A well-known pitfall of Markowitz (1952) portfolio optimization is that the sample covariance matrix, which is a critical input, is very erroneous when there are many assets to choose from. If unchecked, this phenomenon skews the optimizer towards extreme weights that tend to perform poorly in...

We propose a model to assess the credit risk features of fixed income portfolios assuming they can be characterized by two parameters: their default probability and their default correlation. We rely on explicit expressions to assess their credit risk and demonstrate the benefits of our approach...

The paper analyzes the process of market selection of investment strategies in an incomplete asset market. The payoffs of the as-sets depend on random factors described in terms of a discrete-time Markov process. Market participants make dynamic investment de-cisions based on their observations...

We show that if an agent is uncertain about the precise form of his utility function, his actual relative risk aversion may depend on wealth even if he knows his utility function lies in the class of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility functions. We illustrate the consequences of this...

We study the optimal insurance demand in the μ,σ space when the decision-maker faces a first-order risk increase. In particular, we investigate the effect of an increase in the expected damage when the variance is held constant. An unambiguous result is derived on insurance demand that differs...

This paper shows that a stock market is evolutionary stable if and only if stocks are evaluated by expected relative dividends. Any other market can be invaded by portfolio rules that will gain market wealth and hence change the valuation. In the model the valuation of assets is given by the...

This paper presents an application of evolutionary portfolio theory to stocks listed in the Swiss Market Index (SMI). We study numerically the long-run outcome of the competition of rebalancing rules for market shares in a stock market with actual dividends taken from firms listed in the SMI....

Tobin (1958) has argued that in the face of potential capital losses on bonds it is reasonable to hold cash as a means to transfer wealth over time. It is shown that this assertion cannot be sustained taking into account the evolution of wealth of cash holders versus non cash holders. Cash...

Insurance companies invest their wealth in financial markets. The wealth evolution strongly depends on the success of their investment strategies, but also on liquidity shocks which occur during unfavourable years, when indemnities to be paid to the clients exceed collected premia. An investment...