This paper introduces a benchmark model for financial markets, which is based on the unique characterization of a benchmark portfolio that is chosen to be the growth optimal portfolio. The general structure of risk premia for asset prices and portfolios is derived. Furthermore, the short rate is...

This paper proposes a new explanation for the smile and skewness effects in implied volatilities. Starting from a microeconomic equilibrium approach, we develop a diffusion model for stock prices explicitly incorporating the technical demand induced by hedging strategies. This leads to a...

We analyze portfolio strategies which are locally optimal, meaning that they maximize the Sharpe ratio in a general continuous time jump-diffusion framework. These portfolios are characterized explicitly and compared to utility based strategies. We show that in the presence of jumps, maximizing...

This paper proposes an alternative approach to the modeling of the interest rate term structure. It suggests that the total market price for risk is an important factor that has to be modeled carefully. The growth optimal portfolio, which is characterized by this factor, is used as reference...

This paper uses an alternative, parsimonious stochastic volatility model to describe the dynamics of a currency market for the pricing and hedging of derivatives. Time transformed squared Bessel processes are the basic driving factors of the minimal market model. The time transformation is...

Purpose – This paper aims to construct and compare various total-return world stock indices based on daily data. Design/methodology/approach – Because of diversification, these indices are noticeably similar. A diversification theorem identifies any diversified portfolio as a proxy for the...

We consider a very general diffusion model for asset prices which allows the description of stochastic and past-dependent volatilities. Since this model typically yields an incomplete market, we show that for the purpose of pricing options, a small investor should use the minimal equivalent...

Estimation theory has shown, due to the limited estimation window available for real asset data, the sample based Markowitz mean-variance approach produces unreliable weights which fluctuate substantially over time. This paper proposes an alternate approach to portfolio optimization, being the...

The aim of this paper is to model the dependencya mong log-returns when security account prices are expressed in units of a well diversified world stock index. The paper uses the equi-weighted index EWI104s, calculated as the average of 104 world industry sector indices. The log-returns of its...

In this paper we analyze the simulated behavior of diversified portfolios in a continuous financial market. In particular, we focus on equally weighted portfolios. We illustrate that these well diversified portfolios constitute good proxies of the growth optimal portfolio. The multi-asset market...