MyPortfolio: The IKEA Effect in Financial Investment Decisions
62 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2021
Date Written: July 12, 2021
Abstract
Creating an own financial portfolio has never been easier than today. While the recent literature shows that people overvalue self-built consumer goods ("IKEA effect") we ask the following question: How do investors value and trade a self-built financial portfolio compared to one they did not self-build? Our pre-registered experimental design allows us to rule out any confounding customization, actual ownership, or learning effects. We find that self-building a portfolio significantly increases attachment towards it. However, neither valuation of the portfolio nor trading decisions are affected. Thus, our precise estimates suggest that there is no economically relevant "IKEA effect" in financial investment decisions. These results indicate that common portfolio self-building opportunities per se do not directly distort financial markets.
Keywords: IKEA Effect, Self-Building Financial Portfolios, Self-directed Investing, Investment Decisions, Psychological Ownership, Belief Formation, Experimental Finance
JEL Classification: C91, G11, G41, G50
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation