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Early option exercise: Never say never

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  • Jensen, Mads Vestergaard
  • Pedersen, Lasse Heje

Abstract

A classic result by Merton (1973) is that, except just before expiration or dividend payments, one should never exercise a call option and never convert a convertible bond. We show theoretically that this result is overturned when investors face frictions. Early option exercise can be optimal when it reduces short-sale costs, transaction costs, or funding costs. We provide consistent empirical evidence, documenting billions of dollars of early exercise for options and convertible bonds using unique data on actual exercise decisions and frictions. Our model can explain as much as 98% of early exercises by market makers and 67% by customers.

Suggested Citation

  • Jensen, Mads Vestergaard & Pedersen, Lasse Heje, 2016. "Early option exercise: Never say never," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 278-299.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:121:y:2016:i:2:p:278-299
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.05.008
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    2. Atmaz, Adem & Basak, Suleyman, 2019. "Option prices and costly short-selling," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(1), pages 1-28.
    3. Ma, Guiyuan & Zhu, Song-Ping & Chen, Wenting, 2019. "Pricing European call options under a hard-to-borrow stock model," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 357(C), pages 243-257.
    4. Koziol, Christian & Roßmann, Philipp, 2022. "Contingent convertible bonds: Optimal call strategy and the impact of refinancing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Benjamin Egelund-Müller & Martin Elsman & Fritz Henglein & Omri Ross, 2017. "Automated Execution of Financial Contracts on Blockchains," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 59(6), pages 457-467, December.
    6. Dmitriy Muravyev & Neil D. Pearson & Joshua M. Pollet, 2022. "Is There a Risk Premium in the Stock Lending Market? Evidence from Equity Options," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(3), pages 1787-1828, June.
    7. Cosma, Antonio & Galluccio, Stefano & Pederzoli, Paola & Scaillet, Olivier, 2020. "Early Exercise Decision in American Options with Dividends, Stochastic Volatility, and Jumps," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(1), pages 331-356, February.
    8. Liang‐Chih Liu & Tian‐Shyr Dai & Lei Zhou & Hao‐Han Chang, 2022. "Analyzing interactive call, default, and conversion policies for corporate bonds," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(8), pages 1597-1638, August.
    9. Daniel Bauer & Thorsten Moenig, 2023. "Cheaper by the bundle: The interaction of frictions and option exercise in variable annuities," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 90(2), pages 459-486, June.
    10. Xindan Li & Avanidhar Subrahmanyam & Xuewei Yang & Wei Jiang, 0. "Winners, Losers, and Regulators in a Derivatives Market Bubble," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(1), pages 313-350.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Option exercise; Frictions; Short-sale costs; Transaction costs; Convertible bonds;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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