Tracking-Error Models for Multiple Benchmarks: Theory and Empirical Performance

52 Pages Posted: 25 May 2016 Last revised: 5 Mar 2024

See all articles by Yunchao Xu

Yunchao Xu

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Karthik Natarajan

Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)

Chung-Piaw Teo

NUS Business School - Department of Decision Sciences

Zhichao Zheng

Singapore Management University - Lee Kong Chian School of Business

Date Written: June 30, 2012

Abstract

We propose a new multiple-benchmark tracking-error model for the portfolio selection problem. We construct a strategy to track the performance of the highest return from a set of benchmarks, by minimizing a quadratic loss function. The portfolio rule constructed this way retains features of the linear combination rule, with weights mainly determined by the probability that each benchmark portfolio attains the highest return among all the benchmark portfolios considered. We use this approach to deal with the issue of estimation errors in portfolio construction. A common strategy here is to use a re-sampling technique to construct portfolios from the data, and use the average of the portfolio weights as the solution. We can view each portfolio constructed from sampling as a benchmark, and use the tracking error method proposed in this paper to enhance the performance of any portfolio selection method. We perform comprehensive numerical experiments with various empirical data sets to demonstrate that our approach can consistently provide higher net Sharpe ratio (even after accounting for transaction cost), higher net aggregate return, smaller tracking error, and lower turnover rates in out-of-sample performance, compared to twelve different benchmark portfolios proposed in the literature, including the equally weighted portfolio (the 1/n strategy).

Suggested Citation

Xu, Yunchao and Natarajan, Karthik and Teo, Chung-Piaw and Zheng, Zhichao, Tracking-Error Models for Multiple Benchmarks: Theory and Empirical Performance (June 30, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2783637 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2783637

Yunchao Xu

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business ( email )

44 West 4th Street
Suite 9-160
New York, NY NY 10012
United States

Karthik Natarajan

Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) ( email )

20 Dover Drive
Singapore, 138682
Singapore

Chung-Piaw Teo

NUS Business School - Department of Decision Sciences ( email )

15 Kent Ridge Drive
Mochtar Riady Building, BIZ 1 8-69
119245
Singapore

Zhichao Zheng (Contact Author)

Singapore Management University - Lee Kong Chian School of Business ( email )

50 Stamford Road
Singapore, 178899
Singapore
(65) 6808 5474 (Phone)
(65) 6828 0777 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.zhengzhichao.com

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