We implement a long-horizon static and dynamic portfolio allocation involving a risk-free and a risky asset. This model is calibrated at a quarterly frequency for ten European countries. We also use maximum-likelihood estimates and Bayesian estimates to account for parameter uncertainty. We find...

This paper presents a method for Bayesian nonparametric analysis of the return distribution in a stochastic volatility model. The distribution of the logarithm of the squared return is flexibly modelled using an infinite mixture of Normal distributions. This allows efficient Markov chain Monte...

This paper documents the existence of a slowly evolving trend in the dividend-price ratio, dp, determined by a demographic variable, MY: the middle-aged to young ratio. Deviations of the dividend-price ratio from this slowly evolving long-run component explain transitory but persistent...

In this paper, we explore the interconnection and existing relationships between the Sovereign Credit Default Swaps (henceforth, CDS) and the stock markets of the main European countries. Thus, the goal of this paper is to test if the CDS premia can predict the stock market returns of the most...

In this paper we explore the dynamics of Implied Volatility Surfaces (IVS) both in a single-currency framework, and in the context of a global, integrated market. We construct a parametric function of “moneyness” and “time-to-maturity” factors that correspond to common shapes of IVS with...

This paper investigates how investor sentiment affects stock market returns and evaluates the predictability power of sentiment indices on U.S. and EU stock market returns. As regards the American example, evidence shows that investor sentiment indices have an economic and statistical...

We propose a new approach to imposing economic constraints on forecasts of the equity premium. Economic constraints are used to modify the posterior distribution of the parameters of the predictive return regression in a way that better allows the model to learn from the data. We consider two...