By comparing the trading behavior of individual investors in different market conditions, this paper tests the theory that attribution bias - inflated confidence in one's own skill - creates overconfident traders. In a bull market, investors incorrectly attribute trading successes (luck) to...

The paper analyzes the question whether blue-chip stock indices provide a larger degree of internationalization than mid-cap stock indices. The specific focus lies on internationalization of blue-chip versus mid-cap stock indices in France, Germany, and the UK.Methodology/Approach: The dataset...

Financial disclosures such as earnings calls help investors allocate their resources efficiently by providing them with essential information about the underlying assets. Especially in forward-looking statements, such disclosures may contain large shares of uncertain words, for example, "we...

This paper analyzes how individual investors respond to inflation. We introduce a unique dataset containing information on local inflation and security portfolios of more than 2,000 clients of a German bank between 1920 and 1924, covering the hyperinflation. We find that individual investors buy...

We provide an overview of research on the stock trading behavior of individual investors. This research documents that individual investors (1) underperform standard benchmarks (e.g. a low-cost index fund), (2) sell winning investments while holding losing investments (the “disposition...