Asymmetries and Portfolio Choice

52 Pages Posted: 13 Jul 2015

See all articles by Magnus Dahlquist

Magnus Dahlquist

Stockholm School of Economics; Swedish House of Finance

Adam Farago

University of Gothenburg - Centre for Finance

Roméo Tédongap

ESSEC Business School

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Date Written: July 2015

Abstract

We examine the portfolio choice of an investor with generalized disappointment aversion preferences who faces returns described by a normal-exponential model. We derive a three-fund separation strategy: the investor allocates wealth to a risk-free asset, a standard mean-variance efficient fund, and an additional fund reflecting return asymmetries. The optimal portfolio is characterized by the investor's endogenous effective risk aversion and implicit asymmetry aversion. We find that disappointment aversion is associated with much larger asymmetry aversion than are standard preferences. Our model explains patterns in popular portfolio advice and provides a reason for shifting from bonds to stocks as the investment horizon increases.

Keywords: Asset allocation, Downside risk

JEL Classification: G11

Suggested Citation

Dahlquist, Magnus and Farago, Adam and Tédongap, Roméo, Asymmetries and Portfolio Choice (July 2015). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP10706, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2630154

Magnus Dahlquist (Contact Author)

Stockholm School of Economics ( email )

Drottninggatan 98
Stockholm, SE-111 60
Sweden

Swedish House of Finance ( email )

Drottninggatan 98
111 60 Stockholm
Sweden

Adam Farago

University of Gothenburg - Centre for Finance ( email )

Box 640
Gothenburg, 405 30
Sweden

Roméo Tédongap

ESSEC Business School ( email )

Avenue Bernard Hirsch
BP 105 Cergy Cedex, 95021
France
+33134439734 (Phone)
+33134439734 (Fax)

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