Research
Working Papers:
Gender differences in financial advice (with Tabea Bucher-Koenen, Andreas Hackethal, Johannes Koenen), resubmitted to the American Economic Review
We show that financial advisors offer more self-serving advice to female than to male clients, based on minutes from about 27,000 real-world advisory meetings. Women are more likely to obtain recommendations to purchase costly mutual funds produced by the bank's own asset manager and are less likely to obtain rebates on any sales commissions. We develop a model relating this gender difference in the implied cost of advice to client stereotyping and empirically verify an additional prediction: Women (but not men) with higher financial aptitude reject recommendations more frequently than their less apt peers. Stereotyping is stronger for male advisors.
Disparities in financial literacy, pension planning, and saving (with Tabea Bucher-Koenen, Andreas Hackethal, and Johannes Kasinger)
Financial literacy affects wealth accumulation, and pension planning plays a key role in this relationship. In a large field experiment, we employ a digital pension aggregation tool to confront a treatment group with a simplified overview of their current pension claims across all pillars of the pension system. We combine survey and administrative bank data to measure the effects on actual saving behavior. Access to the tool decreases pension uncertainty for treated individuals. Average savings increase—especially for the financially less literate. We conclude that simplification of pension information can potentially reduce disparities in pension planning and savings behavior.
Publications:
Beliefs About the Stock Market and Investment Choices: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Annika Weber, Rüdiger Weber, and Johannes Wohlfart, Vernon L. Smith Young Talent Award in Experimental Finance, Society for Experimental Finance, January 2024, accepted at the Review of Financial Studies
The Long-Lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism on Attitudes towards Financial Markets with Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi and Ulrike Malmendier, January 2024, Journal of Finance forthcoming
Personal Communication in a Automated World: Evidence from Loan Payments with Stephan Siegel, Journal of Finance (accepted)
How to Alleviate Correlation Neglect? with Michael Ungeheuer and Martin Weber, Management Science, 2023, 69(6), 3400-3414.
On the Role of Monetary Incentives in Risk Preference Elicitation Experiments with Andreas Hackethal, Michael Kirchler, Michael Razen, and Annika Weber, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 2023, 66, 189–213
The Trading Response of Individual Investors to Local Bankruptcies with Benjamin Loos, Jenny Pirschel and Johannes Wohlfart Journal of Financial Economics, 2021, 142 (2), 928-953.
Emotional Tagging and Belief Formation - The Long-Lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism with Ulrike Malmendier and Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, AEA Papers & Proceedings, 2019, 109, 567–571
Focusing on Volatility Information Instead of Portfolio Weights as an Aid to Investor Decisions with Christian Ehm and Martin Weber, Experimental Economics, 2018, 21(2), 457-480
Volatility Inadaptability: Investors Care About Risk, but Cannot Cope with Volatility with Christian Ehm and Martin Weber, Review of Finance, 2014, 18, 1387–1423.
Sometimes Less is More - the Influence of Information Aggregation on Investment Decisions with Martin Weber, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2013, 95, 20-33.
The Role of Experience Sampling and Graphical Displays on One's Investment Risk Appetite with Martin Weber and Emily Haisley, Management Science, 2013, 59(2), 323-340.
Work in Progress:
Heterogeneity in Sustainability Preferences - Do Investors Really Not Care About Impact? (with Katrin Gödker and Michael Kosfeld)
Leading by example or crowding out? The effect of governmental leadership on individuals’ willingness to act against climate change (with Jakob Famulok and Michael Kosfeld)
(Mis-)Perceived Loss Probability and Investments (with Stephan Siegel, Markus Strucks, and Stefan Zeisberger)
Rethinking the stock market participation puzzle - a qualitative assessment of beliefs and misperceptions (with Kamila Duraj, Daniela Grunow, Michael Haliassos, and Stephan Siegel)