Previous research has shown that frictions might have a significant impact on the value of a contingent claim, as discussed, for example, in Karatzas & Kou (1996)and Collin-Dufresne & Hugonnier (2002). We consider two types of frictions particularly important: frictions related to trading, such...

In June 2003 Swiss banks held over CHF 500 billion in mortgages. This important segment accounts for about 63% of all loan portfolios of Swiss banks. Since default insurance is not common in Switzerland, the corresponding risks are a severe threat for the health of the financial system. We...

We analyze the problem of real optimal asset allo cation for a p ensionfund maximising the exp ected CRRA utility of its real disp osable wealth.The financial horizon of the analysis coincides with the random deathtime of a representative subscriber. We consider a very general settingwhere...

In this paper, we investigate how investors who face both equity risk andcredit risk would optimally allocate their financial wealth in a dynamic continuous-time setup. We model credit risk through the defaultable zero-coupon bond and solve the dynamics of its price after pricing it. Using...

In this study we analyze the performance persistence of hedge funds over different time horizons. Using a non-parametric test, we first observe that the relative value and the specialist credit strategies contain the highest proportion of outperforming mangers. Furthermore, there is no evidence...

o obtain the maximum benefits from diversification, financial theory suggests that investors should invest internationally because of the larger potential for risk reduction. The question that we raise in this paper is how to select the optimal portfolio of countries? This article synthesizes...

In this paper we study the performance of self-financing constant proportions trading strategies, i.e. dynamic asset allocation strategies that keep a fixed constant proportion of wealth invested in each asset in all periods in time, in a stationary financial market. We prove that any mixed...

In this paper we analyze the long-run dynamics of the market selection process among simple trading strategies in an incomplete asset market with endogenous prices. We identify a unique surviving financial trading strategy. Investors following this strategy asymptotically gather total market...

The paper analyzes the long-run performance of dynamic investment strategies based on fixed-mix portfolio rules. Such rules prescribe rebalancing the portfolio by transferring funds between its positions according to fixed (timeindependent) proportions. The focus is on asset markets where prices...

This work gives a brief overview of the portfolio selection problem following the mean-risk approach first proposed by Markowitz (1952). We consider various risk measures, i.e. variance, value-at-risk and expected-shortfall and we study the efficient frontiers obtained by solving the portfolio...