Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal

Corporations are increasingly converting defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans. Participants in a defined benefit plan are more secure in their retirement because the employer bears the risk of any losses resulting from poor investment performance and poor asset allocation. In contrast, the participants in a defined contribution plan usually controls the investment of the money in his or her account. As a results, the participant bears the risk of losses relating to poor asset allocation and poor investments.

This trend has an adverse impact on womena dn minorities who tend to be more conservative investors than white males. This article explores the literature on the relationship between gender and ethnicity on asset allocation and concludes that, though education, womena dn minorities can be taught principles of investments and asset allocation, so as to improve the performance of their self-directed accounts.