The asymptotic smile of a multiscaling stochastic volatility model

Abstract

We consider a stochastic volatility model which captures relevant stylized facts of financial series, including the multi-scaling of moments. The volatility evolves according to a generalized Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes with super-linear mean reversion. Using large deviations techniques, we determine the asymptotic shape of the implied volatility surface in any regime of small maturity $t \to 0$ or extreme log-strike $|κ| \to \infty$ (with bounded maturity). Even if the price has continuous paths, out-of-the-money implied volatility diverges for small maturity, producing a very pronounced smile.

36 pages, 3 figures. Final version, to appear in Stochastic Process. Appl