Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ii/paper-2/28k/a/solution

Assume , a positive integer , decisions based only on already observed returns, and . The last is a sufficient well-posedness condition absent from the print; without moment assumptions the objectives may be infinite. Put . Multiplication by and subtraction of do not change the optimizer, so maximize subject to .
The Bellman equation for the value function is
The expectation uses a fresh independent return, since the action is chosen before it is observed. Zero wealth remains zero.

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