The knowledge that the financially literate have produces a 13 percent annual gain on investments over results experienced by unsophisticated adults, a new study for the Wharton School’s Pension Research Center shows.

“They can also anticipate significantly higher expected excess returns, which over a 30-year working career could build a retirement fund 25 percent larger than that of their less-knowledgeable peers,” the authors claimed.

The researchers said one of the reasons for the difference is that sophisticated investors may be smart enough to look for lower fees. They pointed to another study that found sophisticated investors earn more on their savings account, in part, because they are more willing to use self-managed online banking.

The study found the more financially literate held a greater share of stocks in their portfolios and more volatile holdings than the less knowledgeable.

These findings were based on questioners filled out by 3,000 workers out of 22,000 solicited who participate in a defined contribution plan at an unnamed large financial institution.

Those who answered the survey were somewhat better off, had higher plan balances, and contributed more of their salaries to their retirement accounts than workers who didn’t participate in the poll.