preview

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Parametric Approach

Decent Essays

Parametric approach assumes that portfolio return follows a known distribution, such as normal distribution, lognormal distribution, and etc. Standard deviation (SD) is taken as the dispersion parameter which takes into account all observations. Any large value will affect the value of volatility in essence SD.
The most common model employed in practice is delta-normal distribution which utilizes both the expected return and standard deviation of returns in which case, VaR can be calculated by using SD(σ):
VAR(α%)=-μ+σ×z_α
Limitations of parametric approach include: The need to assume a known distribution. For delta-normal method, it assumes the normality of the distribution of returns. However, most assets exhibit skewed return distributions, and fat tails. With fat tails, the …show more content…

This approach cannot work appropriately for assets with nonlinear relationships, such as options. Options do not have stable volatilities which could lead to misstated VaR.
4.3 Monte Carlo Simulation Approach
Monte Carlo simulation approach is the most powerful and flexible approach which involves assuming a particular distribution specified by the user, using computer software to draw random samples from the distribution and generating an enormous amount of outcomes. The selected outcomes will naturally form a distribution, which will approximate the normal distribution. VaR is calculated in the same way as with the delta-normal approach by using the expected mean, and volatility generated by Monte Carlo approach (Kaplan, Inc., 2014).
Disadvantages of Monte Carlo simulation approach include: It is subject to the professional knowledge and skills of the user who will input the initial distribution. This model will base on the subjective opinions of the user. As a result, it is impossible to construct a perfect

Get Access