This paper investigates the risk attitudes of investment bankers with experiment and survey. The experiment measures risk preferences through multiple risky lottery choices, and the survey questionnaire explores the willingness to take instrumental and stimulating risks. We consider both traditional economic and psychological dimension. The investment bankers in our sample are more willing to take instrumental risks than other groups. Within the investment banker group, traders and analysts, who implement financial knowledge in practice, show markedly higher levels of risk preference converging near risk-neutrality. Our results suggest that the nature and nurturing environment of investment bankers matters as well as compensation schemes and organization structure.
Keywords: investment banker, trader, risk attitude, risk preference, risk aversion, instrumental risk taking, stimulating risk taking
