We analyze whether the frequent use of credit lines is rational or influenced by behavioral traits of households. We consider the special case of Germany where credit lines on current accounts are available to 80% of the population. We document that the excessive usage of costly credit lines is...

This paper examines the puzzlingly high unexploited momentum returns from a new perspective. We analyze characteristics of momentum traders in a sample of 692 fund managers. We find that momentum traders are 'defined' by their short-term horizon, by a behavioural view on the market and by a...

The use of technical analysis by financial market professionals is not well understood. This paper thus analyzes survey evidence from 692 fund managers in five countries, the vast majority of whom rely on technical analysis. At a forecasting horizon of weeks, technical analysis is the most...

This paper provides evidence on the hypothesis that many behavioral finance patterns are sodeeply rooted in human behavior that they are difficult to overcome by learning. We test thison a target group which has undoubtedly very strong incentives to learn efficient behavior,i.e. fund managers....

Our questionnaire survey finds that most fund managers rely on the strategies ofbuy-&-hold, momentum and contrarian trading. These strategies are typically appliedmutually. Their use is rooted in the attributes and beliefs of the respective fund managers:buy-&-hold traders behave fundamentally...

Empirical research has shown that inexperienced fund managers yield significantly higher returns than their more experienced colleagues. If the portfolios of inexperienced are not more risky, this result would contradict the hypothesis of market efficiency. Therefore, it is an important question...