The current study investigates the impact of substantial economic fluctuations on household portfolios and analyzes how the fluctuations influence households' propensities to meet the capital accumulation ratio threshold of 25%. The 1992 to 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances datasets were analyzed...

We extend previous studies of retirement adequacy by testing the effect of financial sophistication on projected retirement adequacy. In an analysis of the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) dataset, we found that only 42% of households are adequately prepared for retirement compared to 58%...

Lack of financial sophistication has been suggested as a cause of retirement plan failure. We extend previous studies of retirement adequacy by testing the effect of financial sophistication proxies on projected retirement adequacy, using the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) dataset. We...

Using a sample of 1,215 US retail investors, we provide evidence on the effect of investment literacy and of investment literacy overconfidence on the likelihood of purchasing securities on margin, and also, among those who had purchased securities on margin, the likelihood of experiencing a...

In the 1995-2004 period, 48% of U.S. households owned stock assets, 11% owned private business assets, and 18% owned investment real estate other than a primary residence. These risky, high return investment assets accounted for 45% of household assets in the aggregate, even though 44% of...

The purpose of this study was to analyze how objective and subjective financial literacy affected the likelihood of U.S. renter and homeowner households having a heavy financial obligation after the Great Recession. In 1992, only 15% of homeowners had financial obligation payments over 40% of...