Product Description

One of the most important tasks in finance is to find good mathematical models for financial products, in particular derivatives. However, the more realistic the model, the more practitioners face still-unsolved problems in rigorous mathematics and econometrics, in addition to serious numerical difficulties. The idea behind this book is to use Mathematica® to provide a wide range of exact benchmark models against which inexact models can be tested and verified. In so doing, the author is able to explain when models and numerical schemes can be relied on, and when they can't. Benchmarking is also applied to Monte Carlo simulations. Mathematica's graphical and animation capabilities are exploited to show how a model's characteristics can be visualized in two and three dimensions. The models described are all available on an accompanying CD that runs on most Windows, Unix and Macintosh platforms; to be able fully to use the software, Mathematica 3 is required, although certain features are usable with Mathematica 2.2. This product will prove of inestimable worth for financial instrument valuation and hedging, checking existing models and for analyzing derivatives; it can be used for professional or training purposes in financial institutions or universities, and in MBA courses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #589676 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 550 pages

Review
"...a book for practitioners...full of practical insights from one with both a good grasp of the theory and much practical experience in the field." Mathematical Reviews

Book Info
Designed to demonstrate the use of Mathematica to provide a wide range of exact benchmark models against which inexact models can be tested and verified, and explain when models and numerical schemes can be relied on, and when they can't. CD-ROM included.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Practical Tool for Financial Engineers
I found William Shaw's book fascinating when I first bought it back in 1999 and have recently gone back to it for some further insight on some complex problems in finance.
It is a well-structured book that requires a basic understanding of both quantitative finance and Mathematica before you can really get to grips with it BUT having said that the complexity that the author gets to is excellent.
I would recommend this book to anyone in University studying for a Quant-rlated finance Masters or PhD - and anyone practicing in the real world - this should be on your shelf alongisde your copy of Mathematica.

A potentially very good book with a very messy presentation.
My comments are confined to the chapters on trees and finite difference methods, because that was my primary interest in buying the book. I'll say one positive thing about this book -- it does touch on many pitfalls of pricing derivatives with numerical methods such as finite differences and trees.

However my chief complaint is with the way the (very interesting and important) contect is presented -- Shaw simply contents himself with showing pages and pages of mathematica code, which is ugly and annoying to read. He doesn't even use indentations or keyword-highlighting to make the Mathematica code easier to read. What an unbelievable four-letter-word mess! Many mathematical concepts are buried within Mathematica code. A much better book would have resulted if he sat down and presented math as math rather than as Mathematica code. Very disappointing work from a writer who clearly seems to have an in-depth knowledge of finite difference methods.

Highly recommended for researchers in finance
It is highly recommended for its broad base of knowledge. People who want to do research in the field of finance must be equipped with this book.