Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/iii/paper-211/4/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 211 4 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Under the usual no-arbitrage interpretation from part (a), let be an equivalent martingale measure for the strictly positive numéraire . Then is a martingale. Define the discounted European call option payoff . Because and , we have . The conditional Jensen inequality therefore givesFor the middle step, the strike is fixed conditionally on ; alternatively use . Thus is a submartingale. Risk-neutral valuation in units of gives , with the usual fixed initial prices. ConsequentlyThe source's word “increasing” means nondecreasing: a European call option can have zero payoff at successive maturities, so strict increase is not guaranteed. Integrability is understood in the claim class for which the stated replication prices exist.
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