• View the 2024 QuantNet ranking of the Best UK Quant MSc Programs.

  • C++ Programming for Financial Engineering
    Highly recommended by thousands of MFE students. Covers essential C++ topics with applications to financial engineering. Learn more Join!
    Python for Finance with Intro to Data Science
    Gain practical understanding of Python to read, understand, and write professional Python code for your first day on the job. Learn more Join!
    An Intuition-Based Options Primer for FE
    Ideal for entry level positions interviews and graduate studies, specializing in options trading arbitrage and options valuation models. Learn more Join!

questions about optimal hedge ratio

Joined
9/22/14
Messages
1
Points
11
Optimal hedge ratio depends on the particular objective function to be optimized, and most widely-used hedging strategies is based on the minimization of the variance of the hedged portfolio.
r1t is the return of asset 1 at time t
r2t is the return of asset 2 at time t
the return of the portfolio at time t is r1t-h2*r2t or h1*r1t-r2t , and h1 or h2 is the hedge ratio.
the variance of return of the hedged portfolio is var(r1t-h2*r2t) or var(h1*r1t-r2t), which is to be minimized to obtain optimal h1* or h2*.
I think h1* is supposed to be 1/h2*, which actually is not the case.
The analytic solution are:
h1*=cov(r1t,r2t)/var(r1t)
h2* =cov(r1t,r2t)/var(r2t)

Can someone exlpain why h1* is not equal to 1/h2*? and In practice which ratio should I use, h1* or h2*?
 
Back
Top