Go with the Flow: A GAS Model For Predicting Intra-Daily Volume Shares

Abstract

The Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) mixes volumes and prices at intra-daily intervals and is a benchmark measure frequently used to evaluate a trader’s performance. Under suitable assumptions, splitting a daily order according to ex-ante volume predictions is a good strategy to replicate the VWAP. To bypass possible problems generated by local trends in volumes, we propose a novel Generalized Autoregressive Score (GAS) model for predicting volume shares (relative to the daily total), inspired by the empirical regularities of the observed series (intra-daily periodicity pattern, residual serial dependence). An application to six NYSE tickers confirms the suitability of the model proposed in capturing the features of intra-daily dynamics of volume shares.

Keywords: High Frequency Financial Data, Prediction, Trading Volumes, Volume Shares, VWAP, GAS

JEL Classification: C22, C52, C53