Abstracts Mathematics

Heavy-tailed Distributions and Financial Risk Measures: Paksuhäntäiset jakaumat ja riskimitat

by Julia Schauman

In this thesis, we explore financial risk measures in the context of heavy-tailed distributions. Heavy-tailed distributions and the different classes of heavy-tailed distributions will be defined mathematically in this thesis but in more general terms, heavy-tailed distributions are distributions that have a tail or tails that are heavier than the exponential distribution. In other words, distributions which have tails that go to zero more slowly than the exponential distribution. Heavy-tailed distributions are much more common than we tend to think and can be observed in everyday situations. Most extreme events, such as large natural phenomena like large floods, are good examples of heavy-tailed phenomena. Nevertheless, we often expect that most phenomena surrounding us are normally distributed. This probably arises from the beauty and effortlessness of the central limit theorem which explains why we can find the normal distribution all around us within natural phenomena. The normal distribution is a light-tailed distribution and essentially it assigns less probability to the extreme events than a heavy-tailed distribution. When we don’t understand heavy tails, we underestimate the probability of extreme events such as large earthquakes, catastrophic financial losses or major insurance claims. Understanding heavy-tailed distributions also plays a key role when measuring financial risks. In finance, risk measuring is important for all market participants and using correct assumptions on the distribution of the phenomena in question ensures good results and appropriate risk management. Value-at-Risk (VaR) and the expected shortfall (ES) are two of the best-known financial risk measures and the focus of this thesis. Both measures deal with the distribution and more specifically the tail of the loss distribution. Value-at-Risk aims at measuring the risk of a loss whereas ES describes the size of a loss exceeding the VaR. Since both risk measures are focused on the tail of the distribution, mistaking a heavy-tailed phenomena for a light-tailed one can lead to drastically wrong conclusions. The mean excess function is an important mathematical concept closely tied to VaR and ES as the expected shortfall is mathematically a mean excess function. When examining the mean excess function in the context of heavy-tails, it presents very interesting features and plays a key role in identifying heavy-tails. This thesis aims at answering the questions of what heavy-tailed distributions are and why are they are so important, especially in the context of risk management and financial risk measures. Chapter 2 of this thesis provides some key definitions for the reader. In Chapter 3, the different classes of heavy-tailed distributions are defined and described. In Chapter 4, the mean excess function and the closely related hazard rate function are presented. In Chapter 5, risk measures are discussed on a general level and Value-at-Risk and expected shortfall are presented. Moreover, the presence of heavy tails in the context of…