Portfolio choice and trading volume with loss-averse investors

We present a model of portfolio choice and stock trading volume with loss-averse investors. The demand function for risky assets is discontinuous and nonmonotonic: As wealth rises beyond a threshold, investors follow a generalized portfolio insurance strategy, which is consistent with the disposition effect. In addition, loss-averse investors hold no stocks unless the equity premium is quite high. The elasticity of the aggregate demand curve changes substantially, depending on the distribution of wealth across investors. In an equilibrium setting, the model generates positive correlation between trading volume and stock return volatility but suggests that this relationship is nonlinear.