We establish the out-of-sample predictability of monthly exchange rate changes via machine learning techniques based on 70 predictors capturing country characteristics, global variables, and their interactions. To guard against overfitting, we use the elastic net to estimate a high-dimensional...

Nonlinear classification models can predict future earnings surprises with a high accuracy by using pricing and earnings input data. Surprises of 15% or more can be predicted with 71% accuracy. These predictions can be used to form profitable trading strategies. Additional variables have been...

We directly optimize portfolio weights as a function of firm characteristics via deep neural networks by generalizing the parametric portfolio policy framework. Our results show that network-based portfolio policies result in an increase of investor utility of between 30 and 100 percent over a...

This paper explores how the medical expenditure risk affects the households' portfolio choice across health status theoretically in a life cycle model and empirically using machine learning methods. Medical expenditure risk, as a background risk, can relocate households' financial decisions. A...

Using machine learning methods, we develop a new measure of aggregate analyst sentiment. We first train analyst-specific neural network (NN) models that capture each analyst's common biases across firms. Using NN model outputs, we decompose the forecast errors of individual analysts into...

We examine various and different approaches for the prediction of economic crisis periods of US economy. We examine the traditional econometric discrete choice Logit and Probit models then a feed-forward neural network (FFNN) model and finally we apply an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System...

We produce a social unrest risk index for 125 countries covering a period of 1996 to 2020. The risk of social unrest is based on the probability of unrest in the following year derived from a machine learning model drawing on over 340 indicators covering a wide range of macro-financial,...

In this paper, we document the importance of memory in machine learning (ML)-based models relying on firm characteristics for asset pricing. We find that predictive algorithms perform best when they are trained on long samples, with long-term returns as dependent variables. In addition, we...

Overconfidence behavior, one form of positive illusion, has drawn considerable attention throughout history because it is viewed as the main reason for many crises. Investors' overconfidence, which can be observed as overtrading following positive returns, may lead to inefficiencies in stock...

This paper introduces a reinforcement learning based approach to compute optimal interest rate reaction functions in terms of fulfilling inflation and output gap targets. The method is generally flexible enough to incorporate restrictions like the zero lower bound, nonlinear economy structures...