Using the Variance Risk Premium to time a portfolio of stock and bond ETFs

Master Thesis
Author
Charalampopoulos, Nikolaos
Χαραλαμπόπουλος, Νικόλαος
Date
2025-09View/ Open
Keywords
Variance Risk Premium (VRP) ; Market timing ; Dynamic asset allocation ; Portfolio ; Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) ; Volatility indices ; VIX/VIX3M Ratio ; Technical filters ; Strategy ; Risk adjustmentAbstract
his paper examines the utilization of the Variance Risk Premium (VRP) as a market timing tool within a dynamically managed portfolio that combines aggressive (risk-on) and defensive (risk-off)Exchange-Traded Funds(ETFs). The VRP, defined as the difference between impliedand realized volatility, is considered an important indicator that incorporates both investor sentiment and risk pricing. Consequently, the strategy developed,integrates the average VRP of four key volatility indices (VIX, VXN, RVX, VXD), applying a dynamic asset allocationregime based on historical percentile distribution and the VIX/VIX3Mratio.
Asset allocation is determined using Simple Moving Average(SMA) astechnical filter and is adjusted on a monthly basis, while an intramonth protection mechanism (Stop-Loss) is applied usingAverage True Range(ATR).The strategy is empirically evaluated in terms of performance, risk, drawdowns, and its comparability to passive investment approaches.
The results show that using VRP as a predictive indicator can lead to an improved risk-return profile, while the incorporation of technical filters contributes to portfolio stability. The paper concludes with recommendations for extending the methodology, with an emphasis on more advanced models for dynamic risk adjustment.


