Privately educated CEOs seen as ‘safer bet’ by investors, study finds

Researchers found the impact of the perceived lower risk of privately educated CEOs weakened over time as more information became available about a leader’s performance. Photograph: wronaphoto.com/Alamy

Chief executives who attended private school are perceived by investors as a “safer bet”, according to a study, despite there being no evidence they perform or behave differently to their state-educated counterparts.

Companies run by privately educated bosses tend to experience lower stock market volatility, even though there are no meaningful differences in their performance, decision-making or crisis management, the research from the University of Surrey found.