In this paper, we investigate the behavior of the exchange rate within the framework of an asset pricing model. We assume boundedly rational agents who use simple rules to forecast the future exchange rate. They test these rules continuously using two learning mechanisms. The first one, the...

This paper develops and tests a heterogeneous agents model for the option market. Contrary to the common practice in the heterogeneous agents literature of modeling the level process, we introduce heterogeneity and switching in the variance process of the stock market. The market consists of two...

This paper considers dynamic asset allocation in a mean versus downside-risk framework. We derive closed-form solutions for the optimal portfolio weights when returns are lognormally distributed. Moreover, we study the impact of skewed and fat-tailed return distributions. We find that the...

In this paper we consider the problem of hedging contingent claims on a stock under transaction costs and stochastic volatility. Extensive research has clearly demonstrated that the volatility of most stocks is not constant over time. As small changes of the volatility can have a major impact on...

In this paper we study the impact of earnings announcements on trading volume, open interest and spreads in the stock option market. We find that option volume is higher around announcement days, even if we correct for stock volume and the expected future volatility of stock returns. Results in...

In this paper we study the retirement saving problem from the point of view of a plan sponsor, who makes contribution payments for the future retirement of an employee. The plan sponsor considers the employee's labor income as investment-benchmark in order to ensure the continuation of...

Value-at-Risk (VaR) has become the standard criterion for assessing risk in the financial industry. Given the widespread usage of VaR based risk management, it becomes increasingly important to study the effects on the stock market and the option market of these constraints. We therefore...

This paper analyses the optimal investment strategy for loss averse investors, assuming a complete market and general Ito processes for the asset prices. The loss averse investor follows a partial portfolio insurance strategy. When the planning horizon of the investor is short, i.e. less than 5...

In this paper we empirically test if loss-aversion affects household participation in equity markets, household allocations to equity, and household allocations between mutual funds and individual stocks. Using household survey data, we obtain direct measures of each surveyed household's...

This article studies the impact of heterogeneous loss averse investors on asset prices. In very good states loss averse investors become gradually less risk averse as wealth rises above their reference point, pushing up equity prices. When wealth drops below the reference point the investors...