Portfolio Selection Using Mean-variance Model for Financial Technology Sector in the Australian Market Before and During COVID-19

This paper presents a framework for portfolio selection using the mean-variance model utilizing Australian fintech company stocks before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment pool consisting of fintech companies undergo a series of criteria to be determined. Mean-variance model is applied to identify the optimal portfolio using equally likely historical return estimates. The market was used as a benchmark to compare the portfolio performance. Back-test pre and during COVID show that most portfolios can outperform the benchmark in terms of returns while most portfolios also have a higher risk than the benchmark. The findings of this study may provide an alternative portfolio selection framework for any investor type considering the financial technology sector.