The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

On the Origins of Risk-Taking in Financial Markets

På svenska

Author

Summary, in English

Financial investment behavior is highly correlated between parents and their children. Using Swedish data, we find that the decision of adoptees to hold equities is associated with the behavior of both biological and adoptive parents, implying a role for both genetic and environmental influences. However, we find that nurture has a stronger influence on the share of financial assets invested in equities and on portfolio volatility, suggesting that financial risk-taking is substantially environmentally determined. The parental investment variables substantially increase the explanatory power of cross-sectional regressions and so may play an important role in understanding cross-sectional heterogeneity in investment behavior.

Publishing year

2017

Language

English

Pages

2229-2278

Publication/Series

Journal of Finance

Volume

72

Issue

5

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Economics

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0022-1082