Openness to experience and the openness of stock portfolios

Individuals that are open to new experiences are less prejudiced, but does this relationship extend as far as the financial realm? In the present study, I investigate whether people that have high openness to experience are more inclined to invest in foreign stocks (and stocks from more distant countries), the inclusion of which benefits investors due to improved diversification. A total of 486 students participated in the study. Results show that high-openness participants allocated more of their hypothetical inheritance in foreign stocks than low-openness participants (although they were not significantly more interested in investing in distant countries). An additional analysis showed that the key relationship is mediated by risk tolerance (related to both openness to experience, and the propensity to invest in foreign stocks).