A Numerical Method for Determining the Optimal Exercise Price to American Options

Abstract

American options can be exercised prior to the date of expiration, the valuation of American options then constitutes a free boundary value problem. How to determine the free boundary, i.e. the optimal exercise price, is a key problem. In this paper, a nonlinear equation is given. The free boundary can be obtained by solving the nonlinear equation and the numerical results are better.