Does the source of money determine retirement investment choices?

Abstract

Using a unique dataset of actual investment choices of Oregon State University employees, we investigate how investment choices differ among (1) the optional retirement plan (ORP) funded by the employer and (2) the investments in 403(b) accounts funded by employees themselves using voluntary salary reduction. We find that the level of risk associated with voluntary, salary reduction investments in 403(b) accounts is lower than the risk these same employees are currently taking in their employer funded 401(a) accounts. We also investigate whether the choice of the provider has a significant impact on the asset allocation chosen by the employees and find that participant investment choices in Fidelity are riskier than the choices made by those in TIAA-CREF.