Information Acquisition and Under-Diversification

36 Pages Posted: 13 Oct 2008

See all articles by Laura Veldkamp

Laura Veldkamp

Columbia University - Columbia Business School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh

Columbia University Graduate School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); ABFER

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Date Written: January 2008

Abstract

If an investor wants to form a portfolio of risky assets and can exert effort to collect information on the future value of these assets before he invests, which assets should he learn about? The best assets to acquire information about are ones the investor expects to hold. But the assets the investor holds depend on the information he observes. We build a framework to solve jointly for investment and information choices, with a variety of preferences and information costfunctions. Although the optimal research strategies depend on preferences and costs, the main result is that the investor who can first collect information systematically deviates from holding a diversified portfolio. Information acquisition can rationalize investing in a diversified fund and a concentrated set of assets, an allocation often observed, but usually deemed anomalous.

Suggested Citation

Veldkamp, Laura and Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn, Information Acquisition and Under-Diversification (January 2008). NYU Working Paper No. 2451/26030, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1281913

Laura Veldkamp (Contact Author)

Columbia University - Columbia Business School ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh

Columbia University Graduate School of Business ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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ABFER ( email )

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