doi: 10.18178/joebm.2026.14.4.966
A Study on the Mechanisms of Gender Influence on Investment Performance: A Review Based on the Chain Mediation of Financial Literacy and Emotional Stability
Xiaochun Feng
- Shanghai Ulink College School, Shanghai, China
- Manuscript received July 25, 2026
- revised October 12, 2026
- published October 27, 2026
Abstract
Traditional economic theory assumes that investors are fully rational decision-makers, but behavioral finance research demonstrates that psychological factors systematically influence investment behavior. Gender, as a key individual characteristic, has received considerable attention in behavioral finance research. However, the existing literature primarily focuses on describing whether gender differences exist, rather than explaining why these differences arise. Through a systematic literature review, this paper synthesizes existing research on the relationships among gender, financial literacy, emotional stability, overtrading, and investment performance. Empirical evidence from both academic studies and industry big data consistently shows that female investors achieve higher average returns than their male counterparts. Quantitative data further substantiate this difference: men lose 2.65 percentage points in net returns annually due to overtrading, while women lose only 1.72 percentage points—a difference of 0.93 percentage points. Fidelity Investments data, based on 5.2 million accounts, indicate that women outperform men by 0.4 percentage points annually while trading only half as frequently as men. An analysis of 136,000 investors by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority also confirms that women outperform men by 0.13 percentage points. This review identifies key gaps in current research and provides directions for future theoretical development, empirical advancement, and the practical design of inclusive financial education programs.
Keywords
- gender differences
- investment decisions
- financial literacy
- emotional stability
- chain mediation
How to Cite
Xiaochun Feng, "A Study on the Mechanisms of Gender Influence on Investment Performance: A Review Based on the Chain Mediation of Financial Literacy and Emotional Stability," Journal of Economics, Business and Management, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 345-348, 2026. https://doi.org/10.18178/joebm.2026.14.4.966
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).