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Calculating Correlation Between Two Weighted Portfolios

Article Quant Q&A · Author: tsp216

Summary

The document asks how to calculate the correlation between two portfolios built from the same three assets. It provides each portfolio’s weights and the assets’ pairwise correlations, and the questioner has already calculated portfolio means and variances. The central issue is how to obtain the portfolios’ covariance, including how asset returns combine in the product of portfolio returns.

The main answer constructs the asset covariance matrix from the assets’ standard deviations and correlation matrix. It then computes the cross-portfolio covariance as the first portfolio’s weight vector, transposed, multiplied by the covariance matrix and the second portfolio’s weight vector. Portfolio variances follow from the same operation using a portfolio’s weights on both sides. Dividing the cross-covariance by the product of portfolio standard deviations gives the correlation. The example supplies a numerical result, but the method depends on the provided asset inputs and does not discuss estimation error or changing weights.

Key ideas

  • Build the asset covariance matrix by combining standard deviations with the correlation matrix.
  • Cross-portfolio covariance is the first weight vector transposed, multiplied by the covariance matrix and the second weight vector.
  • Portfolio variance uses the same matrix operation with the same weights on both sides.
  • Divide portfolio covariance by the product of portfolio standard deviations to obtain correlation.

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Full text
# Calculating Correlation of Two portfolios?


# Calculating Correlation of Two portfolios?












So I'd like some help w/ this question.

Given 3 assets with means, variances, and correlation:

Two portfolios are created (A and B), each with the three assets above with weights ($w_n$) as follows:

Portfolio A: $w_1=0.2$, $w_2=0$, $w_3=0.8$

Portfolio B: $w_1=0.4$, $w_2=0.1$, $w_3=0.5$.

The assets' correlation are

$\rho_{12}=0.5,\rho_{13}=0.2,\rho_{23}=0$.

I would like to know the correlation of the two portfolios?

My attempt: So I've calculated the two portfolios' expected values and variances as follows: $E(A)=0.084, Var(A)=0.0024576$

$E(B)=0.092, Var(B)=0.006193$

And If I use $$\rho_{AB}=\frac{Cov(A,B)}{\sigma_A \sigma_B}=\frac{E(AB)-E(A)E(B)}{\sigma_A \sigma_B}$$ how would I calculate $E(AB)-E(A)E(B)$? Is $E(AB)$ the Expected Value of the assets' products, or is it the Expected Value of their weighted products? Thanks

## Answer by Alex C (score 4)

https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/46019

You may be over-thinking it. It is a straightforward calculation using matrices, as easy as turning the crank of a sausage-making machine.

The standard deviation matrix is

```
               |0.16 0    0   |
S = Diag(s) =  |0    0.15 0   |
               |0    0    0.04|
```

The correlation matrix is

```
     |1.0  0.5  0.2| 
R =  |0.5  1.0  0.0|
     |0.2  0.0  1.0|
```

Therefore the covariance matrix is

```
                |0.02560  0.0120  0.00128| 
 C= S * R * S = |0.01200  0.0225  0      |
                |0.00128  0       0.00160|
```

The portfolio weights are

```
       |0.2|                   |0.4|
 wa =  |0  |     and     wb =  |0.1|
       |0.8|                   |0.5|
```

Therefore the covariance of portfolio A with portfolio B is

```
Cov(A,B) =wa^T * C * wb = 0.003466
```

and the covariance of A with itself, also known as the variance of A is

```
Var(A) = wa^T * C * wa = 0.002458
```

And similarly the variance of B is found as

```
Var(B) = wb^T * C * wb = 0.006193
```

Finally we can compute the correlation between A and B according to the definition

$\rho(A,B)=\frac{Cov(A,B)}{\sqrt{Var(A) Var(B)}}$ giving

```
rho(A,B) = 0.888326
```

## Answer by randomUser (score 1)

https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/46003

You can solve for the covariance of the two portfolios and since you have E(A) and E(B) you can back into the E(AB)

## Answer by Xman (score 1)

https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/46004

Asset product = Weighted sum of the product of the three assets.

You can write the following Since:

$A = \omega^A_1.A1+\omega^A_2.A2 +\omega^A_3.A3 $

And

$B = \omega^B_1.A1+\omega^B_2.A2 +\omega^B_3.A3 $

You can develop $E(A.B) $ from there as a linear combination of the mean and variance couple for the three assets...

Therefore, the formula for $cov(A,B) $ is straight forward ...

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This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.