Derivative-security

Classic Hull, with good problems sets, but a little dated. While this is the best of its type, I gave it only three stars, because it falls short on practical applications and descriptions of current products.

For example, I bought and recommend "Credit Derivatives" by Tavakoli, since I was looking for material on this subject, and this manual didn't cover these products in any detail.

Well, what can I say. Hull's solutions manual is practical but not entirely useful book. I need more professional solved cases, specially of the real life. The exercises are very simple. Any way, it's a good manual for beginners in derivatives instruments.

There are many exercises after each chapter of Hull's book and they help a lot in understanding the chapter's content and many questions are very classic. You've got to have this solution manual to know the answers! More importantly, many of the homework questions and even exam questions in my class were very similar to the exercises and I benefited a lot from having this solutions manual! Thank you!

First, my review refers to the 1997 3rd edition.

Since this book is regarded as the bible of derivatives (it was also my first introduction) I will leave it to others to praise it and concentrate instead on what's wrong with it. First and foremost, one cannot learn how correctly to formulate solutions to stochastic differential equations from this text: eqns. (10.7,8), e.g., are not correct for arbitrary returns but are valid only as approxmations for small returns (Hull leads the reader to believe the opposite). The problem is that Ito's lemma is only stated, not proven, and it's the proof that shows one how to formulate correctly the stochastic integral equations that Hull calls 'stochastic difference equations'. When volatility depends on returns and/or time, then the errors made from following Hull's oversimplified treatment become serious.

My first impression of Baxter & Rennie's 'Financial Calculus' was that it was unnecessary and a waste of money. My opinion reversed completely after realizing (under prodding by a physics colleague who's an expert on sde's) how badly Hull's approach to sde's really is. Also, the systematic derivation of Black-Scholes from the assumption of a replicating, self-financing strategy in B&R is very nice. As Feynman said, we don't really understand a result until we can derive it from many different viewpoints. The method is not really different in principle from the standard short derivation given in Hull, but it does provide a nice, clear example of what is meant by replication and self-financing in the terminology of Brownian motion/sde's.

The book has its merits- it is comprehensive, has all the right materials, and also the derivations of all the complicated formulae. However, the manner in which the material is presented can only be described as unimaginative. There is a constant stream of cross-references throughout the book, which will leave the reader feeling frustrated. The book goes forward in fits and starts and there is a distinct lack of cohesion in the treatise. Also, the book assumes that the reader is not mathematically sophisticated, but uses shortcuts and jumps computational steps regularly, which adds to the students' woes. The description of the different types of options are pleasant to read, and so also is the chapter on value at risk, but the rest of the book leaves the students confused. To read this book, the reader should be adept in using standard mathematical tools like arithmetic and algebra and also be somewhat proficient in probability. However, this book is great for practitioners. I have simulated all sorts of options scenarios, from simple Black-Scholes model, to the AMM approach, barrier options and multinomial models. For each of these models I found direct or indirect help from the Hull book. For beginners, I would recommend the book by Jarrow and Turnbull and advise them to keep this book as a reference for the future.

This is a great manual for market practitioners. It does not use detailed math, does not go into issues of corporate finance. But it is very easy to follow and it is "complete". More than that, the book is to the point and very clear. Market professionals will find the examples spread around the book very useful for their daily work. The surprising new book by Nefci which I just got, but did not have time to study in detail, seem to provide all the missing links.

I had used an earlier edition of Hull, and it appears that John Hull adds all the relevant material needed for market finance with each new edition. In fact I have purchased several books on Mathematical Finance and Derivatives but few of them remain on my desk for future consultation.

Although this book has the usual first edition imperfections, it stands out as the best book ever written so far on options and exotic derivatives. It is comprehensive and bears superbly the comparison with the other reference in the field, namely Hull.