Are female investors driven differently by sentiments than male investors?

In this study we will look at gender differences in sentiment driven investing. It extends a study by Kaplanski et al. [15] on the influence of sentiment on risk and return expectations and future trading plans. The gender differences in risk and return expectations and trading plans are researched, as well as the gender differences in sentiment and sentiment-creating factors. Lastly, we have also researched the influence of a sentiment index, consisting of a linear combination of the sentiment-creating variables, on the risk and return expectations and trading plans for men and women separately. We find that men expect higher returns and a lower volatility than women and that men trade more. We also find that men and women have no difference in their general feeling and weather perception. They do however differ in the fact that men have a favorite sports team more often than women and that men suffer less from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) than women. When examining the relationship between sentiment and investing for men and women with the sentiment index, we find no significant relation between sentiment and expected risk and return. We do find gender differences in sentiment driven trading plans, more positive sentiment directs women more towards buying instead of selling than men.