Suppose that X1, …, Xn are random variables with the same known marginal distribution F but unknown dependence structure. In this paper we study the smallest possible value of P(X1 + · · · + Xn < s) over all possible dependence structures, denoted by mn,F(s). We show that mn,F(ns) → 0 for s no more than the mean of F under weak assumptions. We also derive a limit of mn,F(ns) for any s ∈ R with an error of at most n-1/6 for general continuous distributions. An application of our result to risk management confirms that the worst-case value at risk is asymptotically equivalent to the worst-case expected shortfall for risk aggregation with dependence uncertainty. In the last part of this paper we present a dual presentation of the theory of complete mixability and give dual proofs of theorems in the literature on this concept.

The concept of complete mixability is relevant to some problems of optimal couplings with important applications in quantitative risk management. In this paper we prove new properties of the set of completely mixable distributions, including a completeness and a decomposition theorem. We also show that distributions with a concave density and radially symmetric distributions are completely mixable.