Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/231313 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
SAFE Working Paper No. 309
Publisher: 
Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, Frankfurt a. M.
Abstract: 
We show that financial advisors recommend more costly products to female clients, based on minutes from about 27,000 real-world advisory meetings and client portfolio data. Funds recommended to women have higher expense ratios controlling for risk, and women less often receive rebates on upfront fees for any given fund. We develop a model relating these findings to client stereotyping, and empirically verify an additional prediction: Women (but not men) with higher financial aptitude reject recommendations more frequently. Women state a preference for delegating financial decisions, but appear unaware of associated higher costs. Evidence of stereotyping is stronger for male advisors.
Subjects: 
credence goods
financial aptitude
consumer protection
financial literacy
discrimination
JEL: 
G2
E2
D8
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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