 Path-dependent contingent claim

A contingent claim whose payoff depends on the underlying price history, rather than only its terminal price. Asian options use averages, barrier options use whether a threshold has been crossed, and lookback options use running extrema. In the Black-Scholes model, the Brownian Martingale representation theorem still gives a replicating strategy; its portfolio wealth need not be a function of the current stock price alone. Adding a running integral or extremum can give a finite-dimensional state for pricing.