Risk Diversification Between Stock Markets In Germany And Bosnia And Herzegovina

The integration of global equity markets has been a well-studied topic in the last few decades, particularly after stock market crashes. Most studies have focused on developed markets such as the US, Western Europe and Japan. The findings were that the degree of international co-movements among stock prices has substantially increased in the post-crash regime. In this paper we research the co-movements of German and Bosnian stock markets during and after the recent economic and financial crisis.

International market integration means that assets of equal risk provide the same expected returns across integrated markets. This means fewer opportunities for risk diversification if the markets are integrated. It is also believed that stock market indices of integrated markets move together over the long run with the possibility of short-run divergence. There is considerable academic research on the benefits of international diversification. Investors who buy stocks in domestic as well in foreign markets seek to reduce risk through international diversification. The risk reduction takes place if the various markets are not perfectly correlated. The increasing correlation among markets during and after the crises has restricted the scope for international diversification.

International stock market linkages are the subject of extensive research due to rapid capital flows between countries because of financial deregulation, lower transaction and information costs, and the potential benefits from international diversification. Most stock markets in the world tend to move together, in the same direction, implying positive correlation. In and after crises they tend to move together even more strongly. Thus, this paper aims to research if there are any diversification opportunities by spreading out investments across developed and underdeveloped capital markets.

This research attempts to examine the scope of international diversification between German and Bosnian equity markets during the 6-year period from 2006 to 2011. We test the hypothesis of whether there are any risk diversification possibilities by spreading out the investments between German and Bosnian equity markets. In order to determine the mean-variance efficiency of portfolios we use the method of convex (quadratic and linear) programming. The hypothesis is tested with the Markowitz portfolio optimization method using our own software.

The results of this research might enhance the efficiency of portfolio management for both types of capital market under analysis, and prove especially useful for institutional investors such as investment funds.