RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Extending the Risk Parity Approach to Higher Moments: Is There Any Value Added? JF The Journal of Portfolio Management FD Institutional Investor Journals SP 24 OP 36 DO 10.3905/jpm.2017.43.2.024 VO 43 IS 2 A1 Eduard Baitinger A1 André Dragosch A1 Anastasia Topalova YR 2017 UL https://pm-research.com/content/43/2/24.abstract AB The popular risk parity approach is based on volatility as the sole risk measure and therefore lacks the consideration of tail risk. This fact makes risk parity portfolios vulnerable to tail events. In this article, the authors address this issue by showing how higher-risk-moment terms can be consistently incorporated into risk parity optimization. In addition, they present a novel optimization approach in which optimal moment weightings (preferences) in the risk parity optimization are imputed from the data. In a broad-based empirical out-of-sample study and simulation analysis, the authors find superior performance of higher-moment risk parity portfolios when the underlying data exhibit significant higher moments and co-moments. According to the authors, this makes higher-moment risk parity portfolios ideal candidates for worst-case regimes.TOPICS: Portfolio construction, tail risks, risk management