Cognitive Decline and Financial Decision-Making

Last registered on September 21, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Cognitive Decline and Financial Decision-Making
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019651
Initial registration date
September 07, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 21, 2026, 7:43 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Andrea Orsenigo
Affiliation
University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Franco Peracchi
PI Affiliation
EIEF, Tor Vergata University, Luiss
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Fabrizio Mazzonna
PI Affiliation
Università della Svizzera Italiana
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2025-09-04
End date
2025-10-15
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Health
Additional Keywords
Cognitive decline, memory skills, portfolio choice, financial delegation, information treatments
JEL code(s)
C93, G11, G51, J14
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Older investors who are unaware of their cognitive decline can suffer substantial financial wealth losses. A simple model predicts that awareness should lead investors to reduce their risky-asset share and delegate financial control. In an experimental survey of affluent older US investors, we study whether information designed to raise awareness changes their stated financial decisions. We separately provide general information on the financial costs of memory decline and personalized feedback on respondents’ memory performance. We then study how these interventions affect stated preferences for portfolio risk and the delegation of financial decision-making, distinguishing between investors who are initially aware and unaware of their memory decline.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Mazzonna, Fabrizio, Andrea Orsenigo and Franco Peracchi. 2026. "Cognitive Decline and Financial Decision-Making." AEA RCT Registry. September 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19651-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

Partner

Name
American Association of Individual Investors (AAII)
Type
private_company
URL
https://www.aaii.com/
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
After completing an eight-word memory recognition task, respondents were randomly assigned to one of four information arms.

Score treatment: respondents were informed of their performance using the message, “In the previous test, you correctly recalled X out of 8 words!”

Education treatment: respondents received information explaining that managing money requires concentration and memory, that serious memory decline is common among older adults, that investors who are unaware of cognitive decline may experience substantial portfolio losses, and that memory decline may also increase exposure to fraud and scams.

Joint treatment: respondents received both personalized score feedback and the educational information.

Control: respondents received neither piece of information.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-09-04
Intervention End Date
2025-10-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Six binary primary outcomes: "Formal delegation", "Informal delegation", and "Risk reduction", constructed separately for responses to (i) the personal question and (ii) the vignette question.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
To simplify the presentation, we group the seven response options to the vignette and personal questions into three outcomes: ``Formal delegation'' consists of selecting help from a professional financial advisor, ``Informal delegation'' consists of selecting help from the spouse, a child, or a friend, while ``Risk reduction'' consists of selecting a reduction of the share of risky assets or the purchase of annuities.
Because respondents may select up to three options, these outcomes are not mutually exclusive.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This is an individually randomized online survey experiment conducted among members of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). The survey was administered through Qualtrics from September 4 to October 15, 2025. Invitations were emailed to AAII members by the association, with reminders sent during the field period.

Respondents first answered demographic and financial questions and self-rated their current memory. They then completed an eight-word memory task. After the memory task, respondents were assigned to an information experiment consisting of four arms: (1) no information, (2) personalized feedback on the respondent’s memory-task score, (3) educational information about the financial consequences of memory decline, and (4) both personalized feedback and educational information.

Following treatment assignment, respondents answered a vignette question and a personal question about potential financial responses to cognitive decline. The vignette independently randomized the sex and age of the hypothetical individual (male/female × age 70/85). The order of the vignette and personal modules and the ordering of the response alternatives were also randomized.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Individual-level computer randomization implemented in Qualtrics. The Qualtrics randomizer was configured to allocate respondents approximately evenly across the four information-treatment arms. Qualtrics was also used for the independent randomizations of vignette age and sex, question order, and response-option order.
Randomization Unit
Individual respondent.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
No clustering.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 3,000 respondents.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Approximately 750 respondents.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
October 15, 2025, 12:00 AM +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
October 15, 2025, 12:00 AM +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
We obtained a total of 3,515 survey responses, including multiple submissions by the same person.
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
When someone submitted more than once, we retained the submission with the highest completion rate and excluded responses with durations below the 1st or above the 99th percentile, leaving 3,010 valid responses.
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Abstract
Older investors who are unaware of their cognitive decline can suffer substantial financial wealth losses. A simple model predicts that awareness should lead investors to reduce portfolio risk and delegate financial control. In an experimental survey of affluent older US investors, we study whether information designed to raise awareness changes their stated financial decisions. We separately provide general information on the financial costs of memory decline and personalized feedback on respondents’ memory performance. Among unaware investors, personalized feedback raises stated preferences for formal delegation and lower portfolio risk by approximately 19 and 18 percentage points more than among aware investors, while general information alone produces little response. Additional data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) show that the margins we analyze are relevant for reported behavior, not only for stated preferences: After a severe memory loss, the aware report reducing portfolio risk and delegating financial responsibility more than the unaware.
Citation
Mazzonna, Fabrizio, Andrea Orsenigo, and Franco Peracchi. 2026. “Cognitive Decline and Financial Decision-Making.” EIEF Working Paper No. 26/04.
URL
https://www.eief.it/eief/images/WP_26.04.pdf

Reports & Other Materials