We consider dynamic asset allocation problems where the agent is required to pay capital gains taxes on her investment gains. This is a very challenging problem because the tax owed whenever a security is sold depends on the cost-basis, i.e. the price(s) at which the shares of the security was...

Assuming the multiplicative background risk model, which has been a popular model due to its practical applicability and technical tractability, we develop a general framework for analyzing portfolio performance based on its subportfolios. Since the performance of subportfolios is easier to...

We assess the ability of minimum-variance portfolio allocation strategies accounting for time-varying correlation between assets to provide performance benefits relative to an equally-weighted portfolio. Prior to transaction costs correlation-based strategies emphatically outperform the...

We compare the equal-weight naive 1/N portfolio with mean-variance strategies from the perspective of mispricing (alpha) and provide three new findings. First, we analytically show that the 1/N rule approaches the ex ante mean-variance efficient portfolio in the absence of mispricing. With...

Factor analysis of security returns aims to decompose a return covariance matrix into systematic and specific risk components. To date, most commercially successful factor analysis has been based on fundamental models, although there is a large academic literature on statistical models. While...

In this paper we propose a novel application of Gaussian processes (GPs) to financial asset allocation. Our approach is deeply rooted in Stochastic Portfolio Theory (SPT), a stochastic analysis framework introduced by Robert E. Fernholz that aims at flexibly analysing the performance of certain...

Standard mean-variance analysis is based on the assumption of normal return distributions. However, a growing body of literature suggests that the market oscillates between two different regimes – one with low volatility and the other with high volatility. In such a case, even if the return...

The Black Litterman (BL) model for portfolio optimization combines investors' expectations with the Markowitz framework. The BL model is designed for investors with private information or with knowledge of market behavior. In this paper I propose a method where investors' expectations are based...

The paper investigates the importance of inflation-linked annuities to individuals facing inflation risk. Given the investment opportunities in nominal, real, and variable annuities, as well as cash and stocks, we investigate the consumption and investment decisions under two different objective...

We formulate a distributionally robust optimization problem where the deviation of the alternative distribution is controlled by a φ-divergence penalty in the objective, and show that a large class of these problems are essentially equivalent to a mean-variance problem. We also show that while...