Psychological research suggests that individuals are satisficiers. That is, when confronted with a large number of options, individuals often choose the first acceptable option, rather than the best possible option (Simon 1957). Given the vast quantity of information available and the widespread...

Structural factors which cause irrational investment in defined contribution savings plans are of great concern. Using a proprietary database of 401(k) plans we show that alphabeticity – the order that fund names appear when listed in alphabetical order – significantly biases participants'...

Stock trading apps have encouraged millions of people to begin micro-investing. While there is no doubt that investing is beneficial in the long-run, we demonstrate a downside to the micro-investing trend. Using a novel data set of stock trades from an app-based broker, we show that anchoring...