Striking the Balance: Life Insurance Timing and Asset Allocation in Financial Planning

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Chen, An, Ferrari, Giorgio, Zhu, Shihao
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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_version_ 1866909635323101184
author Chen, An
Ferrari, Giorgio
Zhu, Shihao
author_facet Chen, An
Ferrari, Giorgio
Zhu, Shihao
contents This paper investigates the consumption and investment decisions of an individual facing uncertain lifespan and stochastic labor income within a Black-Scholes market framework. A key aspect of our study involves the agent's option to choose when to acquire life insurance for bequest purposes. We examine two scenarios: one with a fixed bequest amount and another with a controlled bequest amount. Applying duality theory and addressing free-boundary problems, we analytically solve both cases, and provide explicit expressions for value functions and optimal strategies in both cases. In the first scenario, where the bequest amount is fixed, distinct outcomes emerge based on different levels of risk aversion parameter $γ$: (i) the optimal time for life insurance purchase occurs when the agent's wealth surpasses a critical threshold if $γ\in (0,1)$, or (ii) life insurance should be acquired immediately if $γ>1$. In contrast, in the second scenario with a controlled bequest amount, regardless of $γ$ values, immediate life insurance purchase proves to be optimal. Finally, we extend the analysis to consider a scenario in which the individual earmarks part of her initial wealth for inheritance, where a critical wealth threshold consistently emerges.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_02943
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Striking the Balance: Life Insurance Timing and Asset Allocation in Financial Planning
Chen, An
Ferrari, Giorgio
Zhu, Shihao
Portfolio Management
91B70, 93E20, 60G40
This paper investigates the consumption and investment decisions of an individual facing uncertain lifespan and stochastic labor income within a Black-Scholes market framework. A key aspect of our study involves the agent's option to choose when to acquire life insurance for bequest purposes. We examine two scenarios: one with a fixed bequest amount and another with a controlled bequest amount. Applying duality theory and addressing free-boundary problems, we analytically solve both cases, and provide explicit expressions for value functions and optimal strategies in both cases. In the first scenario, where the bequest amount is fixed, distinct outcomes emerge based on different levels of risk aversion parameter $γ$: (i) the optimal time for life insurance purchase occurs when the agent's wealth surpasses a critical threshold if $γ\in (0,1)$, or (ii) life insurance should be acquired immediately if $γ>1$. In contrast, in the second scenario with a controlled bequest amount, regardless of $γ$ values, immediate life insurance purchase proves to be optimal. Finally, we extend the analysis to consider a scenario in which the individual earmarks part of her initial wealth for inheritance, where a critical wealth threshold consistently emerges.
title Striking the Balance: Life Insurance Timing and Asset Allocation in Financial Planning
topic Portfolio Management
91B70, 93E20, 60G40
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.02943