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We study the concurrent impact of functional, geographic and loan portfolio diversification on the stability of commercial banks in India. The sample of 48 banks includes public sector banks, private sector banks and foreign banks operating in India. The unbalanced panel details operational and financial performance for the decade starting from 2007. We employed a dynamic Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) model to estimate the impact of diversification on bank stability. Two reasons justify the use of this approach. First, it incorporates the persistence in risk and stability, thus far neglected in diversification literature. Second, it addresses the concerns of endogeneity between diversification and stability. We find that all three dimensions of diversification, namely; functional, geographic and loan-portfolio diversification, improve bank stability. Apart from the methodological improvements, the multi-dimensional view of diversification adopted in this paper improves on the existing studies of Indian banks. Our analysis of Indian banks suggests that diversification has helped improve resilience. Our findings encourage policymakers and top management to pursue strategic functional, geographic and loan-portfolio diversification.

PurposeThis study examines the risk spillovers between Indonesian sectorial stocks (Energy, Basic Materials, Industrials, Consumer Cyclicals, Consumer Non-cyclical and Financials), the aggregate index (IDX) and two commodities (gold and West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil [WTI] futures).Design/methodology/approachThe study uses two methodologies: the TVP-VAR model of Antonakakis and Gabauer (2017) and the quantile connectedness approach of Ando et al. (2022). The data cover the period from October 04, 2010, to April 5, 2022.FindingsThe results show that the IDX, industrials and materials are net transmitters, while the financials, consumer noncyclical and energy sectors are the dominant shock receivers. Using the quantile connectedness approach, the role of each sector is heterogeneous and asymmetric, and the return spillover is stronger at lower and higher quantiles. Furthermore, the portfolio hedging results show that oil offers more diversification gains than gold, and hedging oil is more effective during the pandemic.Practical implicationsThis study provides valuable insights for investors to diversify their portfolios and for policymakers to develop policies, regulations and risk management tools to promote stability in the Indonesian stock market. The results can inform the design of market regulations and the development of risk management tools to ensure the stability and resilience of the market.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the spillovers between commodities and Indonesian sectors, recognizing the presence of heterogeneity in the relationship under different market conditions. It provides important portfolio diversification insights for equity investors interested in the Indonesian stock market and policymakers.

This paper investigates whether Bitcoin serves as a safe haven and a diversification tool for both developed and emerging stock markets during the COVID-19 crisis, in comparison with gold. The analysis covers daily data from June 18, 2012, to May 25, 2020, across a representative set of developed (SP500, FTSE100, DAX, CAC40, Nikkei225, Ibex35) and emerging (Shanghai, Nifty50, Ibovespa, MOEX) equity markets, providing a comprehensive view of asset interactions in different financial environments. Methodologically, we employ a two-step approach: an EGARCH model to estimate time-varying volatility, followed by a copula-based framework to capture nonlinear and asymmetric dependence structures. This combination allows for a nuanced assessment of asset behavior under both tranquil and crisis conditions. The results show that Bitcoin maintains weak dependence on developed equity markets during the COVID-19 period but fails to display consistent safe-haven characteristics under extreme stress. Gold, by contrast, continues to act as a reliable hedge, confirming its traditional role in protecting portfolios against market downturns. Overall, these findings suggest that while Bitcoin may provide diversification benefits under normal circumstances, it cannot yet replace gold as a robust safe-haven asset. For portfolio managers, this highlights the importance of gold in risk management, while underscoring Bitcoin’s evolving yet still uncertain role in global financial markets.

This study examines how industrial loan portfolio diversification affects bank outcomes across different market structures in India. We analyse 26 Indian banks across 19 industrial sectors from 2011 to 2023 using system GMM estimation. Banking stability is assessed through a comprehensive six-dimensional index incorporating soundness, asset quality, earnings, liquidity, efficiency, and market risk dimensions. Our analysis reveals that banks in concentrated deposit markets control most lending across all industrial sectors. Results show that portfolio concentration significantly reduces bank performance in competitive markets (coefficient: -0.0803, p<0.01), while showing no significant effect in concentrated markets (coefficient: -0.0361). For stability, diversification benefits both market structures, with concentrated markets showing twice the economic magnitude (coefficient: -0.218 vs - 0.107). Performance persistence is stronger in concentrated markets, while stability drivers differ systematically, with competitive markets relying on asset quality and operational efficiency compared to concentrated markets' dependence on capital adequacy and liquidity buffers. These findings reveal that banking consolidation has concentrated industrial financing, with varying diversification effects requiring differentiated regulatory approaches.

The objective of the study is to 1) examine the existence of portfolio diversification opportunities and 2) measure the diversification benefits. The study is performed on 14 markets (seven developed and seven emerging markets) covering a period from January 2010 to December 2020. The study is performed on E7 emerging markets (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey) and G7 developed markets (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and USA). The results of correlation, Granger causality, and cointegration tests reveals the lack of short-term and long-term integration among the markets and existence of portfolio diversification opportunities. The study examines portfolio diversification opportunities by comparing non-diversified portfolios (home market) with diversified portfolios (equal weighted portfolios, minimum variance portfolios, and maximum Sharpe portfolio). Investors from developed markets can gain better returns, lower risk, and a higher Sharpe ratio with portfolio diversification in emerging markets. Investors have a significant reduction in their portfolio risk and an increase in their Sharpe ratio with investment diversification.

This paper examines whether the widely reported phenomena of home and foreign biases (i.e. suboptimal international equity portfolio diversification) hold any ramifications for the development of stock markets. The results, analysed using macro- and micro-level data, support the view that stock markets that are characterised by a higher degree of home bias are associated with lower levels of development. On the other hand, markets where foreign investors show a higher degree of allocation preference, relative to the prescribed benchmark (foreign bias), are found to be more developed. The results, which are robust to the use of shock based identification strategy, indicate that policy measures that promote optimal international equity portfolio diversification could be crucial in developing the depth and breadth of domestic stock markets.

Recent literature draws attention to the issue of whether heterogeneity in investment horizons has an effect on resulting investor exposures. In this article, using Malaysia as a case study, we make the first attempt to examine comovement dynamics of Islamic equity returns to identify international portfolio diversification opportunities for investors having heterogeneous investment horizons. We use three recent and appropriate methodologies: M-GARCH-DCC, Continuous Wavelet Transforms (CWT), and Maximum Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transform (MODWT). The results significantly tend to indicate that effective portfolio diversification opportunities between our sample markets exist mainly for short holding periods while for longer investment horizons, where investor stockholding periods exceed one year, the markets appear to be mostly highly correlated yielding minimal portfolio diversification benefits. Overall, the results critically highlight the significance of heterogeneity in investment horizons and bear important implications for portfolio diversification strategies.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to quantify the extent to which the Malaysia-based equity investors can benefit from diversifying their portfolio into the conventional and Islamic Southeast Asian region and the world’s top ten largest equity indices (China, Japan, Hong Kong, India, the UK, the USA, Canada, France, Germany and Switzerland). Design/methodology/approach The multivariate GARCH-dynamic conditional correlation is deployed to estimate the time-varying linkages of the selected conventional and Islamic Asian and international stock index returns with the Malaysian stock index returns, covering approximately eight years daily starting from 29 June 2007 to 30 June 2016. Findings In general, in terms of volatility, the results indicate that both Asian and international Islamic stock indices are more or less volatile than its conventional counterparts. From the correlation analysis, we can see that both the conventional and Islamic MSCI indices of Japan provide more diversification benefits compared to Southeast Asian region, China, Hong Kong and India. Meanwhile, in terms of international portfolio diversification, the results tend to suggest that both the conventional and Islamic MSCI indices of the USA provide more diversification benefits compared to the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Switzerland. Originality/value The findings of this paper may have several significant implications for the Malaysia-based equity investors and fund managers who seek for the understanding of return correlations between the Malaysian stock index and the world’s largest stock market indices in order to gain higher risk-adjusted returns through portfolio diversification. With regard to policy implications, the findings on market shocks and the extent of the interdependence of the Malaysian market with cross-border markets may provide some useful insights in formulating effective macroeconomic stabilization policies in the efforts of preventing contagion effect from deteriorating the domestic economy.

This empirical study investigates the financial integration linkages among the sample stock markets of Canada, Mexico,United States (for both New York Stock Exchange, i.e. NYSE and NASDAQ), Panama, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela,Jamaica, Trinidad, and Tobago during the period from January 2001 to April 2019. This research study also examinesthe impact of selected stock market dynamics on the textile sector. International portfolio diversification has been animportant subject of research in financial fraternity since the emergence of Modern Portfolio Theory in 1952. This studyexamines the portfolio diversification opportunities in the 11 stock markets of Americas.International diversificationamong stock market indices has proven to be fruitful in the past. Certain tests have been used to determine opportunitiesfor diversification are correlation test, pairwise co-integration test, multiple co-integration test and granger causality test.The empirical results show that stock market indices share low correlation among other and they are not highlyco-integrated whereas results of Granger causality test exhibit an unidirectional relationship among few stock marketsin short run.

Household investment mistakes are an important concern for researchers and policymakers alike. Portfolio underdiversification ranks among those mistakes that are potentially most costly. However, its roots and empirical importance are poorly understood. I estimate quantitatively meaningful diversification statistics and investigate their relationship with key variables. Nearly all households that score high on financial literacy or rely on professionals or private contacts for advice achieve reasonable investment outcomes. Compared to these groups, households with below-median financial literacy that trust their own decision-making capabilities lose an expected 50 bps on average. All group differences stem from the top of the loss distribution.