A comparison of MAD and CVaR models with real features

In this paper we consider two different mixed integer linear programming models for solving the single period portfolio selection problem when integer stock units, transaction costs and a cardinality constraint are taken into account. The first model has been formulated by using the maximization of the worst conditional expectation as objective function. The second model is based on the maximization of the safety measure corresponding to the mean absolute deviation. Extensive computational results are provided to compare the financial characteristics of the optimal portfolios selected by the two models on real data from European stock exchange markets. Some simple heuristics are also introduced that provide efficient and effective solutions when an optimal integer solution cannot be found in a reasonable amount of time.