Optimal execution strategy in the presence of permanent price impact and fixed transaction cost
This work provides a theoretical framework for optimal execution in finance, but it is incremental as it extends existing viscosity solution approaches to a specific combination of price impact and transaction costs.
The paper studies optimal execution of a long position in a risky asset with permanent price impact and fixed transaction costs, formulating it as an impulse control problem and characterizing the value function via viscosity solutions. Numerical examples illustrate the results.
We study a single risky financial asset model subject to price impact and transaction cost over an infinite horizon. An investor needs to execute a long position in the asset affecting the price of the asset and possibly incurring in fixed transaction cost. The objective is to maximize the discounted revenue obtained by this transaction. This problem is formulated first as an impulse control problem and we characterize the value function using the viscosity solutions framework. We also analyze the case where there is no transaction cost and how this formulation relates with a singular control problem. A viscosity solution characterization is provided in this case as well. We also establish a connection between both formulations with zero fixed transaction cost. Numerical examples with different types of price impact conclude the discussion.