Non-Linear CAPM: Evidence From In-The-Money Options Trading

44 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2022 Last revised: 23 Mar 2023

See all articles by Paola Pederzoli

Paola Pederzoli

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business

Mirela Sandulescu

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business

Date Written: October 10, 2022

Abstract

We investigate the cross-section of option returns using a model-free approach, by constructing a stochastic discount factor (SDF) that features minimal variance and accounts for frictions. We find that incorporating transaction costs in the form of bid-ask spreads is essential in order to obtain realistic positions in the optimal trading strategy, that mainly invests in in-the-money call options. Empirically, we show that the out-of-sample pricing errors of the constrained SDF are 90% lower than the ones implied by the benchmark unconstrained SDF. Our findings document a strong link between the optimal portfolio accounting for transaction costs and the option positions held by public investors (non-intermediaries). Finally, we show that trading activity of customers in in-the-money call options has significant explanatory power for the cross-section of individual equity option returns.

Keywords: Minimum variance SDF, Index Options, Public Investors

JEL Classification: G01, G13, G14, G20

Suggested Citation

Pederzoli, Paola and Sandulescu, Mirela, Non-Linear CAPM: Evidence From In-The-Money Options Trading (October 10, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4244127 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4244127

Paola Pederzoli (Contact Author)

University of Houston - C.T. Bauer College of Business ( email )

Houston, TX 77204-6021
United States

Mirela Sandulescu

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business ( email )

701 Tappan Street
Ann Arbor, MI MI 48109
United States

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