Both investor contributions and investment returns determine retirement plan outcomes, but they have distinctive effects over the investor's lifecycle. Focusing on target-date funds (TDFs) in 401(k) plans, our research demonstrates that in the early stage, contributions are the primary...

Research fads, which create bubbles in academia, gobble up resources and crowd out exploration of competing ideas. Investment-related academic bubbles have a cost. In the best case, money is lost by investors chasing fragile ideas. In the worst case, the general public suffers real pain when the...

This paper explores the application of contingent claims analysis (CCA) to two quot;hotquot; issues in life-cycle finance: (1) investing for retirement and (2) deciding when, if ever, to switch careers. Participants in individual retirement accounts do not have the time or the knowledge to make...

How much should a family save for retirement and for the kids’ college education? How much insurance should they buy? How should they allocate their portfolio across different assets? What should a company choose as the default asset allocation for a mandatory retirement saving plan? We...

Target-date funds (TDFs) for retirement, also known as life-cycle funds, are being offered as a simple solution to the investment task of participants in self-directed retirement plans. A TDF is a quot;fund of fundsquot; diversified across stocks, bonds, and cash with the feature that the...