Gordan Žitković

Abstract: Inspired by models for synchronous spiking activity in neuroscience, we consider a scaling-limit framework for sequences of strong Markov processes. Within this framework, we establish the convergence of certain additive functionals toward Lévy subordinators, which are of interest in synchronous input drive modeling in neuronal models. After proving an abstract theorem in full generality, we provide detailed and explicit conclusions in the case of reflected one-dimensional diffusions. Specializing even further, we provide an in-depth analysis of the limiting behavior of a sequence of integrated Wright-Fisher diffusions. In neuroscience, such diffusions serve to parametrize synchrony in doubly-stochastic models of spiking activity. Additional explicit examples involving the Feller diffusion and the Brownian motion with drift are also given.

Abstract: We construct an equilibrium for the continuous time Kyle's model with stochastic liquidity, a general distribution of the fundamental price, and correlated stock and volatility dynamics. For distributions with positive support, our equilibrium allows us to study the impact of the stochastic volatility of noise trading on the volatility of the asset. In particular, when the fundamental price is log-normally distributed, informed trading forces the log-return up to maturity to be Gaussian for any choice of noise-trading volatility even though the price process itself comes with stochastic volatility. Surprisingly, we find that in equilibrium both Kyle's Lambda and its inverse (the market depth) are submartingales.

Abstract: We study representations of a random variable ξ as an integral of an adapted process with respect to the Lebesgue measure. The existence of such representations in two different regularity classes is characterized in terms of the quadratic variation of (local) martingales closed by ξ.

Abstract: We prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions to a class of quadratic BSDE systems which we call triangular quadratic. Our results generalize several existing results about diagonally quadratic BSDEs in the non-Markovian setting. As part of our analysis, we obtain new results about linear BSDEs with unbounded coefficients, which may be of independent interest. Through a non-uniqueness example, we answer a 'crucial open question' raised by Harter and Richou by showing that the stochastic exponential of an n x n matrix-valued BMO martingale need not satisfy a reverse Holder inequality.

Abstract: We provide a novel characterization of the solutions of a quadratic BSDE, which is analogous to the characterization of local martingales by convex functions. We then use our main result to show that BSDE solutions are closed under ucp convergence. Finally, we use our closure result obtain a sufficient condition for existence, and discuss specific cases in which this sufficient condition can be verified.

Abstract: We study existence and uniqueness of continuous-time stochastic Radner equilibria in an incomplete markets model. An assumption of ``smallness'' type-- imposed through the new notion of ``closeness to Pareto optimality''--is shown to be sufficient for existence and uniqueness. Central role in our analysis is played by a fully-coupled nonlinear system of quadratic BSDEs.

Abstract: We introduce the notion of a conditional Davis price and study its properties. Our ultimate goal is to use utility theory to price non-replicable contingent claims in the case when the investor's portfolio already contains a non-replicable component. We show that even in the simplest of settings - such as Samuelson's model - conditional Davis prices are typically not unique and form a non-trivial subinterval of the set of all no-arbitrage prices. Our main result characterizes this set and provides simple conditions under which its two endpoints can be effectively computed. We illustrate the theory with several examples.

Abstract: We prove the global existence of an incomplete, continuous-time finite-agent Radner equilibrium in which exponential agents optimize their expected utility over both running consumption and terminal wealth. The market consists of a traded annuity, and, along with unspanned income, the market is incomplete. Set in a Brownian framework, the income is driven by a multidimensional diffusion, and, in particular, includes mean-reverting dynamics. The equilibrium is characterized by a system of fully coupled quadratic backward stochastic differential equations, a solution to which is proved to exist under Markovian assumptions.

Abstract: We prove the global existence of an incomplete, continuous-time finite-agent Radner equilibrium in which exponential agents optimize their expected utility over both running consumption and terminal wealth. The market consists of a traded annuity, and, along with unspanned income, the market is incomplete. Set in a Brownian framework, the income is driven by a multidimensional diffusion, and, in particular, includes mean-reverting dynamics. The equilibrium is characterized by a system of fully coupled quadratic backward stochastic differential equations, a solution to which is proved to exist under Markovian assumptions.

Abstract: In the framework of an incomplete financial market where the stock price dynamics are modeled by a continuous semimartingale, an explicit first-order expansion formula for the power investor's value function - seen as a function of the underlying market price of risk process - is provided and its second-order error is quantified. Two specific calibrated numerical examples illustrating the accuracy of the method are also given.

Abstract: We establish existence and uniqueness for a wide class of Markovian systems of backward stochastic differential equations (BSDE) with quadratic nonlinearities. This class is characterized by an abstract structural assumption on the generator, an a-priori local-boundedness property, and a locally-Hölder-continuous terminal condition. We present easily verifiable sufficient conditions for these assumptions and treat several applications, including stochastic equilibria in incomplete financial markets, stochastic differential games, and martingales on Riemannian manifolds.

Abstract: We revisit the classical monotone-follower problem and consider it in a generalized formulation. Our approach, based on a compactness substitute for nondecreasing processes, the Meyer-Zheng weak convergence, and the maximum principle of Pontryagin, establishes existence under minimal conditions, produces general approximation results and further elucidates the celebrated connection between optimal stochastic control and stopping.

Abstract: We establish the existence and characterization of a primal and a dual facelift - discontinuity of the value function at the terminal time - for utility-maximization in incomplete semimartingale-driven financial markets. Unlike in the lower- and upper-hedging problems, and somewhat unexpectedly, a facelift turns out to exist in utility-maximization despite strict convexity in the objective function. In addition to discussing our results in their natural, Markovian environment, we also use them to show that the dual optimizer cannot be found in the set of countably-additive (martingale) measures in a wide variety of situations.

Abstract: We describe an abstract control-theoretic setting in which the validity of the dynamic programming principle can be established in continuous time by a verification of a small number of structural properties. As an application we treat several cases of interest, most notably the lower-hedging and utility-maximization problems of financial mathematics both of which are naturally posed over ``sets of martingale measures''

Abstract: We revisit the optimal investment and consumption model of Davis and Norman (1990) and Shreve and Soner (1994), following a shadow-price approach similar to that of Kallsen and Muhle-Karbe (2010). Making use of the completeness of the model without transaction costs, we reformulate and reduce the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation for this singular stochastic control problem to a non-standard free-boundary problem for a first-order ODE with an integral constraint. Having shown that the free boundary problem has a smooth solution, we use it to construct the solution of the original optimal investment/consumption problem in a self-contained manner and without any recourse to the dynamic programming principle. Furthermore, we provide an explicit characterization of model parameters for which the value function is finite.

Abstract: We consider a utility-maximization problem in a general semimartingale financial market, subject to constraints on the number of shares held in each risky asset. These constraints are modeled by predictable convex-set-valued processes whose values do not necessarily contain the origin, i.e., no risky investment at all may be inadmissible. Such a setup subsumes the classical constrained utility-maximization problem, as well as the problem where illiquid assets or a random endowment are present.

Our main result establishes existence of the optimal trading strategies in such markets under no smoothness requirements on the utility function, and relates them to the corresponding dual objects. Moreover, we show that the dual optimization problem can be posed over a set of countably-additive probability measures, thus eschewing the need for the usual finitely-additive enlargement.

Abstract: For a sequence of nonnegative random variables, we provide simple necessary and sufficient conditions to ensure that each sequence of its forward convex combinations converges in probability to the same limit. These conditions correspond to an essentially measure-free version of the notion of uniform integrability and are related to the numeraire problem of mathematical finance.

Abstract: We prove existence and uniqueness of stochastic equilibria in a class of incomplete continuous-time financial environments where the market participants are exponential utility maximizers with heterogeneous risk-aversion coefficients and general Markovian random endowments. The incompleteness featured in our setting - the source of which can be thought of as a credit event or a catastrophe - is genuine in the sense that not only the prices, but also the family of replicable claims itself is determined as a part of the equilibrium. Consequently, equilibrium allocations are not necessarily Pareto optimal and the related representative-agent techniques cannot be used. Instead, we follow a novel route based on new stability results for a class of semilinear partial differential equations related to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation for the agents' utility-maximization problems. This approach leads to a reformulation of the problem where the Banach fixed point theorem can be used not only to show existence and uniqueness, but also to provide a simple and efficient numerical procedure for its computation.

Abstract: We perform a stability analysis for the utility maximization problem in a general semimartingale model where both liquid and illiquid assets (random endowments) are present. Small misspecifications of preferences (as modeled via expected utility), as well as views of the world or the market model (as modeled via subjective probabilities) are considered. Simple sufficient conditions are given for the problem to be well-posed, in the sense the optimal wealth and the marginal utility-based prices are continuous functionals of preferences and probabilistic views.

Abstract: We consider two risk-averse financial agents who negotiate the price of an illiquid indivisible contingent claim in an incomplete semimartingale market environment. Under the assumption that the agents are exponential utility maximizers with non-traded random endowments, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for negotiation to be successful, i.e., for the trade to occur. We also study the asymptotic case where the size of the claim is small compared to the random endowments and we give a full characterization in this case. Finally, we study a partial-equilibrium problem for a bundle of divisible claims and establish existence and uniqueness. A number of technical results on conditional indifference prices are provided.

Abstract: In an incomplete semimartingale model of a financial market, we consider several risk-averse financial agents who negotiate the price of a bundle of contingent claims. Assuming that the agents' risk preferences are modelled by convex capital requirements, we define and analyze their demand functions and propose a notion of a partial equilibrium price. In addition to sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness, we also show that the equilibrium prices are stable with respect to misspecifications of agents' risk preferences.

Abstract: The new notion of maturity-independent risk measures is introduced and contrasted with the existing risk measurement concepts. It is shown, by means of two examples, one set on a finite probability space and the other in a diffusion framework, that, surprisingly, some of the widely utilized risk measures cannot be used to build maturity-independent counterparts. We construct a large class of maturity-independent risk measures and give representative examples in both continuous- and discrete-time financial models.

Abstract: We present a short survey of the history of utility theory. Starting from the seminal idea of Daniel Bernoulli, we proceed to discuss the work of Herman Gossen and its importance for the “Marginalist revolution”. The next milestone is the advent of axiomatic approaches, starting with the work of Franz Alt, John von Neumann, and Oskar Morgenstern. Various critiques of the expected-utility model are discussed. On the conceptual side, we mention the “Subjectivist revolution” lead by Leonard Savage, and, on the empirical side, we discuss the paradoxes of Maurice Allais and Daniel Ellsberg and their partial resolution in the work by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Finally, we touch upon the concept of risk aversion and the place of utility theory in modern finance.

Abstract: We propose a mathematical framework for the study of a family of random fields-called forward performances-which arise as numerical representation of certain rational preference relations in mathematical finance. Their spatial structure corresponds to that of utility functions, while the temporal one reflects a Nisio-type semigroup property, referred to as self-generation. In the setting of semimartingale financial markets, we provide a dual formulation of self-generation in addition to the original one, and show equivalence between the two, thus giving a dual characterization of forward performances. Then we focus on random fields with an exponential structure and provide necessary and sufficient conditions for self-generation in that case. Finally, we illustrate our methods in financial markets driven by Itô-processes, where we obtain an explicit parametrization of all exponential forward performances.

Abstract: The concept of convex compactness, weaker than the classical notion of compactness, is introduced and discussed. It is shown that a large class of convex subsets of topological vector spaces shares this property and that is can be used in lieu of compactness in a variety of cases. Specifically, we establish convex compactness for certain familiar classes of subsets of the set of positive random variables under the topology induced by convergence in probability.

Two applications in infinite-dimensional optimization - attainment of infima and a version of the Minimax theorem - are given. Moreover, a new fixed-point theorem of the Knaster-Kuratowski-Mazurkiewicz-type is derived and used to prove a general version of the Walrasian excess-demand theorem.

Abstract: A binding event between two proteins typically consists of a diffusional search of binding partners for one another, followed by a specific recognition of the compatible binding sites resulting in the formation of the complex. However, it is unclear how binding partners find each other in the context of the crowded, constantly fluctuating, and interaction-rich cellular environment. Here we examine the non-specific component of protein-protein interactions, which refers to all physicochemical properties of the binding partners that are independent of the exact details of their binding sites, but which can affect their localization or diffusional search for one another. We show that, for a large set of high-resolution experimental 3D structures of binary, transient protein complexes taken from the DOCKGROUND database, the binding partners display a surprising, statistically significant similarity in terms of their total hydration free energies normalized by a size-dependent variable. We propose that colocalization of binding partners, even within individual cellular compartments such as the cytoplasm, may be influenced by their relative hydrophilicity in response to intra- compartmental hydrophilic gradients.

Abstract: This paper studies the problem of maximizing the expected utility of terminal wealth for a financial agent with an unbounded random endowment, and with a utility function which supports both positive and negative wealth. We prove the existence of an optimal trading strategy within a class of permissible strategies - those strategies whose wealth process is a supermartingale under all pricing measures with finite relative entropy. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the absence of utility-based arbitrage, and for the existence of a solution to the primal problem. We consider two utility-based methods which can be used to price contingent claims. Firstly we investigate marginal utility-based price processes (MUBPP's). We show that such processes can be characterized as local martingales under the normalized optimal dual measure for the utility maximizing investor. Finally, we present some new results on utility indifference prices, including continuity properties and volume asymptotics for the case of a general utility function, unbounded endowment and unbounded contingent claims.

Abstract: We investigate the ergodic problem of growth-rate maximization under a class of risk constraints in the context of incomplete, Itô-process models of financial markets with random ergodic coefficients. Including value-at-risk (VaR), tail-value-at-risk (TVaR), and limited expected loss (LEL), these constraints can be both wealth-dependent(relative) and wealth-independent (absolute). The optimal policy is shown to exist in an appropriate admissibility class, and can be obtained explicitly by uniform, state-dependent scaling down of the unconstrained (Merton) optimal portfolio. This implies that the risk-constrained wealth-growth optimizer locally behaves like a CRRA-investor, with the relative risk-aversion coefficient depending on the current values of the market coefficients.

Abstract: This paper provides a new version of the condition of Di Nunno et al. (2003), Ankirchner and Imkeller (2005) and Biagini and Øksendal (2005) ensuring the semimartingale property for a large class of continuous stochastic processes. Unlike our predecessors, we base our modeling framework on the concept of portfolio proportions which yields a short self-contained proof of the main theorem, as well as a counterexample, showing that analogues of our results do not hold in the discontinuous setting.

Abstract: This paper deals with the problem one faces when the maturity (horizon, expiration date, etc.) associated with a particular risky position is not fixed. We take the view that the mechanism used to measure the risk content of a certain random variable should not depend on any a priori choice of the measurement horizon. The case in complete financial markets is given as an example.

Abstract: The effectiveness of utility-maximization techniques for portfolio management relies on our ability to estimate correctly the parameters of the dynamics of the underlying financial assets. In the setting of complete or incomplete financial markets, we investigate whether small perturbations of the market coefficient processes lead to small changes in the agent's optimal behavior derived from the solution of the related utility-maximization problems. Specifically, we identify the topologies on the parameter process space and the solution space under which utility-maximization is a continuous operation, and we provide a counterexample showing that our results are best possible, in a certain sense. A novel result about the structure of the solution of the utility-maximization problem where prices are modeled by continuous semimartingales is established as an offshoot of the proof of our central theorem.

Abstract: Existence of stochastic financial equilibria giving rise to semimartingale asset prices is established under a general class of assumptions. These equilibria are expressed in real terms and span complete markets or markets with withdrawal constraints.We deal with random endowment density streams which admit jumps and general time-dependent utility functions on which only regularity conditions are imposed. As an integral part of the proof of the main result, we establish a novel characterization of semimartingale functions.

Abstract: We introduce a linear space of finitely additive measures to treat the problem of optimal expected utility from consumption under a stochastic clock and an unbounded random endowment process. In this way we establish existence and uniqueness for a large class of utility maximization problems including the classical ones of terminal wealth or consumption, as well as the problems depending on a random time-horizon or multiple consumption instances. As an example we treat explicitly the problem of maximizing the logarithmic utility of a consumption stream, where the local time of an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process acts as a stochastic clock.

Abstract: We consider the problem of maximizing expected utility from consumption in a constrained incomplete semimartingale market with a random endowment process, and establish a general existence and uniqueness result using techniques from convex duality. The notion of asymptotic elasticity of Kramkov and Schachermayer is extended to the time-dependent case. By imposing no smoothness requirements on the utility function in the temporal argument, we can treat both pure consumption and combined consumption/terminal wealth problems, in a common framework. To make the duality approach possible, we provide a detailed characterization of the enlarged dual domain which is reminiscent of the enlargement of L^1 to its topological bidual (L^{\infty})^*, a space of finitely-additive measures. As an application, we treat the case of a constrained Itô-process market-model.

Abstract: We extend the Bipolar Theorem of Brannath and Schachermayer (1999) to the space of nonnegative cadlag supermartingales on a filtered probability space. We formulate the notion of fork-convexity as an analogue to convexity in this setting. As an intermediate step in the proof of our main result we establish a conditional version of the Bipolar theorem. In an application to mathematical finance we describe the structure of the set of dual processes of the utility maximization problem of Kramkov and Schachermayer (1999) and give a budget-constraint characterization of admissible consumption processes in an incomplete semimartingale market.