Alternative Approximations to Value-At-Risk: A Comparison

Abstract

This article compares three value-at-risk (VaR) approximation methods suggested in the literature: Cornish and Fisher (1937), Sillitto (1969), and Liu (2010). Simulation results are obtained for three families of distributions: student-t, skewed-normal, and skewed-t. We recommend the Sillitto approximation as the best method to evaluate the VaR when the financial return has an unknown, skewed, and heavy-tailed distribution.