The effect of financial knowledge and demographic variables on passive and active investment in Chile's pension plan

Abstract

AbstractThis paper contributes to research on defined contribution (DC) retirement plans by examining how financial knowledge and demographic factors influenced Chile's pension holders' choice between a default life-cycle retirement plan and active management. About one third of Chileans held default funds in 2009; younger people, men, people with lower incomes, and people with low financial knowledge were more likely to choose the default. For active investors, we examined what variables influenced their choice. Nearly three quarters of active investors chose more risky funds that the defaults for their age group. However, risk taking tended to decrease with age and to increase with income, financial knowledge and risk tolerance.