Is A Better than B? How Affect Influences the Marketing and Pricing of Financial Securities

29 Pages Posted: 16 Apr 2010 Last revised: 22 May 2019

See all articles by James S. Ang

James S. Ang

Florida State University; Florida State University - College of Law

Ansley Chua

Kansas State University

Danling Jiang

College of Business, Stony Brook University

Date Written: April 15, 2010

Abstract

We investigate the role of affect on asset prices through a natural experiment inherent in the designation of dual-class IPOs and its impact on IPO underpricing. We show that issuers of dual-class IPOs could and do take consumer psychology into account and manage to sell inferior securities at higher prices via branding. In the marketing of dual-class IPOs with inferior voting rights shares, Class A shares are much more frequently adopted and, at issue date, much less underpriced than Class B shares. Class A inferior voting shares enjoy higher valuation than Class B inferior voting shares for years after IPOs. Our results are statistically and economically significant and cannot be explained by a host of firm characteristics. The evidence supports the hypothesis proposed by Statman, Fisher, and Anginer (2008) that affect has a role in the pricing of financial assets. Marketing financial securities has much in common with marketing consumer products. It is the perception, or cache, that commands price premium, not necessarily actual quality.

Keywords: Dual-Class Shares, Affect, Consumer Psychology, Initial Public Offering (IPO), IPO Underpricing, Behavioral Finance, Behavioral Biases, Representativeness and Affect Heuristics

JEL Classification: G14, G30, G32

Suggested Citation

Ang, James S. and Chua, Ansley and Jiang, Danling, Is A Better than B? How Affect Influences the Marketing and Pricing of Financial Securities (April 15, 2010). Financial Analysts Journal, 2010, 66 (6), 40-54, November/December, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1591083

James S. Ang

Florida State University ( email )

College of Business
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1042
United States
904-644-8208 (Phone)

Florida State University - College of Law ( email )

425 W. Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, FL 32306
United States

Ansley Chua

Kansas State University ( email )

Manhattan, KS 66506-4001
United States

Danling Jiang (Contact Author)

College of Business, Stony Brook University ( email )

306 Harriman Hall
Stony Brook, NY 11794
United States

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/site/danlingjiang

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