Investment behavior in sustainable financial instruments:
A behavioral-economic experimental analysis of "ESG preferences" and their implications for financial institutions and policies
Christian Eufinger (IESE Barcelona), Andrej Gill (Mainz), Florian Hett, and Oxford Economics
The collaborative project “Investment behavior in sustainable financial instruments: A Behavioral Economic Experimental Analysis of “ESG Preferences” and their Implications for Financial Institutions and Policy” (ESGInvest) aims to provide new insights for policy and financial decision makers on the functioning and implications of ESG investments by private investors. It is funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) within the "KlimFi" initative.
It examines both the ESG investment preferences of these investors directly and their indirect effects on the lending behavior of financial institutions. These findings form the basis for evaluating different policy measures to achieve climate goals with the help of the financial system.
The project is divided into the sub-project “ESGInvest: ESG investor preferences and ESG lending by banks”, which is implemented by the University of Mainz, and the sub-project “ESGInvest: Implications for real economic change processes”, which is implemented by Oxford Economics GmbH.
The impact of unintended discrimination in financial advice on wealth accumulation
Markus Eyting, Florian Hett, and Christine Laudenbach (SAFE)
As part of HEC Montréal’s call for research projects on Pensions, Household Finance Wellness and Retirement Research, the project “The impact of unintended discrimination in financial advice on wealth accumulation” was selected for an 18-month research grant from HEC Montréal.
The project investigates (mis)perceptions and stereotypes about different social groups and how they affect the process of investment advice. By developing and applying novel experimental techniques, the researchers aim to measure the existence and structure of misperceptions regarding investment-related characteristics and their effect on actual financial advice. While many studies consider "tastes" as a necessary prerequisite causing discriminatory outcomes, systematic misperceptions may lead to discrimination even if professionals give advice “to the best of their knowledge” and without bad intentions. Ultimately, misperceptions and stereotypes may thus constitute particularly subtle and hidden factors underlying differences in wealth accumulation across social groups.