|
A basket option is an
option whose payoff is linked to a portfolio or "basket" of underlier
values. The basket can be any weighted sum of underlier values so long as
the weights are all positive. Basket options are usually cash settled. A
call option on France's CAC 40 stock index is an example of a basket
option.
Basket options are popular for hedging foreign exchange
risk. A corporation with multiple currency exposures can hedge the
combined exposure less expensively by purchasing a basket option than by
purchasing options on each currency individually.
Basket options are often priced by treating the basket's
value as a single underlier and applying standard option pricing formulas.
An error is introduced by the fact that a weighted sum of lognormal random
variables in not lognormal, but this is generally modest.

Disclaimer
website:
http://www.contingencyanalysis.com
glossary direct link:
http://www.riskglossary.com
copyright © Contingency Analysis, 1996 -
current

|