How Persistent are the Effects of Experience Sampling on Investor Behavior?

51 Pages Posted: 9 May 2015 Last revised: 23 Aug 2021

See all articles by Meike Bradbury

Meike Bradbury

University of Zurich - Department Finance

Thorsten Hens

University of Zurich - Department of Banking and Finance; Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH); Swiss Finance Institute

Stefan Zeisberger

Radboud University, Institute for Management Research; University of Zurich, Department of Banking and Finance

Date Written: September 4, 2018

Abstract

Investor behavior was shown to be considerably different when the risk-return tradeoff is presented by experience sampling as opposed to a descriptive communication. We analyze the persistency of this difference in a setting in which investors are faced with multiple decisions over time and are consequently able to adjust the risk level they initially chose. For this we use an experimental setting with repeated investment decisions over multiple trading days, and we also test a new form of risk simulation in which wealth paths over time are presented rather than just final outcomes. After investors’ initial decisions, for which we confirm previous findings, we do not find persistent differences of simulation-based learning on investors’ risk-taking behavior. With regards to trading volume, only a simulation in which investors see wealth paths and not only final outcomes leads to lower trading frequency soon after the initial asset allocation.

Keywords: Behavioral finance, simulated experience, experience sampling, investment decision, risk communication, financial advice

JEL Classification: D81; G11

Suggested Citation

Bradbury, Meike and Hens, Thorsten and Zeisberger, Stefan, How Persistent are the Effects of Experience Sampling on Investor Behavior? (September 4, 2018). Journal of Banking and Finance, Volume 98, January 2019, Pages 61-79, Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper No. 17-43, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2603780 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2603780

Meike Bradbury

University of Zurich - Department Finance ( email )

Schönberggasse 1
Zürich, 8001
Switzerland

Thorsten Hens

University of Zurich - Department of Banking and Finance ( email )

Plattenstrasse 32
Zurich, 8032
Switzerland
+41-44 634 37 06 (Phone)

Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH)

Helleveien 30
Bergen, 5045
Norway

Swiss Finance Institute

c/o University of Geneva
40, Bd du Pont-d'Arve
CH-1211 Geneva 4
Switzerland

Stefan Zeisberger (Contact Author)

Radboud University, Institute for Management Research ( email )

Nijmegen
Netherlands

University of Zurich, Department of Banking and Finance ( email )

Zürich
Switzerland

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