Stock Investments at Work

20 May 2015, 16:00 - 17:15

This is a past event

Stock market investment decisions of individuals are positively correlated with

those of co-workers. Sorting of unobservably similar individuals to the same work-

places is unlikely to explain our results, as evidenced by the investment behavior

of individuals that move between plants. Purchases made under stronger co-worker

purchase activity are not associated with higher returns. Moreover, social interac-

tion appears to drive the purchase of within-industry stocks; an investment mistake.

Overall, our results suggest a strong in.uence of co-workers on investment choices,

but not an in.uence that improves the quality of investment decisions.