We show that if an agent is uncertain about the precise form of his utility function, his actual relative risk aversion may depend on wealth even if he knows his utility function lies in the class of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility functions. We illustrate the consequences of this...

We derive the analogue of the classic Arrow-Pratt approximation of the certainty equivalent under model uncertainty as defined by the smooth model of decision making under ambiguity of Klibanoff, Marinacci and Mukerji (2005). We study its scope via a portfolio allocation exercise that delivers a...

Loss aversion has been used to explain why a high equity premium might be consistent with plausible levels of risk aversion. The intuition is that the first-order-different utility impact of wealth gains and losses leads loss-averse investors to behave similarly to investors with high risk...

Should you buy a stock or a corporate bond? A common belief is that the Pratt-Arrow risk aversion measure gives the answer: a more risk averse investor will prefer more a corporate bond to a stock. However, this is not always true. In a simple portfolio problem with a riskless bond, a stock and...

This paper demonstrates the simple incorporation of any shape of risk aversion into a pure asset allocation framework. Indeed, empirical studies show mixed evidence regarding the shape of this important but subjective variable (e.g., Holt and Laury, 2002; Meyer and Meyer, 2005; Guiso and Paiella, 2008)....

This paper takes into account the most prevalent practices in terms of fees in order to study the dynamic asset allocation of fund managers exhibiting a loss aversion utility function. Managers are compensated with performance-based (asymmetric and symmetric) fees comprising an underperformance...

We propose a fund allocation strategy for a highly risk-averse investor based on pessimistic decision making to construct portfolios of four major asset classes. Using US data (indexes of stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities) from January 1990 to December 2010, we find that the proposed...