We present sharp tail asymptotics for the density and the distribution function of linear combinations of correlated log-normal random variables, that is, exponentials of components of a correlated Gaussian vector. The asymptotic behavior turns out to be determined by a subset of components of the Gaussian vector, and we identify the relevant components by relating the asymptotics to a tractable quadratic optimization problem.  As a corollary , we characterize the limiting behavior of the conditional law of the Gaussian vector, given a linear combination of the exponentials of its components. Our results can be used either to estimate the probability of tail events directly, or to construct efficient variance reduction procedures for precise estimation of these probabilities by Monte Carlo methods. They lead to important insights concerning the behavior of individual stocks and portfolios during market downturns in the multidimensional Black-Scholes model .
We present sharp tail asymptotics for the density and the distribution function of linear combinations of correlated log-normal random variables, that is, exponentials of components of a correlated Gaussian vector. The asymptotic behavior turns out to depend on the correlation between the components, and the explicit solution is found by solving a tractable quadratic optimization problem. These results can be used either to approximate the probability of tail events directly, or to construct variance reduction procedures to estimate these probabilities by Monte Carlo methods. In particular, we propose an efficient importance sampling estimator for the left tail of the distribution function of the sum of log-normal variables. As a corollary of the tail asymptotics, we compute the asymptotics of the conditional law of a Gaussian random vector given a linear combination of exponentials of its components. In risk management applications, this finding can be used for the systematic construction of stress tests, which the financial institutions are required to conduct by the regulators. We also characterize the asymptotic behavior of the Value at Risk for log-normal portfolios in the case where the confidence level tends to one .
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depend on the correlation between the components, and the explicit solution is found by solving
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These results can be used either to approximate the probability of tail events directly, or to construct variance reduction procedures to estimate these probabilities by Monte Carlo methods. In particular, we propose an efficient importance sampling estimator for the left tail of the distribution function of the sum of log-normal variables.
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the Gaussian vector,
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Our results
In risk management applications, this finding
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either to estimate the probability of tail events directly, or to construct efficient variance reduction procedures for precise estimation of these probabilities by Monte Carlo methods. They lead to important insights concerning the behavior of individual stocks and portfolios during market downturns in the multidimensional Black-Scholes model
for the systematic construction of stress tests, which the financial institutions are required to conduct by the regulators. We also characterize the asymptotic behavior of the Value at Risk for log-normal portfolios in the case where the confidence level tends to one