We show that the widely documented negative relation between idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) and expected returns can be explained by the mean reversion of stocks' idiosyncratic volatilities. We use option-implied information to extract the mean reversion speed of IVOL in an almost model-free...

We study the optimal portfolio choice of international investors when variances and correlations are stochastic. We assume that the returns from the perspective of the domestic investor are driven by a Wishart Affine Stochastic Correlation (WASC) model. We show that this also holds from the...

We propose a Wishart Affine Stochastic Correlation (WASC) model for the joint dynamics of the SDF in an international economy. We derive exchange rate dynamics and a quasi-closed-form solution for currency option pricing. This solution includes Heston's stochastic volatility model as a special...

This paper explores how economic uncertainty evolves over time and how it is priced in the market. We solve for the variance premium, the prices of equity index options, and the prices of volatility related derivatives in a long-run risks model. We find that both short-run and long-run...

Tests for the existence and the sign of the volatility risk premium are often based on expected option hedging errors. When the hedge is performed under the ideal conditions of continuous trading and correct model specification, the sign of the premium is the same as the sign of the mean hedging...

This paper deals with the superhedging of derivatives on incomplete markets, i.e. with portfolio strategies which generate payoffs at least as high as that of a given contingent claim. The simplest solution to this problem is in many cases a static superhedge, i.e. a buy-and-hold strategy...

This paper provides a theoretical and numerical analysis of robust hedging strategies in diffusion?type models including stochastic volatility models. A robust hedging strategy avoids any losses as long as the realised volatility stays within a given interval. We focus on the effects of...

When options are traded, one can use their prices and price changes to draw inference about the set of risk factors and their risk premia. We analyze tests for the existence and the sign of the market prices of jump risk that are based on option hedging errors. We derive a closed-form solution...

Stocks are exposed to the risk of sudden downward jumps. Additionally, a crash in one stock (or index) can increase the risk of crashes in other stocks (or indices). Our paper explicitly takes this contagion risk into account and studies its impact on the portfolio decision of a CRRA investor...

The term 'financialization' describes the phenomenon that commodity contracts are traded for purely financial reasons and not for motives rooted in the real economy. Recently, financialization has been made responsible for causing adverse welfare effects especially for low-income and low-wealth...