This paper points out to loopholes in Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and fundamental flaws that question its validity and applicability not only for investment but for education as well. Using theoretical analysis, Monte Carlo simulations and market data I present and discuss theoretical, as well...

Accepted wisdom, assuming capital market equilibrium and low cash returns, advises investors to hold optimal portfolios containing little cash. But credit crunches - periods of non-price credit rationing when effective cash yields are very high - happen in the real world. Because of this, it is...

The purpose of this case is to provide an introduction to fixed income portfolio management. In addition, the case describes the story of Bill Gross and the founding of PIMCO.Bill Gross continues to work the same schedule since joining PIMCO in 1970; a rigorous and structured workday that begins at...

The authors have developed an easy-to-use approach, derived from financial portfolio theory, for determining which product(s) to eliminate. This approach takes into account the effect the product deletion will have on the overall rate of return and the overall risk of the product portfolio

In this paper we present an application where advanced undergraduate students can solve the expected utility portfolio model with a risk-free and a risky asset with both up and down returns in the Stock Market. With real Stock Market data, we use Excel Solver to find the portfolio decision and...

I show you how to use the Bloomberg Professional Service (i.e., the “Bloomberg Terminal”) to execute a Benjamin Graham value investing exercise using Bloomberg’s equity screening (EQS) function. I used this exercise very successfully for 15 years in a final-year undergraduate Applied...

We consider a portfolio optimization problem in a Black-Scholes model with n stocks, in which an investor faces both fixed and proportional transaction costs. The performance of an investment strategy is measured by the average return of the corresponding portfolio over an infinite time horizon....

The aim of the paper is to study empirically the influence of higher moments of the return distribution on conditional value at risk (CVaR). To be more exact, we attempt to reveal the extent to which the risk given by CVaR can be estimated when relying on the mean, standard deviation, skewness...

This interdisciplinary paper explains how mathematical techniques of stochastic optimal control can be applied to the recent subprime mortgage crisis. Why did the financial markets fail to anticipate the recent debt crisis, despite the large literature in mathematical finance concerning optimal...