This paper examines whether household portfolio structures change in favour of riskier assets when interest rates fall. Using euro area financial accounts data from the financial crisis through the present day, it is shown that the current low interest rate environment has not, up to this point,...

This paper examines the real return that households in large euro area countries achieved with their financial portfolios since the onset of the euro. A newly compiled dataset shows that, contrary to widespread belief, overall real returns did not decline in the low interest environment. Indeed...