Social Risk and Portfolio Choice

Abstract

This study examines whether social discrimination affects the risk perceptions and, subsequently, the investment decisions of individual investors. We conjecture that minority groups such as gays/lesbians, African Americans, and women, who are more likely to experience discrimination, over-estimate their risk exposures (i.e., they experience social risk) and invest more cautiously. Consistent with our conjecture, we find that minorities with high social risk participate less in the stock market and allocate a lower proportion of their wealth to risky assets. These results indicate that non-financial risks, such as social risk, influence financial risk-taking behavior of U.S. households.