hard · Quantitative Finance

In a stochastic-volatility model (e.g. Heston), a long-dated cliquet pays the sum of capped monthly returns. A risk manager observes that, holding the market vanilla surface fixed, switching from a local-volatility model to a pure stochastic-volatility model materially changes the cliquet price even though both are calibrated to the same vanillas.

What is the primary financial reason for this model dependence?

  1. Local and stochastic volatility imply different forward-smile dynamics, and the cliquet's value depends on the forward smile, which vanillas do not pin down
  2. Local volatility produces arbitrage in the vanilla surface that stochastic volatility removes, so the price gap reflects an arbitrage adjustment to the cliquet
  3. The two models assign different prices to the underlying forwards, so the discrepancy is a difference in the calibrated drift rather than in volatility dynamics
  4. Stochastic volatility violates put–call parity for the monthly options embedded in the cliquet, inflating the capped-return legs relative to local volatility

Sign up free to see the explanation and track your rank →

More Quantitative Finance practice

KomFi Academy — Stop doomscrolling. Get KomFi.

Build your intelligence, anytime, anywhere.

KomFi Academy is a curated training platform with 54,000+ practice questions, 20,000+ flashcards, on-demand video lectures, podcasts, and 4K slide decks across the topics serious professionals study: GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, Investment Banking, Private Equity (LBOs & PE math), Private Credit, Quantitative Finance, Financial Accounting, Asset- Backed Securities, Volume Profile Analysis, Order Flow Trading, Market Microstructure, Volume Spread Analysis, Elliott Wave Theory, Volume-Price Analysis, and Public Offering Frameworks.

What's inside

Topics

View pricing · Read testimonials