The cost of switching: Evidence from the Turkish pension fund system

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the effect of participant characteristics on trading activity and how trading activity relates to investment performance in private pension fund accounts for Turkey case. To conduct this analysis, we study 178,651 participants, their fund allocations and contribution amounts during the years 2008-2013. Descriptive summary statistics represent that there is very rare trading activity in the accounts and the trading minority trades excessively. Our regression results, consistently with the related literature, indicate that the traders are affluent, middle-aged men with higher income and education level. They also hold riskier portfolios including higher equity share. In terms of performance, traders earn 47 basis points less than non-traders on risk adjusted basis. They also have higher volatility and significantly lower Sharpe ratio indicating lower investment performance.