arXiv subjects

Pietro Fodra

Publications and source records attributed to Pietro Fodra.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2015

High frequency trading and asymptotics for small risk aversion in a Markov renewal model

We study a an optimal high frequency trading problem within a market microstructure model designed to be a good compromise between accuracy and tractability. The stock price is driven by a Markov Renewal Process (MRP), while market orders arrive in the limit order book via a point process correlated with the stock price itself. In this framework, we can reproduce the adverse selection risk, appearing in two different forms: the usual one due to big market orders impacting the stock price and penalizing the agent, and the weak one due to small market orders and reducing the probability of a profitable execution. We solve the market making problem by stochastic control techniques in this semi-Markov model. In the no risk-aversion case, we provide explicit formula for the optimal controls and characterize the value function as a simple linear PDE. In the general case, we derive the optimal controls and the value function in terms of the previous result, and illustrate how the risk aversion influences the trader strategy and her expected gain. Finally, by using a perturbation method, approximate optimal controls for small risk aversions are explicitly computed in terms of two simple PDE's, reducing drastically the computational cost and enlightening the financial interpretation of the results.

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arXiv2013

Semi Markov model for market microstructure

We introduce a new model for describing the fluctuations of a tick-by-tick single asset price. Our model is based on Markov renewal processes. We consider a point process associated to the timestamps of the price jumps, and marks associated to price increments. By modeling the marks with a suitable Markov chain, we can reproduce the strong mean-reversion of price returns known as microstructure noise. Moreover, by using Markov renewal processes, we can model the presence of spikes in intensity of market activity, i.e. the volatility clustering, and consider dependence between price increments and jump times. We also provide simple parametric and nonparametric statistical procedures for the estimation of our model. We obtain closed-form formula for the mean signature plot, and show the diffusive behavior of our model at large scale limit. We illustrate our results by numerical simulations, and that our model is consistent with empirical data on the Euribor future.

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arXiv2013

High-frequency market-making for multi-dimensional Markov processes

In this paper we complete and extend our previous work on stochastic control applied to high frequency market-making with inventory constraints and directional bets. Our new model admits several state variables (e.g. market spread, stochastic volatility and intensities of market orders) provided the full system is Markov. The solution of the corresponding HJB equation is exact in the case of zero inventory risk. The inventory risk enters into play in two ways: a path-dependent penalty based on the volatility and a penalty at expiry based on the market spread. We perform perturbation methods on the inventory risk parameter and obtain explicitly the solution and its controls up to first order. We also include transaction costs; we show that the spread of the market-maker is widened to compensate the transaction costs, but the expected gain per traded spread remains constant. We perform several numerical simulations to assess the effect of the parameters on the PNL, showing in particular how the directional bet and the inventory risk change the shape of the PNL density. Finally, we extend our results to the case of multi-aset market-making strategies; we show that the correct notion of inventory risk is the L2-norm of the (multi-dimensional) inventory with respect to the inventory penalties.

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arXiv2012

High-frequency market-making with inventory constraints and directional bets

In this paper we extend the market-making models with inventory constraints of Avellaneda and Stoikov ("High-frequency trading in a limit-order book", Quantitative Finance Vol.8 No.3 2008) and Gueant, Lehalle and Fernandez-Tapia ("Dealing with inventory risk", Preprint 2011) to the case of a rather general class of mid-price processes, under either exponential or linear PNL utility functions, and we add an inventory-risk-aversion parameter that penalises the marker-maker if she finishes her day with a non-zero inventory. This general, non-martingale framework allows a market-maker to make directional bets on market trends whilst keeping under control her inventory risk. In order to achieve this, the marker-maker places non-symmetric limit orders that favour market orders to hit her bid (resp. ask) quotes if she expects that prices will go up (resp. down). With this inventory-risk-aversion parameter, the market-maker has not only direct control on her inventory risk but she also has indirect control on the moments of her PNL distribution. Therefore, this parameter can be seen as a fine-tuning of the marker-maker's risk-reward profile. In the case of a mean-reverting mid-price, we show numerically that the inventory-risk-aversion parameter gives the market-maker enough room to tailor her risk-reward profile, depending on her risk budgets in inventory and PNL distribution (especially variance, skewness, kurtosis and VaR). For example, when compared to the martingale benchmark, a market can choose to either increase her average PNL by more than 15% and carry a huge risk, on inventory and PNL, or either give up 5% of her benchmark PNL to increase her control on inventory and PNL, as well as increasing her Sharpe ratio by a factor bigger than 2.

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