Bootstrapping and Allocation of Assets on Stock Markets in Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to construct a composite optimal risky portfolio across eleven African countries from which optimal portfolio decisions can be made by investors. This is done through a static model. The study further assesses how robust the optimal portfolio is to possible variations in economic conditions of a country through the use of a bootstrap algorithm. This, therefore, makes the optimal choices of this study reliable and robust to non-normality biases. The various optimal choices for various investors are also examined. The study found that although, the individual African countries’ portfolios are highly risky, a well-diversified portfolio can offer a better risk-return trade-off by reducing the risk and increasing the expected return. The outcomes of the study also indicated that possible variations that can affect macroeconomic variables, resulting in differences in returns can have a significant effect on optimal choices. Also, the percentage investors would apportion to portfolios of risky assets depends on their risk preferences.