https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200728113612.htm

The study, published online in the Journal of Consumer Research, identified a "zero" bias or tendency for individuals to select retirement funds ending in zero as compared to funds ending in five. This zero bias affects the amount people contribute to retirement savings and leads to an investment portfolio with an incompatible level of risk, which can significantly lower total wealth at retirement, the findings show.

Wei Zhang, Kingland Faculty Fellow in Business Analytics and associate professor of marketing in Iowa State University's Ivy College of Business, and co-authors Ajay Kalra, Rice University; and Xiao Liu, New York University, analyzed data from a global financial investment firm that included 84,600 individual accounts -- nearly half of the sample invested in targeted funds. The researchers found investors born in years ending in eight or nine tend to select targeted funds that mature earlier than they intend to retire.