A Perturbation Approach to Continuous-Time Portfolio Selection

Abstract

This paper studies portfolio selection in continuous-time models with stochastic investment opportunities. We consider asset allocation problems where preferences are specified as power utility derived from terminal wealth as well as consumption-savings problems with recursive utility Epstein-Zin preferences. The paper approximates the associated dynamic programming problem by perturbing the coefficients of the stochastic dynamics. We represent the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation as a series of partial differential equations that can be solved iteratively in closed-form through computer algebra software, at any desired accuracy.

Keywords: perturbation, hedge demand, consumption, stochastic state variables

JEL Classification: G11, G13