Optimal investment, consumption and retirement choice problem with disutility and subsistence consumption constraints

In this paper we consider a general optimal consumption-portfolio selection problem of an infinitely-lived agent whose consumption rate process is subject to subsistence constraints before retirement. That is, her consumption rate should be greater than or equal to some positive constant before retirement. We integrate three optimal decisions which are the optimal consumption, the optimal investment choice and the optimal stopping problem in which the agent chooses her retirement time in one model. We obtain the explicit forms of optimal policies using a martingale method and a variational inequality arising from the dual function of the optimal stopping problem. We treat the optimal retirement time as the first hitting time when her wealth exceeds a certain wealth level which will be determined by a free boundary value problem and duality approaches. We also derive closed forms of the optimal wealth processes before and after retirement. Some numerical examples are presented for the case of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility class.     

Optimal consumption and portfolio selection with quadratic utility and a subsistence consumption constraint

In this article, we analyze the optimal consumption and investment policy of an agent who has a quadratic felicity function and faces a subsistence consumption constraint. The agent's optimal investment in the risky asset increases linearly for low wealth levels. Risk taking continues to increase at a decreasing rate for wealth levels higher than subsistence wealth until it hits a maximum at a certain wealth level, and declines for wealth levels above this threshold. Further, the agent has a bliss level of consumption, since if an agent consumes more than this level she will suffer utility loss. Eventually her risk taking becomes zero at a wealth level which supports her bliss consumption.     

Asset allocation under loss aversion and minimum performance constraint in a DC pension plan with inflation risk

In this paper we investigate an optimal investment strategy for a defined-contribution (DC) pension plan member who is loss averse, pays close attention to inflation and longevity risks and requires a minimum performance at retirement. The member aims to maximize the expected S-shaped utility from the terminal wealth exceeding the minimum performance by investing her wealth in a financial market consisting of an indexed bond, a stock and a risk-free asset. We derive the optimal investment strategy in closed-form using the martingale approach. Our theoretical and numerical results reveal that the wealth proportion invested in each risky asset has a V-shaped pattern in the reference point level, while it always increases in the rising lifespan; with a positive correlation between salary and inflation risks, the presence of salary decreases the member’s investment in risky assets; the minimum performance helps to hedge the longevity risk by increasing her investment in risky assets.     

Precommitment and equilibrium investment strategies for defined contribution pension plans under a jump–diffusion model

In this paper, we study an optimal investment problem under the mean–variance criterion for defined contribution pension plans during the accumulation phase. To protect the rights of a plan member who dies before retirement, a clause on the return of premiums for the plan member is adopted. We assume that the manager of the pension plan is allowed to invest the premiums in a financial market, which consists of one risk-free asset and one risky asset whose price process is modeled by a jump–diffusion process. The precommitment strategy and the corresponding value function are obtained using the stochastic dynamic programming approach. Under the framework of game theory and the assumption that the manager’s risk aversion coefficient depends on the current wealth, the equilibrium strategy and the corresponding equilibrium value function are also derived. Our results show that with the same level of variance in the terminal wealth, the expected optimal terminal wealth under the precommitment strategy is greater than that under the equilibrium strategy with a constant risk aversion coefficient; the equilibrium strategy with a constant risk aversion coefficient is revealed to be different from that with a state-dependent risk aversion coefficient; and our results can also be degenerated to the results of He and Liang (2013b) and Björk et al. (2014). Finally, some numerical simulations are provided to illustrate our derived results.     

Optimal portfolio, consumption and retirement decision under a preference change

We investigate an optimal portfolio, consumption and retirement decision problem in which an economic agent can determine the discretionary stopping time as a retirement time with constant labor wage and disutility. We allow the preference of the agent to be changed before and after retirement. It is assumed that the agent's coefficient of relative risk aversion becomes higher after retirement. Under a constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility function, we obtain the optimal policies in closed-forms using martingale methods and variational inequality methods. We give some numerical results of the optimal policies. We also consider the relation between the level of disutility and the labor wage with the optimal retirement wealth level.     

Minimizing the probability of lifetime ruin under borrowing constraints

We determine the optimal investment strategy of an individual who targets a given rate of consumption and who seeks to minimize the probability of going bankrupt before she dies, also known as lifetime ruin. We impose two types of borrowing constraints: First, we do not allow the individual to borrow money to invest in the risky asset nor to sell the risky asset short. However, the latter is not a real restriction because in the unconstrained case, the individual does not sell the risky asset short. Second, we allow the individual to borrow money but only at a rate that is higher than the rate earned on the riskless asset.We consider two forms of the consumption function: (1) The individual consumes at a constant (real) dollar rate, and (2) the individual consumes a constant proportion of her wealth. The first is arguably more realistic, but the second is closely connected with Merton’s model of optimal consumption and investment under power utility. We demonstrate that connection in this paper, as well as include a numerical example to illustrate our results.     

On the sub-optimality cost of immediate annuitization in DC pension funds

We consider the position of a member of a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme having the possibility of taking programmed withdrawals at retirement. According to this option, she can defer annuitization of her fund to a propitious future time, that can be found to be optimal according to some criteria. This option, that adds remarkable flexibility in the choice of pension benefits, is not available in many countries, where immediate annuitization is compulsory at retirement. In this paper, we address and try to answer the questions: “Is immediate annuitization optimal? If it is not, what is the cost to be paid by the retiree obliged to annuitize at retirement?”. In order to do this, we consider the model by Gerrard et?al. in Quant Finance, (2011) and extend it in two different ways. In the first extension, we prove a theorem that provides necessary and sufficient conditions for immediate annuitization being always optimal. The not surprising result is that compulsory immediate annuitization turns out to be sub-optimal. We then quantify the extent of sub-optimality, by defining the sub-optimality cost as the loss of expected present value of consumption from retirement to death and measuring it in many typical situations. We find that it varies in relative terms between 6 and 40%, depending on the risk aversion of the member. In the second extension, we make extensive numerical investigations of the model and seek the optimal annuitization time. We find that the optimal annuitization time depends on personal factors such as the retiree’s risk aversion and her subjective perception of remaining lifetime. It also depends on the financial market, via the Sharpe ratio of the risky asset. Optimal annuitization should occur a few years after retirement with high risk aversion, low Sharpe ratio and/or short remaining lifetime, and many years after retirement with low risk aversion, high Sharpe ratio and/or long remaining lifetime. This paper supports the availability of programmed withdrawals as an option to retirees of DC pension schemes, by giving insight into the extent of loss in wealth suffered by a retiree who cannot choose programmed withdrawals, but is obliged to annuitize immediately on retirement.     

Integrating optimal annuity planning with consumption-investment selections in retirement planning

Annuities can be effective tools in managing longevity risk in retirement planning. This paper develops a framework that merges annuity purchase decisions with consumption-investment selections in retirement planning. After introducing a pricing and a benefit payment model for an annuity, we construct a multi-period wealth evolution model. An optimization problem is formulated with an objective of maximizing lifetime utility of consumption and wealth. Optimal decisions are determined as a trade off between consumption and investment among an annuity, a risky and a risk-free asset. Computational results are provided to illustrate the practical implications of the framework.     

社会保障的改善对我国居民家庭消费——投资选择的影响研究

与发达国家相比,我国居民家庭的资产配置中存在着消费比例过低、金融资产配置结构不合理等问题.而导致这一问题的重要因素是我国目前的社会保障仍处于较低水平.以跨期消费—投资组合理论为基础,研究社会保障制度的改善对居民家庭资产配置的影响机理及影响效果.结果表明,社会保障制度一方面通过降低居民家庭的风险厌恶水平,可以显著提高其消费比例及风险资产投资比例;另一方面通过提高退休后的收入水平,可以提高居民家庭的整体效用水平.同时,社会保障制度的改善,也有利于提高居民家庭对金融市场的参与热情,有利于活跃我国金融市场.     

模型不确定和极端事件冲击下带通胀的最优投资组合选择问题研究

本文研究了投资者在极端事件冲击下带通胀的最优投资组合选择问题, 其中投资者不仅对损失风险是厌恶的而且对模型不确定也是厌恶的. 投资者在风险资产和无风险资产中进行投资. 首先, 利用Ito公式推导考虑通胀的消费篮子价格动力学方程, 其次由通胀折现的终端财富预期效用最大化, 对含糊厌恶投资者的最优期望效用进行刻画. 利用动态规划原理, 建立最优消费和投资策略所满足的HJB方程. 再次, 利用市场分解的方法解出HJB方程, 获得投资者最优消费和投资策略的显式解. 最后, 通过数值模拟, 分析了含糊厌恶、风险厌恶、跳和通胀因素对投资者最优资产配置策略的影响.     

Optimal portfolio choice and stochastic volatility

In this paper we examine the effect of stochastic volatility on optimal portfolio choice in both partial and general equilibrium settings. In a partial equilibrium setting we derive an analog of the classic Samuelson–Merton optimal portfolio result and define volatility‐adjusted risk aversion as the effective risk aversion of an individual investing in an asset with stochastic volatility. We extend prior research which shows that effective risk aversion is greater with stochastic volatility than without for investors without wealth effects by providing further comparative static results on changes in effective risk aversion due to changes in the distribution of volatility. We demonstrate that effective risk aversion is increasing in the constant absolute risk aversion and the variance of the volatility distribution for investors without wealth effects. We further show that for these investors a first‐order stochastic dominant shift in the volatility distribution does not necessarily increase effective risk aversion, whereas a second‐order stochastic dominant shift in the volatility does increase effective risk aversion. Finally, we examine the effect of stochastic volatility on equilibrium asset prices. We derive an explicit capital asset pricing relationship that illustrates how stochastic volatility alters equilibrium asset prices in a setting with multiple risky assets, where returns have a market factor and asset‐specific random components and multiple investor types. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An optimal investment and consumption model with stochastic returns

We consider a financial market consisting of a risky asset and a riskless one, with a constant or random investment horizon. The interest rate from the riskless asset is constant, but the relative return rate from the risky asset is stochastic with an unknown parameter in its distribution. Following the Bayesian approach, the optimal investment and consumption problem is formulated as a Markov decision process. We incorporate the concept of risk aversion into the model and characterize the optimal strategies for both the power and logarithmic utility functions with a constant relative risk aversion (CRRA). Numerical examples are provided that support the intuition that a higher proportion of investment should be allocated to the risky asset if the mean return rate on the risky asset is higher or the risky asset return rate is less volatile. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consumption and portfolio selection with labor income: A discrete-time approach

This paper studies the consumption and portfolio selection problem of an agent who is liquidity constrained and has uninsurable income risk in a discrete time setting. It gives properties of optimal policies and presents numerical solutions. The paper, in particular, shows that liquidity constraints and uninsurable income risk reduce consumption and investment in the risky asset substantially from the levels for the case where no market imperfections exist. This paper also shows how the agent evaluates his or her human capital and relates the evaluation to optimal decisions.     

基于动态参照点的损失厌恶投资组合优化模型

在连续时间下,考虑损失厌恶投资者参照点的动态调整特征,构建基于动态参照点的损失厌恶投资组合模型,使用鞅方法对模型进行求解,得到最优风险资产权重的解析表达式。并计算损失厌恶投资者在参照点动态调整条件下的预期最优期末财富。进一步应用数值算例,分析投资者的参照点动态调整幅度和损失厌恶水平对模型最优风险资产权重和预期最优期末财富的影响。     

Static portfolio choice under Cumulative Prospect Theory

We derive the optimal portfolio choice for an investor who behaves according to Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT). The study is done in a one-period economy with one risk-free asset and one risky asset, and the reference point corresponds to the terminal wealth arising when the entire initial wealth is invested into the risk-free asset. When it exists, the optimal holding is a function of a generalized Omega measure of the distribution of the excess return on the risky asset over the risk-free rate. It conceptually resembles Merton’s optimal holding for a CRRA expected-utility maximizer. We derive some properties of the optimal holding and illustrate our results using a simple example where the excess return has a skew-normal distribution. In particular, we show how a CPT investor is highly sensitive to the skewness of the excess return on the risky asset. In the model we adopt, with a piecewise-power value function with different shape parameters, loss aversion might be violated for reasons that are now well-understood in the literature. Nevertheless, we argue that this violation is acceptable.     

Optimal retirement strategy with a negative wealth constraint

This paper investigates an optimal consumption, portfolio, and retirement time choice problem of an individual with a negative wealth constraint. We obtain analytical results of the optimal consumption, investment, and retirement behaviors and discuss the effect of the negative wealth constraint on the optimal behaviors. We find that, as an individual can borrow more with better credit, she is more likely to retire at a higher wealth level, to consume more, and to invest more in risky assets.     

常数比例投资组合保险(CPPI)策略 --捐赠型基金投资策略的最优选择

本文采用Merton提出的处理捐赠型基金的连续时间模型的一般框架，分析了在风险资产为几何布朗运动，效用函数为CRRA效用函数，且捐赠型基金有动态最低支出时的最优支出策略和最优投资策略，结果表明存在一条策略基准线，当基金的总资产在策略基准线之上时，基金管理人关于基金支出与投资策略的选择与不存在最低支出的要求时所作出的决策是一样的，但是一旦基金的总资产低于这条策略基准线时，基金管理人便需要考虑到基金将来必要的支出，并实际影响到他对投资策略的选择，此时基金管理人可作的最优选择是：最低的支出和一种为复制幂收益函数期权的CPPI投资策略。     

Indifference pricing for CRRA utilities

We study utility indifference pricing of claim streams with intertemporal consumption and constant relative risk aversion utilities. We derive explicit formulas for the derivatives of the utility indifference price with respect to claims and wealth. The elegant structure of these formulas is a reflection of surprising algebraic identities for the derivatives of the optimal consumption stream. Namely, the partial derivative of the optimal consumption stream with respect to the endowment is always a projection. Furthermore, it is an orthogonal projection with respect to a natural “economic inner product”. These algebraic identities generate cancellations between the terms entering derivatives of the indifference price and allow us to prove sharp global bounds for the indifference price that become exact when the claims to wealth ratio is large and risk aversion is between one and two. For general risk aversion, we show that, in the large claims to wealth ratio limit, the asymptotic expansion of the indifference price is given in terms of fractional powers of the wealth, depending on risk aversion. When risk aversion is equal to one, the fractional power depends on the underlying claim.     

Nonmyopic optimal portfolios in viable markets

We provide a representation for the nonmyopic optimal portfolio of an agent consuming only at the terminal horizon when the single state variable follows a general diffusion process and the market consists of one risky asset and a risk-free asset. The key term of our representation is a new object that we call the “rate of macroeconomic fluctuation” whose properties are fundamental for the portfolio dynamics. We show that, under natural cyclicality conditions, (i) the agent’s hedging demand is positive (negative) when the product of his prudence and risk tolerance is below (above) two and (ii) the portfolio weights decrease in risk aversion. We apply our results to study a general continuous-time capital asset pricing model and show that under the same cyclicality conditions, the market price of risk is countercyclical and the price of the risky asset exhibits excess volatility.     

Optimal investment–reinsurance strategies with state dependent risk aversion and VaR constraints in correlated markets

In this paper, we investigate the optimal time-consistent investment–reinsurance strategies for an insurer with state dependent risk aversion and Value-at-Risk (VaR) constraints. The insurer can purchase proportional reinsurance to reduce its insurance risks and invest its wealth in a financial market consisting of one risk-free asset and one risky asset, whose price process follows a geometric Brownian motion. The surplus process of the insurer is approximated by a Brownian motion with drift. The two Brownian motions in the insurer’s surplus process and the risky asset’s price process are correlated, which describe the correlation or dependence between the insurance market and the financial market. We introduce the VaR control levels for the insurer to control its loss in investment–reinsurance strategies, which also represent the requirement of regulators on the insurer’s investment behavior. Under the mean–variance criterion, we formulate the optimal investment–reinsurance problem within a game theoretic framework. By using the technique of stochastic control theory and solving the corresponding extended Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) system of equations, we derive the closed-form expressions of the optimal investment–reinsurance strategies. In addition, we illustrate the optimal investment–reinsurance strategies by numerical examples and discuss the impact of the risk aversion, the correlation between the insurance market and the financial market, and the VaR control levels on the optimal strategies.