Mean-variance efficient portfolio selection was originally identified by Nobel Laureate Harry Markowitz (1952) and to this day remains one of the most popular approaches to portfolio selection. However the turmoil suffered by stock exchanges as a result of the financial crises in the United States and later in Europe has evoked new interest across the globe for better portfolio management within the existing mean variance framework. Substantial improvements in the availability of large data sets, real time information and software capable of performing complex computations contributes towards...