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Women are scaredy-cats and men are conquerors?

Gender specifics in financial investments

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Abstract

The European legal framework requires that financial consultants assess their clients’ risk tolerance before advising them on investments. The study aims at further testing an alternative measure to quantify the risk attitudes of investors: The Implicit Association Test (IAT). This study examines differences in implicit, unconscious, and explicit cognitive attitudes of men and women. The results of the IAT are compared with their answers from a risk tolerance questionnaire used by practitioners and self-selected asset allocation (portfolio). The data show that implicit attitude, and, thus, unconscious and uncontrolled thinking, can differ from conscious processes. Furthermore, in this study, there is no gender gap in risk attitude and risk tolerance. The findings suggest that experience and financial knowledge are likely the most important determinants of risk attitudes with no significant difference between men and women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Georgen Platz 2, 8401, Winterthur, Switzerland

    Jürg Hari

  2. Flat 18 Priory House Court, Bromley Road, SE6 2UB, London, UK

    Elisabeth Pirsch

  3. Theaterstrasse 15b, 8401, Winterthur, Switzerland

    Heike Rawitzer

  4. Zurich University of Applied Sciences, 8401, Winterthur, Switzerland

    Jürg Hari, Elisabeth Pirsch & Heike Rawitzer

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  1. Jürg Hari
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  2. Elisabeth Pirsch
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Hari, J., Pirsch, E. & Rawitzer, H. Women are scaredy-cats and men are conquerors?. J Financ Serv Mark 23, 128–139 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41264-018-0045-x

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