Risk-averse expected utility maximization implies that the pricing kernel must be a non-increasing function of aggregate wealth. However, empirical research has found that the pricing kernel frequently displays a locally increasing portion in aggregate wealth. This is known as the pricing kernel...

The quotient of random variables with normal distributions is examined and proven to have have power law decay, with density f(x)~f_0 x^(-2), with the coefficient depending on the means and variances of the numerator and denominator, and their correlation. We also obtain the conditional...

We show that if sophisticated institutional managers and individual investors perceive tail-risks differently, then a new explanation for the pricing kernel puzzle emerges. We show, by example, that even a tiny difference in tail-risk perception by the two investor types can explain the pricing...