In this paper, we investigate a portfolio optimization methodology using nonparametric value at risk (VaR). In particular, we adopt kernel VaR and quadratic VaR as risk measures. As the resulting models are nonconvex and nonsmooth optimization problems, albeit with some special structures, we propose some specially devised block coordinate descent (BCD) methods for finding approximate or local optimal solutions. Computational results show that the BCD methods are efficient for finding local solutions with good quality and they compare favorably with the branch-and-bound method-based global optimal solution procedures. From the simulation test and empirical analysis that we carry out, we are able to conclude that the mean-VaR models using kernel VaR and quadratic VaR are more robust compared to those using historical VaR or parametric VaR under the normal distribution assumption, especially when the information of the return distribution is limited.
The online supplement is available at
https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2017.0793
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Portfolio Optimization with Nonparametric Value at Risk: A Block Coordinate Descent Method

10.1287/ijoc.2017.0793