Cojumps and Asset Allocation in International Equity Markets

Abstract

This paper examines the patterns of intraday cojumps between international equity markets as well as their impact on international asset holdings and portfolio diversification benefits. Using intraday index-based data for exchange-traded funds as proxies for international equity markets, we document evidence of significant cojumps, with the intensity increasing during the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. The application of the Hawkes process also shows that jumps propagate from the US and other developed markets to emerging markets. Correlated jumps are found to reduce diversification benefits and foreign asset holdings in minimum risk portfolios, whereas idiosyncratic jumps increase the diversification benefits of international equity portfolios. In contrast, the impact of higher-order moments induced by idiosyncratic and systematic jumps on the optimal composition of international portfolios is not significant.

Keywords: cojumps, foreign asset holdings, international diversification

JEL Classification: G10, G11, G15