Randomized Kolmogorov-Smirnov Analysis of Volatility Roughness

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Bianchi, Sergio, Angelini, Daniele
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Bianchi, Sergio
Angelini, Daniele
author_facet Bianchi, Sergio
Angelini, Daniele
contents We introduce a novel distribution-based estimator for the Hurst parameter of log-volatility, leveraging the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic to assess the scaling behavior of entire distributions rather than individual moments. To address the temporal dependence of financial volatility, we propose a random permutation procedure that effectively removes serial correlation while preserving marginal distributions, enabling the rigorous application of the KS framework to dependent data. We establish the asymptotic variance of the estimator, useful for inference and confidence interval construction. From a computational standpoint, we show that derivative-free optimization methods, particularly Brent's method and the Nelder-Mead simplex, achieve substantial efficiency gains relative to grid search while maintaining estimation accuracy. Empirical analysis of the CBOE VIX index and the 5-minute realized volatility of the S&P 500 reveals a statistically significant hierarchy of roughness, with implied volatility smoother than realized volatility. Both measures, however, exhibit Hurst exponents well below one-half, reinforcing the rough volatility paradigm and highlighting the open challenge of disentangling local roughness from long-memory effects in fractional modeling.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_20015
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Randomized Kolmogorov-Smirnov Analysis of Volatility Roughness
Bianchi, Sergio
Angelini, Daniele
Mathematical Finance
Computational Finance
Methodology
We introduce a novel distribution-based estimator for the Hurst parameter of log-volatility, leveraging the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic to assess the scaling behavior of entire distributions rather than individual moments. To address the temporal dependence of financial volatility, we propose a random permutation procedure that effectively removes serial correlation while preserving marginal distributions, enabling the rigorous application of the KS framework to dependent data. We establish the asymptotic variance of the estimator, useful for inference and confidence interval construction. From a computational standpoint, we show that derivative-free optimization methods, particularly Brent's method and the Nelder-Mead simplex, achieve substantial efficiency gains relative to grid search while maintaining estimation accuracy. Empirical analysis of the CBOE VIX index and the 5-minute realized volatility of the S&P 500 reveals a statistically significant hierarchy of roughness, with implied volatility smoother than realized volatility. Both measures, however, exhibit Hurst exponents well below one-half, reinforcing the rough volatility paradigm and highlighting the open challenge of disentangling local roughness from long-memory effects in fractional modeling.
title Randomized Kolmogorov-Smirnov Analysis of Volatility Roughness
topic Mathematical Finance
Computational Finance
Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.20015