We analyze the impact of a Web-based trading channel on trader behavior and performance in two large corporate 401(k) plans. After 18 months of Web access, trading frequency at sample firms doubles relative to a control group of firms without a Web channel. Web trades tend to be smaller than trades made through other channels and Web traders tend to have smaller portfolios than other traders, so the Web's impact on portfolio ramover is substantially smaller than its effect on trading frequency. There is no evidence than any of this new trading on the Web is successful.

Earlier literature on gender and risk-taking based on US data has found women to be more conservative investors (see e.g Jianakoplos & Bernasek, 1998, for savings; Sundén & Surette, 1998, for retirement savings). The purpose of the present paper is to test empirically whether this holds good, when all background risks are taken into account. I use a unique data on premium pension portfolio choices for 11 000 individuals, eligible in a new public defined-contribution pension system that was initiated in Sweden in 2000, matched with the Swedish Household Survey on Income for 1999. Unlike previous studies, the current data does not suffer from any particular job/occupational selection, and it covers a wider range of income distribution. Further, I use a more refined definition of risk (which is commonly defined as the share of stocks), namely the average standard deviation of a fund’s performance for the three preceding years. Thus the risk measure used here is more accurate, as well as taking into account that, even with a low share of stocks, funds can be considerably risky. The findings of this paper suggest that almost all individuals chose a fairly aggressive investment strategy with almost the whole portfolio invested in stock funds. As in earlier

Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d'origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original formatDELSA/ELSA/WD/SEM(2003)11

Investors in 401(k) plans violate basic principles of diversification by holding a significant fraction of their savings in the form of their employers ’ equity. This paper characterizes investors ’ active changes to their company stock investment over time by analyzing new inflows and transfers. Investors seem to base active changes on salient information, paying attention to past returns, volatility, and business performance. Past returns, over a three-year horizon, predict higher inflow allocations and transfers, whereas volatility and business performance only have a weak effect. The sensitivity to past returns is asymmetric, with investors reacting more strongly to positive and above-S&P500 returns.