A reprint of one of the classic volumes on portfolio theory and investment, this book has been used by the leading professors at universities such as Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie-Mellon. It contains five parts, each with a review of the literature and about 150 pages of computational and review exercises and further in-depth, challenging problems.Frequently referenced and highly usable, the material remains as fresh and relevant for a portfolio theory course as ever.

Stochastic Optimization Models in Finance focuses on the applications of stochastic optimization models in finance, with emphasis on results and methods that can and have been utilized in the analysis of real financial problems. The discussions are organized around five themes: mathematical tools; qualitative economic results; static portfolio selection models; dynamic models that are reducible to static models; and dynamic models. This volume consists of five parts and begins with an overview of expected utility theory, followed by an analysis of convexity and the Kuhn-Tucker conditions. The reader is then introduced to dynamic programming; stochastic dominance; and measures of risk aversion. Subsequent chapters deal with separation theorems; existence and diversification of optimal portfolio policies; effects of taxes on risk taking; and two-period consumption models and portfolio revision. The book also describes models of optimal capital accumulation and portfolio selection. This monograph will be of value to mathematicians and economists as well as to those interested in economic theory and mathematical economics.

Optimization models play an increasingly important role in financial decisions. This is the first textbook devoted to explaining how recent advances in optimization models, methods and software can be applied to solve problems in computational finance more efficiently and accurately. Chapters discussing the theory and efficient solution methods for all major classes of optimization problems alternate with chapters illustrating their use in modeling problems of mathematical finance. The reader is guided through topics such as volatility estimation, portfolio optimization problems and constructing an index fund, using techniques such as nonlinear optimization models, quadratic programming formulations and integer programming models respectively. The book is based on Master's courses in financial engineering and comes with worked examples, exercises and case studies. It will be welcomed by applied mathematicians, operational researchers and others who work in mathematical and computational finance and who are seeking a text for self-learning or for use with courses.

Stochastic optimization problems arise in decision-making problems under uncertainty, and find various applications in economics and finance. On the other hand, problems in finance have recently led to new developments in the theory of stochastic control. This volume provides a systematic treatment of stochastic optimization problems applied to finance by presenting the different existing methods: dynamic programming, viscosity solutions, backward stochastic differential equations, and martingale duality methods. The theory is discussed in the context of recent developments in this field, with complete and detailed proofs, and is illustrated by means of concrete examples from the world of finance: portfolio allocation, option hedging, real options, optimal investment, etc. This book is directed towards graduate students and researchers in mathematical finance, and will also benefit applied mathematicians interested in financial applications and practitioners wishing to know more about the use of stochastic optimization methods in finance.

Multistage stochastic optimization problems appear in many ways in finance, insurance, energy production and trading, logistics and transportation, among other areas. They describe decision situations under uncertainty and with a longer planning horizon. This book contains a comprehensive treatment of today’s state of the art in multistage stochastic optimization. It covers the mathematical backgrounds of approximation theory as well as numerous practical algorithms and examples for the generation and handling of scenario trees. A special emphasis is put on estimation and bounding of the modeling error using novel distance concepts, on time consistency and the role of model ambiguity in the decision process. An extensive treatment of examples from electricity production, asset liability management and inventory control concludes the book.

In Part I, the fundamentals of financial thinking and elementary mathematical methods of finance are presented. The method of presentation is simple enough to bridge the elements of financial arithmetic and complex models of financial math developed in the later parts. It covers characteristics of cash flows, yield curves, and valuation of securities. Part II is devoted to the allocation of funds and risk management: classics (Markowitz theory of portfolio), capital asset pricing model, arbitrage pricing theory, asset & liability management, value at risk. The method explanation takes into account the computational aspects. Part III explains modeling aspects of multistage stochastic programming on a relatively accessible level. It includes a survey of existing software, links to parametric, multiobjective and dynamic programming, and to probability and statistics. It focuses on scenario-based problems with the problems of scenario generation and output analysis discussed in detail and illustrated within a case study.

This book shows the breadth and depth of stochastic programming applications. All the papers presented here involve optimization over the scenarios that represent possible future outcomes of the uncertainty problems. The applications, which were presented at the 12th International Conference on Stochastic Programming held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in August 2010, span the rich field of uses of these models. The finance papers discuss such diverse problems as longevity risk management of individual investors, personal financial planning, intertemporal surplus management, asset management with benchmarks, dynamic portfolio management, fixed income immunization and racetrack betting. The production and logistics papers discuss natural gas infrastructure design, farming Atlantic salmon, prevention of nuclear smuggling and sawmill planning. The energy papers involve electricity production planning, hydroelectric reservoir operations and power generation planning for liquid natural gas plants. Finally, two telecommunication papers discuss mobile network design and frequency assignment problems./a

Some recent developments in the mathematics of optimization, including the concepts of invexity and quasimax, have not yet been applied to models of economic growth, and to finance and investment. Their applications to these areas are shown in this book.

Stochastic programming is the study of procedures for decision making under the presence of uncertainties and risks. Stochastic programming approaches have been successfully used in a number of areas such as energy and production planning, telecommunications, and transportation. Recently, the practical experience gained in stochastic programming has been expanded to a much larger spectrum of applications including financial modeling, risk management, and probabilistic risk analysis. Major topics in this volume include: (1) advances in theory and implementation of stochastic programming algorithms; (2) sensitivity analysis of stochastic systems; (3) stochastic programming applications and other related topics. Audience: Researchers and academies working in optimization, computer modeling, operations research and financial engineering. The book is appropriate as supplementary reading in courses on optimization and financial engineering.

Applied Stochastic Models and Control for Finance and Insurance presents at an introductory level some essential stochastic models applied in economics, finance and insurance. Markov chains, random walks, stochastic differential equations and other stochastic processes are used throughout the book and systematically applied to economic and financial applications. In addition, a dynamic programming framework is used to deal with some basic optimization problems. The book begins by introducing problems of economics, finance and insurance which involve time, uncertainty and risk. A number of cases are treated in detail, spanning risk management, volatility, memory, the time structure of preferences, interest rates and yields, etc. The second and third chapters provide an introduction to stochastic models and their application. Stochastic differential equations and stochastic calculus are presented in an intuitive manner, and numerous applications and exercises are used to facilitate their understanding and their use in Chapter 3. A number of other processes which are increasingly used in finance and insurance are introduced in Chapter 4. In the fifth chapter, ARCH and GARCH models are presented and their application to modeling volatility is emphasized. An outline of decision-making procedures is presented in Chapter 6. Furthermore, we also introduce the essentials of stochastic dynamic programming and control, and provide first steps for the student who seeks to apply these techniques. Finally, in Chapter 7, numerical techniques and approximations to stochastic processes are examined. This book can be used in business, economics, financial engineering and decision sciences schools for second year Master's students, as well as in a number of courses widely given in departments of statistics, systems and decision sciences.