Adaptative Monte Carlo Method, A Variance Reduction Technique

Abstract

In this article we propose an adaptative variance reduction method for Monte Carlo simulations. The method uses importance sampling scheme based on a change of drift. The change of drift is selected adaptatively through the Monte Carlo computation by using a suitable sequence of approximation. We state and prove theoretical results supporting the use of the method. We develop two applications of the procedure for variance reduction in a Monte Carlo computation in finance and in reliability.