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Cognitive Abilities and Portfolio Choice

University of Venice Economics Working Paper No. 19/WP/2008

47 Pages Posted: 30 Sep 2008

See all articles by Dimitris Christelis

Dimitris Christelis

Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples Federico II; Center for Financial Studies (CFS); ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR); Netspar

Tullio Jappelli

University of Naples Federico II - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Center for Studies in Economics and Finance - CSEF

Mario Padula

University "Ca' Foscari" of Venice; CSEF

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: September 27, 2008

Abstract

We study the relation between cognitive abilities and stockholding using the recent Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which has detailed data on wealth and portfolio composition of individuals aged 50 in 11 European countries and three indicators of cognitive abilities: mathematical, verbal fluency, and recall skills. We find that the propensity to invest in stocks is strongly associated with cognitive abilities, for both direct stock market participation and indirect participation through mutual funds and retirement accounts. Since the decision to invest in less information-intensive assets (such as bonds) is less strongly related to cognitive abilities, we conclude that the association between cognitive abilities and stockholding is driven by information constraints, rather than by features of preferences or psychological traits.

Keywords: cognitive abilities, stockholding, portfolio choice

JEL Classification: E2, D8, G1

Suggested Citation

Christelis, Dimitris and Jappelli, Tullio and Padula, Mario, Cognitive Abilities and Portfolio Choice (September 27, 2008). University of Venice Economics Working Paper No. 19/WP/2008. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1275284 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1275284

Dimitris Christelis (Contact Author)

Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples Federico II ( email )

Via Cintia, Monte S. Angelo
Naples, NA 80126
Italy

Center for Financial Studies (CFS) ( email )

Grüneburgplatz 1
Frankfurt am Main, 60323
Germany

ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) ( email )

Australian School of Business
Ground Floor, East Wing UNSW Kensington Campus
Sydney, New South Wales NSW 2052
Australia
+61 (2) 9931 9202 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.cepar.edu.au

Netspar ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Tullio Jappelli

University of Naples Federico II - Department of Economics ( email )

Via Cintia - Monte S. Angelo
Napoli, 80126
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://www.csef.it/people/jappelli.htm

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.cepr.org/researchers/details/rschcontact.asp?IDENT=106354

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o ECARES ULB CP 114
B-1050 Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org

Center for Studies in Economics and Finance - CSEF

84084 Fisciano, Salerno
Italy
+39 089 963 165 (Phone)
+39 089 963 169 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.csef.it/people/jappelli.htm

Mario Padula

University "Ca' Foscari" of Venice ( email )

Dorsoduro 3246
Venice, Veneto 30123
Italy
+390412349181 (Phone)
+390412349176 (Fax)

CSEF

Via Don Melillo I
Fisciano, Salerno, 84084
Italy

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