On Robust Utility Maximization

In this paper we derive novel change of variable formulas for stochastic integrals w.r.t. a time-changed Brownian motion where we assume that the time-change is a general increasing stochastic process with finitely many jumps in a bounded set of the positive half-line and is independent of the Brownian motion. As an application we consider the problem of maximising the expected utility of the terminal wealth in a semimartingale setting, where the semimartingale is written in ...

We consider the problem of optimal investment with intermediate consumption in a general semimartingale model of an incomplete market, with preferences being represented by a utility stochastic field. We show that the key conclusions of the utility maximization theory hold under the assumptions of no unbounded profit with bounded risk (NUPBR) and of the finiteness of both primal and dual value functions.

We consider a continuous-time market with proportional transaction costs. Under appropriate assumptions we prove the existence of optimal strategies for investors who maximize their worst-case utility over a class of possible models. We consider utility functions defined either on the positive axis or on the whole real line.

We consider a problem of optimal investment with intermediate consumption and random endowment in an incomplete semimartingale model of a financial market. We establish the key assertions of the utility maximization theory assuming that both primal and dual value functions are finite in the interiors of their domains as well as that random endowment at maturity can be dominated by the terminal value of a self-financing wealth process. In order to facilitate verification of th...

We present a methodology for obtaining explicit solutions to infinite time horizon optimal stopping problems involving general, one-dimensional, It\^o diffusions, payoff functions that need not be smooth and state-dependent discounting. This is done within a framework based on dynamic programming techniques employing variational inequalities and links to the probabilistic approaches employing $r$-excessive functions and martingale theory. The aim of this paper is to facilitat...

We study an optimal consumption and investment problem in a possibly incomplete market with general, not necessarily convex, stochastic constraints. We give explicit solutions for investors with exponential, logarithmic and power utility. Our approach is based on martingale methods which rely on recent results on the existence and uniqueness of solutions to BSDEs with drivers of quadratic growth.

In this paper we demonstrate that the Riesz representation of excessive functions is a useful and enlightening tool to study optimal stopping problems. After a short general discussion of the Riesz representation we concretize, firstly, on a d-dimensional and, secondly, a space-time one-dimensional geometric Brownian motion. After this, two classical optimal stopping problems are discussed: 1) the optimal investment problem and 2) the valuation of the American put option. It ...

The effectiveness of utility-maximization techniques for portfolio management relies on our ability to estimate correctly the parameters of the dynamics of the underlying financial assets. In the setting of complete or incomplete financial markets, we investigate whether small perturbations of the market coefficient processes lead to small changes in the agent's optimal behavior derived from the solution of the related utility-maximization problems. Specifically, we identify ...

We study the gain of an insider having private information which concerns the default risk of a counterparty. More precisely, the default time \tau is modelled as the first time a stochastic process hits a random barrier L. The insider knows this barrier (as it can be the case for example for the manager of the counterparty), whereas standard investors only observe its value at the default time. All investors aim to maximize the expected utility from terminal wealth, on a fin...

We consider an investor facing a classical portfolio problem of optimal investment in a log-Brownian stock and a fixed-interest bond, but constrained to choose portfolio and consumption strategies that reduce a dynamic shortfall risk measure. For continuous- and discrete-time financial markets we investigate the loss in expected utility of intermediate consumption and terminal wealth caused by imposing a dynamic risk constraint. We derive the dynamic programming equations for...