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.     

Jump-diffusion international asset allocation

We examine international asset allocation with jump-diffusion assets in the presence of risky deviations of exchanges rates from purchasing power parity when investors consume both traded and nontraded goods. We show that adding new jump risks to existing diffusion assets does not alter investors’ original optimal portfolios of diffusion assets, as long as diffusion-risk premia remain unchanged. We also show that hedge portfolios against purchasing power parity deviations are integral parts of optimal portfolios for investors from different countries, and they can be constructed by using foreign and domestic inflation-indexed bonds. Moreover, country-specific demand for risky assets can arise from nontraded-good-specific inflation-rate-differential risks.     

状态转移框架下跨地区、跨行业资产配置模型及实证

利用Markov状态转移模型捕捉金融资产收益率序列的非线性、动态的结构性变化,考虑不同市场状态下资金在地区板块、行业板块间流动导致的板块轮动效应,构建基于状态转移的跨地区、跨行业资产配置模型。在此基础上,对市场状态和地区、行业板块轮动效应对资产配置的影响进行细致分析。研究发现:中国股票市场存在明显的动态结构性变化,可以分为熊市状态和牛市状态,两种市场状态下最优资产配置结构不同。结果表明,状态转移框架下的跨地区和跨行业资产配置能够刻画非对称市场状态下资产的收益和风险特征,分散非系统性风险的同时降低市场风险,提高投资者的收益,可以为投资者决策提供有价值的参考。     

A note on portfolio selection with restrictions on leverage

This note focuses on a mean–variance asset allocation framework having restrictions on leverage, namely where investors are constrained either to hold funds in a risk-free asset (i.e. to lend) or to hold debt (i.e. to borrow). It is shown that the optimal portfolio in a constrained leverage situation will not have the same composition as the optimal portfolio in an unconstrained situation. We give formal justification for the intuitive notion that the more debt an investor is constrained to hold, the more the investor should tilt the remaining investments towards a portfolio of less risky assets. Conversely, the greater the proportion an investor is constrained to hold in a risk-free asset, the more the investor should tilt remaining investment towards a portfolio of more risky assets.     

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.     

Do investors like to diversify? A study of Markowitz preferences

We study rankings of completely and partially diversified portfolios and also of specialized assets when investors follow so-called Markowitz preferences. It turns out that diversification strategies for Markowitz investors are more complex than in the case of risk-averse and risk-inclined investors, whose investment strategies have been extensively investigated in the literature. In particular, we observe that for Markowitz investors, preferences toward risk vary depending on their sensitivities toward gains and losses. For example, it turns out that, unlike in the case of risk-averse and risk-inclined investors, Markowitz investors might prefer investing their entire wealth in just one asset. This finding helps us to better understand some financial anomalies and puzzles, such as the well known diversification puzzle, which notes that some investors tend to concentrate on investing in only a few assets instead of choosing the seemingly more attractive complete diversification.     

机构投资者的最优变现策略

在投资、变现等大宗交易过程中,资产交易价格与交易策略密切相关,因此,交易的完成过程需要很高的技巧.文章讨论了机构投资者的最优变现策略问题,假设证券价格服从几何布朗运动,以均值方差效用为目标函数,得到了最优变现策略所满足的二阶微分方程,并由差分法得到其数值解.最后,由参数的敏感性分析知:最优变现策略与瞬时冲击、市场波动率及风险厌恶系数等参数有关,但与永久冲击无关,且最优变现策略对市场波动率和瞬时冲击的变化较敏感.     

Robust portfolio choice with CVaR and VaR under distribution and mean return ambiguity

We consider the problem of optimal portfolio choice using the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) and Value-at-Risk (VaR) measures for a market consisting of n risky assets and a riskless asset and where short positions are allowed. When the distribution of returns of risky assets is unknown but the mean return vector and variance/covariance matrix of the risky assets are fixed, we derive the distributionally robust portfolio rules. Then, we address uncertainty (ambiguity) in the mean return vector in addition to distribution ambiguity, and derive the optimal portfolio rules when the uncertainty in the return vector is modeled via an ellipsoidal uncertainty set. In the presence of a riskless asset, the robust CVaR and VaR measures, coupled with a minimum mean return constraint, yield simple, mean-variance efficient optimal portfolio rules. In a market without the riskless asset, we obtain a closed-form portfolio rule that generalizes earlier results, without a minimum mean return restriction.     

基于推广多因子模型的资产动态配置研究——以上证A股为例

考虑投资者关于市场的观点,并用椭球分布替代正态分布作为资产收益和投资者观点分布导出推广的多因子模型(EMFM).采集2015年1月5日到2018年9月11日上证A股中分列于11个行业共828只股票的日收益率及其相关指标,采用5个系统风险因子,在3种常用风险指标下应用EMFM对该高数据进行动态建模并做资产配置分析.实证结果显示:从回溯期内的收益表现来看,使用自由度为3的多维t分布,一种特殊的椭球分布,即便合并简单的绝对观点的EMFM在SD风险指标下的组合都优于马科维兹组合的情形,同时也优于其使用VaR和CVaR的情形,且所有组合都优于上证指数的情形.     

跳扩散环境下考虑红利支付的动态资产配置问题研究

研究资产价格带跳环境下红利支付对投资者资产配置的影响,投资者将其财富在风险资产和无风险资产中进行分配,在终端财富预期效用最大化标准下,利用动态规划原理建立的HJB方程推导最优配置策略,并得到最优动态资产配置策略的近似解.最后通过数值模拟,分析了跳和红利支付对投资者最优配置策略的影响.结果表明在跳发生的情况下,不管跳的大小和方向如何,投资者都会减少其在风险资产中的配置头寸,同时带有红利支付的资产比不带红利支付的资产对投资者更具吸引力.     

均值-ES框架下带交易费用的资本资产市场中均衡价格的存在性与确定

探讨具有有限多个风险资产和一个无风险资产、有多个投资者参与的资本资产市场中非负均衡价格的存在性条件与确定问题,从以下角度改进了现有结果:采用期望损失(Expected shortfall,简称ES)作为风险度量,保证了均值-ES框架下所得结果与期望效用极大化原理结果的一致性;对证券收益的联合分布不做假设;考虑了比例交易费用对价格的影响,所得结果更贴近现实的金融市场;不仅给出了非负均衡价格存在唯一的充要条件,而且导出了其具体表达式;在对比分析其与现有结果异同的同时,还讨论了所给充要条件与定价公式的应用与经济解释.     

Optimal consumption and investment strategies with liquidity risk and lifetime uncertainty for Markov regime-switching jump diffusion models

In this paper, we consider the optimal consumption and investment strategies for households throughout their lifetime. Risks such as the illiquidity of assets, abrupt changes of market states, and lifetime uncertainty are considered. Taking the effects of heritage into account, investors are willing to limit their current consumption in exchange for greater wealth at their death, because they can take advantage of the higher expected returns of illiquid assets. Further, we model the liquidity risks in an illiquid market state by introducing frozen periods with uncertain lengths, during which investors cannot continuously rebalance their portfolios between different types of assets. In liquid market, investors can continuously remix their investment portfolios. In addition, a Markov regime-switching process is introduced to describe the changes in the market’s states. Jumps, classified as either moderate or severe, are jointly investigated with liquidity risks. Explicit forms of the optimal consumption and investment strategies are developed using the dynamic programming principle. Markov chain approximation methods are adopted to obtain the value function. Numerical examples demonstrate that the liquidity of assets and market states have significant effects on optimal consumption and investment strategies in various scenarios.     

The participation puzzle with reference-dependent expected utility preferences

Expected utility theory with a smooth utility function predicts that, when allocating wealth between a risky and a riskless asset, investors allocate a positive amount to the risky asset whenever its expected return exceeds the riskless rate of return. A large number of people invest none of their wealth in risky assets, though, leading to the ”participation puzzle.” This paper explores whether the participation puzzle can be addressed when the utility function has a kink at the reference wealth level. It shows that when the reference wealth level is initial wealth increased by the riskless rate of return, there exists a range of expected excess returns for the risky asset for which the investor takes no position. Moreover, this range of expected excess returns is described by comparing a common performance measure of stock returns, the Omega Function, to a function of preference parameters. However, if the reference wealth level is any other constant, the usual expected utility prediction holds and investors allocate at least some of their wealth to the risky asset whenever it has a positive expected excess return.     

Estimation of asset demands by heterogeneous agents

We develop optimization models to analyze the demand for financial assets by heterogeneous agents. The models extend Frankel's [J. Portfolio Manage. 11 (4) (1985) 18] earlier approach, and relax the assumption of normality of asset returns. Instead, we assume that investors maximize an expected utility of terminal wealth based on heterogeneous attitudes toward risk. Solving a bi-level optimization program, we endogenously estimate the risk aversion parameters and derive the optimal asset holdings for each agent. The models are tested on United States market data, explaining the market structure better than previously postulated models.     

通货膨胀时期的投资策略分析

目前,各个国家面临着不同程度的通贷膨胀.在此情况下,如何规避通货膨胀所带来的财富稀释是现阶段所有投资人追求的目标.本文从投资产品的价格出发给出了两阶段均值-方差投资问题的最优解.分析了交易费用、风险资产的期望回报率以及波动率对投资策略的影响.最后,我们依据实际算例分析为投资者提供指导,并且给出了政策建议.     

Scenario optimization asset and liability modelling for individual investors

We develop a scenario optimization model for asset and liability management of individual investors. The individual has a given level of initial wealth and a target goal to be reached within some time horizon. The individual must determine an asset allocation strategy so that the portfolio growth rate will be sufficient to reach the target. A scenario optimization model is formulated which maximizes the upside potential of the portfolio, with limits on the downside risk. Both upside and downside are measured vis-à-vis the goal. The stochastic behavior of asset returns is captured through bootstrap simulation, and the simulation is embedded in the model to determine the optimal portfolio. Post-optimality analysis using out-of-sample scenarios measures the probability of success of a given portfolio. It also allows us to estimate the required increase in the initial endowment so that the probability of success is improved.     

基于进化金融的证券投资策略动态博弈模型研究

本研究构建并证明了一个内生平衡资产价格的证券市场动态博弈进化模型。模型中资产产生的股息分别用于消费和再投资。投资者使用一般的、自适应投资策略以特定的比例在不同资产间进行投资,投资依据是环境的外生状态和观察到的博弈历史记录。本研究的主要目标是探索并定义投资者的生存策略,即在整个有限的时间范围内,该策略需确保投资者拥有积极的、远离零界的市场财富份额。本研究把进化金融的最新理论和非合作市场博弈的经典主题结合在一起,证明了投资策略成为稳定生存策略的条件及生存策略的渐进唯一性。     

金融资产收益率尾概率估计研究

在对金融资产进行投资时,投资者所关注的问题往往是金融资产收益率发生大波动的概率,简称尾概率.本文利用大偏差定理对此概率如何进行估计进行深入研究.将收益率按其尾部的分布特征分成三类,分别对其进行研究,得到三种不同的估计公式.本文对收益率序列存在相关性、收益率是多元随机变量情况下的尾概率估计问题也进行了分析.     

Rebalancing Multiple Assets with Mutual Price Impact

We find asymptotically optimal trading policies for long-term investors with constant relative risk aversion, in a multiple-assets market, where expected returns and covariances are constant, and the execution price of each asset is linear in the trading intensities of all assets. Trading toward the frictionless target is optimal, when the current portfolio differs from the target by a principal portfolio—an eigenvector of the inverse impact matrix times the covariance matrix. Optimal policies approach the frictionless target along nonlinear, power-shaped paths, trading faster in more liquid directions, while tolerating wider oscillations along less liquid directions.     

A Higher-Order Hidden Markov Chain-Modulated Model for Asset Allocation

This paper presents an analysis of asset allocation strategies when the asset returns are governed by a discrete-time higher-order hidden Markov model (HOHMM), also called the weak hidden Markov model. We assume the drifts and volatilities of the asset returns switch over time according to the state of the HOHMM, in which the probability of the current state depends on the information from previous time-steps. The “switching” and “mixed” strategies are studied. We use a multivariate filtering technique in conjunction with the EM algorithm to obtain estimates of model parameter at a given time. This, in turn, aids investors in determining the optimal investment strategy for the next time step. Numerical implementation is applied to data on Russell 3000 value and growth indices. We benchmark the respective performances of portfolio using three classical investment measures.