Exploiting skewness to build an optimal hedge fund with a currency overlay

Asymmetric Returns and Optimal Hedge Fund Portfolios

THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS 9 I t is now well established that the construction of optimal hedge fund portfolios requires techniques that reach well beyond traditional mean variance analysis. For example, Brooks and Kat [2002] demonstrate that various hedge fund strategies have more downside than upside risk—returns exhibit negative skew and excess kurtosis. Lo [2001] and Anson [2002...

Optimal Hedge Fund Allocation with Asymmetric Preferences and Distributions

Valuing Hedge Fund Fees

This thesis applies a Partial Integral Differential Equation model, along with a Monte Carlo approach to quantitatively analyze the no arbitrage value of hedge fund performance fees. From a no-arbitrage point of view, the investor in a hedge fund is providing a free option to the manager of the hedge fund. The no-arbitrage value of this option can be locked in by the hedge fund manager using a ...

Hedge Fund Activism

This paper examines a large, nearly universal sample of hedge fund activism between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2005. Hedge fund activism is when a hedge fund files a 13D filing after taking an initial stake of 5 percent or more in the company, and clearly states in the filing’s “purpose” section that it intends to proactively influence management’s future decisions. We find that hedge fun...

Hedge Fund Performance Evaluation:

We analyze hedge fund performance using the stochastic discount factor (SDF) approach and imposing the arbitrage-free requirement to correctly value the derivatives and dynamic trading strategies used by hedge funds. Using SDFs of many asset-pricing models, we evaluate hedge fund portfolios based on style and characteristics. Without the arbitrage-free requirement, pricing errors are relatively...