Estimating and pricing correlation of credit deterioration is difficult, but can be handled with standard notions of correlation. The same however is not true for default events. The notion of correlation that one needs to use in dealing with credit default is fundamentally different from the...

A large number of important practical tasks can be accomplished using a multivariate GARCH model. This paper examines the relatively small number of software packages that are currently available for estimating such models, in spite of their widespread use. The review focuses upon estimation...

The conditions under which pension schemes merge is an important issue that has been under-researched. Mergers can affect the strength of the sponsor’s covenant and the balance of power between the trustees and the sponsor, as well as the scheme funding ratio. This paper sets out two financial...

With institutional investors increasingly involved in alternative investments, portfolio optimisation within a large universe of hedge funds has become a key area for research. This paper develops a portfolio construction model that is specifically designed for funds of hedge funds,...

The trustees of funded defined benefit pension schemes must make two vital and inter-related decisions - setting the asset allocation and the contribution rate. While these decisions are usually taken separately, it is argued that they are intimately related and should be taken jointly. The...

This paper provides and empirical examination of four European equity indices between 1991 and 2005. We investigate the ability of fifteen different GARCH models to capture the characteristics of historical daily returns effectively and generate realistic implied volatility skews. Using many...

his paper addresses the problem of uncertainty in volatility, and how this affects option prices. The volatility uncertainty adjustment to Black-Scholes option prices is quantified in this paper using a normal mixture model for the distribution of underlying returns, or equivalently, assuming a...

This paper examines the performance of a general dynamic equity indexing strategy based on cointegration, from a market efficiency perspective. A consistent return in excess of the benchmark is demonstrated over different time horizons and in different, real world and simulated stock markets. A...

This study considers the stock performance of America’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens following the annual survey by Business Ethics. We examine both possible short-term announcement effects around the time of the survey’s publication, and whether longer-term returns are higher for firms that...