A note on lower bounds of martingale measure densities

For a given element $f\in L^1$ and a convex cone $C\subset L^\infty$, $C\cap L^\infty_+=\{0\}$ we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of an element $g\ge f$ lying in the polar of $C$. This polar is taken in $(L^\infty)^*$ and in $L^1$. In the context of mathematical finance the main result concerns the existence of martingale measures, whose densities are bounded from below by prescribed random variable.Comment: 9 page

Strong supermartingales and limits of nonnegative martingales

Given a sequence $(M^n)^{\infty}_{n=1}$ of nonnegative martingales starting at $M^n_0=1$, we find a sequence of convex combinations $(\widetilde{M}^n)^{\infty}_{n=1}$ and a limiting process $X$ such that $(\widetilde{M}^n_{\tau})^{\infty}_{n=1}$ converges in probability to $X_{\tau}$, for all finite stopping times $\tau$. The limiting process $X$ then is an optional strong supermartingale. A counterexample reveals that the convergence in probability cannot be replaced by almost sure convergence in this statement. We also give similar convergence results for sequences of optional strong supermartingales $(X^n)^{\infty}_{n=1}$, their left limits $(X^n_-)^{\infty}_{n=1}$ and their stochastic integrals $(\int\varphi \,dX^n)^{\infty}_{n=1}$ and explain the relation to the notion of the Fatou limit.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/14-AOP970 in the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Duality Theory for Portfolio Optimisation under Transaction Costs

For portfolio optimisation under proportional transaction costs, we provide a duality theory for general cadlag price processes. In this setting, we prove the existence of a dual optimiser as well as a shadow price process in a generalised sense. This shadow price is defined via a "sandwiched" process consisting of a predictable and an optional strong supermartingale and pertains to all strategies which remain solvent under transaction costs. We provide examples showing that in the present general setting the shadow price process has to be of this generalised form

Portfolio optimisation beyond semimartingales: shadow prices and fractional Brownian motion

While absence of arbitrage in frictionless financial markets requires price processes to be semimartingales, non-semimartingales can be used to model prices in an arbitrage-free way, if proportional transaction costs are taken into account. In this paper, we show, for a class of price processes which are not necessarily semimartingales, the existence of an optimal trading strategy for utility maximisation under transaction costs by establishing the existence of a so-called shadow price. This is a semimartingale price process, taking values in the bid ask spread, such that frictionless trading for that price process leads to the same optimal strategy and utility as the original problem under transaction costs. Our results combine arguments from convex duality with the stickiness condition introduced by P. Guasoni. They apply in particular to exponential utility and geometric fractional Brownian motion. In this case, the shadow price is an Ito process. As a consequence we obtain a rather surprising result on the pathwise behaviour of fractional Brownian motion: the trajectories may touch an Ito process in a one-sided manner without reflection.Comment: To appear in Annals of Applied Probability. We would like to thank Junjian Yang for careful reading of the manuscript and pointing out a mistake in an earlier versio

Shadow prices for continuous processes

In a financial market with a continuous price process and proportional transaction costs we investigate the problem of utility maximization of terminal wealth. We give sufficient conditions for the existence of a shadow price process, i.e.~a least favorable frictionless market leading to the same optimal strategy and utility as in the original market under transaction costs. The crucial ingredients are the continuity of the price process and the hypothesis of "no unbounded profit with bounded risk". A counter-example reveals that these hypotheses cannot be relaxed

Hiding a drift

In this article we consider a Brownian motion with drift of the form dS_t=\mu_t dt+dB_t\qquadfor t\ge0, with a specific nontrivial $(\mu_t)_{t\geq0}$, predictable with respect to $\mathbb{F}^B$, the natural filtration of the Brownian motion $B=(B_t)_{t\ge0}$. We construct a process $H=(H_t)_{t\ge0}$, also predictable with respect to $\mathbb{F}^B$, such that $((H\cdot S)_t)_{t\ge 0}$ is a Brownian motion in its own filtration. Furthermore, for any $\delta>0$, we refine this construction such that the drift $(\mu_t)_{t\ge0}$ only takes values in $]\mu-\delta,\mu+\delta[$, for fixed $\mu>0$.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-AOP469 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org