Fund Characteristics and Performances of Socially Responsible Mutual Funds: Do ESG Ratings Play a Role?

This paper examines the risk-adjusted performance and differential fund flows for socially responsible mutual funds (SRMF). The results show that SRMF rated high on ESG, perform better than lower rated ESG funds during the period of economic crisis. The findings also show that low ESG rated SRMF had higher differential cash-flows than high rated ESG funds except for the period of economic down turn. The findings are of interest to financial advisors, investors, mutual fund managers, and researchers on how SRMF performance responds to periods of economic downturn and expansionComment: Forthcoming in the Journal of Accounting and Financ

Retirement Savings Of Private And Public Sector Employees: A Comparative Study

This study examines the retirement plan participation and savings for United States government employees using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics data set. The findings of this study indicate that plan participation increases with age, income and educational attainment. More Government employees are enrolled in defined benefit plans than non Government employees. Also, those government employees who participate in defined contribution plans hold greater amounts within their plans and make greater contributions into their retirement plans than the non government employees. Minorities and employees with lower income are less likely to participate in the Individual Retirement Accounts, while those with higher educational attainment are more likely to participate

Financial Market Participation Of Immigrants And Native-Born Americans: The Role Of Income Uncertainty

This paper uses the National Longitudinal Survey dataset to examine the role of income uncertainty in explaining the likelihood of financial asset ownership among native-born and immigrant Americans. After controlling for a number of socioeconomic, demographic and behavioral factors, the results suggest that individual investors who face greater income uncertainty are less likely to own financial assets. This relationship holds true for immigrants and native-born Americans. Additionally, the likelihood of financial asset ownership increases with income, risk tolerance, and educational attainment for immigrants as well as for natives. Results also suggest that financial market participation among immigrants increases with the number of years they remain in the United States

Retirement Plan Participation in the United States: Do Public Sector Employees Save More?

This study examines retirement plan participation and savings behavior for American public and private sector employees using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data set. This paper also examines the determinants of preference for a diversified portfolio within the retirement plans. The findings of this study indicate that the population’s plan participation increases with age, income, and education level. The public sector employees are more likely than others to participate in defined benefits plans. Conversely, they are less likely to participate in the defined contribution plans. Also, the public sector employees who participate in defined contribution plans hold lower amounts within their retirement accounts. The public sector employees are more likely to diversify their retirement portfolios or allocate them in bonds or annuities and are less likely to hold all or most of their wealth in stocks. Preference for diversification also increases with age, income and educational attainment.Retirement saving; IRA; Plan Participation; Asset Allocation

Older Adults’ Life Satisfaction: The Roles of Seeking Financial Advice and Personality Traits

This paper uses 1,237 respondents from the Health and Retirement Study dataset to examine the relationships among personality, financial advice-seeking, and life satisfaction of U.S. older adults. The results indicate that extraversion is negatively associated with seeking professional financial advice, while conscientiousness and openness were associated positively with seeking professional financial advice. Individuals with a neurotic personality trait were positively associated with seeking financial advice from families and friends. Additionally, seeking professional financial advice, and being extraverted and conscientious, were positively associated with life satisfaction among older adults. The implications for financial therapists and counselors include suggestions for implementation of cross-functional collaborative counseling strategies when working with older clients who may be experiencing physical and mental health-related problems. Implications of the findings for policymakers are also discussed

Taking Stock Of Health: An Examination Of Health Insurance Expenditures By Employer Categories

This research uses the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) data to examine the cost of health insurance coverage for government as well as private sector employees and for the self-employed. The findings show that, when compared with private-sector employees, the self-employed spend more and government employees spend less on health insurance premium payments. Factors such as education, marital status, region of residence, age, family size and educational attainment are significant determinants of the amount spent on health insurance. In addition, the likelihood of participation in Preferred Provider Option (PPO) health plans is lower for government employees and for self-employed individuals than for private sector employees

The Influence Of Birth Order On Financial Risk Tolerance

This study examines birth order as a predictor of financial risk tolerance. Three hundred sixty-eight individuals, drawn predominantly from a large university in the Southwestern United States, completed a psychometrically sound financial risk tolerance measure (Grable and Lytton, 1999). The results confirmed previous literature in regard to gender and education as predictors of risk tolerance. However, for the first time, firstborn individuals were shown to be significantly less risk tolerant than later-born individuals. Furthermore, it was shown that later-born males were more likely than the first-born to have a majority of their portfolios allocated in stock; additionally the later-born males were more likely than the later-born females to hold a greater proportion of their assets in stocks

Effect of False Confidence on Asset Allocation Decisions of Households

This paper investigates whether false confidence, as characterized by a high level of personal mastery and a low level of intelligence (IQ), results in frequent investor trading and subsequent investor wealth erosion across time. Using the National Longitudinal Survey (NLSY79), change in wealth and asset allocation across time is modeled as a function of various behavioral, socio-economic and demographic variables drawn from prior literature. Findings of this research reveal that false confidence is indeed a predictor of trading activity in individual investment assets, and it also has a negative impact on individual wealth creation across time

The Effect of Food Price on Food Insecurity and Diet Quality: Exploring Potential Moderating Roles of SNAP and Consumer Competency

Higher food prices may aggravate household food insecurity and hurt diet quality. Using a sample of low-income households from the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS), this study examines whether local food prices affect food insecurity and nutritional quality of foods acquired, and how households use competent consumer behaviors to mitigate any adverse effects of price. Financial management practices, nutrition literacy, and conscientious food shopping practices were considered for consumer competency. Our findings indicate that low-income households in higher-cost areas, regardless of whether they participate in SNAP or not, are more likely to adopt loyalty or other store savings programs than those in areas where food cost is relatively lower. Also, controlling for local food cost and various household characteristics, SNAP participants are more likely to use loyalty programs or other store savings, and are more likely to be aware of the dietary guidelines than nonparticipants. Our findings suggest that, although theoretically households could benefit from various consumer competencies and skills especially when the food cost is high, taking advantage of competent consumption strategies may be out of reach for many low-income consumers dealing with high food cost. Further, policies that incentivize competent or conscientious consumption among program participants might decrease food insecurity but likely at the expense of lowered nutritional quality of acquired foods, as long as less healthy food choices are also less expensive