Chapter 1
Introduction to Portfolio
TheoryUpdated: August 9, 2013.
This chapter introduces modern portfolio theory in a simplified setting
where there are only two risky assets and a single risk-free asset.

1.1

Portfolios of Two Risky Assets

Consider the following investment problem. We can invest in two nondividend paying stocks Amazon (A) and Boeing (B) over the next month.
Let  denote monthly simple return on Amazon and  denote the monthly
simple return on stock Boeing. These returns are to be treated as randomvariables because the returns will not be realized until the end of the month.
We assume that the returns  and  are jointly normally distributed,
and that we have the following information about the means, variances andcovariances of the probability distribution of the two returns:
 = [ ]  2 = var( )  = [ ]  2 = var( ) 
  = cov(   )  = cor(   ) =



(1.1)
(1.2)

We assume that these values are taken as given. Typically, they are estimatedfrom historical return data for the two stocks. However, they can also be
subjective guesses by an analyst.
1

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

The expected returns,  and  , are our best guesses for the monthly
returns on each of the stocks. However, because the investment returns are
random variables we must recognize that the realized returns may be diﬀerent
from our expectations. The variances,  2 and  2 , provide measures of theuncertainty associated with these monthly returns. We can also think of thevariances as measuring the risk associated with the investments. Assets withhigh return variability (or volatility) are often thought to be risky, and assets
with low return volatility are often thought to be safe. The covariance  
gives us information about the direction of any linear dependence between
returns. If    0 then the two returns tend to move in the same direction;
if   0 the returns tend to move in opposite directions; if   = 0 thenthe returns tend to move independently. The strength of the dependence
between the returns is measured by the correlation coeﬃcient   If is close to one in absolute value then returns mimic each other extremely
closely, whereas if  is close to zero then the returns may show very little
relationship.
Example 1 Two risky asset portfolio information
Table 1.1 gives annual return distribution parameters for two hypotheticalassets A and B. Asset A is the high risk asset with an annual return of = 175% and annual standard deviation of   = 258% Asset B is alower risk asset with annual return  = 55% and annual standard deviationof   = 115% The assets are assumed to be slightly negatively correlatedwith correlation coeﬃcient  = −0164 Given the standard deviations andthe correlation, the covariance can be determined from   =      =(−0164)(00258)(0115) = −0004875 In R, the example data is> mu.A = 0.175> sig.A = 0.258> sig2.A = sig.A^2> mu.B = 0.055> sig.B = 0.115> sig2.B = sig.B^2> rho.AB = -0.164> sig.AB = rho.AB*sig.A*sig.B¥

3

1.1 PORTFOLIOS OF TWO RISKY ASSETS




 2

 2





 



0.175 0.055 0.06656 0.01323 0.258 0.115 -0.004866 -0.164
Table 1.1: Example data for two asset portfolio.
The portfolio problem is set-up as follows. We have a given amount ofinitial wealth 0  and it is assumed that we will exhaust all of our wealthbetween investments in the two stocks. The investment problem is to decide
how much wealth to put in asset A and how much to put in asset B. Let denote the share of wealth invested in stock A, and  denote the shareof wealth invested in stock B. The values of  and  can be positive or
negative. Positive values denote long positions (purchases) in the assets.
Negative values denote short positions (sales).1 Since all wealth is put into
the two investments it follows that  +  = 1 If asset  is shorted, thenit is assumed that the proceeds of the short sale are used to purchase moreof asset  Therefore, to solve the investment problem we must choose thevalues of  and  
Our investment in the two stocks forms a portfolio, and the shares  and are referred to as portfolio shares or weights. The return on the portfolio
over the next month is a random variable, and is given by =   +   

(1.3)

which is a linear combination or weighted average of the random variables
 and  . Since  and  are assumed to be normally distributed, 
is also normally distributed. We use the properties of linear combinations ofrandom variables to determine the mean and variance of this distribution.

1.1.1

Portfolio expected return and variance

The distribution of the return on the portfolio (1.3) is a normal with mean,variance and standard deviation given by1

To short an asset one borrows the asset, usually from a broker, and then sells it. The
proceeds from the short sale are usually kept on account with a broker and there often
restrictions that prevent the use of these funds for the purchase of other assets. The shortposition is closed out when the asset is repurchased and then returned to original owner.
If the asset drops in value then a gain is made on the short sale and if the asset increases
in value a loss is made.

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

That is, = [ ] =   +   
 2 = var( ) = 2  2 + 2  2 + 2    q
  = SD( ) = 2  2 + 2  2 + 2    

(1.4)
(1.5)
(1.6)

 ∼ (   2 )
The results (1.4) and (1.5) are so important to portfolio theory that it isworthwhile to review the derivations. For the first result (1.4), we have[ ] = [  +   ] =  [ ] +  [ ] =   +   by the linearity of the expectation operator. For the second result (1.5), wehavevar( ) = [( −  )2 ] = [( ( −  ) +  ( −  ))2 ]= [2 ( −  )2 + 2 ( −  )2 + 2  ( −  )( −  )]= 2 [( −  )2 ] + 2 [( −  )2 ] + 2  [( −  )( −  )]= 2  2 + 2  2 + 2    
Notice that the variance of the portfolio is a weighted average of the variancesof the individual assets plus two times the product of the portfolio weights
times the covariance between the assets. If the portfolio weights are both
positive then a positive covariance will tend to increase the portfolio variance,
because both returns tend to move in the same direction, and a negative
covariance will tend to reduce the portfolio variance. Thus finding assets withnegatively correlated returns can be very beneficial when forming portfolios
because risk, as measured by portfolio standard deviation, is reduced. Whatis perhaps surprising is that forming portfolios with positively correlated
assets can also reduce risk as long as the correlation is not too large.
Example 2 Two asset portfolios
Consider creating some portfolios using the asset information in Table 1.1.
The first portfolio is an equally weighted portfolio with  =  = 05 Using1.1 PORTFOLIOS OF TWO RISKY ASSETS

5(1.4)-(1.6), we have = (05) · (0175) + (05) · (0055) = 0115
2 = (05)2 · (0067) + (05)2 · (0013)+2 · (05)(05)(−0004866)= 001751√
 = 001751 = 01323
This portfolio has expected return half-way between the expected returns
on assets A and B, but the portfolio standard deviation is less than halfway between the asset standard deviations. This reflects risk reduction via
diversification. In R, the portfolio parameters are computed using> x.A = 0.5> x.B = 0.5> mu.p1 = x.A*mu.A + x.B*mu.B> sig2.p1 = x.A^2 * sig2.A + x.B^2 * sig2.B + 2*x.A*x.B*sig.AB> sig.p1 = sqrt(sig2.p)> mu.p1[1] 0.115> sig2.p1[1] 0.01751> sig.p1[1] 0.1323
Next, consider a long-short portfolio with  = 15 and  = −05 In thisportfolio, asset B is sold short and the proceeds of the short sale are used toleverage the investment in asset A. The portfolio characteristics are = (15) · (0175) + (−05) · (0055) = 0235
 2 = (15)2 · (0067) + (−05)2 · (0013)+2 · (15)(−05)(−0004866)= 01604√
 = 01604 = 04005
This portfolio has both a higher expected return and standard deviation thanasset A. In R, the portfolio parameters are computed using

6

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY> x.A = 1.5> x.B = -0.5
> mu.p2 = x.A*mu.A + x.B*mu.B> sig2.p2 = x.A^2 * sig2.A + x.B^2 * sig2.B + 2*x.A*x.B*sig.AB> sig.p2 = sqrt(sig2.p2)> mu.p2[1] 0.235> sig2.p2[1] 0.1604> sig.p2[1] 0.4005
¥

1.1.2

Portfolio Value-at-Risk

Consider an initial investment of $0 in the portfolio of assets A and B
with return given by (1.3), expected return given by (1.4) and variance givenby (1.5). Then  ∼ (   2 ). For  ∈ (0 1) the  × 100% portfolio
value-at-risk is given by

0 
(1.7)
VaR = where is the  quantile of the distribution of  and is given by=  +    (1.8)

where  is the  quantile of the standard normal distribution.2
What is the relationship between portfolio VaR and the individual asset
VaRs? Is portfolio VaR a weighted average of the individual asset VaRs?
In general, portfolio VaR is not a weighted average of the asset VaRs. To
see this consider the portfolio weighted average of the individual asset return
quantiles 
+  
=  ( +    ) +  ( +    )=   +   + (   +    )=  + (   +    ) 

(1.9)

2
If  is a continuously compounded return then the implied simple return quantile is = exp( +    ) − 1

1.1 PORTFOLIOS OF TWO RISKY ASSETS

7

The weighted asset quantile (1.9) is not equal to the portfolio quantile (1.8)
unless  = 1 Hence, weighted asset VaR is in general not equal to portfolio
VaR because the quantile (1.9) ignores the correlation between  and  
Example 3 Portfolio VaRConsider an initial investment of 0 =$100,000. Assuming that returns are
simple, the 5% VaRs on assets A and B are

VaR005 = 005
0 = ( +   05
) 0
= (0175 + 0258(−1645)) · 100 000 = −24 937
0 = ( +   05
) 0
VaR005 = 005= (0055 + 0115(−1645)) · 100 000 = −13 416The 5% VaR on the equal weighted portfolio with  =  = 05 is¡¢
VaR005 = 005
0 =  +   050
= (0115 + 01323(−1645)) · 100 000 = −10 268and the weighted average of the individual asset VaRs is VaR005 +  VaR005 = 05(−24 937) + 05(−13 416) = −19 177The 5% VaR on the long-short portfolio with  = 15 and  = −05 is

VaR005 = 005
0 = (0235 + 04005(−1645)) · 100 000 = −42 371and the weighted average of the individual asset VaRs is VaR005 +  VaR005 = 15(−24 937) − 05(−13 416) = −30 698
Notice that VaR005 6=  VaR005 +  VaR005 because  6= 1
Using R, these computations are> w0 = 100000> VaR.A = (mu.A + sig.A*qnorm(0.05))*w0> VaR.A[1] -24937> VaR.B = (mu.B + sig.B*qnorm(0.05))*w0> VaR.B

8

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY[1] -13416> VaR.p1 = (mu.p1 + sig.p1*qnorm(0.05))*w0> VaR.p1[1] -10268> x.A*VaR.A + x.B*VaR.B[1] -19177> VaR.p2 = (mu.p2 + sig.p2*qnorm(0.05))*w0> VaR.p2[1] -42371> x.A*VaR.A + x.B*VaR.B[1] -30698¥
Example 4 Create R function to compute portfolio VaR
The previous example used repetitive R calculations to compute the 5% VaR
of an investment. An alternative approach is to first create an R function tocompute the VaR given    (VaR probability) and 0 , and then apply
the function using the inputs of the diﬀerent assets. A simple function tocompute VaR based on normally distributed asset returns isnormalVaR <- function(mu, sigma, w0, tail.prob = 0.01, invert=FALSE) {## compute normal VaR for collection of assets given mean and sd vector## inputs:## mu
n x 1 vector of expected returns## sigman x 1 vector of standard deviations## w0
scalar initial investment in $## tail.prob scalar tail probability## invert
logical. If TRUE report VaR as positive number## output:## VaRn x 1 vector of left tail return quantiles## References:## Jorian (2007) pg 111.
if ( length(mu) != length(sigma) )stop("mu and sigma must have same number of elements")
if ( tail.prob < 0 || tail.prob > 1)stop("tail.prob must be between 0 and 1")
VaR = w0*(mu + sigma*qnorm(tail.prob))1.2 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS

9

if (invert) {VaR = -VaR}
return(VaR)}
Using the normalVaR() function, the 5% VaR values of asset A, B and equallyweighted portfolio are:> normalVaR(mu=c(mu.A, mu.B, mu.p1),+
sigma=c(sig.A, sig.B, sig.p1),+
w0=100000, tail.prob=0.05)[1] -24937 -13416 -10268¥

1.2

Eﬃcient portfolios with two risky assets

In this section we describe how mean-variance eﬃcient portfolios are constructed. First we make the following assumptions regarding the probability
distribution of asset returns and the behavior of investors:
1. Returns are covariance stationary and ergodic, and jointly normally
distributed over the investment horizon. This implies that means, variances and covariances of returns are constant over the investment horizon and completely characterize the joint distribution of returns.
2. Investors know the values of asset return means, variances and covariances.
3. Investors only care about portfolio expected return and portfolio variance. Investors like portfolios with high expected return but dislike
portfolios with high return variance.
Given the above assumptions we set out to characterize the set of eﬃcient
portfolios: those portfolios that have the highest expected return for a given
level of risk as measured by portfolio variance. These are the portfolios thatinvestors are most interested in holding.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

0.20

10

0.10

p

0.15

Asset A

Global min

0.00

0.05

Asset B

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

p

Figure 1.1: Portfolio frontier of example data.
For illustrative purposes we will show calculations using the data in the
Table 1.1. The collection of all feasible portfolios, or the investment possibilities set, in the case of two assets is simply all possible portfolios that canbe formed by varying the portfolio weights  and  such that the weights
sum to one ( +  = 1). We summarize the expected return-risk (meanvariance) properties of the feasible portfolios in a plot with portfolio expected
return,  , on the vertical axis and portfolio standard deviation,  , on thehorizontal axis. The portfolio standard deviation is used instead of variancebecause standard deviation is measured in the same units as the expectedvalue (recall, variance is the average squared deviation from the mean).
Example 5 Investment possibilities set for example data
The investment possibilities set or portfolio frontier for the data in Table 1.1
is illustrated in Figure 1.1. Here the portfolio weight on asset A,  , is varied
from -0.4 to 1.4 in increments of 0.1 and, since  = 1 −   the weight on
asset B then varies from 1.4 to -0.4. This gives us 18 portfolios with weights

1.2 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS 11(   ) = (−04 14) (−03 13)  (13 −03) (14 −04) For each of theseportfolios we use the formulas (1.4) and (1.6) to compute  and   . We thenplot these values. In R, the computations are> x.A = seq(from=-0.4, to=1.4, by=0.1)> x.B = 1 - x.A> mu.p = x.A*mu.A + x.B*mu.B> sig2.p = x.A^2 * sig2.A + x.B^2 * sig2.B + 2*x.A*x.B*sig.AB> sig.p = sqrt(sig2.p)> plot(sig.p, mu.p, type="b", pch=16,+
ylim=c(0, max(mu.p)), xlim=c(0, max(sig.p)),+xlab=expression(sigma[p]), ylab=expression(mu[p]),+col=c(rep("red", 6), rep("green", 13)))> plot(sig.p, mu.p, type="b", pch=16,+
ylim=c(0, max(mu.p)), xlim=c(0, max(sig.p)),+xlab=expression(sigma[p]), ylab=expression(mu[p]),+col=c(rep("red", 6), rep("green", 13)))> text(x=sig.A, y=mu.A, labels="Asset A", pos=4)> text(x=sig.B, y=mu.B, labels="Asset B", pos=4)¥
Notice that the plot in (    )− space looks like a parabola turned on its
side (in fact, it is one side of a hyperbola). Since it is assumed that investors
desire portfolios with the highest expected return,   for a given level of risk,   combinations that are in the upper left corner are the best portfolios andthose in the lower right corner are the worst. Notice that the portfolio at thebottom of the parabola has the property that it has the smallest varianceamong all feasible portfolios. Accordingly, this portfolio is called the global
minimum variance portfolio.
Eﬃcient portfolios are those with the highest expected return for a given
level of risk. These portfolios are colored green in Figure 1.1. Ineﬃcient portfolios are then portfolios such that there is another feasible portfolio that has
the same risk (  ) but a higher expected return ( ). These portfolios arecolored red in Figure 1.1. From Figure 1.1 it is clear that the ineﬃcient
portfolios are the feasible portfolios that lie below the global minimum variance portfolio, and the eﬃcient portfolios are those that lie above the global
minimum variance portfolio.

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

1.2.1

Computing the Global Minimum Variance Portfolio

It is a simple exercise in calculus to find the global minimum variance portfolio. We solve the constrained optimization problem3
min  2 = 2  2 + 2  2 + 2    

  +  = 1This constrained optimization problem can be solved using two methods.
The first method, called the method of substitution, uses the constraint tosubstitute out one of the variables to transform the constrained optimization
problem in two variables into an unconstrained optimization problem in one
variable. The second method, called the method of Lagrange multipliers, introduces an auxiliary variable called the Lagrange multiplier and transforms
the constrained optimization problem in two variables into an unconstrained
optimization problem in three variables.
The substitution method is straightforward. Substituting  = 1 − into the formula for  2 reduces the problem tomin  2 = 2  2 + (1 −  )2  2 + 2 (1 −  )  The first order conditions for a minimum, via the chain rule, are
0=

2
2
min 2
min
= 2min   − 2(1 −  )  + 2  (1 − 2 )
and straightforward calculations yield
min
 =

 2 −  
 min = 1 − min 
 2 +  2 − 2  

(1.10)The method of Lagrange multipliers involves two steps. In the first step,
the constraint  +  = 1 is put into homogenous form  +  − 1 = 0In the second step, the Lagrangian function is formed by adding to  2 thehomogenous constraint multiplied by an auxiliary variable  (the Lagrange
multiplier) giving
(    ) = 2  2 + 2  2 + 2    + ( +  − 1)
3

A review of optimization and constrained optimization is given in the appendix to thischapter.

1.2 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS 13
This function is then minimized with respect to     and  The firstorder conditions are(    )
= 2  2 + 2   + (    )0=
= 2  2 + 2   + (    )
0=
=  +  − 10=

The first two equations can be rearranged to giveµ 2¶
  −   = 
 2 −  
Substituting this value for  into the third equation and rearranging gives
the solution (1.10).
Example 6 Global minimum variance portfolio for example data
Using the data in Table 1.1 and (1.10) we have
min
 =

001323 − (−0004866)= 02021 min
 = 07979
006656 + 001323 − 2(−0004866)

The expected return, variance and standard deviation of this portfolio are = (02021) · (0175) + (07979) · (0055) = 007925
 2 = (02021)2 · (0067) + (07979)2 · (0013)+2 · (02021)(07979)(−0004875)= 000975√
 = 000975 = 009782
In Figure 1.1, this portfolio is labeled “global min”. In R, the calculations
to compute the global minimum variance portfolio are> xA.min = (sig2.B - sig.AB)/(sig2.A + sig2.B - 2*sig.AB)> xB.min = 1 - xA.min> xA.min[1] 0.2021

14

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY> xB.min[1] 0.7979> mu.p.min = xA.min*mu.A + xB.min*mu.B> sig2.p.min = xA.min^2 * sig2.A + xB.min^2 * sig2.B ++2*xA.min*xB.min*sig.AB> sig.p.min = sqrt(sig2.p.min)> mu.p.min[1] 0.07925> sig.p.min[1] 0.09782
¥

1.2.2

Correlation and the Shape of the Eﬃcient Frontier

The shape of the investment possibilities set is very sensitive to the correlation between assets A and B. If  is close to 1 then the investment set
approaches a straight line connecting the portfolio with all wealth invested in
asset B, (   ) = (0 1), to the portfolio with all wealth invested in asset A,(   ) = (1 0). This case is illustrated in Figure 1.2. As  approaches
zero the set starts to bow toward the  axis, and the power of diversification starts to kick in. If  = −1 then the set actually touches the  axis.
What this means is that if assets A and B are perfectly negatively correlated
then there exists a portfolio of A and B that has positive expected returnand zero variance! To find the portfolio with  2 = 0 when  = −1 we use(1.10) and the fact that   =      to give
min
 =


 min = 1 −  
 +  

The case with  = −1 is also illustrated in Figure 1.2.
Example 7 Portfolio frontier when  = ±1
Suppose  = 1 Then   =      =      The portfolio varianceis then 2 = 2  2 + 2  2 + 2    = 2  2 + 2  2 + 2     = (   +    )2

1.2 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS 15

0.20

1
  1

0.10

p

0.15

Asset A

0.00

0.05

Asset B

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

p

Figure 1.2: Portfolios with  = 1 and  = −1
Hence,   =    +    =    + (1 −  )  which shows that   lies
on a straight line connecting   and    Next, suppose  = −1 Then =      = −    which implies that  2 = (   −    )2 and  =    −    =    + (1 −  )   In this case we can find a portfoliothat has zero volatility. We solve for  such that   = 0 :0 =    + (1 −  )  ⇒  =

1.2.3


  = 1 −  
 + 

Optimal Portfolios

Given the eﬃcient set of portfolios as described in Figure 1.1, which portfolio
will an investor choose? Of the eﬃcient portfolios, investors will choose theone that accords with their risk preferences. Very risk averse investors will
want a portfolio that has low volatility (risk) and will choose a portfolio very
close to the global minimum variance portfolio. In contrast, very risk tolerant

16

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

investors will ignore volatility and seek portfolios with high expected returns.
Hence, these investors will choose portfolios with large amounts of asset A
which may involve short-selling asset B.

1.3

Eﬃcient portfolios with a risk-free asset

In the preceding section we constructed the eﬃcient set of portfolios in theabsence of a risk-free asset. Now we consider what happens when we introduce a risk-free asset. In the present context, a risk-free asset is equivalent
to default-free pure discount bond that matures at the end of the assumed
investment horizon. The risk-free rate,  , is then the nominal return on
the bond. For example, if the investment horizon is one month then therisk-free asset is a 30-day U.S. Treasury bill (T-bill) and the risk-free rateis the nominal rate of return on the T-bill.4 If our holdings of the risk-free
asset is positive then we are “lending money” at the risk-free rate, and if ourholdings are negative then we are “borrowing” at the risk-free rate.

1.3.1

Eﬃcient portfolios with one risky asset and one
risk-free asset

Consider an investment in asset B and the risk-free asset (henceforth referred
to as a T-bill). Since the risk-free rate is fixed (constant) over the investment
horizon it has some special properties, namely
 = [ ] =  
var( ) = 0cov(   ) = 0
Let  denote the share of wealth in asset B, and  = 1 −  denote theshare of wealth in T-bills. The portfolio return is = (1 −  ) +   =  +  ( −  )
The quantity  −  is called the excess return (over the return on T-bills)
on asset B. The portfolio expected return is then =  +  ([ ] −  ) =  +  ( −  )
4(1.11)The default-free assumption of U.S. debt has recently been questioned due to the inability of the U.S. congress to address the long-term debt problems of the U.S. government.

1.3 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH A RISK-FREE ASSET 17
where the quantity ( −  ) is called the expected excess return or risk
premium on asset B. For risky assets, the risk premium is typically positive
indicating that investors expect a higher return on the risky asset than thesafe asset. We may express the risk premium on the portfolio in terms of therisk premium on asset B:
 −  =  ( −  )
The more we invest in asset B the higher the risk premium on the portfolio.
Because the risk-free rate is constant, the portfolio variance only depends
on the variability of asset B and is given by 2 = 2  2 
The portfolio standard deviation is therefore proportional to the standard
deviation on asset B(1.12)  =    which we can use to solve for 
 =





Using the last result, the feasible (and eﬃcient) set of portfolios follows theequation − 
· (1.13)
 =  + which is simply straight line in (    )− space with intercept  and slope −
. This line is often called the capital allocation line (CAL). The slopeof the CAL is called the Sharpe ratio (SR) or Sharpe’s slope (named after the
economist William Sharpe), and it measures the risk premium on the asset
per unit of risk (as measured by the standard deviation of the asset).
Example 8 Portfolios of T-Bills and risky assets
The portfolios which are combinations of asset A and T-bills and combinations of asset B and T-bills, using the data in Table 1.1 with  = 003 are
illustrated in Figure 1.3 which is created using the R code

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

0.20

18

0.05

0.10

p

0.15

Asset A

Asset B

0.00

rf

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

p

Figure 1.3: Portfolios of T-Bills and risky assets.
> r.f = 0.03
# T-bills + asset A> x.A = seq(from=0, to=1.4, by=0.1)> mu.p.A = r.f + x.A*(mu.A - r.f)
> sig.p.A = x.A*sig.A# T-bills + asset B> x.B = seq(from=0, to=1.4, by=0.1)> mu.p.B = r.f + x.B*(mu.B - r.f)
> sig.p.B = x.B*sig.B# plot portfolios of T-Bills and assets A and B> plot(sig.p.A, mu.p.A, type="b", col="black", ylim=c(0, max(mu.p.A)),+
xlim=c(0, max(sig.p.A, sig.p.B)), pch=16,+
xlab=expression(sigma[p]), ylab=expression(mu[p]))> points(sig.p.B, mu.p.B, type="b", col="blue", pch=16)> text(x=sig.A, y=mu.A, labels="Asset A", pos=4)> text(x=sig.B, y=mu.B, labels="Asset B", pos=1)

1.4 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS AND A RISK-FREE ASSET> text(x=0, y=r.f, labels=expression(r[f]), pos=2)
Notice that expected return-risk trade oﬀ of these portfolios is linear. Also,
notice that the portfolios which are combinations of asset A and T-bills haveexpected returns uniformly higher than the portfolios consisting of asset B
and T-bills. This occurs because the Sharpe ratio for asset A is higher than
the ratio for asset B:
 − 
0175 − 003=
= 05620258
 − 
0055 − 003=
= 0217
SR = 

0115
SR =

Hence, portfolios of asset A and T-bills are eﬃcient relative to portfolios ofasset B and T-bills. ¥The previous example shows that the Sharpe ratio can be used to rank
the risk return properties of individual assets. Assets with a high Sharpe
ratio have a better risk-return tradeoﬀ than assets with a low Sharpe ratio.
Accordingly, investment analysts routinely rank assets based on their Sharpe
ratios.

1.4

Eﬃcient portfolios with two risky assets
and a risk-free asset

Now we expand on the previous results by allowing our investor to form
portfolios of assets A, B and T-bills. The eﬃcient set in this case will still bea straight line in (    )− space with intercept  . The slope of the eﬃcientset, the maximum Sharpe ratio, is such that it is tangent to the eﬃcient set
constructed just using the two risky assets A and B. Figure 1.4 illustrates
why this is so.
If we invest in only in asset B and T-bills then the Sharpe ratio is SR = −
= 0217 and the CAL intersects the parabola at point B. This is clearly
not the eﬃcient set of portfolios. For example, we could do uniformly better
if we instead invest only in asset A and T-bills. This gives us a Sharpe ratio of −SR =   = 0562 and the new CAL intersects the parabola at point A.
However, we could do better still if we invest in T-bills and some combinationof assets A and B. Geometrically, it is easy to see that the best we can do
is obtained for the combination of assets A and B such that the CAL is just

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

0.20

20

p

0.15

Asset A

0.10

Tangency

Global min
0.05

Asset B

0.00

rf

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

p

Figure 1.4: Eﬃcient portfolios of two risky assets and T-Bills.

tangent to the parabola. This point is labeled “Tangency” on the graph andrepresents the tangency portfolio of assets A and B. Portfolios of T-Bills andthe tangency portfolio are the set of eﬃcient portfolios consisting of T-Bills,
asset A and asset B.

1.4.1

Solving for the Tangency Portfolio

We can determine the proportions of each asset in the tangency portfolio byfinding the values of  and  that maximize the Sharpe ratio of a portfoliothat is on the envelope of the parabola. Formally, we solve the constrained1.4 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS AND A RISK-FREE ASSET
maximization problem
 − 
 
 =   +   
 2 = 2  2 + 2  2 + 2    
1 =  +  
max SR =After various substitutions, the above problem can be reduced tomax

 ( −  ) + (1 −  )( −  )12

(2  2 + (1 −  )2  2 + 2 (1 −  )  )This is a straightforward, albeit very tedious, calculus problem and the solution can be shown to be( −  ) 2 − ( −  ) 
 (1.14)( −  ) 2 + ( −  ) 2 − ( −  +  −  )  = 1 −  
 =Example 9 Tangency portfolio for example data
For the example data in Table 1.1 using (1.14) with  = 003 we get = 04625 and  = 05375 The expected return, variance and standard
deviation on the tangency portfolio are =   +  = (04625)(0175) + (05375)(0055) = 01105
¡ ¢2 2 ¡  ¢2 2
2 =   +    + 2   = (04625)2 (006656) + (05375)2 (001323)+2(04625)(05375)(−0004866) = 001564√
 = 001564 = 01251

In R, the computations to compute the tangency portfolio are> top = (mu.A - r.f)*sig2.B - (mu.B - r.f)*sig.AB> bot = (mu.A - r.f)*sig2.B + (mu.B - r.f)*sig2.A +(mu.A - r.f + mu.B - r.f)*sig.AB

22

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY> x.A.tan = top/bot> x.B.tan = 1 - x.A.tan> x.A.tan[1] 0.4625> x.B.tan[1] 0.5375> mu.p.tan = x.A.tan*mu.A + x.B.tan*mu.B> sig2.p.tan = x.A.tan^2 * sig2.A + x.B.tan^2 * sig2.B ++2*x.A.tan*x.B.tan*sig.AB> sig.p.tan = sqrt(sig2.p.tan)> mu.p.tan[1] 0.1105> sig.p.tan[1] 0.1251
¥

1.4.2

Mutual Fund Separation

The eﬃcient portfolios are combinations of the tangency portfolio and the Tbill. Accordingly, using (1.11) and (1.12) the expected return and standard
deviation of any eﬃcient portfolio are given by =  +  ( −  )
  =    (1.15)(1.16)

where  represents the fraction of wealth invested in the tangency portfolio(and 1 −  represents the fraction of wealth invested in T-Bills), and  and  are the expected return and standard deviation of the tangency portfolio,
respectively. This important result is known as the mutual fund separation
theorem. The tangency portfolio can be considered as a mutual fund of thetwo risky assets, where the shares of the two assets in the mutual fund aredetermined by the tangency portfolio weights ( and  determined from
(1.14)), and the T-bill can be considered as a mutual fund of risk-free assets.
The expected return-risk trade-oﬀ of these portfolios is given by the line
connecting the risk-free rate to the tangency point on the eﬃcient frontier ofrisky asset only portfolios. Which combination of the tangency portfolio andthe T-bill an investor will choose depends on the investor’s risk preferences.
If the investor is very risk averse, then she will choose a portfolio with low

1.4 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS AND A RISK-FREE ASSET
volatility which will be a portfolio with very little weight in the tangency
portfolio and a lot of weight in the T-bill. This will produce a portfolio withan expected return close to the risk-free rate and a variance that is close
to zero. If the investor can tolerate a large amount of risk, then she would
prefer a portfolio with highest expected return regardless of the volatility.
This portfolio may involve borrowing at the risk-free rate (leveraging) andinvesting the proceeds in the tangency portfolio to achieve a high expected
return.
Example 10 Eﬃcient portfolios chosen by risk averse and risk tolerant investors
A highly risk averse investor may choose to put 10% of her wealth in the tangency portfolio and 90% in the T-bill. Then she will hold (10%)×(4625%) =4625% of her wealth in asset , (10%) × (5375%) = 5375% of her wealthin asset  and 90% of her wealth in the T-bill. The expected return on thisportfolio is =  + 010( −  ) = 003 + 010(01105 − 003) = 003805
and the standard deviation is  = 010  = 010(01251) = 001251
In Figure 1.5, this eﬃcient portfolio is labeled “Safe”. A very risk tolerant
investor may actually borrow at the risk-free rate and use these funds toleverage her investment in the tangency portfolio. For example, suppose therisk tolerant investor borrows 100% of her wealth at the risk-free rate anduses the proceed to purchase 200% of her wealth in the tangency portfolio.
Then she would hold (200%) × (4625%) = 9250% of her wealth in asset
A, (200%) × (5375%) = 1075% in asset B, and she would owe 100% of her
wealth to her lender. The expected return and standard deviation on thisportfolio is = 003 + 2(01105 − 003) = 01910
 = 2(01251) = 02501
In Figure 1.5, this eﬃcient portfolio is labeled “Risky”. ¥CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

0.20

24

Risky

p

0.15

Asset A

0.10

Tangency

Global min
0.05

Asset B
Safe

0.00

rf

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

p

Figure 1.5: The eﬃcient portfolio labeled “safe” has 10% invested in thetangency portfolio and 90% invested in T-Bills; the eﬃcien portfolio labeled“risky” has 200% invested in the tangency portfolio and -100% invested in
T-Bills.

1.4.3

Interpreting Eﬃcient Portfolios

As we have seen, eﬃcient portfolios are those portfolios that have the highest
expected return for a given level of risk as measured by portfolio standard
deviation. For portfolios with expected returns above the T-bill rate, eﬃcient
portfolios can also be characterized as those portfolios that have minimum
risk (as measured by portfolio standard deviation) for a given target expected
return.
To illustrate, consider Figure 1.6 which shows the portfolio frontier for
two risky assets and the eﬃcient frontier for two risky assets plus T-Bills.
Suppose an investor initially holds all of his wealth in asset B. The expected
return on this portfolio is  = 0055 and the standard deviation (risk) is  = 0115 An eﬃcient portfolio (combinations of the tangency portfolio andT-bills) that has the same standard deviation (risk) as asset B is given by the1.4 EFFICIENT PORTFOLIOS WITH TWO RISKY ASSETS AND A RISK-FREE ASSET
portfolio on the eﬃcient frontier that is directly above   = 0115 To findthe shares in the tangency portfolio and T-bills in this portfolio recall from
(1.16) that the standard deviation of an eﬃcient portfolio with  invested
in the tangency portfolio and 1 −  invested in T-bills is   =     Since
we want to find the eﬃcient portfolio with   =   = 0115 we solve
 =


0115
= 09195  = 1 −  = 008049
=01251That is, if we invest 9195% of our wealth in the tangency portfolio and
8049% in T-bills we will have a portfolio with the same standard deviationas asset B. Since this is an eﬃcient portfolio, the expected return should behigher than the expected return on asset B. Indeed it is since =  +  ( −  ) = 003 + 09195(01105 − 003) = 01040
Notice that by diversifying our holding into assets A, B and T-bills we canobtain a portfolio with the same risk as asset B but with almost twice theexpected return!
Next, consider finding an eﬃcient portfolio that has the same expected
return as asset B. Visually, this involves finding the combination of the tangency portfolio and T-bills that corresponds with the intersection of a horizontal line with intercept  = 0055 and the line representing eﬃcient
combinations of T-bills and the tangency portfolio. To find the shares inthe tangency portfolio and T-bills in this portfolio recall from (1.15) thatthe expected return of an eﬃcient portfolio with  invested in the tangency portfolio and 1 −  invested in T-bills has expected return equal to =  +  ( −  ) Since we want to find the eﬃcient portfolio with
 =  = 0055 we solve = − 0055 − 003
= 03105  = 1 −  = 06895
= − 
01105 − 003

That is, if we invest 3105% of wealth in the tangency portfolio and 6895%of our wealth in T-bills we have a portfolio with the same expected return asasset B. Since this is an eﬃcient portfolio, the standard deviation (risk) of
this portfolio should be lower than the standard deviation on asset B. Indeed
it is since =    = 03105(0124) = 003884

26

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

Notice how large the risk reduction is by forming an eﬃcient portfolio. The
standard deviation on the eﬃcient portfolio is almost three times smaller
than the standard deviation of asset B!
The above example illustrates two ways to interpret the benefits fromforming eﬃcient portfolios. Starting from some benchmark portfolio, we
can fix standard deviation (risk) at the value for the benchmark and thendetermine the gain in expected return from forming a diversified portfolio5 .
The gain in expected return has concrete meaning. Alternatively, we canfix expected return at the value for the benchmark and then determine thereduction in standard deviation (risk) from forming a diversified portfolio.
The meaning to an investor of the reduction in standard deviation is not
as clear as the meaning to an investor of the increase in expected return.
It would be helpful if the risk reduction benefit can be translated into a
number that is more interpretable than the standard deviation. The conceptof Value-at-Risk (VaR) provides such a translation.

1.4.4

Eﬃcient Portfolios and Value-at-Risk

Recall, the VaR of an investment is the (lower bound of) loss in investment
value over a given horizon with a stated probability. For example, consider aninvestor who invests 0 = $100 000 in asset B over the next year. Assumingthat  ∼ (0055 (0115)2 ) represents the annual simple return on asset B, the 5% VaR is
VaR005 = 005
0 = (0055 + 0115(−1645)) · $100 000 = −$13 416If an investor holds $100,000 in asset B over the next year, then there is a
5% probability that he will lose $13,416 or more.
Now suppose the investor chooses to hold an eﬃcient portfolio with thesame expected return as asset B. This portfolio consists of 3105% in thetangency portfolio and 6895% in T-bills and has a standard deviation equal
to 003884 Then  ∼ (0055 003884) and the 5% VaR on the portfolioisVaR005 = 005
0 = (0055 + 003884(−1645)) · $100 000 = −$884

5The gain in expected return by investing in an eﬃcient portfolio abstracts from thecosts associated with selling the benchmark portfolio and buying the eﬃcient portfolio.

27

0.20

1.5 FURTHER READING

p

0.15

Asset A0.10

e1

Tangency

Global min
Asset B

0.05

e2

0.00

rf

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

p

Figure 1.6: The point e1 represents an eﬃcient portfolio with the same standard deviation as asset B; the point e2 represents an eﬃcient portfolio withthe same expected returns as asset B.
Notice that the 5% VaR for the eﬃcient portfolio is almost fifteen times
smaller than the 5% VaR for the investment in asset B. Since VaR translates
risk into a dollar figure, it is more interpretable than standard deviation.

1.5

Further Reading

The classic text on portfolio optimization is Markowitz (1954). Good intermediate level treatments are given in Benninga (2000), Bodie, Kane andMarcus (1999) and Elton and Gruber (1995). An interesting recent treatment with an emphasis on statistical properties is Michaud (1998). Many
practical results can be found in the Financial Analysts Journal and the
Journal of Portfolio Management. An excellent treatment of value-at-riskand risk budgeting is given in Jorian (1997).

28

1.6

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

Appendix Review of Optimization andConstrained Optimization

Consider the function of a single variable =  () = 2 
Clearly the minimum of this function occurs at the point  = 0 Using
calculus, we find the minimum by solving
min  = 2 
The first order (necessary) condition for a minimum is
0=

 2

() =
 = 2


and solving for  gives  = 0 The second order condition for a minimum is02
 ()
and this condition is clearly satisfied for  () = 2 
Next, consider the function of two variables = ( ) = 2 +  2(1.17)

This function looks like a salad bowl whose bottom is at  = 0 and  = 0To find the minimum of (1.17), we solve
min  = 2 +  2 and the first order necessary conditions are

= 2


= 2
0 =

0 =

Solving these two linear equations gives  = 0 and  = 01.6 APPENDIX REVIEW OF OPTIMIZATION AND CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION
Now suppose we want to minimize (1.17) subject to the linear constraint
 +  = 1

(1.18)The minimization problem is now a constrained minimizationmin  = 2 +  2 subject to ()+ = 1Given the constraint  +  = 1 the function (1.17) is no longer minimized
at the point ( ) = (0 0) because this point does not satisfy  +  = 1One simple way to solve this problem is to substitute the restriction (1.18)
into the function (1.17) and reduce the problem to a minimization over one
variable. To illustrate, use the restriction (1.18) to solve for  as
 = 1 − 

(1.19)

Now substitute (1.19) into (1.17) giving
 =  ( ) = ( 1 − ) = 2 + (1 − )2 (1.20)

The function (1.20) satisfies the restriction (1.18) by construction. The constrained minimization problem now becomesmin  = 2 + (1 − )2 
The first order conditions for a minimum are0= 2( + (1 − )2 ) = 2 − 2(1 − ) = 4 − 2and solving for  gives  = 12 To solve for  use (1.19) to give  =1−(12) = 12 Hence, the solution to the constrained minimization problemis ( ) = (12 12)
Another way to solve the constrained minimization is to use the methodof Lagrange multipliers. This method augments the function to be minimized
with a linear function of the constraint in homogeneous form. The constraint(1.18) in homogenous form is +  − 1 = 0

30

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO THEORY

The augmented function to be minimized is called the Lagrangian and isgiven by(  ) = 2 +  2 − ( +  − 1)
The coeﬃcient on the constraint in homogeneous form,  is called the Lagrange multiplier. It measures the cost, or shadow price, of imposing the constraint relative to the unconstrained problem. The constrained minimization
problem to be solved is now
min (  ) = 2 +  2 + ( +  − 1)


The first order conditions for a minimum are(  )= 2 + (  )= 2 + 
0 =
(  )=+−10 =
0 =The first order conditions give three linear equations in three unknowns.
Notice that the first order condition with respect to  imposes the constraint.
The first two conditions give2 = 2 = −or = 
Substituting  =  into the third condition gives
2 − 1 = 0or = 12
The final solution is (  ) = (12 12 −1)The Lagrange multiplier,  measures the marginal cost, in terms of thevalue of the objective function, of imposing the constraint. Here,  = −1
which indicates that imposing the constraint  +  = 1 reduces the objectivefunction. To understand the roll of the Lagrange multiplier better, consider

1.6 APPENDIX REVIEW OF OPTIMIZATION AND CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION
imposing the constraint  +  = 0 Notice that the unconstrained minimum
achieved at  = 0  = 0 satisfies this constraint. Hence, imposing  +  = 0
does not cost anything and so the Lagrange multiplier associated with thisconstraint should be zero. To confirm this, the we solve the problem
min (  ) = 2 +  2 + ( +  − 0)


The first order conditions for a minimum are(  )= 2 − (  )= 2 − 
0 =
(  )
=+
0 =

0 =

The first two conditions give2 = 2 = −or
 = 
Substituting  =  into the third condition gives
2 = 0or = 0
The final solution is (  ) = (0 0 0) Notice that the Lagrange multiplier, is equal to zero in this case.

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34

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