Factor-Based Conditional Diffusion Model for Contextual Portfolio Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gao, Xuefeng, He, Mengying, He, Xuedong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Gao, Xuefeng
He, Mengying
He, Xuedong
author_facet Gao, Xuefeng
He, Mengying
He, Xuedong
contents We propose a novel conditional diffusion model for contextual portfolio optimization that learns the cross-sectional distribution of next-day stock returns conditioned on high-dimensional asset-specific factors. Our model leverages a Diffusion Transformer architecture with token-wise conditioning, which enables linking each asset's return to its own factor vector while capturing complex cross-asset dependencies. By drawing generative samples from the learned conditional return distribution, we perform daily mean-variance and mean-CVaR optimization, incorporating transaction costs and realistic constraints. Using data from the Chinese A-share market, we demonstrate that our approach consistently outperforms various standard benchmarks across multiple risk-adjusted performance metrics. Furthermore, we provide a theoretical error analysis that quantifies the propagation of distributional approximation errors from the conditional diffusion model to the downstream portfolio optimization task. Our results demonstrate the potential of generative diffusion models in high-dimensional data-driven contextual stochastic optimization and financial decision making.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_22088
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Factor-Based Conditional Diffusion Model for Contextual Portfolio Optimization
Gao, Xuefeng
He, Mengying
He, Xuedong
Portfolio Management
Machine Learning
We propose a novel conditional diffusion model for contextual portfolio optimization that learns the cross-sectional distribution of next-day stock returns conditioned on high-dimensional asset-specific factors. Our model leverages a Diffusion Transformer architecture with token-wise conditioning, which enables linking each asset's return to its own factor vector while capturing complex cross-asset dependencies. By drawing generative samples from the learned conditional return distribution, we perform daily mean-variance and mean-CVaR optimization, incorporating transaction costs and realistic constraints. Using data from the Chinese A-share market, we demonstrate that our approach consistently outperforms various standard benchmarks across multiple risk-adjusted performance metrics. Furthermore, we provide a theoretical error analysis that quantifies the propagation of distributional approximation errors from the conditional diffusion model to the downstream portfolio optimization task. Our results demonstrate the potential of generative diffusion models in high-dimensional data-driven contextual stochastic optimization and financial decision making.
title Factor-Based Conditional Diffusion Model for Contextual Portfolio Optimization
topic Portfolio Management
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.22088