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Journal ArticleDOI

Optimum consumption and portfolio rules in a continuous-time model☆

01 Dec 1971-Journal of Economic Theory (Academic Press)-Vol. 3, Iss: 4, pp 373-413
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors considered the continuous-time consumption-portfolio problem for an individual whose income is generated by capital gains on investments in assets with prices assumed to satisfy the geometric Brownian motion hypothesis, which implies that asset prices are stationary and lognormally distributed.
About: This article is published in Journal of Economic Theory.The article was published on 1971-12-01 and is currently open access. It has received 4952 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Geometric Brownian motion & Intertemporal portfolio choice.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Huyên Pham1
TL;DR: This work considers an investment model where the objective is to overperform a given benchmark or index and uses large deviations techniques for stating the value function of this criterion of outperformance management, providing an objective probabilistic interpretation of the usually subjective degree of risk aversion in CRRA utility function.
Abstract: We consider an investment model where the objective is to overperform a given benchmark or index. We study this portfolio management problem for a long term horizon. This asymptotic criterion leads to a large deviation probability control problem. Its dual problem is an ergodic risk sensitive control problem on the optimal logarithmic moment generating function that is explicitly derived. A careful study of its domain and its behavior at the boundary of the domain is required. We then use large deviations techniques for stating the value function of this criterion of outperformance management. This provides in turn an objective probabilistic interpretation of the usually subjective degree of risk aversion in CRRA utility function.

84 citations


Cites methods from "Optimum consumption and portfolio r..."

  • ...We refer to the pionnering work of Merton (1971) and to the book of Karatzas and Shreve (1998) I amgrateful to the referee and toMichael Stutzer andWolfgangRunggaldier for comments and remarks....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the optimal dynamic asset allocation policy for a retiree with Epstein-Zin utility was derived for the case in which the retiree is restricted to buy annuities only once and has to perform a (complete or partial) switching strategy.
Abstract: We compute the optimal dynamic asset allocation policy for a retiree with Epstein-Zin utility. The retiree can decide how much he consumes and how much he invests in stocks, bonds, and annuities. Pricing the annuities we account for asymmetric mortality beliefs and administration expenses. We show that the retiree does not purchase annuities only once but rather several times during retirement (gradual annuitization). We analyze the case in which the retiree is restricted to buy annuities only once and has to perform a (complete or partial) switching strategy. This restriction reduces both the utility and the demand for annuities.

84 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a transformation of the free boundary problem together with an asymptotic analysis (performed about the solution when the transaction cost is zero) leads to solutions which are shown to be good approximations for cases which can be solved by numerical methods.
Abstract: It is known that the optimal trading strategy for a certain portfolio problem featuring fixed transaction costs is obtained from the solution of a free boundary problem. The latter can only be solved with numerical methods, and computations become formidable when the number of available securities is larger than three or four. This paper shows how a transformation of the free boundary problem together with an asymptotic analysis (performed about the solution when the transaction cost is zero) leads to solutions which are shown to be good approximations for cases which can be solved by numerical methods. These approximately optimal trading strategies are easy to compute, even when there are many risky securities, as is illustrated for the case of the 30 Dow Jones Industrials.

84 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider a class of mixed optimal control/optimal stopping problems related to the choice of the best time to sell a single unit of an indivisible asset.

84 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Target-date funds (TDFs) as mentioned in this paper are a simple solution to the investment task of participants in self-directed retirement plans, which is a "fund of funds" diversified across stocks, bonds, and cash with the feature that the proportion invested in stocks is automatically reduced as time passes.
Abstract: Target-date funds (TDFs) for retirement, also known as life-cycle funds, are being offered as a simple solution to the investment task of participants in self-directed retirement plans. A TDF is a “fund of funds” diversified across stocks, bonds, and cash with the feature that the proportion invested in stocks is automatically reduced as time passes. Empirical evidence suggests that a simple TDF strategy would be an improvement over the choices currently made by many uninformed plan participants. This article explores a way to achieve even greater improvement for people who are very risk averse and have high exposure to market risk through their labor.

84 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the combined problem of optimal portfolio selection and consumption rules for an individual in a continuous-time model was examined, where his income is generated by returns on assets and these returns or instantaneous "growth rates" are stochastic.
Abstract: OST models of portfolio selection have M been one-period models. I examine the combined problem of optimal portfolio selection and consumption rules for an individual in a continuous-time model whzere his income is generated by returns on assets and these returns or instantaneous "growth rates" are stochastic. P. A. Samuelson has developed a similar model in discrete-time for more general probability distributions in a companion paper [8]. I derive the optimality equations for a multiasset problem when the rate of returns are generated by a Wiener Brownian-motion process. A particular case examined in detail is the two-asset model with constant relative riskaversion or iso-elastic marginal utility. An explicit solution is also found for the case of constant absolute risk-aversion. The general technique employed can be used to examine a wide class of intertemporal economic problems under uncertainty. In addition to the Samuelson paper [8], there is the multi-period analysis of Tobin [9]. Phelps [6] has a model used to determine the optimal consumption rule for a multi-period example where income is partly generated by an asset with an uncertain return. Mirrless [5] has developed a continuous-time optimal consumption model of the neoclassical type with technical progress a random variable.

4,908 citations

Book
01 Jan 1965
TL;DR: This book should be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of probability theory.
Abstract: This book should be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of probability theory.

3,597 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the optimal consumption-investment problem for an investor whose utility for consumption over time is a discounted sum of single-period utilities, with the latter being constant over time and exhibiting constant relative risk aversion (power-law functions or logarithmic functions), is discussed.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the optimal consumption-investment problem for an investor whose utility for consumption over time is a discounted sum of single-period utilities, with the latter being constant over time and exhibiting constant relative risk aversion (power-law functions or logarithmic functions). It presents a generalization of Phelps' model to include portfolio choice and consumption. The explicit form of the optimal solution is derived for the special case of utility functions having constant relative risk aversion. The optimal portfolio decision is independent of time, wealth, and the consumption decision at each stage. Most analyses of portfolio selection, whether they are of the Markowitz–Tobin mean-variance or of more general type, maximize over one period. The chapter only discusses special and easy cases that suffice to illustrate the general principles involved and presents the lifetime model that reveals that investing for many periods does not itself introduce extra tolerance for riskiness at early or any stages of life.

2,369 citations

Book
17 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this article, a book on stochastic stability and control dealing with Liapunov function approach to study of Markov processes is presented, which is based on the work of this article.
Abstract: Book on stochastic stability and control dealing with Liapunov function approach to study of Markov processes

1,293 citations