The CNN BeliefBlog reported on a new study conducted at the University of Georgia and Southern Methodist University that showed that the predominant religion in a community affects the decisions of the mutual fund managers in that community. Catholics are more apt to take investment risks than the average population, while Protestants are more averse to risk. So the study found that mutual funds in counties with larger Catholic communities tend to embrace risk more than those in majority-Protestant counties.
One of the study authors, Tao Shu, commented that with the level of competition between mutual funds, you would think that cultural concerns would have no effect on investment decisions. “Surprisingly,” Shu continued, “we found that despite the very intense competition within the mutual fund industry, mutual funds are still impacted by local culture.”
This article was written by a churchleaders.com staff writer.
