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Altruism and egoism in investment decisions

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  • Daniel Brodback
  • Nadja Guenster
  • David Mezger

Abstract

We provide survey evidence that personal values have an impact on individual investment decisions, in particular preferences for socially responsible investing. Our findings show that there is a positive link between altruistic values and the relative importance of social responsibility. This effect is stronger when individuals believe that they can make a positive social or environmental impact with their investments, or when they feel morally obliged to invest responsibly. If altruistic individuals associate responsible investments with higher returns, it decreases their motivation to invest responsibly. Egoistic values are negatively associated with the decision to invest responsibly, unless individuals associate responsible investing with higher returns.

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  • Daniel Brodback & Nadja Guenster & David Mezger, 2019. "Altruism and egoism in investment decisions," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 118-148, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:revfec:v:37:y:2019:i:1:p:118-148
    DOI: 10.1002/rfe.1053
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    4. Eleonora Broccardo & Oliver D. Hart & Luigi Zingales, 2020. "Exit vs. Voice," NBER Working Papers 27710, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Brunen, Ann-Christine & Laubach, Oliver, 2022. "Do sustainable consumers prefer socially responsible investments? A study among the users of robo advisors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    6. Sébastien Duchêne & Adrien Nguyen-Huu & Dimitri Dubois & Marc Willinger, 2022. "Risk-return trade-offs in the context of environmental impact: a lab-in-the-field experiment with finance professionals," Working Papers hal-03883121, HAL.
    7. Rajdeep Kumar Raut & Rohit Kumar, 2023. "Do Values Predict Socially Responsible Investment Decisions? Measuring the Moderating Effects of Gender," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 22(2), pages 189-214, June.
    8. Gutsche, Gunnar & Wetzel, Heike & Ziegler, Andreas, 2023. "Determinants of individual sustainable investment behavior - A framed field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 491-508.
    9. Kleffel, Philipp & Muck, Matthias, 2023. "Aggregate confusion or inner conflict? An experimental analysis of investors’ reaction to greenwashing," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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