The trading response of individual investors to local bankruptcies

Christine Laudenbach, Benjamin Loos, Jenny Pirschel and Johannes Wohlfart

No 272, SAFE Working Paper Series from Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE

Abstract: We use data from a German online brokerage and a survey to show that retail investors sharply reduce risk-taking in response to nearby firm bankruptcies, which are not predictive of returns. The e.ects on trading are spatially highly concentrated, immediate and not persistent. They seem to operate through more pessimistic expected returns and increased risk aversion and do not reflect wealth e.ects or changes in background risks. Investors learn about bankruptcies through immediate coverage in local newspapers. Our findings suggest that non-informative local experiences that make downside risks of stock investment more salient contribute to idiosyncratic short-term fluctuations in trading.

Keywords: Individual investors; risk-taking; trading; experiences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 G11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-ore and nep-upt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:safewp:272

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