A new portfolio selection framework is introduced where the investor seeks the allocation that is as close as possible to his "ideal" portfolio. To build such a portfolio selection framework, the f-divergence measure from information theory is used. There are many advantages to using the...

We model portfolio weights as a function of latent factors that summarize the information in a large number of economic variables. This approach (hereafter diffusion index approach) offers the opportunity to exploit a much richer information base to improve portfolio selection. We use factor...

We study risk assessment using an optimal portfolio in which the weights are functions of latent factors and firm-specific characteristics (hereafter, diffusion index portfolio). The factors are used to summarize the information contained in a large set of economic data and thus reflect the...