Optimal Multiperiod Asset Allocation: Matching Assets to Liabilities in a Discrete Model

Abstract

Investment and risk control are becoming increasingly important for financial institutions. Asset allocation provides a fundamental investing principle to manage the risk and return trade-off in financial markets. This article proposes a general formulation of a first approximation of multiperiod asset allocation modeling for institutions that invest to meet the target payment structures of a long-term liability. By addressing the shortcomings of both single-period models and the single-point forecast of the mean variance approach, this article derives explicit formulae for optimal asset allocations, taking into account possible future realizations in a multiperiod discrete time model.