Discussion paper
DP20052 A Man’s World? Consumption-Based Investment in the Mutual Fund Industry
We examine whether U.S. mutual fund managers invest in line with gender-specific consumption patterns. Male and female managers allocate investments differently across sectors, with consumption patterns closely linked to investment decisions. Portfolios with a stronger focus on consumption-related investments tend to be less risky, yield lower returns, and exhibit slightly weaker overall performance. Using a novel measure of portfolio masculinity, we find that more masculine portfolios underperform. A counterfactual analysis highlights potentially large shifts in some sector investments if women managed half the volume, compared to the current < 5% of US mutual fund assets, with corresponding implications for capital allocation.
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