New international accounting standards requires insurers to reflect the value of embedded options and guarantees in their products. Pricing techniques based on the Black amp; Scholes paradigm are often used, however, the hypotheses underneath this model are rarely met.We propose a framework that...

This paper provides an econometric analysis aiming at evidencing the dynamics showed by the S&P 500 market index during the period of 4 January 2001-28 April 2020, in which the subprime crisis has taken place and the COVID-19 crisis has begun. In particular, we fit a three-regime switching model...

In this paper, we study the so-called “wrong skewness” anomaly in Stochastic Frontiers (SF), which consists in the observed difference between the expected and estimated sign of the asymmetry of the composite error. We propose a more general and flexible specification of the SF model,...

Insurers increasingly offer policies that converge with the products of the capital markets, and they face a need for integrative asset and liability management strategies. In this paper we show that an integrative approach -- based on scenario optimization modeling -- adds value to the risk...

We address the problem of portfolio management in the international bond markets. Interest rate risk in the local market, exchange rate volatility across markets, and decisions for hedging currency risk are integral parts of this problem. The paper develops a stochastic programming optimization...

We study the problem of asset and liability management of participating insurance policies with guarantees. We develop a scenario optimization model for integrative asset and liability management, analyze the tradeoffs in structuring such policies, and study alternative choices in funding them....

This paper uses a risk-management approach to re-profile the sovereign debt of countries facing debt crises. Using scenario analysis we develop a risk measure of the sovereign's debt -- Conditional Debt-at-Risk -- and an optimization model is used to trace risk profiles that tradeoff expected...