Portfolio Selection to achieve a target beta

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

1984

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

McInish, T. H., Morse, J. N., & Saniga, E. M. (March 29, 2011). Portfolio selection to achieve a target beta. Rairo - Operations Research, 18, 2, 131-145.

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Abstract

Suppose an investor wishes to construct a portfolio of size k securities from a population of n securities (k≤n) such that a particular portfolio or target beta (β p ) is achieved. Since β p is a random variable, there will be some difference between a portfolio’s realized beta and the target beta. We investigate the problem of finding the combination of k securities that minimizes the variance of β p , or equivalently, minimizes the probability of a particular difference in target and realized beta. We also seek answers to a number of related questions. These are concerned with the effect on the variance of β p of naive selection of securities, of the choice of k, and of the presence of a risk-free asset. We also examine the characteristics of securities included in the optimal portfolio.