Optimal Portfolio Allocation Under Higher Moments

47 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2010

See all articles by Eric Jondeau

Eric Jondeau

University of Lausanne - Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne); Swiss Finance Institute; Swiss Finance Institute

Michael Rockinger

University of Lausanne - School of Economics and Business Administration (HEC-Lausanne); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Swiss Finance Institute

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 2004

Abstract

We evaluate how departure from normality may affect the allocation of assets. A Taylor series expansion of the expected utility allows to focus on certain moments and to compute numerically the optimal portfolio allocation. A decisive advantage of this approach is that it remains operational even if a large number of assets is involved. We show that under moderate non-normality the mean-variance criterion provides a good approximation of the expected utility maximization. In contrast, under large departure from normality (as found in some stocks in mature markets or in some stock indices in emerging markets), the mean-variance criterion may fail to approximate the expected utility correctly. In such cases, the three-moment or four-moment optimization strategies may provide a good approximation of the expected utility.

Keywords: Asset allocation, Stock returns, Non-normality, Utility function

JEL Classification: C22, C51, G12

Suggested Citation

Jondeau, Eric and Rockinger, Georg Michael, Optimal Portfolio Allocation Under Higher Moments (January 2004). Banque de France Working Paper No. 108, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1727388 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1727388

Eric Jondeau (Contact Author)

University of Lausanne - Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne) ( email )

Extranef 232
Lausanne, 1012
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+41 21 692 33 49 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://people.unil.ch/ericjondeau/

Swiss Finance Institute ( email )

40, Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve
40, Bd du Pont-d'Arve
1211 Geneva 4, CH-6900
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+41 21 692 33 49 (Phone)

Swiss Finance Institute

c/o University of Geneva
40, Bd du Pont-d'Arve
CH-1211 Geneva 4
Switzerland

Georg Michael Rockinger

University of Lausanne - School of Economics and Business Administration (HEC-Lausanne) ( email )

Unil Dorigny, Batiment Internef
Lausanne, 1015
Switzerland
+41 21 728 3348 (Phone)
+41+21 692 3435 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.hec.unil.ch/mrockinger

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Swiss Finance Institute

c/o University of Geneva
40, Bd du Pont-d'Arve
CH-1211 Geneva 4
Switzerland

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