A multicriteria optimization model of portfolio rebalancing with transaction costs in fuzzy environment

In this paper we propose multicriteria credibilistic framework for portfolio rebalancing (adjusting) problem with fuzzy parameters considering return, risk and liquidity as key financial criteria. The portfolio risk is characterized by a risk curve that represents each likely loss of the portfolio return and the corresponding chance of its occurrence rather than a single pre-set level of the loss. Furthermore, we consider an investment market scenario where, at the end of a typical time period, the investor would like to modify his existing portfolio by buying and/or selling assets in response to changing market conditions. We assume that the investor pays transaction costs based on incremental discount schemes associated with the buying and/or selling of assets, which are adjusted in the net return of the portfolio. A hybrid intelligent algorithm that integrates fuzzy simulation with a real-coded genetic algorithm is developed to solve the portfolio rebalancing (adjusting) problem. The proposed solution approach is useful particularly for the cases where fuzzy parameters of the problem are characterized by general functional forms.     

Mean-variance portfolio rebalancing with transaction costs and funding changes

Investment portfolios should be rebalanced to take account of changing market conditions and changes in funding. Standard mean-variance (MV) portfolio selection methods are not appropriate for portfolio rebalancing, as the initial portfolio, change in funding and transaction costs are not considered. A quadratic mixed integer programming portfolio rebalancing model, which takes account of these factors is developed in this paper. The transaction costs in this portfolio rebalancing model are composed of fixed charges and variable costs, including the market impact costs associated with large market trades of individual securities, where these variable transaction costs are assumed to be non-linear functions of traded value. The use of this model is demonstrated and it is shown that when initial portfolio, funding changes and transaction costs are taken into account in portfolio construction and rebalancing, MV efficient portfolios that include risk-free lending do not have the structure expected from portfolio theory.     

Multi-stage portfolio selection problem with dynamic stochastic dominance constraints

We study the multi-stage portfolio selection problem where the utility function of an investor is ambiguous. The ambiguity is characterized by dynamic stochastic dominance constraints, which are able to capture the dynamics of the random return sequence during the investment process. We propose a multi-stage dynamic stochastic dominance constrained portfolio selection model, and use a mixed normal distribution with time-varying weights and the K-means clustering technique to generate a scenario tree for the transformation of the proposed model. Based on the scenario tree representation, we derive two linear programming approximation problems, using the sampling approach or the duality theory, which provide an upper bound approximation and a lower bound approximation for the original nonconvex problem. The upper bound is asymptotically tight with infinitely many samples. Numerical results illustrate the practicality and efficiency of the proposed new model and solution techniques.

     

A chance-constrained portfolio selection model with risk constraints

The paper by Huang [Fuzzy chance-constrained portfolio selection, Applied Mathematics and Computation 177 (2006) 500-507] proposes a fuzzy chance-constrained portfolio selection model and presents a numerical example to illustrate the proposed model. In this note, we will show that Huang’s model produces optimal portfolio investing in only one security when candidate security returns are independent to each other no matter how many independent securities are in the market. The reason for concentrative solution is that Huang’s model does not consider the investment risk. To avoid concentrative investment, a risk constraint is added to the fuzzy chance-constrained portfolio selection model. In addition, we point out that the result of the numerical example is inaccurate.     

Mean-variance-skewness model for portfolio selection with fuzzy returns

Numerous empirical studies show that portfolio returns are generally asymmetric, and investors would prefer a portfolio return with larger degree of asymmetry when the mean value and variance are same. In order to measure the asymmetry of fuzzy portfolio return, a concept of skewness is defined as the third central moment in this paper, and its mathematical properties are studied. As an extension of the fuzzy mean-variance model, a mean-variance-skewness model is presented and the corresponding variations are also considered. In order to solve the proposed models, a genetic algorithm integrating fuzzy simulation is designed. Finally, several numerical examples are given to illustrate the modelling idea and the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.     

A class of portfolio selection with a four-factor futures price model

Considering the stochastic exchange rate, a four-factor futures model with the underling asset, convenience yield, instantaneous risk free interest rate and exchange rate, is established. These processes follow jump-diffusion processes (Weiner process and Poisson process). The corresponding partial differential equation (PDE) of the futures price is derived. The general solution of the PDE with parameters is drawn. The weight least squares approach is applied to obtain the parameters of above PDE. Variance is substituted by semi-variance in Markowitzs portfolio selection model. Therefore, a class of multi-period semi-variance model is formulated originally. Then, a continuous-time mean-variance portfolio model is also considered. The corresponding stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation of the problem with nonlinear constraints is derived. A numerical algorithm is proposed for finding the optimal solution in this paper. Finally, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical models and numerical methods, the fuel futures in Shanghai exchange market and the Brent crude oil futures in London exchange market are selected to be examples.     

Mean-risk model for uncertain portfolio selection

This paper discusses the uncertain portfolio selection problem when security returns cannot be well reflected by historical data. It is proposed that uncertain variable should be used to reflect the experts’ subjective estimation of security returns. Regarding the security returns as uncertain variables, the paper introduces a risk curve and develops a mean-risk model. In addition, the crisp form of the model is provided. The presented numerical examples illustrate the application of the mean-risk model and show the disaster result of mistreating uncertain returns as random returns.     

Multi-objective possibilistic model for portfolio selection with transaction cost

In this paper, we introduce the possibilistic mean value and variance of continuous distribution, rather than probability distributions. We propose a multi-objective Portfolio based model and added another entropy objective function to generate a well diversified asset portfolio within optimal asset allocation. For quantifying any potential return and risk, portfolio liquidity is taken into account and a multi-objective non-linear programming model for portfolio rebalancing with transaction cost is proposed. The models are illustrated with numerical examples.     

Optimal dynamic excess-of-loss reinsurance and multidimensional portfolio selection

In this paper, the surplus process of the insurance company is described by a Brownian motion with drift. In addition, the insurer is allowed to invest in a risk-free asset and n risky assets and purchase excess-of-loss reinsurance. Under short-selling prohibition, we consider two optimization problems: the problem of maximizing the expected exponential utility of terminal wealth and the problem of minimizing the probability of ruin. We first show that the excess-of-loss reinsurance strategy is always better than the proportional reinsurance under two objective functions. Then, by solving the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations, the closed-form solutions of their optimal value functions and the corresponding optimal strategies are obtained. In particular, when there is no risky-free interest rate, the results indicate that the optimal strategies, under maximizing the expected exponential utility and minimizing the probability of ruin, are equivalent for some special parameter. This validates Ferguson’s longstanding conjecture about the relation between the two problems.     

An adaptively managed dynamic portfolio selection model using a time-varying investment target according to the market forecast

In this paper, we propose an adaptive investment strategy (AIS) based on a dynamic portfolio selection model (DPSM) that uses a time-varying investment target according to the market forecast. The DPSM allows for flexible investments, setting relatively aggressive investment targets when market growth is expected and relatively conservative targets when the market is expected to be less attractive. The model further allows investments to be liquidated into risk-free assets when the market forecast is pessimistic. By dynamically determining the investment target, the DPSM allows construction of portfolios that are more responsive to market changes, while eliminating the possibility of the model becoming infeasible under certain market conditions. When the proposed DPSM is implemented in real-life investment scenarios using the AIS, the portfolio is rebalanced according to a predefined rebalancing cycle and the model’s input parameters are estimated on each rebalancing date using an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) estimator. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, a 7-year investment experiment was conducted using historical stock returns data from 10 different stock markets around the world. Performance was assessed and compared using diverse measures. Superior performance was achieved using the AIS proposed herein compared with various benchmark approaches for all performance measures. In addition, we identified a converse relationship between the average trading volume of a market and the value of the weighting parameter prescribed to the EWMA estimator, which maximizes cumulative returns in each market.     

A portfolio selection model using fuzzy returns

We study a static portfolio selection problem, in which future returns of securities are given as fuzzy sets. In contrast to traditional analysis, we assume that investment decisions are not based on statistical expectation values, but rather on maximal and minimal potential returns resulting from the so-called α-cuts of these fuzzy sets. By aggregating over all α-cuts and assigning weights for both best and worst possible cases we get a new objective function to derive an optimal portfolio. Allowing for short sales and modelling α-cuts in ellipsoidal shape, we obtain the optimal portfolio as the unique solution of a simple optimization problem. Since our model does not include any stochastic assumptions, we present a procedure, which turns the data of observable returns as well as experts’ expectations into fuzzy sets in order to quantify the potential future returns and the investment risk.     

An expected regret minimization portfolio selection model

Fuzzy portfolio selection has been widely studied within the framework of the credibility theory. However, all existing models provide only concentrated investment solutions, which contradicts the risk diversification concept in the classical portfolio selection theory. In this paper, we propose an expected regret minimization model, which minimizes the expected value of the distance between the maximum return and the obtained return associated with each portfolio. We prove that our model is advantageous for obtaining distributive investment and reducing investor regret. The effectiveness of the model is demonstrated by using an example of a portfolio selection problem comprising ten securities in the Shanghai Stock Exchange 180 Index.     

A class of multi-period semi-variance portfolio selection with a four-factor futures price model

Considering the stochastic exchange rate, a four-factor futures model with the underling asset, convenience yield, instantaneous risk free interest rate and exchange rate, is established. These processes follow jump-diffusion processes (Wiener process and Poisson process). The corresponding partial differential equation (PDE) of the futures price is derived. The general solution with parameters of the PDE is drawn. The weight least squares approach is applied to obtain the parameters of above PDE. Variance is substituted by semi-variance in Markovitz’s portfolio selection model. Therefore, a class of multi-period semi-variance model is formulated originally. A hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) with particle swarm optimizer (PSO) is proposed to solve the multi-period semi-variance model. Finally, an example, which are fuel futures in Shanghai exchange market, is selected to demonstrate the effectiveness of above models and methods.     

Multiple criteria linear programming model for portfolio selection

The portfolio selection problem is usually considered as a bicriteria optimization problem where a reasonable trade-off between expected rate of return and risk is sought. In the classical Markowitz model the risk is measured with variance, thus generating a quadratic programming model. The Markowitz model is frequently criticized as not consistent with axiomatic models of preferences for choice under risk. Models consistent with the preference axioms are based on the relation of stochastic dominance or on expected utility theory. The former is quite easy to implement for pairwise comparisons of given portfolios whereas it does not offer any computational tool to analyze the portfolio selection problem. The latter, when used for the portfolio selection problem, is restrictive in modeling preferences of investors. In this paper, a multiple criteria linear programming model of the portfolio selection problem is developed. The model is based on the preference axioms for choice under risk. Nevertheless, it allows one to employ the standard multiple criteria procedures to analyze the portfolio selection problem. It is shown that the classical mean-risk approaches resulting in linear programming models correspond to specific solution techniques applied to our multiple criteria model. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A possibilistic mean-semivariance-entropy model for multi-period portfolio selection with transaction costs

This paper deals with a multi-period portfolio selection problem with fuzzy returns. A possibilistic mean-semivariance-entropy model for multi-period portfolio selection is presented by taking into account four criteria viz., return, risk, transaction cost and diversification degree of portfolio. In the proposed model, the return level is quantified by the possibilistic mean value of return, the risk level is characterized by the lower possibilistic semivariance of return, and the diversification degree of portfolio is measured by the originally presented possibilistic entropy. Furthermore, a hybrid intelligent algorithm is designed to obtain the optimal portfolio strategy. Finally, the comparison analysis between the possibilistic entropy model and the proportion entropy model is provided by two numerical examples to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed approaches and the designed algorithm.     

Fuzzy portfolio selection model with real features and different decision behaviors

In the ever changing financial markets, investor’s decision behaviors may change from time to time. In this paper, we consider the effect of investor’s different decision behaviors on portfolio selection in fuzzy environment. We present a possibilistic mean-semivariance model for fuzzy portfolio selection by considering some real investment features including proportional transaction cost, fixed transaction cost, cardinality constraint, investment threshold constraints, decision dependency constraints and minimum transaction lots. To describe investor’s different decision behaviors, we characterize the return rates on securities by LR fuzzy numbers with different shape parameters in the left- and right-hand reference functions. Then, we design a novel hybrid differential evolution algorithm to solve the proposed model. Finally, we provide a numerical example to illustrate the application of our model and the effectiveness of the designed algorithm.     

An extension of Sharpe's single-index model: portfolio selection with expert betas

This paper presents an approach to the portfolio selection problem based on Sharpe's single-index model and on Fuzzy Sets Theory. In this sense, expert estimations about future Betas of each financial asset have been included in the portfolio selection model denoted as ‘Expert Betas’ and modelled as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Value, ambiguity and fuzziness are three basic concepts involved in the model which provide enough information about fuzzy numbers representing ‘Expert Betas’ and that are simple to handle. In order to select an optimal portfolio, a Goal Programming model has been proposed including imprecise investor's aspirations concerning asset's proportions of both, high-and low-risk assets. Semantics of these goals are based on the fuzzy membership of a goal satisfaction set. To illustrate the proposed model a real portfolio selection problem is presented.     

A zero-one model for project portfolio selection and scheduling

A zero-one integer linear programming model is proposed for selecting and scheduling an optimal project portfolio, based on the organisation's objectives and constraints such as resource limitations and interdependence among projects. The model handles some of the issues that frequently arise in real world applications but are not addressed by previously suggested models, such as situations in which the amount of available and consumed resources varies in different periods. It also allows for interactive adjustment following the optimisation process, to provide decision makers a method for controlling portfolio selection, based on criteria that may be difficult to elicit directly. It is critical for such a system to provide fast evaluation of alternatives the decision makers may want to examine, and this requirement is addressed. The proposed model not only suggests projects that should be incorporated in the optimal portfolio, but it also determines the starting period for each project. Scheduling considerations can have a major impact on the combination of projects that can be incorporated in the portfolio, and may allow the addition of certain projects to the portfolio that could not have been selected otherwise. An example problem is described and solved with the proposed model, and some areas for future research are discussed.     

Mean-chance model for portfolio selection based on uncertain measure

This paper discusses a portfolio selection problem in which security returns are given by experts’ evaluations instead of historical data. A factor method for evaluating security returns based on experts’ judgment is proposed and a mean-chance model for optimal portfolio selection is developed taking transaction costs and investors’ preference on diversification and investment limitations on certain securities into account. The factor method of evaluation can make good use of experts’ knowledge on the effects of economic environment and the companies’ unique characteristics on security returns and incorporate the contemporary relationship of security returns in the portfolio. The use of chance of portfolio return failing to reach the threshold can help investors easily tell their tolerance toward risk and thus facilitate a decision making. To solve the proposed nonlinear programming problem, a genetic algorithm is provided. To illustrate the application of the proposed method, a numerical example is also presented.     

Behavioral portfolio selection with loss control

In this paper we formulate a continuous-time behavioral (à la cumulative prospect theory) portfolio selection model where the losses are constrained by a pre-specified upper bound. Economically the model is motivated by the previously proved fact that the losses occurring in a bad state of the world can be catastrophic for an unconstrained model. Mathematically solving the model boils down to solving a concave Choquet minimization problem with an additional upper bound. We derive the optimal solution explicitly for such a loss control model. The optimal terminal wealth profile is in general characterized by three pieces: the agent has gains in the good states of the world, gets a moderate, endogenously constant loss in the intermediate states, and suffers the maximal loss (which is the given bound for losses) in the bad states. Examples are given to illustrate the general results.