Cross-Country Heterogeneity in Household Financial Portfolios: Evidence from 22 European Countries in 2021

European households exhibit substantial heterogeneity in their financial portfolio choices, both in their willingness to participate in risky financial assets and in the channels through which they gain exposure. Using harmonised data from the European Household Finance and Consumption survey (HFCS), conducted in 2021 across 22 European countries, this dissertation analyses three dimensions of household portfolio choice: 1. Cross-country variation in risky asset participation 2. The allocation between directly held shares and intermediated products 3. The consistency of life-cycle patterns across European regions. The analysis of 72,515 households, representing a weighted population of 152 million households yielded three main findings. First, household-level participation is most strongly associated with income, net wealth, and above all education. The wealth gradient for highly educated households is approximately five times stronger than for those with low education. Second, the direct versus indirect split of risky financial assets varies radically, ranging from 23% of direct holdings in the Netherlands to 92% in Cyprus. The variation is largely absorbed by country specific effects rather than by household’s characteristics. Third, the hump shaped age profile often predicted by life-cycle theory is confirmed only in Western and Nordic Europe. Southern Europe exhibits a monotonically increasing pattern and Eastern Europe relatively flat one. The findings provide an updated empirical baseline for cross country household portfolio research and provide relevant findings for policy debates on retirement security, financial education, and the deepening of European capital markets.