This paper provides an insight to the time-varying dynamics of the shape of the distribution of financial return series by proposing an exponential weighted moving average model that jointly estimates volatility, skewness and kurtosis over time using a modified form of the Gram-Charlier density...

We use S&P 500 index return data for the time period 1985-2012 to evaluate the performance of portfolio insurance strategies. We shed light on the question if the performance of a constant proportion portfolio insurance (CPPI) strategy can be improved by means of a time-varying multiplier which...

In Part 1 a simple market timing algorithm was described that switches from an exchange traded fund representing U. S. equities (SPY) to one holding treasury long bonds (TLT) every month on the last day, the switch being made to whichever ETF has the greatest ratio of current adjusted closing...

Insurance and reinsurance live and die from the diversification benefits or lack of it in their risk portfolio. The new solvency regulations allow companies to include diversification in their computation of risk-based capital (RBC). The question is how to really evaluate those benefits.To...

The intercept of the standard CAPM and Conditional CAPM model, the alpha, is used to evaluate the long-run performance of managed portfolios. However, this measure is not always appropriate for detecting the presence and impact of active management strategies. In this paper, we introduce a...

It is now an accepted fact that the majority of financial markets worldwide are neither normal nor constant, and South Africa is no exception. One idea that can be used to understand such markets and has been gaining popularity recently is that of regimes and regime-switching models. In this...

Handling risk factors in the context of a multi-asset risk parity portfolio allocation has created increased interest in recent literature. When allocating along risk factors through principal components, one major problem that persists is the potential existence of leverage or short positions...

We customize factor attribution for quantitative equity portfolios to better align the measurement of factor returns with how factor tilts were taken on. Specifically, we provide a theoretical argument for including the absolute value of factor exposures in the attribution to account for the...

[Update: Within four weeks of the original publication of this research report, Risk Magazine reported in its 28th February 2012 issue story titled 'Goodbye VaR? Basel to Consider Other Risk Metrics': "A review of trading book capital rules, due to be launched in March by the Basel Committee on...