This paper considers the valuation of equity-linked life insurance contracts that offer an annually guaranteed minimum return. The policy premiums are invested in a reference portfolio that is modeled by means of a regime switching Lévy process where the model parameters depend on a continuous,...

In this paper we propose a maximum entropy estimator for the asymptotic distribution of the hedging error for options. Perfect replication of financial derivatives is not possible, due to market incompleteness and discrete-time hedging. We derive the asymptotic hedging error for options under a...

The present article studies geometric step options in exponential Lévy markets. Our contribution is manifold and extends several aspects of the geometric step option pricing literature. First, we provide symmetry and parity relations and derive various characterizations for both European-type...

We present a new approach to the pricing of catastrophe event derivatives that does not assume a fully diversifiable event risk. Instead, we assume that the event occurrence and intensity affect the return of the market portfolio of an agent that trades in the event derivatives. Based on this...

We investigate the optimal investment problem when the interest rate is stochastic and the investor must pay proportional transaction costs when buying and selling the risky assets. We first consider a portfolio of bonds and transaction costs.We then add a stock to the portfolio, and analyze the...

Two major financial market complexities are transaction costs and uncertain volatility, and we analyze their joint impact on the problem of portfolio optimization. When volatility is constant, the transaction costs optimal investment problem has a long history, especially in the use of...

This paper presents the theoretical and applicative model elaborated by Harry Markowitz on the determination of the structure of the efficient securities portfolio. In this sense, in order to determine the structure of the efficient Markowitz portfolio (PE), a Lagrange function is built and...

In this paper we formulate the Risk Management Control problem in the interest rate area as a constrained stochastic portfolio optimization problem. The utility that we use can be any continuous function and based on the viscosity theory, the unique solution of the problem is guaranteed. The...

We propose a consistent and computationally efficient 2-step methodology for the estimation of multidimensional non-Gaussian asset models built using Lévy processes. The proposed framework allows for dependence between assets and different tail-behaviors and jump structures for each asset. Our...

The problem of optimal portfolio choice is solved, in closed form, for an ambiguity averse investor who has access to stock and derivatives markets. The investor can have different levels of uncertainty about models for stock return and its stochastic volatility. Although both types of ambiguity...