A multiple criteria decision-making approach for the selection of stocks

A fundamental principle of modern portfolio theory is that portfolio selection decisions are generally made using two criteria, corresponding to the first two moments of return distributions, namely the expected returnportfolio variance. One criticism over this theory, which has often been addressed both by practitioners and academics, is that it fails to embody all the decision-maker's objectives, through the various stages of the decision process. The aim of this paper is to present an alternative methodological approach for modeling one of the most crucial phases of the portfolio management process, the security selection phase. The main characteristic of the proposed approach is that it fully takes into account the inherent multi-dimensional nature of the problem, although allowing the decision-maker to incorporate his preferences in the decision process. The validity of the proposed approach is tested through an illustrative application in Athens Stock Exchange. Besides, a detailed categorized bibliography is provided, relative to the application of the techniques of multiple criteria decision making to the problems and issues of portfolio management.