Calibration of factor models with equity data: parade of correlations

This paper describes the process of ML-estimating of the equity correlations which can be used as proxies for asset correlations. In a Gaussian framework the ML-estimators are given in closed form. On this basis the impact of the Lehman’s collapse on the dynamics of correlations is investigated: after the Lehman failure in September 2008 the rise in correlations took place across all economic sectors.