Boys Will Be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment

Terrance Odean, Brad Barber

Research

39 Pages

This paper examines whether gender differences in overconfidence influence stock trading and investment results. Using brokerage records from more than 35,000 households, the authors find that men trade more frequently, and that the resulting costs reduce their returns more than women’s.

Key Takeaways

Higher Male Turnover: Men traded 45% more than women, with annual portfolio turnover of approximately 77% versus 53%.
Greater Return Drag: Trading reduced men’s annual net returns by 2.65 percentage points, compared with 1.72 percentage points for women.
Singles Show Extremes: Single men traded 67% more than single women and reduced their returns by an additional 1.44 percentage points annually.
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