Geometric partitioning and robust ad-hoc network design

We consider bounds for the price of a European-style call option under regime switching. Stochastic semidefinite programming models are developed that incorporate a lattice generated by a finite-state Markov chain regime-switching model as a representation of scenarios (uncertainty) to compute bounds. The optimal first-stage bound value is equivalent to a Value at Risk quantity, and the optimal solution can be obtained via simple sorting. The upper (lower) bounds from the stochastic model are bounded below (above) by the corresponding deterministic bounds and are always less conservative than their robust optimization (min-max) counterparts. In addition, penalty parameters in the model allow controllability in the degree to which the regime switching dynamics are incorporated into the bounds. We demonstrate the value of the stochastic solution (bound) and computational experiments using the S&P 500 index are performed that illustrate the advantages of the stochastic programming approach over the deterministic strategy.     

Analysis of risk bounds in partially specified additive factor models

The study of worst case scenarios for risk measures (e.g. the Value at Risk) when the underlying risk vector (or portfolio of risks) is not completely specified is a central topic in the literature on robust risk measurement. In this paper we discuss partially specified factor models as introduced in Bernard et al. (2017) in more detail for the class of additive factor models which admit more explicit results. These results allow to describe in more detail the reduction of risk bounds obtainable by this method in dependence on the degree of positive resp. negative dependence induced by the systematic risk factors. The insight may help in applications of this reduction method to get a better qualitative impression on the range of influence of the partially specified factor structure.     

Stable modeling in energy risk management

High price volatility in energy markets compels the companies to adopt and implement policies for measurement and management of the energy risk. A popular measure of risk exposure is the Value at Risk (VaR). Traditional methods of estimation of VaR used by major energy companies fail to capture the heavy tails and asymmetry of energy returns distributions. We suggest the use of stable distributions for modeling energy return distributions. The results of our study demonstrate that stable modeling captures asymmetry and heavy-tails of returns, and, therefore, provides more accurate estimates of energy VaR.     

保险联结风险投资模型的赤字问题

保险公司被允许将部分资金投入风险市场,这样保险公司经营的风险来自于未来实际发生索赔的不确定性和投资收益的不确定性。研究了由经典的Cramer-Lundberg模型与按照几何布朗运动股票价格变动的一个风险模型,获得了三种资产分配情况下股票价格波动对赤字发生概率下界的影响。     

Sample path large and moderate deviations for risk model with delayed claims

Sample path large and moderate deviation principles for Markov modulated risk models with delayed claims are proved by the exponential martingale method. As applications, asymptotic estimates and exponential bounds of the ruin probability are also studied.     

The loss given default of a low-default portfolio with weak contagion

In this paper we study the loss given default (LGD) of a low default portfolio (LDP), assuming that there is weak credit contagion among the obligors. We characterize the credit contagion by a Sarmanov dependence structure of the risk factors that drive the obligors’ default, where the risk factors are assumed to be heavy tailed. From a new perspective of asymptotic analysis, we derive a limiting distribution for the LGD. As a consequence, an approximation for the entire distribution, in contrast to just the tail behavior, of the LGD is obtained. We show numerical examples to demonstrate the limiting distribution. We also discuss possible applications of the limiting distribution to the calculation of moments and the Value at Risk (VaR) of the LGD.     

Robust portfolio optimization with copulas

Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) is widely used in portfolio optimization as a measure of risk. CVaR is clearly dependent on the underlying probability distribution of the portfolio. We show how copulas can be introduced to any problem that involves distributions and how they can provide solutions for the modeling of the portfolio. We use this to provide the copula formulation of the CVaR of a portfolio. Given the critical dependence of CVaR on the underlying distribution, we use a robust framework to extend our approach to Worst Case CVaR (WCVaR). WCVaR is achieved through the use of rival copulas. These rival copulas have the advantage of exploiting a variety of dependence structures, symmetric and not. We compare our model against two other models, Gaussian CVaR and Worst Case Markowitz. Our empirical analysis shows that WCVaR can asses the risk more adequately than the two competitive models during periods of crisis.     

Liquidity and credit risk

The paper uses fuzzy measure theory to represent liquidity risk, i.e. the case in which the probability measure used to price contingent claims is not known precisely. This theory enables one to account for different values of long and short positions. Liquidity risk is introduced by representing the upper and lower bound of the price of the contingent claim computed as the upper and lower Choquet integral with respect to a subadditive function. The use of a specific class of fuzzy measures, known as g λ measures enables one to easily extend the available asset pricing models to the case of illiquid markets. As the technique is particularly useful in corporate claims evaluation, a fuzzified version of Merton's model of credit risk is presented. Sensitivity analysis shows that both the level and the range (the difference between upper and lower bounds) of credit spreads are positively related to the ‘quasi debt to firm value ratio’ and to the volatility of the firm value. This finding may be read as correlation between credit risk and liquidity risk, a result which is particularly useful in concrete risk-management applications. The model is calibrated on investment grade credit spreads, and it is shown that this approach is able to reconcile the observed credit spreads with risk premia consistent with observed default rate. Default probability ranges, rather than point estimates, seem to play a major role in the determination of credit spreads.     

On expected utility for financial insurance portfolios with stochastic dependencies

The effect of background risks as human capital, market risks and catastrophic events has been considered in the literature in different contexts. In this note, we consider financial insurance portfolios with insurable risks and one background risk (uninsurable financial asset), such that the random losses and the background risk depend on environmental parameters. We study how dependencies between the risks influence the expected utility of the portfolio’s wealth distribution under risk aversion, when the environmental parameters are random. Stochastic bounds for the expected wealth are given from modeling the dependence between the parameters by different notions. Similar results are given for multivariate portfolios with n groups and multivariate risk aversion, besides an expected utility comparison result for the minimum and the total portfolio’s wealth.     

Persistence probabilities in centered,stationary, Gaussian processes in discrete time

Lower bounds for persistence probabilities of stationary Gaussian processes in discrete time are obtained under various conditions on the spectral measure of the process. Examples are given to show that the persistence probability can decay faster than exponentially. It is shown that if the spectral measure is not singular, then the exponent in the persistence probability cannot grow faster than quadratically. An example that appears (from numerical evidence) to achieve this lower bound is presented.     

变利率风险模型下破产概率的渐近估计

本文考虑变利率的离散时间风险模型的破产概率．在个体净损失服从ERV族和DnL族时,分别得到了有限时间和无限时间破产概率的渐近估计及上下界表达式,并利用matlab软件对有限时间破产概率的下界进行了数值模拟．     

Single and multi-period optimal inventory control models with risk-averse constraints

This paper presents some convex stochastic programming models for single and multi-period inventory control problems where the market demand is random and order quantities need to be decided before demand is realized. Both models minimize the expected losses subject to risk aversion constraints expressed through Value at Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) as risk measures. A sample average approximation method is proposed for solving the models and convergence analysis of optimal solutions of the sample average approximation problem is presented. Finally, some numerical examples are given to illustrate the convergence of the algorithm.     

Extending pricing rules with general risk functions

The paper addresses pricing issues in imperfect and/or incomplete markets if the risk level of the hedging strategy is measured by a general risk function. Convex Optimization Theory is used in order to extend pricing rules for a wide family of risk functions, including Deviation Measures, Expectation Bounded Risk Measures and Coherent Measures of Risk. Necessary and sufficient optimality conditions are provided in a very general setting. For imperfect markets the extended pricing rules reduce the bid-ask spread. The findings are particularized so as to study with more detail some concrete examples, including the Conditional Value at Risk and some properties of the Standard Deviation. Applications dealing with the valuation of volatility linked derivatives are discussed.     

Portfolio insurance: Gap risk under conditional multiples

The research on financial portfolio optimization has been originally developed by Markowitz (1952). It has been further extended in many directions, among them the portfolio insurance theory introduced by Leland and Rubinstein (1976) for the “Option Based Portfolio Insurance” (OBPI) and Perold (1986) for the “Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance” method (CPPI). The recent financial crisis has dramatically emphasized the interest of such portfolio strategies. This paper examines the CPPI method when the multiple is allowed to vary over time. To control the risk of such portfolio management, a quantile approach is introduced together with expected shortfall criteria. In this framework, we provide explicit upper bounds on the multiple as function of past asset returns and volatilities. These values can be statistically estimated from financial data, using for example ARCH type models. We show how the multiple can be chosen in order to satisfy the guarantee condition, at a given level of probability and for various financial market conditions.     

Credit portfolio risk and asset price cycles

It is a stylized fact that credit risk is high at the same time when asset values are depressed. However, most of the standard credit risk models ignore this kind of correlation, leading to underestimation of risk measures of portfolio credit risk such as Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall. In our paper we make an attempt to quantify the underestimation of these risk measures when the dependence between credit risk and asset values is ignored and show that credit risk is underestimated by a significant margin.      

规避风险的多阶段最优库存研究

基于市场需求是随机的,并且在进行市场销售前,就要确定每个阶段的生产数量的背景下,建立了具有规避风险的多阶段库存凸随机规划模型.该模型以最小化损失函数的期望值为目标函数,以规避风险为约束条件,以价值风险(VaR)和条件价值风险(CVaR)为风险度量;采用样本平均近似方法(SAA)求解该模型,并分析样本平均近似方法的收敛性;最后,给出数值结果.     

A Markov Risk Model with Two Classes of Insurance Business

A Markov risk model with two classes of insurance business is studied. In this model, the two classes of insurance business are independent. Each of the two independent claim number processes is the number of jumps of a Markov jump process from time 0 to t, whichever has not independent increments in general. An integral equation satisfied by the ruin probability is obtained and the bounds for the convergence rate of the ruin probability are given by using a generalized renewal technique.     

Optimal investment under operational flexibility, risk aversion, and uncertainty

Traditional real options analysis addresses the problem of investment under uncertainty assuming a risk-neutral decision maker and complete markets. In reality, however, decision makers are often risk averse and markets are incomplete. We confirm that risk aversion lowers the probability of investment and demonstrate how this effect can be mitigated by incorporating operational flexibility in the form of embedded suspension and resumption options. Although such options facilitate investment, we find that the likelihood of investing is still lower compared to the risk-neutral case. Risk aversion also increases the likelihood that the project will be abandoned, although this effect is less pronounced. Finally, we illustrate the impact of risk aversion on the optimal suspension and resumption thresholds and the interaction among risk aversion, volatility, and optimal decision thresholds under complete operational flexibility.     

Extending dynamic convex risk measures from discrete time to continuous time: A convergence approach

We present an approach for the transition from convex risk measures in a certain discrete time setting to their counterparts in continuous time. The aim of this paper is to show that a large class of convex risk measures in continuous time can be obtained as limits of discrete time-consistent convex risk measures. The discrete time risk measures are constructed from properly rescaled (‘tilted’) one-period convex risk measures, using a d-dimensional random walk converging to a Brownian motion. Under suitable conditions (covering many standard one-period risk measures) we obtain convergence of the discrete risk measures to the solution of a BSDE, defining a convex risk measure in continuous time, whose driver can then be viewed as the continuous time analogue of the discrete ‘driver’ characterizing the one-period risk. We derive the limiting drivers for the semi-deviation risk measure, Value at Risk, Average Value at Risk, and the Gini risk measure in closed form.