The Nelson-Siegel-Svensson model is widely-used for modelling the yield curve, yet many authors have reported ‘numerical difficulties' when calibrating the model. We argue that the problem is twofold: firstly, the optimisation problem is not convex and has multiple local optima. Hence standard...

Practical techniques for approximating yield given the price and price given the yield are described. Duration and convexity estimations given prices and yields at three observation points are presented. Such approximations are useful when computing prices and yields from their values at nearby...

This article tries to solve the portfolio inflation hedging problem by introducing a new class of dynamic trading strategies derived from classic portfolio insurance techniques adapted to the real world. These strategies aim at yielding higher returns on a risk-adjusted basis than regular...

This paper develops a method to approximate arbitrage-free bond yields within a term structure model in which the short rate follows a Gaussian process censored at zero (a "shadow-rate model" as proposed by Black, 1995). The censoring ensures that model-implied yields are constrained to be...

The Polynomial Chaos Expansion (PCE) technique recovers a finite second order random variable exploiting suitable linear combinations of orthogonal polynomials which are functions of a given stochastic quantity $\xi$, hence acting as a kind of random basis. The PCE methodology has been developed...

Using a stochastic discount factor approach, we derive the exact solution for arbitrage-free bond yields for the case that the short-term interest rate follows a threshold process with the intercept switching endogenously. The yield functions, mapping the one-month rate into n-period yields,...

Changes in credit supply induce large and frequent variations in households' access to unsecured debt. They generate a novel financial precautionary motive, which compounds the classical motive associated with idiosyncratic income risk, as borrowers accumulate risk-free bonds to hedge against...

I examine how the maturity structure of outstanding government liabilities affects the nominal yield curve under a variety of assumptions about investor objectives. In the class of models I consider, equilibria are arbitrage free, expectations are rational, and assets are valued only for their...

In this paper we extend the results derived in our earlier work to develop a methodology to employ the maximum-likelihood estimation technique for the pricing of interest rate instruments. In order to price bonds and their derivative assets, researchers must identify a preference parameter in...

Explanations of why changes in the relative quantities of safe debt seem to affect asset prices often appeal informally to a "portfolio balance" mechanism. I show how this type of effect can be incorporated in a general class of structural, arbitrage-free asset-pricing models using a numerical...