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Marie Brière

Research Papers

New / Work in Progress

Bianchi M. and M. Brière, "Human-Robot Interactions in Investment Decisions", 2024, Forthcoming in Management Science

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Abstract: We study the introduction of robo-advising on a large set of Employee Saving Plans. Differently from many services that fully automate portfolio decisions, our robo-advisor is based on human-robot interactions. We show that the robo-service is associated with an increase in investors’ attention and trading activities. Following the robot’s alerts, investors change their rebalancing behaviors, which results in larger portfolio returns. Counterfactual returns induced by automatic rebalancing by the robot would be only slightly higher, suggesting that on average the financial cost of letting investors retain control is not large.

Brière M., J. Poterba and A. Szafarz, "Does Tax Deductibility Increase Retirement Saving? Lessons from a French Natural Experiment", 2024. SSRN

Abstract: This paper presents new evidence on how employees respond to tax incentives for retirement saving. Using administrative data from a large retirement plan administrator in France, we examine the voluntary saving choices of approximately 1.4 million workers before and after the implementation of the 2019 Loi Pacte, a reform that introduced tax-deductible voluntary contributions into employer-sponsored retirement plans. One of the features of this multi-part reform was a change in the provisions for voluntary individual contributions to employer-sponsored saving plans. While such contributions were previously allowed on an after-tax basis, similar to Roth IRAs and 401(k)s in the US, the reform allowed pre-tax contributions that provided an immediate tax deduction for contributors. The reform increased contributions to retirement saving accounts, especially among higher-income, older workers and those who contributed to a voluntary saving plan on a post-tax basis before the pre-tax option became available. We also observe workers’ contributions to “medium term” saving plans that are provided by employers and can be accessed after five years; we do not find any substitution between contributions to these accounts.

Brière M., A. Duranovic, K. Huynh, I. Monasterolo, S. Ramelli, "Investor Concerns and the Pricing of Physical Climate Risk", 2024. SSRN

Abstract: We study how global equity markets price the physical climate risk associated with tropical cyclones. To assess firms' exposure to this risk, we use a bottom-up, forwardlooking measure of firms' expected losses to their geolocalized physical assets based on simulated cyclone tracks under different climate scenarios (RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 6.0). Throughout the sample period 2016-2022, we find no significant premium for tropical cyclone-related risks. But realized return may be affected by shifts in investors' concerns about physical risks. To measure these concerns, we use the search volume index (SVI) from Google Trends as the primary indicator, along with the global monthly occurrence of tropical cyclones for additional validation. We find that a one standard deviation higher exposure under RCP 4.5 is associated with a 1.05% higher annual returns during periods of low cyclone concern. However, during periods of heightened cyclone concern, a one standard deviation higher exposure is associated with a 2.31% lower annualized return. Overall, our results suggest that global equity markets have begun to price in the physical climate risk associated with tropical cyclones. However, during periods of increased cyclone activity, investor concerns may reduce demand for stocks that are more exposed to this risk, causing their prices to fall.

Bonelli M., M. Brière and F. Derrien, "Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Investment in Company Stock", 2024. SSRN

Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects employees’ investments in their company stock. We document this finding exploiting unique data on firm-sponsored savings plans in France. Following a CSR-related incident involving their employer, employees’ propensity to buy their employer’s stock drops by 26 percentage points. This effect is primarily driven by social incidents directly affecting employee working conditions. In contrast, environmental incidents exhibit no impact on these investments. Our findings cannot be fully explained by pecuniary motives and are not driven by CSR-conscious employees. Overall, our results point to employees considering their own well-being when making these investment decisions.

Other Work in Progress

Papers by Topic

Robo Advice, AI and Technology