Mountain range

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Mountain ranges are exotic options originally marketed by Société Générale in 1998. The options combine the characteristics of basket options and range options by basing the value of the option on several underlying assets, and by setting a time frame for the option.

The mountain range options are further subdivided into further types, depending on the specific terms of the options. Examples include:

• Altiplano - in which a vanilla option is combined with a compensatory coupon payment if the underlying security never reaches its strike price during a given period.
• Annapurna - in which the option holder is rewarded if all securities in the basket never fall below a certain price during the relevant time period
• Atlas - in which the best and worst-performing securities are removed from the basket prior to execution of the option
• Everest - a long-term option in which the option holder gets a payoff based on the worst-performing securities in the basket
• Himalayan - based on the performance of the best asset in the portfolio