Disappointing performance -- Unsettled investors -- Under-diversified portfolios -- Mistimed timing and misguided stock picking -- Disappointing mutual fund performance -- Irrational mind -- Behavioral biases and investment decision making -- Difficult history -- Learning by investing? --...

The existing literature has documented “reaching for yield”—the phenomenon of investing more in risky assets when interest rates are lower—among institutional investors. Using detailed transaction data from a large brokerage firm, we provide direct field evidence that reach for yield is...