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arXiv research

A locally-built, LLM-digested index of recent arXiv papers in quant finance, geometry/topology, and statistical ML — keyword search served straight from SQLite on this machine.

168,742 papers · 148 categories

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12.5%25.0%37.5%50.0% · Sep 199319922001200920172026
48 results for Shrinkage Covariance Estimators

Extends covariance estimation with multiple targets for better performance.

problem Improving covariance estimation for multiple targets.
method Combines multiple constant matrices with sample covariance matrix, derives estimators and proves convergence.
result The multi-target linear shrinkage estimator outperforms other estimators in various situations.

New method improves covariance estimation for weighted samples.

problem Improving covariance estimation for weighted sample data.
method Asymptotic non-linear shrinkage formulas for covariance and precision matrix estimators of weighted sample covariances.
result Asymptotic non-linear shrinkage formulas for covariance and precision matrix estimators of weighted sample covariances.

Paper proposes a new method for covariance estimation using M-estimators with eigenvalue shrinkage.

problem Estimating covariance matrices in heavy-tailed distributions.
method Replaces shrinkage sample covariance matrix with M-estimator of scatter matrix and optimizes shrinkage parameter.
result Shrinkage M-estimators outperform shrinkage SCM in heavy-tailed distributions.

Many machine learning algorithms require precise estimates of covariance matrices. The sample covariance matrix performs poorly in high-dimensional settings, which has stimulated the development of alternative methods, the majority based on factor models and shrinkage. Recent work of Ledoit and Wolf has extended the sh…

2016-11-02abs ↗pdf ↗

This work extends Ledoit-Wolf shrinkage to unknown mean covariance estimation.

problem Large dimensional covariance matrix estimation with unknown mean under Kolmogorov asymptotics.
method Extending Ledoit-Wolf linear shrinkage to translation-invariant estimators, proving their convergence properties.
result A new estimator outperforms other standard estimators empirically.

SCOPE estimator improves covariance and precision matrix estimation.

problem Estimating covariance and precision matrices accurately.
method Distributionally robust optimization with convex spectral divergence.
result SCOPE estimator reduces spectral bias and improves condition number.

Self-distillation optimally improves model performance in spiked covariance models.

problem Improving model performance in spiked covariance models.
method Developed spectral shrinkage estimators and analyzed self-distillation.
result Self-distillation achieves optimal performance among spectral shrinkage estimators for spiked covariance matrices.

Improved covariance matrix forecasting for S&P 500 using factor models and shrinkage.

problem Forecasting large covariance matrices of returns in finance.
method Decompose covariance matrix into firm-level factors and sectoral restrictions. Estimate using VHAR models with LASSO.
result Significantly improved forecasting precision compared to benchmarks.

This study evaluates shrinkage estimators for improving mean and covariance in portfolio optimization.

problem Estimation errors in expected returns and covariance matrix in mean-variance model.
method Examined five shrinkage estimators for expected returns and eleven for covariance matrix across six datasets.
result GMV model with Ledoit Wolf COV2 outperforms traditional methods in most scenarios.

Estimates covariance matrices with correlations between samples.

problem Estimating large-dimensional covariance matrices with correlated samples.
method Generalized Marcenko-Pastur equation and Ledoit-Peche shrinkage estimator using random matrix theory and free probability. Developed an efficient algorithm based on Ledoit-Wolf kernel estimation.
result Efficient algorithm for estimating large covariance matrices with correlations.

Non-linear shrinkage isn't optimal for portfolio optimization, especially when asset dependence is non-stationary.

problem Optimizing portfolios with non-stationary asset dependence structures.
method Derived and compared non-linear shrinkage with an optimal target for covariance matrix estimation.
result Non-linear shrinkage can be significantly improved for portfolio optimization.

New method estimates covariance matrices without restrictive assumptions.

problem Estimating high-dimensional covariance matrices under restrictive assumptions.
method Distributionally robust covariance estimation problems with mild conditions.
result Robust estimators are efficient, consistent, and perform well.

The paper calibrates shrinkage covariance estimators for spectral functionals in high dimensions.

problem Calibrating shrinkage covariance estimators for spectral functionals in high dimensions.
method Derives first-order null laws, distribution-free Davis-Kahan bands, and calibrated tests for spectral functionals under shrinkage.
result Calibrated tests and intervals for spectral functionals are provided, addressing the issue of estimation noise and shrinkage bias.

Extended study improves covariance matrix estimation for portfolio managers.

problem Limited sample sizes and poor performance of PCA estimator in high-dimensional returns.
method Developed a more general shrinkage framework targeting further information.
result Improves the PCA estimator of beta by shrinking it toward a target.

New covariance estimator for financial portfolios.

problem Estimating large financial covariances in non-stationary environments.
method Exponentially weighted averages and cross-validation for nonlinearly shrinking sample eigenvalues.
result Our estimator performs well in large dimensions compared to existing estimators.

In this work we construct an optimal shrinkage estimator for the precision matrix in high dimensions. We consider the general asymptotics when the number of variables pp\rightarrow\infty and the sample size nn\rightarrow\infty so that p/nc(0,+)p/n\rightarrow c\in (0, +\infty). The precision matrix is estimated directly, wit…

2013-08-05abs ↗pdf ↗

Study compares different covariance estimation methods for portfolio allocation.

problem Comparing methods for estimating covariance and precision matrices in portfolio allocation.
method Gaussian Graphical Model (GGM), Shrinkage, Thresholding, Random Matrix Theory (RMT) methods.
result GGM methods outperform other methods in predictive ability for portfolio allocation.

Improved portfolio optimization method reduces risk and improves performance.

problem Minimizing risk in large portfolios with limited data.
method Combines Tikhonov regularization and direct shrinkage of portfolio weights.
result Significantly reduces out-of-sample variance and Sharpe ratio compared to existing methods.

WeSpeR speeds up non-linear shrinkage for high-dimensional weighted covariance.

problem Computing non-linear shrinkage formulas for high-dimensional weighted sample covariance.
method Derive extit{WeSpeR} algorithm using asymptotic sample spectrum properties.
result Significantly speeds up non-linear shrinkage in dimensions higher than 1000.

Develops a sparsity-inducing Bayesian Causal Forest for estimating heterogeneous treatment effects.

problem Estimating heterogeneous treatment effects using observational data with varying degrees of sparsity.
method Introduces a sparsity-inducing version of Bayesian Causal Forests with additional priors to adjust covariate weights.
result Improves adaptability to sparse data generating processes and uncovering moderating factors driving heterogeneity.

Stein showed that the multivariate sample mean is outperformed by "shrinking" to a constant target vector. Ledoit and Wolf extended this approach to the sample covariance matrix and proposed a multiple of the identity as shrinkage target. In a general framework, independent of a specific estimator, we extend the shrink…

2014-12-05abs ↗pdf ↗

Improved estimation of higher order integrals using shrinkage techniques.

problem Estimating higher order Bochner integrals in non-parametric settings.
method Shrinkage of U-statistic towards a target element, considering kernel degeneracy.
result Consistent shrinkage estimators with fast rates of convergence, even for non-degenerate kernels.

We study the design of portfolios under a minimum risk criterion. The performance of the optimized portfolio relies on the accuracy of the estimated covariance matrix of the portfolio asset returns. For large portfolios, the number of available market returns is often of similar order to the number of assets, so that t…

2015-03-27abs ↗pdf ↗

New methods improve portfolio risk minimization by estimating covariance matrix more accurately.

problem Uncertainty in estimating covariance matrix leads to unreliable hedge trades.
method Proposes two new estimators of the inverse covariance matrix using l2 and l1 norms.
result Portfolio formed using proposed estimators achieves substantial risk reduction and improved returns.

New method for estimating financial covariance matrices efficiently.

problem Noisy covariance matrix estimation in high-dimensional financial data.
method Cluster financial time series into groups, apply shrinkage to ensure positive definiteness.
result Proposed methods provide reliable estimates and outperform other estimators.

New shrinkage estimator for GMV portfolio reduces risk in high-dimensional asset settings.

problem Estimating the global minimum variance portfolio in high-dimensional settings with limited data.
method Dynamic shrinkage of the GMV portfolio using previous data as a target.
result The new estimator outperforms traditional methods in high-dimensional asset settings.

Shrunk sample covariance matrix is a factor model of a special form combining some (typically, style) risk factor(s) and principal components with a (block-)diagonal factor covariance matrix. As such, shrinkage, which essentially inherits out-of-sample instabilities of the sample covariance matrix, is not an alternativ…

2015-11-15abs ↗pdf ↗

In this paper we derive the optimal linear shrinkage estimator for the high-dimensional mean vector using random matrix theory. The results are obtained under the assumption that both the dimension pp and the sample size nn tend to infinity in such a way that p/nc(0,)p/n \to c\in(0,\infty). Under weak conditions imposed on…

2016-10-28abs ↗pdf ↗

Nash integrates covariate-specific side info into sparse regression via neural networks.

problem Sparse linear regression struggles with covariates exhibiting structure or coming from heterogeneous sources.
method Neural Adaptive Shrinkage (Nash) framework that integrates side information into sparse regression via neural networks. Uses split variational empirical Bayes algorithm.
result Nash improves accuracy and adaptability over existing methods in real data experiments.

New research shows shrinkage methods re-scale portfolio efficient frontiers under distributional misspecification.

problem Poor performance of mean-variance portfolio decisions under distributional assumptions.
method Investigation of shrinkage methods under different distributional assumptions (auto-correlation, skewness, excess kurtosis).
result Shrinkage methods re-scale the sample efficient frontier, implying standard comparison methods are flawed.

Unified framework for fast large-scale portfolio optimization.

problem Efficient portfolio optimization for large-scale financial data.
method Incorporates shrinkage and regularization techniques, addressing multiple objectives.
result AP-Trees and PCA-based factor models consistently outperform other approaches in out-of-sample portfolio performance.

We address the curse of dimensionality in dynamic covariance estimation by modeling the underlying co-volatility dynamics of a time series vector through latent time-varying stochastic factors. The use of a global-local shrinkage prior for the elements of the factor loadings matrix pulls loadings on superfluous factors…

2016-08-30abs ↗pdf ↗

Paper analyzes holdout cross-validation for large non-Gaussian covariance estimation.

problem Estimating large covariance matrices for non-Gaussian data.
method Use of Weingarten calculus and Ledoit-Péché formula for theoretical error derivation.
result Optimal train-test split ratio is proportional to square root of matrix dimension.

Study improves portfolio risk estimation methods using robust covariance and CVaR constraints.

problem Improving portfolio risk estimation in the presence of financial data noise and extreme market conditions.
method Exploration of robust covariance estimators, application of CVaR constraints, use of K-means clustering in optimization.
result Robust covariance estimators can outperform market-weighted benchmarks, especially during bull markets.

Inflating the minimum norm interpolator improves linear regression generalization error.

problem Highly anisotropic covariances and diverging d/nd/n in linear regression.
method Inflating the minimum 2\ell_2 norm interpolator by a constant greater than one.
result Inflating the minimum norm interpolator improves generalization error.

PAS improves estimation of multiple means using ML predictions and shrinkage.

problem Improving statistical estimates with limited gold-standard data and noisy ML predictions.
method Prediction-Powered Adaptive Shrinkage (PAS) that combines PPI with empirical Bayes shrinkage.
result PAS adapts to the reliability of ML predictions and outperforms traditional methods in large-scale applications.

Improved covariance matrix estimation for multiple classes with limited data.

problem Estimating covariance matrices for multiple classes with scarce data.
method Coupled regularized sample covariance matrix estimator (RSCM) that combines pooled SCM and scaled identity matrix for regularization.
result The coupled RSCM estimators outperform cross-validation in classification tasks with comparable accuracy but faster computation.

KG-WDRO optimizes transfer learning with external knowledge.

problem Over-pessimism in WDRO for small target samples.
method KG-WDRO incorporates multiple sources of external knowledge to construct smaller Wasserstein ambiguity sets.
result KG-WDRO improves transfer learning performance and adaptivity.