How am I doing financially compared to expectations? An experimental comparison of messaging strategies in investor newsletters

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to investigate which messaging strategies employed in personalised newsletters could be used for improving the propensity of individuals to save or invest and secure their financial well-being.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a field experiment with 4,782 clients at an Estonian retail bank. For three months (after measuring baseline levels for a month), the participants received personalised monthly newsletters with either a praising or a scolding message based on comparing their recent investment decisions to their past decisions.FindingsTheir results suggest that newsletters could serve as an encouragement for those who already invest significant amounts each month and a reminder for those who have stopped regular investing for a month. The newsletters robustly increased investments in securities accounts for these groups.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors contribute to the marketing literature by examining praise and scolding messaging strategies within the same channel and company, focussing on the individual's past behaviour. They raise several hypotheses to be tested in future randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Practical implicationsThe authors’ results show the importance of investor behaviour analysis as the effectiveness of the newsletter intervention largely depended on the type of customer it was served to. This highlights the importance of personalisation.Originality/valueThe results show that a given message tends to influence only specific groups of investors. Identifying these groups is valuable information for messaging strategies.