Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences

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Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Financial Technology and Business Analysis

Series Vol. 70 , 08 January 2024


Open Access | Article

Improved Hedge Fund Portfolio Optimization Using 2-Step Covariance Matrix and Fund Transaction Costs

Yiren Yuan * 1
1 Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia University, New York, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences, Vol. 70, 68-79
Published 08 January 2024. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by EWA Publishing
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Yiren Yuan. Improved Hedge Fund Portfolio Optimization Using 2-Step Covariance Matrix and Fund Transaction Costs. AEMPS (2024) Vol. 70: 68-79. DOI: 10.54254/2754-1169/70/20231612.

Abstract

This study focuses on fund portfolio investments in the Chinese market. The application of classic portfolio optimization methods encounters several issues when applied to fund portfolios. For example, issues such as the non-normal distribution of returns on funds or fund portfolios, turnover rate limitations in fund investments, and liquidity constraints of fund assets, which can lead to transaction costs and opportunity costs, are prevalent challenges. The existence of these issues can compromise the effectiveness of classic portfolio optimization methods like Mean-Variance Optimization. This may result in a reduction of accuracy in determining the portfolio’s optimal weights, a deviation of actual trading results from the model’s optimal expectation, and may even render the optimal weights impractical in real-world scenarios. To address these challenges, this paper integrates the 2-Step covariance matrix method (2-Step method) and the measurement of fund transaction costs into the portfolio optimization process. The paper finds that the 2-Step method, compared to the baseline, can indeed improve the risk-return indicators of the potimal fund portfolio. The inclusion of the transaction cost can effectively control the turnover frequency of the portfolio. Even after accounting for these costs, the 2-Step method continues to exhibit a significant improvement effect compared to the baseline.

Keywords

Portfolio Optimization, Covariance Matrix, Hedge Fund, Transaction Cost, Fund of Fund

References

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Financial Technology and Business Analysis
ISBN (Print)
978-1-83558-271-8
ISBN (Online)
978-1-83558-272-5
Published Date
08 January 2024
Series
Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences
ISSN (Print)
2754-1169
ISSN (Online)
2754-1177
DOI
10.54254/2754-1169/70/20231612
Copyright
08 January 2024
Open Access
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Copyright © 2023 EWA Publishing. Unless Otherwise Stated