Implementing the rearrangement algorithm: An example from computational risk management

Abstract

After a brief overview of aspects of computational risk management, the implementation of the rearrangement algorithm in R is considered as an example from computational risk management practice. This algorithm is used to compute the largest quantile (worst value-at-risk) of the sum of the components of a random vector with specified marginal distributions. It is demonstrated how a basic implementation of the rearrangement algorithm can gradually be improved to provide a fast and reliable computational solution to the problem of computing worst value-at-risk. Besides a running example, an example based on real-life data is considered. Bootstrap confidence intervals for the worst value-at-risk as well as a basic worst value-at-risk allocation principle are introduced. The paper concludes with selected lessons learned from this experience.