The Bachelier Society for Mathematical Finance, founded in 1996, held its 1st World Congress in Paris on June 28 to July 1, 2000, thus coinciding in time with the centenary of the thesis defence of Louis Bachelier. In his thesis Bachelier introduced Brownian motion as a tool for the analysis of financial markets as well as the exact definition of options, and this is widely considered the keystone for the emergence of mathematical finance as a scientific discipline. The prestigious list of plenary speakers in Paris included 2 Nobel laureates, Paul Samuelson and Robert Merton. Over 130 further selected talks were given in 3 parallel sessions, all well attended by the over 500 participants who registered from all continents.

The Bachelier Society for Mathematical Finance held its first World Congress in Paris last year, and coincided with the centenary of Louis Bacheliers thesis defence. In his thesis Bachelier introduces Brownian motion as a tool for the analysis of financial markets as well as the exact definition of options. The thesis is viewed by many the key event that marked the emergence of mathematical finance as a scientific discipline. The prestigious list of plenary speakers in Paris included two Nobel laureates, Paul Samuelson and Robert Merton, and the mathematicians Henry McKean and S.R.S. Varadhan. Over 130 further selected talks were given in three parallel sessions. .

This book is designed to serve as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students who seek a rigorous yet accessible introduction to the modern financial theory of security markets. This is a subject that is taught in both business schools and mathematical science departments. The full theory of security markets requires knowledge of continuous time stochastic process models, measure theory, mathematical economics, and similar prerequisites which are generally not learned before the advanced graduate level. Hence a proper study of the full theory of security markets requires several years of graduate study. However, by restricting attention to discrete time models of security prices it is possible to acquire mathematics. In particular, while living in a discrete time world it is possible to learn virtually all of the important financial concepts. The purpose of this book is to provide such an introductory study.

There is still a lot of mathematics in this book. The reader should be comfortable with calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory that is based on calculus, (but not necessarily measure theory). Random variables and expected values will be playing important roles. The book will develop important notions concerning discrete time stochastic processes; prior knowledge here will be useful but is not required. Presumably the reader will be interested in finance and thus will come with some rudimentary knowledge of stocks, bonds, options, and financial decision making. The last topic involves utility theory, of course; hopefully the reader will be familiar with this and related topics of introductory microeconomic theory. Some exposure to linearprogramming would be advantageous, but not necessary.

The aim of this book is to provide a rigorous treatment of the financial theory while maintaining a casual style. Readers seeking institutional knowledge about securities, derivatives, and portfolio management should look elsewhere, but those seeking a careful introduction to financial engineering will find that this is a useful and comprehensive introduction to the subject.

The papers in this volume address various aspects of financial derivatives that range from abstract financial theory to practical issues pertaining to the pricing and hedging of interest rate derivatives and exotic options in the market place. This broad and important collection will interest both academic scholars and financial engineers.