Unbiased Gradients for a Class of Conditional Stochastic Optimization Problems

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Alvarez, Miguel, Jasra, Ajay
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Alvarez, Miguel
Jasra, Ajay
author_facet Alvarez, Miguel
Jasra, Ajay
contents In this paper we consider the conditional stochastic optimization (CSO) problem. This consists of optimizing a function which can be written as the expectation of a function which is itself a function of a conditional expectation, i.e.~of the type $F(ξ) := \mathbb{E}\left[f\left(Z,\mathbb{E}[g(Z,X,ξ)|Z]\right)\right]$, where precise definitions are given in the main text. We address a particular class of CSO problems where the joint law of the random variables $X,Z$ cannot be exactly sampled; this case has been addressed in Goda & Kitade (2023). We introduce a method that combines Markovian stochastic approximation with unbiased approximation methods which allows one to find the optimizer of $F(ξ)$ in the context of interest. We illustrate our methodology on two examples associated to parameter estimation with model averaging and portfolio selection associated to high-dimensional full factor multivariate stochastic volatility models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_18786
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unbiased Gradients for a Class of Conditional Stochastic Optimization Problems
Alvarez, Miguel
Jasra, Ajay
Optimization and Control
Numerical Analysis
Methodology
62L20, 65C40, 65C05
In this paper we consider the conditional stochastic optimization (CSO) problem. This consists of optimizing a function which can be written as the expectation of a function which is itself a function of a conditional expectation, i.e.~of the type $F(ξ) := \mathbb{E}\left[f\left(Z,\mathbb{E}[g(Z,X,ξ)|Z]\right)\right]$, where precise definitions are given in the main text. We address a particular class of CSO problems where the joint law of the random variables $X,Z$ cannot be exactly sampled; this case has been addressed in Goda & Kitade (2023). We introduce a method that combines Markovian stochastic approximation with unbiased approximation methods which allows one to find the optimizer of $F(ξ)$ in the context of interest. We illustrate our methodology on two examples associated to parameter estimation with model averaging and portfolio selection associated to high-dimensional full factor multivariate stochastic volatility models.
title Unbiased Gradients for a Class of Conditional Stochastic Optimization Problems
topic Optimization and Control
Numerical Analysis
Methodology
62L20, 65C40, 65C05
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.18786