Option style

In finance, the style or family of an option is a general term denoting the class into which the option falls, usually defined by the dates on which the option may be exercised. The vast majority of options are either European or American (style) options. These options - as well as others where the payoff is calculated similarly - are referred to as "vanilla options". Options where the payoff is calculated differently are categorized as "exotic options". Exotic options can pose challenging problems in valuation and hedging.

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American and European options

The key difference between American and European options relates to when the options can be exercised:

For both, the pay-off - when it occurs - is via:

Max [ (S – K), 0 ], for a call option
Max [ (K – S), 0 ], for a put option:

(Where K is the Strike price and S is the spot price of the underlying asset)

Option contracts traded on futures exchanges are mainly American-style, whereas those traded over-the-counter are mainly European.

Nearly all stock and equity options are American options, while indexes are generally represented by European options. A list of European and American options can be found on the Options Industry Council website.

Expiration date

Traditional monthly American options expire the third Saturday of every month. They are closed for trading the Friday prior.

European options expire the Friday prior to the third Saturday of every month. Therefore they are closed for trading the Thursday prior to the third Saturday of every month.

Difference in value

European options are typically valued using the Black–Scholes or Black model formula. This is a simple equation with a closed-form solution that has become standard in the financial community. There are no general formulae for American options, but a choice of models to approximate the price are available (for example Whaley, binomial options model, and others - there is no consensus on which is preferable).[1][2]

An investor holding an American-style option and seeking optimal value will only exercise it before maturity under certain circumstances. Any option has a non-negative time value and is usually worth more unexercised. Owners who wish to realise the full value of their option will mostly prefer to sell it on, rather than exercise it immediately, sacrificing the time value.[3]

Where an American and a European option are otherwise identical (having the same strike price, etc.), the American option will be worth at least as much as the European (which it entails). If it is worth more, then the difference is a guide to the likelihood of early exercise. In practice, one can calculate the Black–Scholes price of a European option that is equivalent to the American option (except for the exercise dates of course). The difference between the two prices can then be used to calibrate the more complex American option model.

To account for the American's higher value there must be some situations in which it is optimal to exercise the American option before the expiration date. This can arise in several ways, such as:

Non-vanilla exercise rights

There are other, more unusual exercise styles in which the pay-off value remains the same as a standard option (as in the classic American and European options above) but where early exercise occurs differently:

"Exotic" options with standard exercise styles

These options can be exercised either European style or American style; they differ from the plain vanilla option only in the calculation of their pay-off value:

Non-vanilla path dependent "exotic" options

The following "exotic options" are still options, but have payoffs calculated quite differently from those above. Although these instruments are far more unusual they can also vary in exercise style (at least theoretically) between European and American:

Related

See also

Options

References

External links