Robust distortion riskmetrics under Wasserstein ambiguity

2026-10-07

AI Summary

This study addresses the open problem of robust optimization for distorted risk measures under Wasserstein ambiguity sets. In the absence of convexity assumptions, it leverages distributionally robust optimization theory and the Wasserstein distance to propose direct convexification conditions, exact evaluation algorithms, and explicit approximate distribution construction methods with guaranteed error bounds. By overcoming traditional convexity limitations, this work enables efficient and precise computation of non-convex risk measures. The approximation accuracy and decision-making effectiveness are validated through portfolio selection applications. Ultimately, this research provides both theoretical foundations and computational tools for robust decision-making under complex uncertainty.

Abstract

Risk evaluation under distributional ambiguity is central to decision making in finance, economics, and operations research. Wasserstein balls provide a natural way to describe uncertainty around a reference distribution. We solve a natural yet open problem of robust optimization for the class of distortion riskmetrics with Wasserstein distance as the sole ambiguity constraint. This chosen objective class does not require convexity, monotonicity, and continuity of distortion functions, encompassing many common risk measures and deviation measures. First, we characterize conditions under which direct convexification preserves the worst-case value. Second, we develop a constructive method for exact worst-case evaluation when the direct convexification conditions fail. Third, we construct explicit approximate worst-case distributions and provide computable error bounds to assess their accuracy without solving the exact problem. We apply these results to distributionally robust portfolio selection and use numerical experiments to assess approximation accuracy and the resulting portfolio decisions.

Problem

• distortion riskmetrics
• Wasserstein ambiguity
• robust optimization
• distributional ambiguity
• worst-case evaluation

Innovation

• Distortion riskmetrics
• Wasserstein ambiguity
• Robust optimization
• Convexification
• Distributionally robust portfolio selection