Recent research reveals that hedge fund returns exhibit a range of different,possibly non-linear pay-off patterns. It is difficult to qualify all these patternssimultaneously as being rational in a traditional framework for optimal financial decisionmaking. In this paper we present a simple...

Given recent regulatory inquiries into the derivative-trading practices of mutual funds, we examine their detailed option holdings to assess how mutual funds employ options, what funds use options, and how that affects performance and risk. Mutual funds’ use of options appears consistent with...

In this paper, various option pricing models are used to provide analytical solutions to valuing defined pension liabilities (or securitised parts of pension liabilities) in incomplete markets. Unlike when markets are complete, there is not a single arbitrage-free price for liabilities but...

In spite of tall claims that Hedge Funds have been demystified, the fact remains a big segment of the investment community is not aware of the risk return permutations that this asset class has to offer. Hedge fund is not a new terminology for those tracking Indian Capital market at least for...

Longevity risk is the risk that the promised recipient of lifetime cashflows ends up living much longer than originally anticipated, thus causing a shortfall in funding. A related risk, reimbursement risk is the risk that providers of health insurance face when new and expensive drugs are...

We decompose hedge fund tail risk into two components: Systematic Conditional Tail Risk (SCTR) arising predictably from equity market exposure, and Idiosyncratic Conditional Tail Risk (ICTR) arising from proprietary investment technology. Using option holdings data, we demonstrate that low-SCTR...

This article develops a Hedging Algebraic Model (HAM) for equity index portfolios with stock index futures as an alternative to econometric models (OLS, ECM, and GARCH) and assesses the efficacy of the model when applied to the IBEX 35 for the period 2007-2015. The model is initially formulated...

Based on daily data from 1989-2016 we find that the correlations between some relevant commodity market futures and equity returns in the aggregate U.S. market, and specifically in the energy sector stocks have changed strongly during the stock market crisis periods. The correlation between...

This brief paper discusses the option-like exposures of a number of hedge fund strategies based on a review of the literature on the topic. Specifically, recent academic articles have argued that implicit options arise in hedge fund products due to the following factors: (1) the tailoring of...

We analyse the evolution of the hedge fund industry and try to assess whether this alternative investment class makes sense over the traditional one. We are concerned with the impact of the crisis. Common sense tells us that that during phases of market euphoria, possibly due to over-optimism,...