Do Women Receive Worse Financial Advice? An Audit Study in Hong Kong, China

Utpal Bhattacharya (ubhattac@ust.hk), Amit Kumar, Sujata Visaria (svisaria@ust.hk) and Jing Zhao (jing.v.zhao@polyu.edu.hk)
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Utpal Bhattacharya: Department of Finance, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Sujata Visaria: Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Jing Zhao: Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Sujata Visaria and Sujata Visaria

No 684, ADB Economics Working Paper Series from Asian Development Bank

Abstract: We arranged for trained undercover men and women to pose as potential clients and visit all 65 local financial advisory firms in Hong Kong, China. At financial planning firms, but not at securities firms, women were more likely than men to receive advice to buy only individual or only local securities. Female clients who signaled that they were highly confident, highly risk tolerant, or had a domestic outlook, were especially likely to receive suboptimal advice. Our theoretical model explains these patterns as the result of statistical discrimination interacting with advisors’ incentives. Taste-based discrimination is unlikely to explain the results.

Keywords: audit study; gender; financial advice; securities firm; financial planner; risk tolerance; confidence; geographic outlook (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 D91 G11 G24 G41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 64 pages
Date: 2023-06-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-cna and nep-sea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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