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American Economic Review Vol. 87 No. 1 1997

An Asset Allocation Puzzle

Niko Canner; N. Gregory Mankiw; David N. Weil

Abstract

This paper examines popular advice on portfolio allocation among cash, bonds, and stocks. It documents that this advice is inconsistent with the mutual-fund separation theorem, which states that all investors should hold the same composition of risky assets. In contrast to the theorem, popular advisors recommend that aggressive investors hold a lower ratio of bonds to stocks than conservative investors. The paper explores various possible explanations of this puzzle and finds them unsatisfactory.

Volume
87
Issue
1
Pages
181-191
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib

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