550 9 General Processes: Mathematical Facts
Mean Variance Hedging: f(x)=x
2
Any probability Q
∗
such that
(i) Q
∗
∈M
P
(
S)
(ii) E
P
((dQ
∗
/dP)
2
)=inf{E
P
((dQ/dP)
2
), Q ∈M
P
(
S) }
is called a minimal measure. The existence of Q
∗
is established in Mania and
Schweizer [618] for continuous processes. The existence of Q
∗
in the case of
discontinuous processes can fail. In the case r = 0, this probability is related
to the existence of a strategy π and an initial wealth v which minimize, for a
given H
E
P
⎛
⎝
v +
T
0
π
s
dS
s
− H
2
⎞
⎠
.
See also F¨ollmer and Schweizer [351].
9.7.3 Indifference Prices
Another method, studied by Davis [220], is to value contingent claims for an
agent endowed with a particular utility function. Related results have been
obtained by a number of authors in various contexts.
A different approach was initiated by Hodges and Neuberger [444]. We
briefly explain the framework of this approach. Let x be the initial endowment
of an agent and U a utility function. The reservation price of the contingent
claim H is defined as the infimum of h’s such that
sup
π
E[U(V
x+h,π
T
− H)] ≥ sup
π
E[U(V
x,π
T
)] ,
where the supremum is taken over the admissible strategies. The agent selling
the contingent claim starts with an initial endowment x+h. Using the strategy
π, he obtains a portfolio with terminal value V
x+h,π
T
and he has to deliver the
contingent claim H; hence, his terminal wealth is V
x+h,π
T
− H. He agrees to
sell the claim if his utility sup
π
E[U(V
x+h,π
T
− H)] is greater than his utility
when he does not sell the claim. The particular case where U is an exponential
function is studied in detail in Rouge and El Karoui [310], whereas Delbaen
et al. [231] make precise the link between this approach and the one based on
entropy.
We do not discuss here these interesting approaches which are based on
optimization portfolio theory (see Karatzas and Shreve [514]), but we refer the
reader to the papers of Hugonnier [452], Bouchard-Denize [111], Henderson
[430] and Musiela and Zariphopoulou [662], to the book of Pham [710]andto
the collective book [142].