Study says prettier reports bring in cash

It turns out that pretty, and lots of color, really does sell.

At least that's the case with investors who consider buying shares of a company, according to a new study from the University of Miami School of Business Administration.

“Regardless of their experience,” the study states, “(investors) place a higher value on firms with attractive annual reports than they do on those that produce less attractive reports.”

The study also found that annual reports with more color are perceived to have at least 1% higher annual revenues. The study was done with the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

The survey broke down into the three sections: finance students; members of the general population; and experienced investors. Most of the subjects indicated before the study that the design of an annual report wouldn't have any impact on their investment decisions.

But a few pages into the study, participants leaned on color and design. The group of experienced investors even reported that more color in a firm's annual report is equal to a 20% annual revenue gain in terms of investment appeal.

“The role of aesthetics in consumer goods like those you'd find on store shelves has been widely studied,” University of Miami School of Business Administration assistant professor of marketing Claudia Townsend says in a statement. “But our research is novel in that we look at this effect in the extreme context of financial decision-making and what we find is just how boundless the role of aesthetics can be.”