A dynamic analysis of speculation across two markets

A discrete time model of a financial market is proposed, where the time evolution of asset prices and wealth arises from the interaction of two groups of agents, fundamentalists and chartists. Each group allocates its wealth between a risky asset (stock) and an alternative asset (bond), and the two groups have heterogeneous expectations about returns. We assume that chartists compute expected returns by extrapolating past price changes, while fundamentalists form their expectations on the basis of their superior knowledge of fundamentals. Under the assumption that agents have CRRA utility, investors’ optimal demand for each asset depends on their wealth, and this results in growing price and wealth processes. The time evolution of the prices is modeled by assuming the existence of a market maker, who sets excess demand of each asset to zero at the end of each trading period by taking an off-setting long or short position. The market maker is assumed to adjust the price, in each period, partly on the basis of the excess demand and partly according to particular stabilizing policies. The model results in a high dimensional nonlinear discrete-time dynamical system with growing prices and wealth. Although the model is nonstationary, suitable changes of variables lead to a stationary model where the dynamic variables are actual and expected returns, fundamental/price ratios, and wealth proportions of chartists and fundamentalists. The steady states and other invariant sets of the model are determined, and important global dynamic phenomena are studied through numerical investigations. Stochastic simulations are also performed, that show the ability of the model to generate some of the characteristic features of financial time series.