How do households invest on behalf of their children? Evidence from a robo-advisor

Alexis Direr () and Jentry Indigo Jones
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Alexis Direr: LEO - Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [UMR7322] - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours - NEOLAiA - NEOLAiA European University = Université Européenne NEOLAÏA - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Jentry Indigo Jones: LEO - Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [2022-...] - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours - NEOLAiA - NEOLAiA European University = Université Européenne NEOLAÏA - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne

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Abstract: Despite the practice being commonplace, little is known about how parents invest in financial markets on behalf of their children. Using a large dataset from the leading French robo-advisor, we find that fathers are more likely to open investment accounts for their sons than their daughters for those aged 12 and above. Since fathers predominantly manage children's contracts within the family, this results in a higher number of savings contracts opened for boys. Additionally, although fathers tend to choose riskier investment profiles for their children compared to mothers, no discernible difference in investment strategy is observed between sons and daughters for either parent.

Keywords: Robo-Advisor; Household Finance; Gendered Risk Preference; Son Preference; Delegated Portfolio Choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05656215v1
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Published in Annals of Economics and Statistics, 2025, 160, pp.73-92. ⟨10.2307/48857613⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05656215

DOI: 10.2307/48857613

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