Robust price bounds for the forward starting straddle (Q486935)

The paper deals with the problem of constructing no-arbitrage lower price bounds and semi-static superreplicating hedging strategies for the forward starting straddle. The authors provide a robust, model-independent, lower bound on the price of a forward starting straddle with payoff \(|F_{T_1} - F_{T_0}|\), with \(T_0 <T_1\) two future times. It is assumed that the call prices for the maturities \(T_0\) and \(T_1\) are given. Using a Lagrangian approach and under a certain assumption on the distributions, the authors solve the primal and dual problems and demonstrate that there is no duality gap. The primal problem is to minimise \(\mathbb{E}[|F_{T_1} - F_{T_0}|]\) over all martingale models for \(F\) with given marginal laws at times \(T_0\) and \(T_1\). The dual problem is to find the cheapest semi-static subhedge for the strategy \(|F_{T_1} - F_{T_0}|\). By considering a certain assumption on the supports of the marginal laws, the authors derive explicit expressions for the coupling which minimises the price of the option, and the form of the semi-static subhedge. A geometric representation for the optimal coupling is found, which can be applied to arbitrary distributions. Several examples for the marginal laws are discussed.