IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v18y2025i7p387-d1700430.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Risk Preferences to Portfolios: Comparing SCF Risk Scales and Their Predictive Power for Asset Ownership

Author

Listed:
  • Shane Heddy

    (Department of Personal Financial Planning, Kansas State University, 1324 Lovers Lane, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA)

  • Congrong Ouyang

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, 600 John Kimbrough Blvd, TAMU 2124, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Yu Zhang

    (Department of Personal Financial Planning, Kansas State University, 1324 Lovers Lane, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA)

Abstract

This study compares two risk tolerance scales used in the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), namely the long-standing 4-point scale and the newer 11-point scale, to determine which better captures an individual’s investment risk preferences. The analysis includes exploring how each scale relates to household demographics, socioeconomic factors, and ownership of risky versus conservative investments. By utilizing prospect theory, the findings reveal that while both scales effectively measure risk tolerance, the 11-point scale provides a more detailed understanding of differences in asset ownership across risk levels. For financial professionals, these results highlight the value of using a more granular risk assessment tool to better align investment strategies with client preferences, leading to improved client relationships and outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Shane Heddy & Congrong Ouyang & Yu Zhang, 2025. "From Risk Preferences to Portfolios: Comparing SCF Risk Scales and Their Predictive Power for Asset Ownership," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:18:y:2025:i:7:p:387-:d:1700430
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/7/387/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/7/387/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fisher, Patti J. & Yao, Rui, 2017. "Gender differences in financial risk tolerance," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 191-202.
    2. Brooks, Chris & Sangiorgi, Ivan & Hillenbrand, Carola & Money, Kevin, 2019. "Experience wears the trousers: Exploring gender and attitude to financial risk," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 483-515.
    3. Yao, Rui & Sharpe, Deanna L. & Wang, Feifei, 2011. "Decomposing the age effect on risk tolerance," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 879-887.
    4. John E. Grable & Abed Rabbani, 2023. "The Moderating Effect of Financial Knowledge on Financial Risk Tolerance," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Hermansson, Cecilia & Jonsson, Sara, 2021. "The impact of financial literacy and financial interest on risk tolerance," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    6. Annamaria Lusardi, 2019. "Financial literacy and the need for financial education: evidence and implications," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 155(1), pages 1-8, December.
    7. Nicholas C. Barberis, 2013. "Thirty Years of Prospect Theory in Economics: A Review and Assessment," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(1), pages 173-196, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nancy Neoyame Chabaefe & Abubaker Qutieshat, 2024. "Financial Literacy, Financial Education and Financial Experience: Conceptual Framework," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 44-55, July.
    2. Hemrajani, Pragati & Rajni, & Khan, Muskan & Dhiman, Rahul, 2023. "Financial risk tolerance: A review and research agenda," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1119-1133.
    3. Anu Mohta & V Shunmugasundaram, 2023. "Millennials’ financial literacy and risk behavior: evidence from India," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 70(4), pages 419-435, December.
    4. S. Ananda & Raghavendra Prasanna Kumar & Tamanna Dalwai, 2024. "Impact of financial literacy on savings behavior: the moderation role of risk aversion and financial confidence," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(3), pages 843-854, September.
    5. Adem Anbar & Melek Eker, 2019. "The Effect of Sociodemographic Variables and Love of Money on Financial Risk Tolerance of Bankers," Business and Economics Research Journal, Uludag University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 10(4), pages 855-866.
    6. John Grable & Eun Jin Kwak & Martha Fulk & Aditi Routh, 2022. "A Simplified Measure of Investor Risk Aversion," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 34(1), pages 7-34, January.
    7. Zhu, Alex Yue Feng, 2019. "Financial risk tolerance of Hong Kong adolescents: A hierarchical model," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 193-200.
    8. Caterina Cruciani & Gloria Gardenal & Giuseppe Amitrano, 2022. "Risk Tolerance Tools: From Academia to Regulation and Back," Springer Books, in: Understanding Financial Risk Tolerance, chapter 0, pages 39-78, Springer.
    9. Johnson Antwi & Cephas B. Naanwaab, 2022. "Generational Differences, Risk Tolerance, and Ownership of Financial Securities: Evidence from the United States," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Yao, Zheying & Rabbani, Abed G., 2021. "Association between investment risk tolerance and portfolio risk: The role of confidence level," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    11. Calvin Mudzingiri, 2024. "The Effect of Financial Literacy Confidence on Financial Risk Preference Confidence. A Lab Experiment Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    12. Charles Godfred Ackah & Enoch Randy Aikins & Thomas Twene Sarpong & Derek Asuman, 2019. "Gender Differences In Attitudes Toward Risk: Evidence From Entreprenuers In Ghana And Uganda," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(01), pages 1-19, March.
    13. AlSuwaidi, Reem Ahmed & Mertzanis, Charilaos, 2024. "Financial literacy and FinTech market growth around the world," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    14. Vera Gelashvili & Juan-Gabriel Martínez-Navalón & José Ramón Saura, 2021. "Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to Measure the Moderating Effect of Gender: An Empirical Study," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(24), pages 1-16, December.
    15. Humaira Asad & Iqra Toqeer & Khalid Mahmood, 2021. "A qualitative phenomenological exploration of social mood and investors’ risk tolerance in an emerging economy," Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(1), pages 189-211, August.
    16. Apiag, Claire Anne D. & Aquino, Michael P. & Cadungog, Nicole Shaine B. & Fuentes, Mary Joanne Jurika A. & Gorgonio, Althea Reann F. & Llamo, Xenia Flor D. & Manalo, Ariana Jemar B. & Orillo, Davie Ma, 2025. "Financial Literacy and Insurance Uptake Intention among Rural Area Families," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(4), pages 1636-1661, April.
    17. José F. Tudón M., 2019. "Perception, utility, and evolution," Economic Theory Bulletin, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 7(2), pages 191-208, December.
    18. Stephen Jarvis & Olivier Deschenes & Akshaya Jha, 2022. "The Private and External Costs of Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(3), pages 1311-1346.
    19. Leobardo Diosdado & Matthew Jaramillo & Eugene Bland & Christopher Wertheim, 2024. "Coastal Real Estate Vibes: An Analysis of the Association Between Coastal Residential Ownership and the Resident Occupant’s Risk Tolerance," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-12, November.
    20. Carolin Bock & Maximilian Schmidt, 2015. "Should I stay, or should I go? – How fund dynamics influence venture capital exit decisions," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 68-82, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:18:y:2025:i:7:p:387-:d:1700430. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.