Introduction: Developed by Harry Markowitz in 1952, Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) revolutionized investment analysis. Before Markowitz, investors focused on the risks and returns of individual stocks. Markowitz argued that what matters is the portfolio as a whole . He introduced the concept that risk can be reduced through diversification — choosing assets that do not move perfectly together (low correlation). Assumptions To build the model, Markowitz assumed: i) Rationality: Investors want to maximize returns for a given level of risk. ii) Risk Aversion: Investors will only take more risk if they are compensated with higher expected returns. iii) Mean-Variance Analysis: Investors base decisions solely on expected returns (mean) and the variance (risk) of those returns. iv) Homogeneous Expectations: All investors have access to the same information and agree on the risk/return of assets. The Efficient Frontie...
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