(Un)Deliberate Choices of Dubious Funds in the Swedish Pension System : Which Individuals Choose Dubious Funds Within the Swedish Pension System?

Sammanfattning: There are ongoing discussions about a new reform of the mandatory fully funded individual accounts in the Swedish public pension system. Since the initial round in 2000, several funds have been excluded from the platform due to deceptive, and sometimes criminal, behavior towards the consumers. This paper analyzes which individuals that have invested in these funds, examines possible explanations for this, and sheds light on the current structure of the Premium Pension Scheme. By using a rich dataset on 650,000 individuals that consist of both those who have been in six particular dubious funds and a random sample of the rest of the Swedish pension savers, the variables of interest are evaluated in a logistic setting. The results show that individuals who are men, unmarried, divorced, in their older-middle age, have lower-incomes, live in rural areas, and the North of Sweden are more likely to have invested in one of the dubious funds. The results also reveal that some funds have clearer target-groups, while others have targeted more randomly. The study emphasizes the need for improving people’s financial decision-making through improved information.