The financial investment decision of non-financial firms in China

This paper constructs a portfolio model to analyze the determinants of the financial investment decision of non-financial firms in China. Unlike the literature assuming that financial investments are riskless, our model allows risks in both fixed and financial investments. We show that this extension provides an analytically similar but economically different model from the literature. In particular, it is relative risk and risk-adjusted return gap, not pure risk and simple return gap that enter into firms’ financial investment decision model. Using firm-level panel data of 1902 firms listed in Chinese stock market over the period from 2006 to 2016 with semi-annual frequency, we find that the ratio of fixed investment risk over total risk dominates financial investment decisions of non-financial firms. However, rates of risk-adjusted return gap between financial and fixed investments play no role in Chinese firms’ financial investment decisions, which is in stark contrast to the results using a model assuming riskless financial investments. The baseline findings are robust to alternative measures of financialization and investment risk and different firm sizes, ownership structures and time periods.     

Optimal portfolio choice in the presence of domestic systemic risk: empirical evidence from stock markets

In this paper, we empirically investigate the consequences of domestic systemic risk for stock market investors. To tackle this issue, we consider two different investment strategies. One strategy is to be “crisis-conscious”, i.e., taking the possibility of systemic events into account, and the other one is to be “crisis-ignorant” and thus disregarding systemic risk. We compare the optimal portfolio choices and investment results of these strategies in an historical simulation, using almost three decades of historical stock price data. Our main findings are as follows: the crisis-conscious investor tends to choose less extreme portfolio weights for individual stocks than the ignorant investor. The overall risky investment is, however, of similar size for both. By ignoring the possibility of systemic events, the crisis-ignorant strategy performs significantly worse from the viewpoint of expected return as well as expected utility.     

Do investors still benefit from international diversification with investment constraints?

This paper empirically investigates the potential benefits of international diversification for the U.S. investor with various investment constraints from both long-term and time-rolling perspectives. While the addition of portfolio bounds makes asset allocation more feasible, our findings suggest that adding short-selling and over-weighting constraints reduce but do not completely eliminate the diversification benefits of international investment. The over-time analyses show that diversifying portfolios internationally is still beneficial even though financial markets are becoming more integrated. The out-of-sample test suggests that the Markowitz model does not necessarily realize improved mean–variance efficiency but demonstrates risk reduction. The significant time variation in optimal asset allocation implies the necessity for the fund manager to rebalance international portfolio dynamically.     

The costs of suboptimal dynamic asset allocation: General results and applications to interest rate risk, stock volatility risk, and growth/value tilts

The recent theoretical asset allocation literature has derived optimal dynamic investment strategies in various advanced models of asset returns. But how sensitive is investor welfare to deviations from the theoretically optimal strategy? Will unsophisticated investors do almost as well as sophisticated investors? This paper develops a general theoretical framework for answering such questions and applies it to three specific models of interest rate risk, stochastic stock volatility, and mean reversion and growth/value tilts of stock portfolios. Among other things, we find that growth/value tilts are highly valuable, but the hedging of time-varying stock risk premia is less important.     

Risk spillovers and portfolio management between developed and BRICS stock markets

This paper investigates spillover effects and portfolio diversification between the four major developed stock markets (USA, Europe, Japan and Asia) and five of the most important emerging stock markets known as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). To this end, we apply the multivariate DECO-FIEGARCH model to daily spot indices during the period 1998–2016. The results reveal a significant and asymmetric long memory process for both the developed and the BRICS markets. Moreover, we find a significant variability in the time-varying conditional correlations between the considered markets during both bull and bear markets, particularly from early 2007 to summer 2008. Additionally, we analyze the optimal portfolio weights, time-varying hedge ratios and hedging effectiveness based on the estimates of the model. The results underline the importance of overweighting the optimal portfolios with stocks from the developed countries over those from the BRICS. Finally, we assess the practical implications for mixed developed-BRICS stock portfolios, based on finding strong evidence of diversification benefits and downside risk reductions that confirm the usefulness of using developed market stocks in the BRICS stock portfolio risk management.     

Differences Between Short‐ and Long‐Term Risk Aversion: An Optimal Asset Allocation Perspective

This paper studies the long‐term asset allocation problem of an investor with different risk aversion attitudes to the short and the long term. We characterize investor's preferences with a utility function exhibiting a regime shift in risk aversion at some point of the multiperiod investment horizon that is estimated using threshold nonlinearity methods. Our empirical results for a portfolio of cash, bonds and stocks suggest that long‐term risk aversion is higher than short‐term risk aversion and increases with the investment horizon. The exposure of the investment portfolio from stocks to bonds and cash increases with the degree of risk aversion.     

Cross-industry asset allocation with the spatial interaction on multiple risk transmission channels

Taking into consideration the real link and information risk transmission channels, we used a spatial econometric approach to construct an economic distance-based spatial weight matrix, which can capture the spatial interaction across industries, and built a return estimation model with spatial interaction using the matrix. On this basis, we derived the covariance matrix and constructed the cross-industry asset allocation model. The empirical results showed that 1) the spatial interaction has a strong explanatory power to return and integrating the spatial interaction on multiple risk transmission channels can improve the effectiveness of the return estimation model; 2) the covariance matrix includes unsystematic risk (idiosyncratic risk) and systematic risk (market risk and cross-industry spillover risk); 3) the asset allocation model with spatial interaction can improve the performance of the portfolio and provide a valuable reference for investors' risk management and investment decision.     

股票久期与资产组合的利率风险度量

股票利率风险的定量研究在中国尚不多见。论文采用久期技术探讨了资产组合利率风险测量与管理问题。论文创新之处在于建立了一个基于股权自由现金流的股票久期微观模型,对微观模型和基于消费资产定价的股票宏观久期进行了比较,以这两个模型为依据,计算出我国上证50指数成分股的总体久期值分别为18和25。     

Robustness of stable volatility strategies

The paper analyzes the robustness of stable volatility strategies, i.e. strategies in which the portfolio weight of the stock is inversely proportional to its local volatility. These strategies are optimal for a CRRA investor if the stock follows a diffusion process, the expected excess return is proportional to its volatility, and the hedging demand is zero. We assess the performance of stable volatility strategies when these restrictive assumptions do not hold, in particular, when the risk premium is not proportional to volatility and when the stock price is subject to jumps. We find that stable volatility strategies are indeed robust or close to robust under a maxmin decision rule. In addition to our theoretical results, we perform a simulation analysis to evaluate strategies that scale the portfolio weight by the volatility, variance or a constant portfolio weight, and also analyze the strategies using empirical excess returns. Both analyses confirm the robustness of stable volatility strategies.     

Incorporating disounted cash flow contours onto a bcg portfolio matrix using limit pricing

Little or no attempt has been made to integrate the tools of financial investment appraisal with that of corporate strategy, despite the centrality of both of these disciplines in corporate resource allocation. This paper offers one approach which sets out, through a computer model, to explore the location of DCF values on a strategic portfolio matrix. The modelling took the BCG matrix as the basis of its text together with BCG's own assumption. It was found that the resulting DCF contours suggests a different emphasis compared with BCG's investment advice based on the matrix. The authors do not pretend, however, that the model provided is an immediate, more rigorous, solution to practical strategic analysis. Nor do they argue that the BCG advice may not be appropriate under a wider set of assumptions. The model is offered as suggesting one direction in which work might be conducted in order to link financial investment appraisal with strategic analysis portfolios in order gradually to convert the very general advice usually offered by the use of such matrices to a more precise form.     

A closed-form solution for the continuous-time consumption model with endogenous labor income

In this paper, we study the consumption, labor supply, and portfolio decisions of an infinitely lived individual who receives a certain wage rate and income from investment into a risky asset and a risk-free bond. Uncertainty about labor income arises endogenously, because labor supply evolves randomly over time in response to changes in financial wealth. We derive closed-form solutions for optimal consumption, labor supply and investment strategy. We find that deferring the retirement age stimulates optimal consumption over time and discourages optimal labor supply during the working life. We also find explicitly that optimal portfolio allocation becomes more ‘conservative’ when the individual approaches his prescribed retirement age. The effects of risk-aversion coefficients on optimal decisions are examined.     

基于自由现金流的投资组合研究

本文运用我国股市1998～2006年间的财务报表数据,选择正自由现金流、低自由现金流乘数和低财务杠杆的大公司,对其以自由现金流为基础的投资组合进行了检验。结果显示,以自由现金流为基础的投资组合回报始终优于市场指数,说明在我国股市实行基于自由现金流的投资组合是积极可行的。     

Hedging inflation with individual US stocks: A long-run portfolio analysis

This paper examines whether individual stocks can act as inflation hedgers. We focus on longer investment horizons and construct in- and out-of-sample portfolios based on the long-run relationship (cointegration) of stock prices with respect to consumer prices. Empirical evidence suggests that investors are better off by holding a portfolio of stocks with higher long-run betas as part of asset selection and allocation strategy. Stocks that outperform inflation tend to be drawn from the Energy and Industrial sectors. Finally, we observe that the companies average inflation hedging ability declined steadily over the past ten years, while the number of firms that hedge inflation has decreased considerably after the recent downturn of the US economy.     

Investors' carbon risk exposure and their potential for shareholder engagement

This article examines the exposure to and management of carbon risks of different investor types. Considering the dual role as portfolio manager and partial owner, we analyze carbon risk for investors both in terms of exposure to portfolio values and in terms of responsibility as shareholder of carbon-intensive firms. We show that among various investor types, the preference for holding carbon-intensive stocks differs substantially, even when considering traditional investment decision parameters. In particular, it is governments whose portfolio values are most threatened by a carbon risk exposure of 49%, but at the same time, they prefer larger ownership shares in polluting firms. In contrast, individual investors, investment advisors, and mutual funds avoid holding stakes in these firms, while revealing only a moderate exposure of their assets to carbon risk. In view of the Paris Agreement, which includes the consistent steering of financial flows towards a low carbon transformation of the economy, our study provides policymakers with important implications regarding the coverage and effects of respective regulations. By identifying the ownership structures of carbon-intensive firms and respective owners' portfolio compositions, we also offer implications for further research on portfolio decarbonization and shareholders' influence of corporate carbon management.     

公司风险视角下上市国企管理层股权激励研究

在允许国有控股上市公司实施股权激励的背景下,考察了其不同种类风险与经营者股权激励强度的关系。先界定了风险的类型,再通过构建基于风险的两种股权激励模型,并进一步推导得出：若国有上市企业的管理层不能（可以）买卖公司以外的市场证券组合时,其最优股权激励强度与公司特别性风险成反向变化关系,而与公司整体性风险的相关关系不确定（无关）,这为正在实践中摸索的国有上市企业管理层股权激励合同的设计提供了进一步的理论建议。     

内部收益保证下养老基金的最优资产配置

研究内部收益保证下DC型养老基金的最优资产配置问题。利用鞅方法，在HJM利率期限结构下求得了最优资产配置的显性解。结论表明最优投资策略分为四部分：投机策略、利率套期保值策略、基准组合的复制策略及一揽予债券卖空策略。最后对最优策略的动态行为进行了数值分析。     

Implied Sharpe ratios of portfolios with options: Application to Nikkei futures and listed options

We propose a criterion for portfolio selection, implied excess Sharpe ratio. The implied excess Sharpe ratio is intended as an excess Sharpe ratio (versus the underlying stock) that investors can expect to enjoy from portfolios that include options and is a useful ex ante indicator that can be easily calculated. There are a variety of ways to include options in a portfolio, but we theoretically show that the combination that produces the largest implied excess Sharpe ratio is the best way to maximize the short-term Sharpe ratio. The selection process uses implied excess Sharpe ratio, which is easily calculated from stock lending fees implied by stock prices and actual stock lending fee. It does not require historical simulation or prediction of share price average growth rates and is highly transparent as it can be easily reproduced (at a low calculation cost). Hence, the implied excess Sharpe ratio is a simple but effective tool for investors seeking returns in exchange for a certain amount of risk that want to use the options market efficiently. The short-term Sharpe ratio is not necessarily the only criterion, but is a rational benchmark of portfolio performance closely related to criteria such as the long-term Sharpe ratio and maximum drawdown. To examine the benefit of the concept, we construct an investment strategy that automatically selects from multiple candidate portfolios that are made up of combinations of Nikkei futures and Nikkei listed options the portfolio with the largest implied excess Sharpe ratio. Back-testing shows that this investment strategy performs well over the long term as well.     

Variance swaps,non-normality and macroeconomic and financial risks

This paper studies the determinants of the variance risk premium and discusses the hedging possibilities offered by variance swaps. We start by showing that the variance risk premium responds to changes in higher order moments of the distribution of market returns. But the uncertainty that determines the variance risk premium – the fear by investors to deviations from normality in returns – is also strongly related to a variety of macroeconomic and financial risks associated with default, employment growth, consumption growth, stock market and market illiquidity risks. We conclude that the variance risk premium reflects the market willingness to pay for hedging against these financial and macroeconomic sources of risk. An out-of-sample asset allocation exercise shows that the inclusion of the variance swap reduces the modified value-at-risk with respect to a portfolio holding exclusively the equity market portfolio.     

金融素养、金融资产配置与投资组合有效性

基于动态最优控制理论模型，运用中国家庭微观调查数据，系统研究了金融素养在家庭金融资产配置中的作用及对投资组合有效性的影响。理论分析表明，在一定条件下，金融素养能够显著提升家庭资产中风险性资产的配置比重，有助于实现消费效用最大化。考虑了内生性的实证分析结果表明：金融素养对于风险性资产与金融资产具有显著的正向影响，但无法作用于国债这类无风险资产；金融素养的提升有助于增加股票与基金的配置概率，有助于实施积极的投资策略，但对消极投资策略不显著；金融素养的提升能够显著增加家庭投资组合有效性，促使家庭获得更多的超额回报。     

Risk spillover from crude oil prices to GCC stock market returns: New evidence during the COVID-19 outbreak

In this study, we examine oil price extreme tail risk spillover to individual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets and quantify this spillover’s shift before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A dynamic conditional correlation generalized autoregressive heteroscedastic (DCC- GARCH) model is employed to estimate three important measures of tail dependence risk: conditional value at risk (CoVaR), delta CoVaR (ΔCoVaR), and marginal expected shortfall (MES). Using daily data from January 2017 until May 2020, results point to significant systemic oil risk spillover in all GCC stock markets. In particular, the effect of oil price systemic risk on GCC stock market returns was significantly larger during COVID-19 than before the pandemic. Upon splitting COVID-19 into two phases based on severity, we identify Saudi Arabia as the only GCC market to have experienced significantly higher exposure to oil risk in Phase 1. Although all GCC stock markets received greater oil systemic risk spillover in Phase 2 of COVID-19, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates appeared more vulnerable to oil extreme risk than other countries. Our empirical findings reveal that investors should carefully consider the extreme oil risk effects on GCC stock markets when designing optimal portfolio strategies, minimizing portfolio risk, and adopting dynamic diversification process. Policymakers and regulators should also enact awareness, oversight, and action plans to minimize adverse oil risk effects.