Dynamic Portfolio Optimization under CVaR Constraints

Abstract

We study continuous-time dynamic portfolio optimization under a Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) constraint on the investor's terminal loss. For a general class of convex trading objectives, we exploit the auxiliary-threshold representation of CVaR to establish the existence of an optimal strategy and strong duality without requiring market completeness. These results motivate a dual-based nested bisection--golden-search algorithm over the threshold and Lagrangian multiplier, where the inner iterations reduce to standard unconstrained stochastic control problems. We prove that the resulting strategies converge to the optimal control as the number of iterations tends to infinity. Numerical experiments recover the Merton policy when the risk constraint is nonbinding. When the constraint is binding, the optimal strategy becomes state dependent: the investor reduces risky exposure following adverse outcomes but preserves, and near maturity may increase, exposure following favorable outcomes. Thus, a terminal CVaR constraint produces an asymmetric reallocation across states rather than uniform de-risking. Nontraded endowment risk amplifies the conservative adjustment, whereas price impact lowers desired positions and adjustment speeds.