Learning the Shrinkage Intensity: A Data-Driven Approach for Risk-Optimized Portfolios.

We introduce a new type of shrinkage estimator that is not based on asymptotic optimality, but instead learns a state-dependent shrinkage policy via supervised learning in a contextual bandit setup. The proposed estimator applies to both linear and nonlinear shrinkage and shows improved performance...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Financial Econometrics Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 1 - 31
Autores principales: Nard, Gianluca De, Kostovic, Damjan
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA 2026
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:We introduce a new type of shrinkage estimator that is not based on asymptotic optimality, but instead learns a state-dependent shrinkage policy via supervised learning in a contextual bandit setup. The proposed estimator applies to both linear and nonlinear shrinkage and shows improved performance compared to classical shrinkage estimators. Our results demonstrate that our estimator identifies a downward bias in classical shrinkage intensity estimates derived under the i.i.d. assumption and automatically corrects for it in response to prevailing market conditions. Additionally, our data-driven approach enables more efficient implementation of risk-optimized portfolios and is well-suited for real-world investment applications, including portfolios with practical optimization constraints.