We consider nonparametric identification and estimation of pricing kernels, or equivalently of marginal utility functions up to scale, in consumption based asset pricing Euler equations. Ours is the first paper to prove nonparametric identification of Euler equations under low level conditions...

The author proposes a test for the parametric specification of each component in the diffusion matrix of a d-dimensional diffusion process. Overall, d (d-1)/2 test statistics are constructed for the off-diagonal components, while d test statistics are constructed for the main diagonal...

The illiquidity of long-maturity options has made it difficult to study the term structures of option spanning portfolios. This paper proposes a new estimation and inference framework for these option-implied term structures that addresses long-maturity illiquidity. By building a sieve estimator...

We propose a new method to estimate the empirical pricing kernel based on option data. We estimate the pricing kernel nonparametrically by using the ratio of the risk-neutral density estimator and the subjective density estimator. The risk-neutral density is approximated by a weighted kernel...

We propose a nonparametric method to study which characteristics provide incremental information for the cross section of expected returns. We use the adaptive group LASSO to select characteristics and to estimate how they affect expected returns nonparametrically. Our method can handle a large...

We develop a novel approach to jointly examine skill, scale, and value added across individual funds. We find that the value added is (i) positive for the vast majority of funds, and (ii) close to its optimal level after an adjustment period possibly due to investors' learning. We also show that...

This paper examines the price impact of trading due to expected changes in the FTSE 100 index composition, which employs publicly-known objective criteria to determine membership. Hence, it provides a natural context to investigate anticipatory trading effects. We propose a panel-regression...

We propose double bootstrap methods to test the mean-variance efficiency hypothesis when multiple portfolio groupings of the test assets are considered jointly rather than individually. A direct test of the joint null hypothesis may not be possible with standard methods when the total number of...

As a function of strike and time to maturity the implied volatility estimation is a challenging task in financial econometrics. Dynamic Semiparametric Factor Models (DSFM) are a model class that allows for the estimation of the implied volatility surface (IVS) in a dynamic context, employing...

Modeling the portfolio credit risk is one of the crucial issues of the last years in the financial problems. We propose the valuation model of Collateralized Debt Obligations based on a one- and two-parameter copula and default intensities estimated from market data. The presented method is used...