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The financial instruments are subject to market risk, and the degree of risk may differ. Numerous demographic and behavioral factors determine the willingness of retail investors to face market risk. This work examines the direct effect of investors' risk appetite on their risk mitigation strategies and the indirect effect of investors' risk appetite on hedging strategies through financial intermediaries. In both situations, the age cohort is fixed as a moderator. The data consists of 612 active stock market investors across India. The analysis has established partial mediation in the indirect path. The investors aged 26–40 appear to be risk-oriented, whereas those above 60 reported being risk-averse. These results show that risk appetite decreases with age, and people prefer stable returns to volatility as their age progresses. This research points to policymakers and intermediaries to design portfolio management services that fit the investors' age group. IMPACT STATEMENT: The purpose of this study is to examine whether the risk appetites (RA) of retail investors can have an impact on their hedging strategies (HS) in financial markets and how the age factor is influencing the risk aspiration of the investors. The mediation role of financial intermediaries (FI) in the risk mitigation process and how the service of financial intermediaries (FI) was availed of by investors across age cohorts were duly examined. The study results show that the young investors are more risk-oriented than the older ones and they prefer to rely on their own hedging strategies rather than the tips suggested by financial intermediaries. This result suggests that stock brokers and financial intermediaries must design a balanced decision-making board on the basis of the age group of the investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the investor behavior of mutual funds in China. Our results show little evidence about the redemption puzzle. We further refute the disposition effect, that is, investors do not tend to redeem funds with superior past performance. Additionally, market conditions are crucial for investment decisions. In bull markets, investors are prone to taking risks while being conservative and prudent during bad times. Considering investor heterogeneity, we find that institutional investors value the funds' past performance metrics, assigning greater weight to historical performance. Both institutional investors and individual investors show stronger sensitivity to complicated performance indicators in bad times than good times. Furthermore, we find that investors in China chase for the star funds. We also perform tests on the existence of the smart money effect, and the results show that investors can screen good funds from bad ones. Impact Statement: This study examines the investor behavior of mutual funds in China. Our results show little evidence about the redemption puzzle. We further refute the disposition effect, that is, investors do not tend to redeem funds with superior past performance. Additionally, market conditions are crucial for investment decisions. In bull markets, investors are prone to taking risks while being conservative and prudent during bad times. Considering investor heterogeneity, we find that institutional investors value the funds' past performance metrics, assigning greater weight to historical performance. Both institutional investors and individual investors show stronger sensitivity to complicated performance indicators in bad times than good times. Furthermore, we find that investors in China chase for the star funds. We also perform tests on the existence of the smart money effect, and the results show that investors can screen good funds from bad ones. Overall, this study offers valuable insights into the decision-making processes of Chinese mutual fund investors, providing a more nuanced understanding of their behavior compared to established financial theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on overconfidence has witnessed prolific growth since the beginning of the century. This context underscores the necessity to comprehend and categorize an increasingly diverse body of overconfidence research within the financial domain. This study reviews existing literature on financial overconfidence from its inception to the present with a detailed review of 132 articles from 84 journals by examining theories, context, and methods (TCM) used in overconfidence research. Our review unpacks significant themes (i.e. determinants of overconfidence, overconfidence and risk-taking, overconfidence measures and type of investors, overconfidence in a volatile market, overconfidence, and personal financial behavior). We propose a pertinent research framework to investigate the less investigated aspects of financial overconfidence and suggest future research direction. Impact statement: The significance of this paper lies in its potential to deepen our understanding of how psychological biases and significant overconfidence influence investment behavior and market outcomes. By synthesizing findings from multiple studies, this literature review highlights common themes, identifies gaps in knowledge, and suggests avenues for future research. Ultimately, insights gained from such a review can inform investors, financial professionals, and policymakers about the importance of recognizing and addressing overconfidence in investment decision-making processes. This understanding can lead to more informed and rational investment strategies, potentially mitigating the adverse effects of overconfidence on individual investors and market efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to emphasize the importance of prioritizing pleasure and enjoyment in the properties being invested in over financial returns. This research aims to determine the impact of hedonism on an individual's real estate investment decisions, with financial self-efficacy acting as a moderator. The study employs a quantitative, cross-sectional research approach, and data was collected from retail investors (homeowners and prospective home buyers) using a structured questionnaire. A total of 375 responses were obtained through snowball sampling. Further, PLS SEM was taken into consideration to test research hypothesis. The study's findings indicate that an individual's hedonism value has a significant positive influence on real estate investment decisions. Moreover, we found that financial self-efficacy has a significant negative impact on hedonism and real estate investment. One possible reason is that individuals with high financial self-efficacy may be more likely to analyse the financial details of a real estate investment carefully and make decisions based on a well-informed understanding of the potential returns and risks. It has also been observed that both age and income contribute positively to the decision to invest in real estate. This means that a young person is more likely to make risky investments like buying real estate stocks, land, etc. When individuals become older, real estate investment in the form of houses increases in order to provide a secure and comfortable living space for themselves and their families. Finally, when income rises, individuals seem to be looking for a comfortable life, pleasure, happiness, and social recognition, which significantly influence the real estate investment decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether firm's management uses split ratios to target low price anchors in order to impact post-split ownership. We report anchoring bias for the lowest ranges of prices in the equity market and find specific price anchors among individual investors in the secondary equity market. Initial founders/promoters may use these price anchors and target-specific post-split prices to achieve the desired ownership structure between individual and institutional investors. This study addresses the role of nominal prices in choosing to split shares in the context of a firm's ownership structure. Our findings amplify the fact that the psychological biases of individual investor behaviour depend on share price levels, which affects the ownership structure of a firm. Our study makes three contributions. First, we provide evidence for anchoring basis among individual investors for the lowest price ranges. Thus, companies use higher split ratios to target the lowest price ranges to disperse ownership among individual investors. Second, we find that institutional investors reduce ownership in companies that target the lowest price anchors post-split. Third, promoters may use price anchors to disperse ownership among individual investors, thus maintaining control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While informal debt is often used as a funding source for retail investors, very little is known about the characteristics of its sources and use. This is particularly true in emerging markets where the use of informal debt is widespread. We examine the determinants of the use of informal debt of individual investors in the Vietnam stock market and find that perceived risk has a positive impact on informal debt decisions, that borrowing sources are primarily from parents and friends and that experience, wealth and borrowing sources have a positive impact. We also find that women perceive higher risks in stock investments than men do.The policy implication is that informal debt sources play a significant part in stock market development, and therefore, a greater level of attention needs to be paid to them. Policies need to be developed that increase and manage informal sources of investment finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real challenge to many practitioners in the financial and investment sector is to accurately profile risk-averse investors to still be inclusive of these investors in the wealth creation process. This study aims to profile risk-averse investors through a structural equation model based on endogenous and exogenous factors. The final sample size consisted of 463 individual investors in the economic hub of South Africa, Gauteng province. These endogenous and exogenous factors may bring about increases or decreases in the risk tolerance levels of investors and accordingly, influence their decisions to initiate, amend or terminate financial behaviours. These factors significantly contributed towards explaining low-risk tolerance behaviour, which assisted with the successful development of a model to profile the risk tolerance behaviour of risk-averse investors. This risk profiling model makes a remarkable and unique contribution to the field of study and the financial industry, since it will assist financial practitioners to profile the risk tolerance behaviour of risk-averse investors more accurately, which will lead to the successful implementation of investment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hedging being a predominant financial concern, is considered as a robust method of managing investment risks. Literature evinces that the covered call strategy provides nominal returns alongside effective hedging. However, studies have not compared the hedging effectiveness of covered call, covered put, collar, and synthetic long call strategies in the equity segment. The study evaluates the hedging effectiveness of option trading strategies by applying them to the companies of the top six National Stock Exchange (NSE) sector indices for twelve years, from 2009 to 2020 under volatile and neutral market conditions. The study collects data of 18,720 option contracts and considers 3744 observations for each strategy. The panel regression analysis approach is being incorporated into the study. Hausman test results determine the appropriate model between fixed and random effects. Furthermore, the study compares the mean scores of selected strategies to identify significant differences between the groups using the Games-Howell Post Hoc Tukey Test. The study recommended covered call and covered put strategies effectively hedge the investment in both market conditions. The study's findings help retail investors choose a better hedging strategy and employ the same in their trading, specific to the market condition. Future studies can apply and compare the effectiveness of these strategies in other emerging derivative markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines whether Google search volume index (GSVI), a proxy of investor attention, can predict the excess returns and abnormal trading volumes of TPEx 50 index constituents. It also explores the motive underlying GSVI based on positive or negative shocks to stock prices. The empirical data include 48 companies from TPEx 50 index constituents and cover a period from 1 September 2016 to 31 August 2019. The empirical results present that (1) lagged GSVI negatively affects current excess returns, perhaps due to the characteristics of TPEx, in which there are a higher proportion of retail investors, smaller listed companies, and a higher information asymmetry problem. (2) Lagged GSVI can positively affect abnormal current trading volumes. (3) If GSVI is driven by positive shocks, then it can predict excess returns and abnormal trading volumes positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the investor overreaction catches the attention of the academicians and practitioners. The topic comes under the limelight of academicians and policymakers. This study, therefore, addresses investor overreaction and its relationship with the global financial crisis for the period of 2004–15. The study used stratified random sampling technique; equal allocation method of Krejcie and Morgan. By adopting the methodology of Debondt and Thaler, the study finds that there is highly significant overreaction (distinct reversal) in the stock market in the global-financial crisis period, which may attribute to the aggressive behavior of individual investors in the market. Overreaction has also been shown in the line graph shaded area which opposes the efficient market hypothesis and verifies the presence of a weak form of efficiency. Econometric tests are applied for robustness check that confirms weak form of efficiency in the PSX. The study has implications for both the investors and policymakers. This study is quintessential for those investors who have the aptitude to look introspectively and to evaluate their behavioral biases. Further, investors would learn to transmute behaviors and to build portfolios which will help them to stick to their long-term investment strategies and hence achieve their investment goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have proven to be extremely popular amongst both retail and institutional investors. The increasing interest in this asset class may incite overconfidence in its' investor base, which could lead to undesirable market effects such as security mispricing, excess trading volumes, and exacerbated market volatility. This study aims to examine the South African ETF market for presence of investor overconfidence. To achieve this objective, Vector Autoregression (VAR) models and their associated impulse response functions are employed to examine the relationship between the current trading activity and the historical market return. Consistent with the overconfidence hypothesis, a positive and significant relationship between current market turnover and lagged market returns is found for both ETFs with domestic benchmarks and ETFs with international benchmarks. Further analysis of panel VAR models and their associated impulse response functions suggest that the overconfidence bias also influences the trading activities of individual ETFs. These findings have important implications for various market participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assess the role of psychological and social factors in the decision-making of investors mediated by risk perception. We use a questionnaire survey to collect data from 470 individuals who have invested in firms listed at Pakistan Stock Exchange. We use confirmatory factor analysis to refine the instrument and structural equation model for hypothesis testing. We find that psychological and social factors play a significant role in investors’ decision-making. Specifically, anger, fear and a positive mood positively affect investors’ decision-making whereas stress, social interaction and herding produce negative effects. Furthermore, risk perception plays a mediating role between psychological factors, social factors and the investment decision.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of price-sensitive announcements on stock return anomalies and the interaction effect of corporate announcements of firms with abnormal returns (AR). The study focused on 279 announcements for a period of two years from Jan-2016 till Dec-2017. The announcements were related to plant expansion, change in capital structure, change in ownership, and financial results. We adopted the event study methodology to calculate the Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR) for the event window of 30 days (−15, +15). The study also used hierarchical moderated regression analysis to examine the moderating effect of corporate announcements on abnormal returns. The findings revealed that insiders received higher abnormal returns when they buy stocks before corporate announcements. The results also indicated that these returns are specifically related to purchases made before announcing plant expansion, financial results, and change in the capital structure. The study also exposed that insiders having prior information on corporate announcements can increase predictability and drive the return irrespective of the firms' operating business. The results provide more insight into the effectiveness of the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in curbing insider trading in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The study recommends to the individual investors to diversify their investment to safeguard the returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While financial citizen participation plays an increasing role in renewable energy, there is a lack of understanding which socio-psychological factors correlate with a decision to privately invest in renewable energy. Based on a conceptual model and an extensive literature review, a survey among retail investors of renewable energy projects in Germany was conducted and compared to existing population samples using logistic regressions and factor analysis. This research finds that the typical retail investor in renewable energy in Germany is more likely to be male with a higher income, to have a higher education, and to live in a more rural area compared with the overall population. The typical investor exhibits strong proenvironmental beliefs and behaviors as well as a predisposition for active citizenship. Furthermore, getting a form of non-financial or "psychic return" from the investment seems to be important for the investment decision. Strategic adaptions for public and private actors to increase retail investment in renewable energy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assess the role of psychological and social factors in the decision-making of investors mediated by risk perception. We use a questionnaire survey to collect data from 470 individuals who have invested in firms listed at Pakistan Stock Exchange. We use confirmatory factor analysis to refine the instrument and structural equation model for hypothesis testing. We find that psychological and social factors play a significant role in investors' decision-making. Specifically, anger, fear and a positive mood positively affect investors' decision-making whereas stress, social interaction and herding produce negative effects. Furthermore, risk perception plays a mediating role between psychological factors, social factors and the investment decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that if sophisticated institutional managers and individual investors perceive tail-risks differently, then a new explanation for the pricing kernel puzzle emerges. We show, by example, that even a tiny difference in tail-risk perception by the two investor types can explain the pricing kernel puzzle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper is to introduce a conceptual framework for the study of learning behavior of an individual investor in the context of stock trading. It is developed based on the review of behavioral finance literature, and insights from cognitive, behavioral and social learning theories and related empirical evidence. The framework recognizes the investor as an entity that learns consciously and/or unconsciously for continually updating its perspectives underlying stock trading. The intentional or consciousness form of learning occurs as individual learning through reflection of past trading experiences whereas the learning happens unconsciously as social learning through inquiry and imitating the others' behaviors. These learning processes are expected to be affected by interaction of various structures and processes, both internal and external to the investor, such as cognitive, affective, social and behavioral ones. Accordingly, the framework suggests five hypotheses to examine the determinants of these learning behaviors and to assess whether the investors learn over passage of time through the effects of these structures and processes. It promotes primary data-based behavioral finance empirical studies to track dynamics involved in learning, which could provide new insights on such behavior predicted by the adaptive market hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]