A new model - the factorial hidden Markov volatility (FHMV) model - is proposed for financial returns and their latent variances. It is also applicable to model directly realized variances. Volatility is modeled as a product of three components: a Markov chain driving volatility persistence, an...

Realized covariance models specify the conditional expectation of a realized covariance matrix as a function of past realized covariance matrices through a GARCH-type structure. We compare the forecasting performance of several such models in terms of economic value, measured through economic...