Fund Assortments and 401(K) Plan Participation: The Moderating Effect of Gender

Morrin, Maureen; Broniarczyk, Susan M.; Inman, Jeffrey

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1432510

Fund Assortments and 401(K) Plan Participation: The Moderating Effect of Gender

Networks Financial Institute Working Paper No. 2009-WP-06

21 Pages Posted: 14 Jul 2009 Last revised: 19 May 2014

See all articles by Maureen Morrin

Maureen Morrin

Temple University - Fox School of Business and Management; Temple University - Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management

Susan M. Broniarczyk

University of Texas at Austin - Marketing

Jeffrey Inman

University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business

Date Written: June 1, 2009

Abstract

We report the results of a decision simulation conducted among 349 adults whose task was to invest in a hypothetical 401(k) retirement plan. We varied the number of mutual funds offered for investment and observed the effects on the incidence and extent of participation. The results indicate that larger fund assortments tend to reduce participation among women, but increase it among men. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: retirement investing, gender, fund assortments

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Morrin, Maureen and Broniarczyk, Susan M. and Inman, Jeffrey, Fund Assortments and 401(K) Plan Participation: The Moderating Effect of Gender (June 1, 2009). Networks Financial Institute Working Paper No. 2009-WP-06, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1432510 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1432510