This study analyzes whether there exist significant changes in the fund selection factors for retirement pension fund investors after experiencing extreme financial market volatility. In particular, we divide retirement pension fund investors into gen...
This study analyzes whether there exist significant changes in the fund selection factors for retirement pension fund investors after experiencing extreme financial market volatility. In particular, we divide retirement pension fund investors into general class and E-class fund investors and examine fund selection factors between the two investor groups. Investors in general class funds receive consulting services from sales companies, whereas investors in E-class funds directly select their own products. Specifically, before and after COVID-19, when the domestic financial market experienced extreme volatility, we divide retirement pension fund investors into general class and E-class investors. We then identify factors that affect investors’ fund selection for both periods.
The main empirical findings are as follows. First, when we do not divide investors into two groups, only cash flow and fund age are significant factors in fund selection before COVID-19, but after COVID-19, factors such as excess return, net assets, fund risk, and sales fees are also considered in fund selection process. Second, when we divide investors into two groups, both groups of investors consider excess return, fund risk, and sales fees after COVID-19. One interesting finding is that general class fund investors who receive consulting services from the sales company care about fund risk, while E-class fund investors who directly select investment funds tend to pursue profits rather than considering fund risk.
In sum, this study confirms that retirement pension fund investors who experience extreme volatility additionally consider factors such as excess return, fund risk, and sales fees. Also, by dividing investors into two groups, we find that there are differences in fund selection factors between general class and E-class fund investors.