Complexity and asset legitimacy in retirement investment

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics
Year: 2016
Volume: 60
Issue: C
Pages: 35-48

Authors (3)

Tse, Alan (not in RePEc) Friesen, Lana (University of Queensland) Kalaycı, Kenan (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Despite their importance, many individuals do not actively manage their retirement investment accounts. We use a laboratory experiment to examine the role that complexity plays in retirement investment decisions. We find that complex fee structures significantly increase both decision errors and default option choices compared with simple fees. We also find evidence of myopic risk aversion while complexity has no effect on the risk profile of investment decisions. The complexity effect is robust to increased asset legitimacy by having subjects earn the investment money in the experiment, although earning the investment money leads to faster learning.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:soceco:v:60:y:2016:i:c:p:35-48
Journal Field
Experimental
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25