An application of a minimax Bayes rule and shrinkage estimators to the portofolio selection problem under the Bayesian approach

This paper shows that a minimax Bayes rule and shrinkage estimators can be effectively applied to portfolio selection under the Bayesian approach. Specifically, it is shown that the portfolio selection problem can result in a statistical decision problem in some situations. Following that, we present a method for solving a problem involved in portfolio selection under the Bayesian approach.     

A Generalized Bayes Rule for Prediction

In the case of prior knowledge about the unknown parameter, the Bayesian predictive density coincides with the Bayes estimator for the true density in the sense of the Kullback-Leibler divergence, but this is no longer true if we consider another loss function. In this paper we present a generalized Bayes rule to obtain Bayes density estimators with respect to any α-divergence, including the Kullback-Leibler divergence and the Hellinger distance. For curved exponential models, we study the asymptotic behaviour of these predictive densities. We show that, whatever prior we use, the generalized Bayes rule improves (in a non-Bayesian sense) the estimative density corresponding to a bias modification of the maximum likelihood estimator. It gives rise to a correspondence between choosing a prior density for the generalized Bayes rule and fixing a bias for the maximum likelihood estimator in the classical setting. A criterion for comparing and selecting prior densities is also given.     

ON EMPIRICAL BAYES STOPPING TIMES

We consider the empirical Bayes decision theory where the component problems are the optimal fixed sample size decision problem and a sequential decision problem. With these components, an empirical Bayes decision procedure selects both a stopping rule function and a terminal decision rule function. Empirical Bayes stopping rules are constructed for each case and the asymptotic behaviours are investigated.     

The Bayes rule of the variance parameter of the hierarchical normal and inverse gamma model under Stein's loss

For the variance parameter of the hierarchical normal and inverse gamma model, we analytically calculate the Bayes rule (estimator) with respect to a prior distribution IG (alpha, beta) under Stein's loss function. This estimator minimizes the posterior expected Stein's loss (PESL). We also analytically calculate the Bayes rule and the PESL under the squared error loss. Finally, the numerical simulations exemplify that the PESLs depend only on alpha and the number of observations. The Bayes rules and PESLs under Stein's loss are unanimously smaller than those under the squared error loss.     

Selecting the number of bins in a histogram: A decision theoretic approach

In this note we consider the problem of, given a sample, selecting the number of bins in a histogram. A loss function is introduced which reflects the idea that smooth distributions should have fewer bins than rough distributions. A stepwise Bayes rule, based on the Bayesian bootstrap, is found and is shown to be admissible. Some simulation results are presented to show how the rule works in practice.     

The Bayes rule of the parameter in (0,1) under Zhang’s loss function with an application to the beta-binomial model

Abstract

For the restricted parameter space (0,1), we propose Zhang’s loss function which satisfies all the 7 properties for a good loss function on (0,1). We then calculate the Bayes rule (estimator), the posterior expectation, the integrated risk, and the Bayes risk of the parameter in (0,1) under Zhang’s loss function. We also calculate the usual Bayes estimator under the squared error loss function, and the Bayes estimator has been proved to underestimate the Bayes estimator under Zhang’s loss function. Finally, the numerical simulations and a real data example of some monthly magazine exposure data exemplify our theoretical studies of two size relationships about the Bayes estimators and the Posterior Expected Zhang’s Losses (PEZLs).     

A NOTE ON BAYES FACTORS

This note establishes a connection between Bayes factors and the use of the logarithmic score utility function for model selection in a Bayesian context. The connection presented provides insights into Bayes factors.     

组合证券投资资产配置的边际分析法初探

文章在均值—方差模型的基础上,通过构造组合证券投资的效用函数,采用边际分析法将多目标非线性规划问题化为线性方程组求解,并对资产进行配置,得出了单个证券对证券组合的风险贡献与其超额期望收益占证券组合的总超额期望收益的比例相一致的结论,为风险预算提供了可靠的理论依据。     

Proper Bayes minimax estimators of the normal mean matrix with common unknown variances

This paper addresses the problem of estimating a matrix of the normal means, where the variances are unknown but common. The approach to this problem is provided by a hierarchical Bayes modeling for which the first stage prior for the means is matrix-variate normal distribution with mean zero matrix and a covariance structure and the second stage prior for the covariance is similar to Jeffreys’ rule. The resulting hierarchical Bayes estimators relative to the quadratic loss function belong to a class of matricial shrinkage estimators. Certain conditions are obtained for admissibility and minimaxity of the hierarchical Bayes estimators.     

Bayes and robust Bayes predictions in a subfamily of scale parameters under a precautionary loss function

ABSTRACT

This paper deals with Bayes, robust Bayes, and minimax predictions in a subfamily of scale parameters under an asymmetric precautionary loss function. In Bayesian statistical inference, the goal is to obtain optimal rules under a specified loss function and an explicit prior distribution over the parameter space. However, in practice, we are not able to specify the prior totally or when a problem must be solved by two statisticians, they may agree on the choice of the prior but not the values of the hyperparameters. A common approach to the prior uncertainty in Bayesian analysis is to choose a class of prior distributions and compute some functional quantity. This is known as Robust Bayesian analysis which provides a way to consider the prior knowledge in terms of a class of priors Γ for global prevention against bad choices of hyperparameters. Under a scale invariant precautionary loss function, we deal with robust Bayes predictions of Y based on X. We carried out a simulation study and a real data analysis to illustrate the practical utility of the prediction procedure.     

On empirical bayes sequential estimation

We study the empirical Bayes approach to the sequential estimation problem. An empirical Bayes sequential decision procedure, which consists of a stopping rule and a terminal decision rule, is constructed for use in the component. Asymptotic behaviors of the empirical Bayes risk and the empirical Bayes stopping times are investigated as the number of components increase.     

Optimal Strategies for a Long-Term Static Investor

The optimal strategies for a long-term static investor are studied. Given a portfolio of a stock and a bond, we derive the optimal allocation of the capitals to maximize the expected long-term growth rate of a utility function of the wealth. When the bond has a constant interest rate, three models for the underlying stock price processes are studied: Heston model, 3/2 model, and jump diffusion model. We also study the optimal strategies for a portfolio in which the stock price process follows a Black-Scholes model and the bond process has a Vasicek interest rate that is correlated to the stock price.     

On selection procedures for positive exponential family distributions based on type-I censored data

We investigate the problem of selecting the best population from positive exponential family distributions based on type-I censored data. A Bayes rule is derived and a monotone property of the Bayes selection rule is obtained. Following that property, we propose an early selection rule. Through this early selection rule, one can terminate the experiment on a few populations early and possibly make the final decision before the censoring time. An example is provided in the final part to illustrate the use of the early selection rule.     

Inference for the software reliability using asymmetric los fimctions:a hierarchical bayes approach

The aim of this paper is to propose a hierarchical Bayes approach and an appropriate loss function to perform a Bayesian analysis of the total number of software failures denoted by N. It is shown that the Bayes procedure is more stable than the maximum likelihood procedure and a stopping rule for debugging the software is suggested via the LIN EX loss function.     

Multiple Regression Model Averaging and the Focused Information Criterion With an Application to Portfolio Choice

ABSTRACT

We consider multiple regression (MR) model averaging using the focused information criterion (FIC). Our approach is motivated by the problem of implementing a mean-variance portfolio choice rule. The usual approach is to estimate parameters ignoring the intention to use them in portfolio choice. We develop an estimation method that focuses on the trading rule of interest. Asymptotic distributions of submodel estimators in the MR case are derived using a localization framework. The localization is of both regression coefficients and error covariances. Distributions of submodel estimators are used for model selection with the FIC. This allows comparison of submodels using the risk of portfolio rule estimators. FIC model averaging estimators are then characterized. This extension further improves risk properties. We show in simulations that applying these methods in the portfolio choice case results in improved estimates compared with several competitors. An application to futures data shows superior performance as well.     

On some classifiers based on multivariate ranks

Non parametric approaches to classification have gained significant attention in the last two decades. In this paper, we propose a classification methodology based on the multivariate rank functions and show that it is a Bayes rule for spherically symmetric distributions with a location shift. We show that a rank-based classifier is equivalent to optimal Bayes rule under suitable conditions. We also present an affine invariant version of the classifier. To accommodate different covariance structures, we construct a classifier based on the central rank region. Asymptotic properties of these classification methods are studied. We illustrate the performance of our proposed methods in comparison to some other depth-based classifiers using simulated and real data sets.     

Statistical inference of the efficient frontier for dependent asset returns

In the paper we consider the three characteristics of the efficient frontier. These characteristics are estimated by substituting the unknown parameters by the sample counterparts. Assuming that the asset returns follow a stationary Gaussian process it is shown that the estimated characteristics are asymptotically normally distributed. This result is used to determine the joint asymptotic distribution of the estimated portfolio return and the estimated portfolio variance in the case of the expected utility portfolio and the tangency portfolio, respectively.     

Error rates in classification consisting of discrete and continuous variables in the presence of covariates

We consider classifying an object based on mixed continuous and discrete variables between two populations. Mixed discrete and continuous covariates with identical means in both populations are amongst the variables. Under the location model with homogeneous location specific conditional dispersion matrices for both populations, the Bayes rule is given. Classification is implemented by a plug-in version of the Bayes rule with full covariate adjustment. An asymptotic expansion of the overall expected error of the procedure is derived. Our findings generalize several classical results.     

Bayes/frequentist compromise decision rules for Gaussian sampling

Bayesian methods have the potential to confer substantial advantages over frequentist when the assumed prior is approximately correct, but otherwise can perform poorly. Therefore, estimators and other inferences that strike a compromise between Bayes and frequentist optimality are attractive. To evaluate potential trade-offs, we study Bayes vs. frequentist risk under Gaussian sampling for families of point estimators and interval estimators. Bayes/frequentist compromises for interval estimation are more challenging than for point estimation, since performance involves an interplay between coverage and length. Each family allows ‘purchasing’ improved frequentist performance by allowing a small increase in Bayes risk over the Bayes rule. Any degree of increase can be specified, thus enabling greater or lesser trade-offs between Bayes and frequentist risk.