There’s a better way to note the payoff of options than what you see in the curriculumn.
Instead of, say,
max((value-strike)*notional*days,0)
Write
[(value-strike)*notional*days]^+
(the ^+ is a superscript + sign, hard to write on this forum. It means the positive part of the piece in the brackets, so, the max of it or zero.)
I think you’ll find this is a more clean and concise way of writing these formulas. Most books on derivatives use this notation, but since it isn’t as simple as the max(a,0) you don’t see it in the CFA curriculumn. I also think this style is easier to parse in your head, without the extra parentheses and commas, and thus easier to memorize as well. Anyway, might be helpful.
Instead of, say,
max((value-strike)*notional*days,0)
Write
[(value-strike)*notional*days]^+
(the ^+ is a superscript + sign, hard to write on this forum. It means the positive part of the piece in the brackets, so, the max of it or zero.)
I think you’ll find this is a more clean and concise way of writing these formulas. Most books on derivatives use this notation, but since it isn’t as simple as the max(a,0) you don’t see it in the CFA curriculumn. I also think this style is easier to parse in your head, without the extra parentheses and commas, and thus easier to memorize as well. Anyway, might be helpful.