Optimal Multiple Stopping Approach to Mean Reversion Trading

This thesis studies the optimal timing of trades under mean-reverting price dynamics subject to fixed transaction costs. We first formulate an optimal double stopping problem whereby a speculative investor can choose when to enter and subsequently exit the market. The investor's value functions and optimal timing strategies are derived when prices are driven by an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU), exponential OU, or Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) process. Moreover, we analyze a related optimal switching problem that involves an infinite sequence of trades. In addition to solving for the value functions and optimal switching strategies, we identify the conditions under which the double stopping and switching problems admit the same optimal entry and/or exit timing strategies. A number of extensions are also considered, such as incorporating a stop-loss constraint, or a minimum holding period under the OU model. A typical solution approach for optimal stopping problems is to study the associated free boundary problems or variational inequalities (VIs). For the double optimal stopping problem, we apply a probabilistic methodology and rigorously derive the optimal price intervals for market entry and