Bayesian Risk Management: A Guide to Model Risk and Sequential Learning in Financial Markets - Hardcover

by Matt Sekerke (Author)

A risk measurement and management framework that takes model risk seriously

Most financial risk models assume the future will look like the past, but effective risk management depends on identifying fundamental changes in the marketplace as they occur. Bayesian Risk Management details a more flexible approach to risk management, and provides tools to measure financial risk in a dynamic market environment. This book opens discussion about uncertainty in model parameters, model specifications, and model-driven forecasts in a way that standard statistical risk measurement does not. And unlike current machine learning-based methods, the framework presented here allows you to measure risk in a fully-Bayesian setting without losing the structure afforded by parametric risk and asset-pricing models.

• Recognize the assumptions embodied in classical statistics
• Quantify model risk along multiple dimensions without backtesting
• Model time series without assuming stationarity
• Estimate state-space time series models online with simulation methods
• Uncover uncertainty in workhorse risk and asset-pricing models
• Embed Bayesian thinking about risk within a complex organization

Ignoring uncertainty in risk modeling creates an illusion of mastery and fosters erroneous decision-making. Firms who ignore the many dimensions of model risk measure too little risk, and end up taking on too much. Bayesian Risk Management provides a roadmap to better risk management through more circumspect measurement, with comprehensive treatment of model uncertainty.

Front Jacket

A Risk Measurement and Management Framework that Takes Model Risk Seriously

Why do risk models break down? The answer may lie in the way that statistical methods are conventionally used to draw inferences about market conditions and inform risk-taking behavior. Bayesian Risk Management enables a discussion on the way standard statistical methods overlook uncertainty in model specifications, model parameters, and model-driven forecasts. In a simple and direct way, Bayesian methods are used throughout the book to:

• Recognize the assumptions embodied in classical statistics
• Quantify model risk along multiple dimensions
• Model time series without assuming continuity between past and future
• Adjust time-series estimates to maintain forecast accuracy
• Uncover uncertainty in workhorse risk and asset-pricing models
• Achieve decentralized control of risk-taking in complex organizations

For firms in financial services and other industries operating in a dynamic environment of incomplete information, Bayesian Risk Management provides a thought-provoking challenge to the prevailing wisdom about the uses and limitations of statistical risk modeling.

Author Biography

MATT SEKERKE is an economic consultant based in New York whose work focuses on the financial services industry and the application of advanced quantitative modeling techniques o financial data. He holds a BA in economics and mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University, an MA in history from The Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA in econometrics and statistics, analytic finance, and entrepreneurship from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also a CFA charterholder, a certified Financial Risk Manager, and a certified Energy Risk Professional.