We derive the statistical properties of the SNP densities of Gallant and Nychka (1987). We show that these densities, which are always positive, are more flexible than truncated Gram-Charlier expansions with positivity restrictions. We use the SNP densities for financial derivatives valuation....

The factor GARCH model of Engle (1987) and the latent factor ARCH model of Diebold and Nerlove (1989) have become rather popular multivariate volatility parameterizations due to their parsimony, and the commonality in volatility movements across different financial series. Nevertheless, there is...

In an economy with one riskless and one risky asset, we compare the Sharpe ratios of investment funds that follow: i) timing strategies which forecast the market using simple regressions; ii) a strategy which uses multiple regression instead; and iii) a passive allocation which combines the funds...

We compare the Sharpe ratios of traders who combine one riskless and one risky asset following (i) buy and hold strategies; (ii) timing strategies with forecasts from simple; or (iii) multiple regressions; and (iv) passive allocations of (i) and (ii) with mean-variance optimizers. We show that...

A linear structure is a family of matrices that satisfy a given set of linear restrictions, such as symmetry or diagonality. We add to the literature on linear structures by studying the family of matrices where all diagonal elements are zero, and discuss two econometric examples where these...

We derive closed-form expressions for the Jacobian of the matrix exponential function for both diagonalizable and defective matrices. The results are applied to two cases of interest in macroeconometrics: a continuous-time macro model and the parametrization of rotation matrices governing...

In this paper, I first provide a unifying approach to Mean-Variance analysis and Value at Risk, which highlights their similarities and differences. Then I use it to explain how fund managers can take investment decisions within the well-known Mean-Variance allocation framework that satisfy the...

We study the properties of mimicking portfolios in an intertemporal APT model, in which the conditional mean and covariance matrix of returns vary in an interdependent manner. We use a signal extraction approach, and relate the efficiency of (possibly) dynamic basis portfolios to mean square...

The factor GARCH model of Engle (1987) and the latent factor ARCH model of Diebold and Nerlove (1989) have become rather popular multivariate volatility parameterizations due to their parsimony, and the commonality in volatility movements across different financial series. Nevertheless, there is...

We derive Lagrange Multiplier and Likelihood Ratio specification tests for the null hypotheses of multivariate normal and Student t innovations using the Generalised Hyperbolic distribution as our alternative hypothesis. We decompose the corresponding Lagrange Multiplier-type tests into skewness...