for agricultural commodity risk premiums, an approach not explored in previous research. The model is applied to the specific cases of corn, soybeans, and wheat. Calibration is achieved using a Kalman filter and maximum likelihood, with data from futures markets and analysts’ forecasts. Risk premiums are computed by comparing expected and futures prices. The model considers that risk premiums are not solely determined by contract maturity but also by the marketing crop years. These crop years, in turn, are influenced by the respective harvest periods, a crucial factor in the agricultural commodity market. Results show that risk premiums vary across commodities, with some exhibiting positive and others negative values. While maturity affects risk premiums’ size, sign, and shape, the crop year plays a critical role, especially in the case of wheat. As speculators in the financial markets demand a positive risk premium, its sign provides insights into whether they are buyers or sellers of futures for each crop year, maturity, and commodity. This research offers valuable insights into grain price behavior, highlighting their similarities and differences. These findings have significant practical implications for market participants seeking to refine their trading and risk management strategies and for future research on the industry structure for each crop. Moreover, this enhanced understanding of risk premiums can be directly applied in the finance and agricultural industries, improving decision-making processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Financial Derivatives and Their Applications)
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33 pages, 2096 KiB  
Article
Funding Illiquidity Implied by S&P 500 Derivatives
by Benjamin Golez, Jens Jackwerth and Anna Slavutskaya
Risks 2024, 12(9), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/risks12090149 - 18 Sep 2024
Viewed by 928
Abstract
Based on the typical positions of S&P 500 option market makers, we derive a funding illiquidity measure from quoted prices of S&P 500 derivatives. Our measure significantly affects the returns of leveraged managed portfolios; hedge funds with negative exposure to changes in funding [...] Read more.
Based on the typical positions of S&P 500 option market makers, we derive a funding illiquidity measure from quoted prices of S&P 500 derivatives. Our measure significantly affects the returns of leveraged managed portfolios; hedge funds with negative exposure to changes in funding illiquidity earn high returns in normal times and low returns in crisis periods when funding liquidity deteriorates. The results are not driven by existing measures of funding illiquidity, market illiquidity, and proxies for tail risk. Our funding illiquidity measure also affects leveraged closed-end mutual funds and, to an extent, asset classes where leveraged investors are marginal investors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Financial Derivatives and Their Applications)
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