Using representative US investor data, we investigate whether automated financial advisors, also referred to as robo-advisors, reduce investors' demand for human financial advice offered by financial service providers. Our results provide a strong negative relationship between using...

Since a mysterious creator under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym) launched first successful cryptocurrency in January 2009, he (or could be she) also opened the door for never-ending criticism, claims, arguments, plethora of articles, and media frenzy all contemplating what Bitcoin is....

This research explores the origins of observed differences in time preference across countries and regions. Exploiting a natural experiment associated with the expansion of suitable crops for cultivation in the course of the Columbian Exchange, the research establishes that pre-industrial...

On November 14th, 2014, SUERF – The European Money and Finance Forum – and CNMV, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores – the Spanish Authority for supervision of securities markets – jointly organized a conference in Madrid: Challenges in Securities Markets Regulation: Investor...

We investigate the temporal variation of individual investors' tolerance towards financial risk by focusing on changes in tolerance associated with the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Financial risk tolerance is measured from a psychometric scale administered to individual investors and...

Recent years have brought a gradual shift of responsibility for pension provisions, financial planning, health care and various insurances from governmental institutions and firms to individuals. To tackle this challenge, individuals need applied financial literacy and not merely theoretical...

Decreased real bond yields substantially increase failure rates for portfolios with an initial 4% withdrawal rate. One way to increase the safe withdrawal rate of a portfolio is to decrease the allocation to bonds and to increase the allocation to stocks. Unfortunately, increasing the allocation...

This paper examines the mediating effect of the recent financial crisis on the relationship between house value fluctuation and households' liquid portfolio choice. To isolate exogenous variation in homeowners' home equity and mortgage debt before and after the crisis, I use a new regional level...

The aim of financial institutions and regulators is to find an effective way to measure the risk profile of different segments of investors. Both economists and psychologists developed several methodologies to elicit and assess individual risk attitude, but these are not perfect and show several...

On November 14th, 2014, SUERF – The European Money and Finance Forum – and CNMV, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores – the Spanish Authority for supervision of securities markets – jointly organized a conference in Madrid: Challenges in Securities Markets Regulation: Investor...