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Information Acquisition and Portfolio Performance

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Author Info
Luigi Guiso
Tullio Jappelli

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Abstract

Rational investors perceive correctly the value of financial information. Investment in information is therefore rewarded with a higher Sharpe ratio. Overcon.dent investors overstate the quality of their own information, and thus attain a lower Sharpe ratio. We contrast the implications of the two models using a unique survey of customers of an Italian leading bank with portfolio data and measures of financial information. We find that the portfolio Sharpe ratio is negatively associated with investment in information. The negative correlation is stronger for men than women and for those who claim they know stocks well, arguably because these investors are more likely to be overcon.dent. We also show that investment in information is associated with more frequent trading, less delegation of portfolio decisions and less diversified portfolios. In each case, the effect of information is stronger for investors who, a priori, are suspected to be more overconfident.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by European University Institute in its series Economics Working Papers with number ECO2007/45.

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Date of creation: 2007
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Handle: RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2007/45

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Related research
Keywords: Portfolio Choice; Rationality; Overconfidence; Behavioral Finance;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E2 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment
D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
G1 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Huberman, Gur, 2001. "Familiarity Breeds Investment," Review of Financial Studies, Oxford University Press for Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(3), pages 659-80.
  2. Terrance Odean, 1998. "Are Investors Reluctant to Realize Their Losses?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(5), pages 1775-1798, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Massimo Massa & Andrei Simonov, 2006. "Hedging, Familiarity and Portfolio Choice," Review of Financial Studies, Oxford University Press for Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 633-685. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Robert B. Barsky & Miles S. Kimball & F. Thomas Juster & Matthew D. Shapiro, 1997. "Preference Parameters and Behavioral Heterogeneity: An Experimental Approach in the Health and Retirement Survey," NBER Working Papers 5213, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Laurent E. Calvet & John Y. Campbell & Paolo Sodini, 2006. "Down or Out: Assessing the Welfare Costs of Household Investment Mistakes," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2107, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Luigi Guiso & Monica Paiella, 2003. "Risk Aversion, Wealth and Background Risk," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 483, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Joël Peress, 2004. "Wealth, Information Acquisition, and Portfolio Choice," Review of Financial Studies, Oxford University Press for Society for Financial Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 879-914. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Verrecchia, Robert E, 1982. "Information Acquisition in a Noisy Rational Expectations Economy," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(6), pages 1415-30, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Barberis, Nicholas & Thaler, Richard, 2003. "A survey of behavioral finance," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 18, pages 1053-1128 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Gadi Barlevy & Pietro Veronesi, . "Information Acquisition in Financial Markets," CRSP working papers 484, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
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  11. Grossman, Sanford J & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1980. "On the Impossibility of Informationally Efficient Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 393-408, June.
  12. Zoran Ivkovich & Clemens Sialm & Scott Weisbenner, 2004. "Portfolio Concentration and the Performance of Individual Investors," NBER Working Papers 10675, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Bruno Biais & Denis Hilton & Karine Mazurier & Sébastien Pouget, 2005. "Judgemental Overconfidence, Self-Monitoring, and Trading Performance in an Experimental Financial Market," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 72(2), pages 287-312, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Bilias, Yannis & Georgarakos, Dimitris & Haliassos, Michalis, 2009. "Portfolio Inertia and Stock Market Fluctuations," CEPR Discussion Papers 7239, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Brad M. Barber & Terrance Odean, 2001. "Boys Will Be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, And Common Stock Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(1), pages 261-292, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Terrance Odean, 1999. "Do Investors Trade Too Much?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1279-1298, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Laura Veldkamp & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2005. "Information Acquisition and Portfolio Underdiversification," 2005 Meeting Papers 77, Society for Economic Dynamics. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Raffaele Miniaci & Sergio Pastorello, 2008. "Mean-Variance Econometric Analysis of Household Portfolios," Working Papers 0807, University of Brescia, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Andreas Hackethal & Michael Haliassos & Tullio Jappelli, 2009. "Financial Advisors: A Case of Babysitters?," CFS Working Paper Series 2009/04, Center for Financial Studies. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh & Laura Veldkamp, 2008. "Information Acquisition and Under-Diversification," NBER Working Papers 13904, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Luigi Guiso & Monica Paiella, 2007. "Risk Aversion, Wealth, and Background Risk," Economics Working Papers ECO2007/47, European University Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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