Nous étudions le comportement des investisseurs individuels sur les marchés financiers en combinant les réponses au questionnaire MiFID et les données bancaires de plus de 98,000 clients d’une grande banque Européenne. Tout d’abord, nous étudions la participation sur les marchés actions. Nous montrons que la tolérance au risque et les attitudes face aux pertes auto-évaluées des clients sont de forts prédicteurs de l’investissement en actions tout en contrôlant les déterminants classiques. Puis, dans le cadre de la comptabilité mentale, nous créons une typologie d’objectifs mentaux et montrons que les décisions financières des clients sont cohérentes avec leurs objectifs mentaux. Enfin, nous analysons le comportement des investisseurs détenant directement au moins une action étrangère. Nous montrons qu’ils détiennent des portefeuilles d’actions plus diversifiés que les investisseurs domestiques. Ces investisseurs sophistiqués sont plus tolérants au risque, moins sensibles aux pertes et plus instruits en matière financière mais sont sujets au biais national. / We study retail investors’ behavior on financial markets by combining the MiFID questionnaire answers and banking records of more than 98,000 retail clients of a large European retail bank. First, we study stock market participation. We show that retail clients’ self-assessed risk tolerance and attitudes towards losses are strong drivers of stockholding while controlling for classical determinants. Second, under the mental accounting framework, we derive a typology of retail client mental goals and show that retail clients’ actual investment decisions are consistent with their mental goals. Finally, we analyze the behavior of investors directly holding at least one foreign individual stock. We show that they hold more diversified stock portfolios than domestic investors. These sophisticated investors are more risk tolerant, less sensitive to losses and more financially literate but are subject to the home bias.

Background: Kahneman and Tversky (1974, 1979 & 1992) argue that individuals are bound to numerous behavioral biases that may lead to the emergence of different irrational behaviors. This is often observed with even a higher degree among participants of financial and stock markets as agents such as investors are frequently exposed to significant level of risk and uncertainty (Kahneman, 2013; Kahneman, Knetsch & Thaler, 1991; Kahneman & Tversky, 1974, 1979, 1992). Also, empirical studies indicate that a significant level of herding exists among investors when they are exposed to a high degree of risk and uncertainty such as those in financial crises (Galariotis, Rong & Spyrou, 2014; Litimi, 2017; Hott, 2009). Purpose: the main purpose of this thesis is to explore if the loss aversion bias has a significant causal impact on forming herding behavior among young Swedish retail investors. Method: an online analytical questionnaire including eight questions has been conducted to collect primary data, with 77 Swedish retail investors under the age of 35 participating in the study. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis has been implemented to analyze and interpret the data. Conclusion: it can be concluded that there is not a significant correlation between the degree of loss aversion and the degree of herding behavior within the sample group of young Swedish retail investors. Hence, loss aversion bias cannot be considered as one of the major contributors of herding within the target population.

Titel: SPAC eller IPO, en retailinvesterares möjlighet till abnormal avkastning? Författare: Johan Petersson och William Stignäs Handledare: Öystein Fredriksen Bakgrund och problem: Traditionella börsnoteringar, på engelska Initial Public Offerings (IPO:s), har länge varit ett lukrativt sätt för investmentbanker och professionella aktörer att uppnå en god avkastning. De sistnämnda har möjlighet att teckna aktier till ett förutbestämt pris och har således en fördel gentemot retailinvesterare på den amerikanska marknaden. Ett annat sätt för ett företag att börsnotera sig är genom det på senare år populära fenomenet SPAC. Processen för det alternativa sättet att notera sig är att ett skalbolag noteras på börsen i form av en påse pengar. Skalbolaget har i syfte att förvärva ett onoterat företag som sedan tar den förstnämndas plats på börsen. Detta gör att retailinvesterare kan, till skillnad från IPO:s, i samband med annonseringen av förvärvet köpa aktier. Frågan som uppkommer är då om det finns en möjlighet för retailinvesterare att dra nytta av detta och om fenomenet i sig är något positivt för retailinvesterarna. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att med utgångspunkt från ett retailinvesterar-perspektiv analysera om det finns abnormal avkastning i SPAC:s och sätta det i jämförelse med traditionella IPO:s på den amerikanska marknaden. Även anledningar till populariseringen av SPAC:s trots den tidigare negativa historiken ska analyseras. Metod: Uppsatsen har ett kvantitativt tillvägagångssätt med en abduktiv ansats i syfte att beräkna den abnormala avkastningen för de två separata sätten att börsnotera sig samt testa ett antal utvalda förklaringsvariabler.   Slutsats: Uppsatsen finner att SPAC:s under studerad tidsperiod har presterat bättre än IPO:s och att SPAC:s ska ses som ett isolerat fenomen och inte jämföras med IPO:s. Anledningen är att det förstnämnda bidrar positivt då det blir ytterligare en möjlighet på aktiemarknaden för en retailinvesterare. / Title: SPAC or IPO, a retail investor's opportunity for abnormal return? Authors: Johan Petersson and William Stignäs Supervisor: Öystein Fredriksen   Background and problem: Traditional IPO:s have long been a lucrative way for investment banks and professional investors to achieve a good return. The latter can subscribe for shares before the listing to a predetermined price and thus have an advantage over retail investors in the US market. Another way for a company to list on the stock exchange is through the popular phenomenon SPAC. The process for the alternative way of listing is for a shell company, a SPAC, to be listed on the stock exchange in the form of a pile of cash. The purpose of the shell company is to acquire a private company which then takes the former's place on the stock exchange. This means that the retail investors can, unlike in the case of an IPO, buy shares in connection with the announcement of the acquisition. The question that then arises is whether there is an opportunity for the retail investors to take advantage of this and whether the phenomenon itself is something positive for retail investors.   Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to, based on a retail investor perspective, analyze whether there is abnormal return in SPAC:s and compare it with traditional IPO:s in the US market. Reasons for the popularization of the phenomenon despite the previous negative history will also be analyzed.   Methodology: The thesis has a quantitative and abductive approach. The methodology used is a calculation of abnormal return for the two separate ways of listing on the stock exchange and then test a few selected explanatory variables.   Conclusion: The thesis finds that SPAC:s during the studied period have performed better than IPO:s and that SPACs should be seen as an isolated phenomenon and not compared with IPO:s. The reason is that the former contributes positively as it becomes an additional opportunity on the stock market for a retail investor.

Denna studie undersöker graden av felprissättningar för köpoptioner i Black-Scholes prissättningsmodell. Syftet är att undersöka om graden av felprissättningar i Black-Scholes modellen har ökat eller minskat ur ett historiskt perspektiv. Studiens antagande är att med en stor ökning i handelsvolym av optioner, samt ett större deltagande av retail investerare kan det ha en effekt på prissättningen av optioner. Därav, att det indirekt kan ha en effekt på Black-Scholes prissättningsmodell. Studien undersöker ifall en sådan förändring har lett till en mindre effektiv prissättning av modellen idag. Studien använder sig av optionsdata från 2005 som jämförs med data från 2024, där den dagliga stängningskursen för samtligaoptionskontrakt används vid databearbetningen. Det undersöks även om det finns skillnader mellan optionskontrakt med olika löptider och moneyness. Ytterligare används tidigare använda teorier för att definiera moneyness och deras relativa prisfel [RPE]. Studiens resultat visar att Black-Scholes modellen tenderar att producera en lägre grad av felprissättningar idag, 2024, jämfört med 2005. Följande visar modellen en lägre grad av felprissättningar både för kontrakt, out- och in-the-money. Med antagande om att en högre handelsvolym av optioner och därmed likviditet, återspeglar förändrad och mer marknadsinformation. Därav är det fler optionskontrakt som köps och säljs dagligen, som i sin tur gör prissättningen av Black-Scholes modellen mer effektiv. / This paper seeks to investigate the degree of mispricing in the Black-Scholes call optionpricing model. The aim is to research if the degree of mispricing in the Black-Scholes model has increased or decreased, from a historical perspective. Our hypothesis is that with a large increase in option trading volume and a larger participation of retail investors, might have an impact on the option pricing. Thus, indirectly affecting the Black-Scholes pricing model - which we seek to investigate, if such changes have led to less efficiency in the model today. Furthermore, we use options data from the year 2005 and compare it to the year 2024. The daily closing prices of options contracts are used, likewise we test if there are any significant differences between contracts with different time to expiration and moneyness. Additionally, commonly used formulas are used to define the moneyness of the option contracts, and their respective relative price error [RPE]. Our results indicate that the Black-Scholes model generally tends to produce less pricing errors today, year 2024, comparatively to year 2005. Hence, the model also shows a lesser degree of pricing error, both for contracts out- and in-the-money. We believe that with an increase in options volume and liquidity - reflect changed and more market information. Thus, more option contracts being bought and sold daily, makes the pricing to a degree, more efficient in the Black-Scholes model.

Bakgrund: Samtidigt som breda stockholmsbörsen under 2010-talet genomgick en av de längsta tjurmarknaderna i svensk historia blev svenskarnas närvaro på sociala medier såväl utbrett som vardagligt. Det nuvarande kunskapsläget belyser skillnader inom såväl användandet av sociala medier som uppvisandet av relevanta börspsykologiska faktorer mellan kvinnor och män, men också bland olika åldersgrupper. Hur svenska småsparare ställer sig till denna nya informationskanal i sina investeringsbeslut saknas det i mångt och mycket forskning kring. Dessa omständigheter har skapat en kunskapslucka som inte bara är relevant för småspararna, utan även för finansiella aktörer, politiker, och börsbolag. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att kartlägga i vilken utsträckning de börspsykologiska faktorerna flockbeteende, dispositionseffekten, kognitiv förmåga, och Fear-of-Missing-Out indikeras hos svenska småsparare. Vidare ämnar studien undersöka om det finns någon relation mellan uppvisandet av nämnda faktorer, de demografiska faktorerna kön och ålder, och attityden till användandet av sociala medier i investeringsprocessen. Metod: Studien genomfördes med en kvantitativ metod där primärdata inhämtades från en online-enkät. För att undersöka relationen mellan småspararnas attityd till användandet av sociala medier i investeringsprocessen, de demografiska faktorerna, och de börspsykologiska faktorerna genomfördes en linjär multipel regressionsanalys. Dessutom genomfördes t-tester och one way ANOVA för att undersöka skillnader mellan grupperna. Slutsats: Studien fann en signifikant relation mellan attityden till användandet av sociala medier i investeringsprocessen och fyra av sex förklaringsvariabler; kognitiv förmåga, flockbeteende, kön, och ålder. Regressionen fann en negativ relation mellan attityden till sociala medier som investeringsverktyg och att identifiera sig som kvinna. Även ålder uppvisade en negativ relation. För både flockbeteende och kognitiv förmåga uppvisades en positiv samvariation. Vidare antydde studiens deskriptiva statistik att samtliga undersökta börspsykologiska faktorer uppvisades av respondenterna, om än till varierande grad. / Background: Simultaneously as the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the 2010’s had one of the longest bull markets in Swedish history the Swedes presence on social media became widespread and common. Differences between the usage of social media, as well as demonstrating relevant biases within behavioural finance, has been studied for the genders and different age groups. However, how Swedish retail investors interact with social media in their investment process has not been studied sufficiently. These circumstances have created a scientific gap that is not only of relevance to retail investors, but also financial intermediates, politicians, and publicly traded companies. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to map out to what degree the behavioural finance biases herding, disposition effect, cognitive ability, and Fear-of-Missing-Out are indicated by Swedish retail investors. Furthermore, the study aims to explore if there is any relationship between the mentioned biases, the demographic factors gender and age, and the attitude to using social media in the investment process. Methodology: The study was conducted through a quantitative research method that gathered the primary data through a survey. To explore the relationship between the retail investors attitude towards using social media in the investment process, the demographic factors, and the behavioural finance biases a multiple linear regression analysis was performed. Furthermore, t-tests and one way ANOVA was performed to examine differences between groups. Conclusion: The study found a significant relationship between the attitude towards using social media in the investment process and four out of six independent variables; cognitive ability, herding, gender, and age. The regression found a negative relationship between the attitude towards using social media in the investment process and identifying as a woman. Lastly, the descriptive statistics implied that all four behavioural finance factors were exhibited by the respondents, though to a varying degree.

Problematisering: Studien har identifierat brist på forskning som redogör användbarheten av hållbarhetsrapporter för privatinvesterare i Sverige. Befintlig forskning har genomförts mest från företag och institutionella investerares perspektiv, därmed föreligger ett gap som behöver studeras. Syftet: Syftet med studien är att få en bättre förståelse av de incitament som leder till hållbara investeringar hos svenska privatinvesterare. Vidare ämnar sig studien att undersöka hur bedöms hållbarhetsrapporter och ESG-rating som informationskällor inför ett investeringsbeslut. Teoretisk referensram: Inledningsvis presenteras existerande forskning som redan genomförts inom detta område och sedan presenteras GRI:s sex principer. Därefter presenteras Planned Behavior-teori och Individens beslutsprocess- teori. Metod: En kvalitativ metod i form av semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med 9 privatinvesterare som har läst hållbarhetsrapporter tidigare och investerar hållbart idag. Respondenterna valdes ut genom forskarnas sociala medier och intervjuades antingen fysiskt eller på distans. Forskningsresultat: Resultatet visar att respondenterna får hållbarhetsinformation från olika källor beroende på deras attityd mot informationskällan som är baserad på tidigare erfarenheter,kunskapsnivå, preferens av tillgångsslag samt engagemangsnivå. Respondenterna väljer hållbara alternativ på grund av två faktorer; 1) god långsiktig avkastning och 2) starka värderingar. Hållbarhetsrapporter används av en tredjedel av respondenterna på grund av två faktorer; 1) krav på detaljerad information och 2) uppfattningen att hållbarhetsrapportering leder till ökat ansvarstagande hos företag. Respondenterna finner emellertid brister i rapporterna, i synnerhet i tydlighet och tillförlighet. Dessa brister kan delvis förklaras av respondenternas okunnighet samt företags försök att dölja underprestationer och betona positiva nyheter. Slutligen används ESG-ratings huvudsakligen för att respondenterna söker information som är lätt att få och lätt att förstå. Som det konstaterades i förhållande till hållbarhetsrapporter är tidigare erfarenheter även avgörande här till uppfattning av ESG-ratings. Respondenterna som använder sig av endast ESG-ratings har tidigare fått positiva upplevelser såsom social bekräftelse av sin omgivning vilket skapar då den positiva attityden mot ESG-ratings. Slutsatser: Både hållbarhetsrapporter och ESG-ratings har sina fördelar och nackdelar vilket påverkar användbarheten av det hos respondenterna. Det argumenteras att det i synnerhet är tidigare erfarenheter som skapar attityd och upprepade användning av informationskällor som underlag i investeringsbeslut för respektive respondent. / Problematization: The study has identified a lack of research that has studied the value of sustainability reports for private investors in Sweden. Existing research has mostly been conducted from the perspective of companies and institutional investors, hence there is a gap that needs to be studied.   Purpose: The purpose of the study is to gain a better understanding of the incentives that lead to sustainable investments for Swedish private investors. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate how sustainability reports and ESG ratings are assessed as sources of information in an investment decision.  Theoretical frame of reference:  Firstly, it presents the research that has already been done in this area and then proceeds to present the GRI framework. Finally, Planned Behavior theory and Individual decision process theory are presented.   Method: A qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews was conducted with 9 private investors who have read sustainability reports in the past and priorities sustainability in their investments. The respondents were selected through the researchers' social media and were interviewed either physically or remotely.   Research: The result shows that the respondents receive sustainability information from different sources depending on their attitude towards the information source, which is based on previous experiences, level of knowledge, preference of asset type and level of commitment. Respondents choose sustainable options due to two factors: 1) good long-term returns and 2) strong values. Sustainability reports are used due to two factors: 1) demand for detailed information and 2) the perception that sustainability reporting leads to increased responsibility for companies. However, the respondents find shortcomings in the reports, especially in terms of clarity and reliability. These shortcomings can be partly explained by respondent’s lack of understanding of information as well as companies' attempts to hide underperformance and emphasize positive news. Finally, ESG ratings are mainly used because respondents seek information that is easy to obtain and easy to understand. As was established in relation to sustainability reports, past experiences are also decisive here in the perception of ESG ratings. The respondents who use only ESG ratings have previously had positive experiences such as social confirmation from their surroundings, which then creates the positive attitude towards ESG ratings.   Conclusions: Both sustainability reports and ESG ratings have their advantages and disadvantages, which affects the usability of it among the respondents. The study argues that it is previous experiences that particularly create a specific attitude that give birth to repeated use of information sources as a basis for investment decisions for the respective respondent.

Submitted by Marcel Gomes (marcelgg@gmail.com) on 2014-02-12T21:38:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Marcel Final.pdf: 896702 bytes, checksum: 5b80f0337fd8514137ac68e8b865cd67 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2014-02-13T10:44:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Marcel Final.pdf: 896702 bytes, checksum: 5b80f0337fd8514137ac68e8b865cd67 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-02-13T11:09:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Marcel Final.pdf: 896702 bytes, checksum: 5b80f0337fd8514137ac68e8b865cd67 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-21 / This paper is dedicated to investigate the relationship between performance and funds flows for fixed income, multimarket and equity funds categories in Brazil identifying behavioral differences between institutional and individuals investors assisted by the retail and private banking. It is documented in the literature that investors make their investment decisions based on recent historical performance, however, allocating more resources to funds that performed better compared to worst, ie, the flow - performance relationship becomes convex. Other results in the literature indicate that individual and institutional investors have different behaviors to past returns. The results reached in this study suggest that the convex relation is revealed for retail investors in equity and multimarket funds and fixed income to institutional investors. However, as fixed income funds in retail, as multimarket funds and equity funds for institutional investors and for the three categories in private banking, the convexity was not verified. / Este trabalho se dedica a investigar a relação entre desempenho e captação para fundos de investimento das categorias renda fixa, multimercados e ações no Brasil identificando diferenças de comportamento entre investidores institucionais e pessoas físicas atendidas pelos segmentos de varejo e private banking. É documentada na literatura que os investidores tomam suas decisões de investimentos baseadas no histórico recente de desempenho, destinando, contudo, maior volume de recursos para fundos que apresentaram melhor desempenho em relação aos de pior, ou seja, a relação fluxo-desempenho se torna convexa. Outros resultados encontrados na literatura sinalizam que investidores individuais e institucionais apresentam comportamentos distintos aos retornos passados. Os resultados alcançados neste trabalho sugerem que a relação convexa se manifesta para investidores de varejo nos fundos de ações e multimercados e de renda fixa para investidores institucionais. Entretanto, tanto para os fundos de renda fixa no varejo, quanto para os fundos multimercados e ações para investidores institucionais e para as três categorias no private banking não foi verificada convexidade.

Submitted by Frederico Muniz (fredericomuniz@hotmail.com) on 2015-01-30T18:37:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Frederico_Rezende_Muniz.pdf: 309522 bytes, checksum: d81a82e2f8a1b4448247a63313cfa2b0 (MD5) / Rejected by JOANA MARTORINI (joana.martorini@fgv.br), reason: Frederico, Seu trabalho foi rejeitado, por gentileza, justificar a página onde consta a dedicatória pois está fora das normas da ABNT. Peço que deixe conforme a página onde consta o resumo, este é o padrão correto. on 2015-02-04T16:25:28Z (GMT) / Submitted by Frederico Muniz (fredericomuniz@hotmail.com) on 2015-02-04T18:24:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Frederico_Rezende_Muniz_vf.pdf: 308475 bytes, checksum: 2078a1520dc9cc8be9be3f1540fa7008 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by JOANA MARTORINI (joana.martorini@fgv.br) on 2015-02-04T18:35:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Frederico_Rezende_Muniz_vf.pdf: 308475 bytes, checksum: 2078a1520dc9cc8be9be3f1540fa7008 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-04T20:32:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Frederico_Rezende_Muniz_vf.pdf: 308475 bytes, checksum: 2078a1520dc9cc8be9be3f1540fa7008 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between past performance and fund flows in brazilian funds. Using a unique data set provided by a local fund manager and using a regression model with fixed effects, evidences were found of a positive and statistically significant relationship between past performance and fund flows. In addition, in the most important contribution of this study, it was found that investors with origin in different segments are likely to differ in their behavior while investing in the same funds. The evaluated segments were Institutional, Private Banking, Corporate, External Distribution and Fund of Funds. More sophisticated clients showed a weaker tendency to chase past performance. / Neste trabalho foi estudada a relação entre o desempenho passado e a captação em fundos de investimento no Brasil. A partir de informações contidas em uma base de dados disponibilizada por uma gestora de recursos local e utilizando um modelo de regressão com efeitos fixos, foram encontrados indícios de relação positiva e estatisticamente significativa entre desempenho passado e captação. Adicionalmente, na análise que representa a principal contribuição deste trabalho, foi verificado que existem diferenças significativas no comportamento de investidores de diferentes segmentos que sejam cotistas dos mesmos fundos mútuos. Os segmentos analisados foram o Institucional, Private Banking, Corporate, Distribuidores e Fundo de Fundos. Investidores tidos como mais sofisticados se mostraram menos orientados pelo desempenho histórico em suas decisões de alocação.

Diese kumulative Dissertation untersucht die Rolle von Informationen und Finanzkompetenz im deutschen Crowdinvesting-Markt. Die erste Studie erforscht den Zusammenhang zwischen dem Umfang der von Start-Ups auf Companisto veröffentlichen Informationen und dem Investitionsverhalten von Crowdinvestoren auf Basis proprietärer Nutzer-level Companisto-Daten. Meine Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass (unerfahrene) private Investoren, im Gegensatz zu institutionellen Investoren, auch „weiche“ Informationen im Rahmen ihrer Investitionsentscheidungen berücksichtigen. Meine zweite Studie untersucht das tatsächliche Informationsverhalten von Crowdinvestoren im Vorfeld von Investitionen auf Basis von Nutzer-level Google Analytics-Daten. Meine Ergebnisse suggerieren, dass Investoren einen Großteil der von Start-ups bereitgestellten Informationen im Vorfeld von Investitionen ignorieren. Darüber hinaus zeige ich auf, dass das Informationsverhalten von Investoren mit den demografischen Merkmalen, der Crowdinvesting-Erfahrung und den (durchschnittlichen) Investitionsbeträgen von Investoren zusammenhängt. Meine Ergebnisse deuten zudem darauf hin, dass Investoren beim Vorliegen potentieller Indikatoren für die Qualität eines Start-ups bzw. bei weniger riskanten Investitionen, weniger Information akquirieren. In meiner dritten Studie, welche ich gemeinsam mit Joachim Gassen durchführe, untersuche ich den kausalen Effekt einer Online-Finanzschulung auf das Informations- und Investitionsverhalten von Crowdinvestoren im Rahmen eines Feldexperiments auf Companisto. Während das Experiment noch nicht abgeschlossen ist, motiviert der in dieser Dissertation enthaltene Zwischenbericht die zugrundeliegende Forschungsfrage und beschreibt das Forschungsdesign. Die vorläufigen Ergebnisse zeigen auf, dass Crowdinvestoren im Vergleich zu repräsentativen Stichproben der Gesamtpopulation, welche vergleichbaren Studien zugrunde liegen, ein signifikant höheres Maß an finanzieller Grundkompetenz aufweisen. / This cumulative Ph.D. thesis investigates the role of information and financial literacy in the German crowdinvesting market. Using proprietary investor-level data from Companisto, one of the largest German crowdinvesting portals, the first paper explores how the magnitude of start-ups’ disclosures on Companisto is associated with crowdinvestors’ investment behavior. My findings suggest that the investment decisions by both retail and institutional crowdinvestors are positively associated with the magnitude of start-ups’ voluntary disclosures. However, while start-ups’ ‘soft’ disclosures seem to play a role in the decision-making of (inexperienced) retail investors, they appear to be irrelevant for the investment decisions of institutional investors. My second thesis paper uses investor-level Google Analytics data to explore investors’ actual information acquisition prior to investing. My results indicate that crowdinvestors tend to neglect a substantial fraction of start-ups’ disclosures before investing. Moreover, I show that investors’ information acquisition varies with their demographics, their level of crowdinvesting experience as well as their (average) investment amounts. My findings further suggest that investors acquire less information in the presence of potential signals of start-up quality and (thus) in cases where the investment appears to be less risky. In my third paper, which is co-authored by Joachim Gassen, I study the causal effect of online financial training on crowdinvestors’ information and investment behavior by conducting a field experiment on Companisto. While the experiment is still ongoing, the interim report included in my thesis motivates the overall research question and explains the research design. Our preliminary results indicate that, compared to survey samples representative for the overall population, crowdinvestors exhibit a significantly higher level of ‘basic’ financial literacy.

Diese Dissertation umfasst drei Studien. Die erste Studie untersucht Overprecision („Überpräzision“). Ich untersuche, wie Menschen Spannweitenschätzungen vornehmen. Teilnehmende müssen die Größe der Spannweite (Präzision) mit der Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass sie den wahren Wert einschließt (Richtigkeit) balancieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Menschen inhärente individuelle Vorlieben für Präzision zu haben scheinen. Gleichzeitig werden vorhersagbar zusätzliche Informationen genutzt, um die Richtigkeit der Schätzungen zu erhöhen. Dafür wird entweder Präzision geopfert, oder die Spannweitenschätzung insgesamt verschoben. Die Richtigkeit der Schätzung wird jedoch nicht maximiert, sondern ein Teil für höhere Präzision aufgegeben. Die zweite Studie untersucht, wie sich die Übersetzung von Finanzberichterstattung auf die Wahrnehmung einer Firma als attraktives Investment auswirkt. Sie beleuchtet drei verschiedene Kanäle: Lesbarkeit, Stimmung, und Präzision der Veröffentlichung. In einem Umfrageexperiment lesen Kleinanleger deutsche und englische Prognoseberichte deutscher Firmen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die deutschen Berichte als besser lesbar wahrgenommen werden. Im Gegensatz zu vorheriger Literatur ist die Lesbarkeit nicht mit einer höheren Investmentattraktivität korreliert. Allein die Stimmung des Textes zeigt eine Korrelation mit höherer Attraktivität. Die dritte Studie untersucht, wie das Angebot von formativen Onlinetests die Leistungen von Studierenden in der Klausur beeinflusst. Sie untersucht zudem, ob die Leistung sich unterscheidet, je nachdem ob die Studierenden zeitlich begrenzten Zugang zu den Tests haben oder ob sie jederzeit auf die Tests zugreifen können. Ein Experiment, welches es ermöglicht den kausalen Intention-to-treat-Effekt zu bestimmen, zeigt, dass die formativen Onlinetests die Studienleistung erhöhen können, allerdings nur für Studierende, welche sich nicht freiwillig für die Tests gemeldet hatten und in der kontinuierlichen Lerngruppe waren. / This dissertation comprises three papers. The first study examines overprecision. I examine how people provide range estimates, a challenging task that requires people to balance the width of the range (i.e., its precision) with the probability of the range covering the true value (i.e., accuracy). I find that people appear to have inherent individual preferences for a certain level of precision. At the same time, they appear to predictably incorporate additional information in order to increase accuracy by either sacrificing precision or shifting their ranges altogether. Still, they do not seem to maximise accuracy, but are willing to expend some of it to provide more precise estimates. The second study examines how the translation of financial disclosures changes investors’ perceptions of firms as an attractive investment. It examines three possible channels: readability, tone, and precision of the underlying disclosure. In a survey experiment, retail investors read forecast reports of German firms, provided in German and English. The findings indicate that the German versions are easier to read. Contrary to prior literature, the easier readability does not translate into higher investment attractiveness. Solely tone appears to be correlated with investment attractiveness. The third study analyses how offering formative online assessments influences student performance in the final exam. It further examines whether students perform differently depending on whether they have time-restricted access to the assessments, or whether they can access the assessments at any time. An experiment which allows for the identification of the causal intention-to-treat effect shows that offering formative online assessments can enhance student performance, but only for students who do not opt for taking the test voluntarily and who are in a continuous learning environment.