Role of personal values in investment decisions

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 940-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otuo Serebour Agyemang ◽  
Abraham Ansong
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
Recent Emergence ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role personal values play in investment decision-making processes among Ghanaian shareholders. Design/methodology/approach In consequence of the recent emergence of the issue of corporate governance practices in Ghana, and the kind of the research objective of this paper, a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. These methods were used in two stages. The first stage was qualitative, which purposively selected 20 individual shareholders to solicit their perspectives on how personal values influence investment decisions. Their responses were used to construct the content of this enquiry. The second stage, which was quantitative, used stratified sampling technique to select 503 individual shareholders to confirm the responses obtained from stage one of the enquiry. Findings The findings of the study reveal that individual shareholders in Ghana hold value priorities and that honesty, a comfortable life and family security play a significant role in their lives and their investment decision-making processes, and the kind of companies they choose to invest in. Also, to Ghanaian individual shareholders, there is a clear distinction between a comfortable life and a prosperous life in the sense that they are not incentivized more by the latter but by the former in their investment decisions. Practical implications The results can inform corporate directors and managers what values are considered in investment decisions, and that it is not purely financial. With these results, they can be informed that while some financial values are important, it is just to live a comfortable life and not a prosperous life. This may influence these directors and managers to have a more long-run focus and to have more of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) focus by putting implementable measures in place to tackle corporate responsibility issues and to take up a responsibility for their CSR feat. Also, the results can be used for public policy in that if regulators find out that more CSR-type information is important to investors, they might require additional CSR-type disclosures in financial statements. Originality/value This paper contributes to the knowledge on the stakeholder perspective of corporate governance that individual shareholders’ personal values have influence on their investment decisions and the choice of companies they invest in.

Evaluation of behavioral biases affecting investment decision making of individual equity investors by fuzzy analytic hierarchy process

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinesh Jain ◽  
Nidhi Walia ◽  
Sanjay Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Behavioral Finance ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioral Biases ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
Overconfidence Bias ◽  
Hierarchy Process

Purpose Research in the area of behavioral finance has demonstrated that investors exhibit irrational behavior while making investment decisions. Investor behavior usually deviates from logic and reason, and consequently, investors exhibit various behavioral biases which impact their investment decisions. The purpose of this paper is to rank the behavioral biases influencing the investment decision making of individual equity investors from the state of Punjab, India. This research would provide valuable insight into the different behavioral biases to investors and other participants of the capital market and help them in improving investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach The research is conducted on the individual equity investors of Punjab, India. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was applied to rank the factors influencing the decision making of individual equity investors of Punjab. The primary factors considered for the study are overconfidence bias, representative bias, anchoring bias, availability bias, regret aversion bias, loss aversion bias, mental accounting bias and herding bias. Findings The three most influential criteria were herding bias, loss aversion bias and overconfidence bias. The five most influential sub-criteria were “I readily sell shares that have increased in value (C61),” “News about the company (Newspapers, TV and magazines) affects my investment decision (C84),” “I invest each element of my investment portfolio separately (C71)” and “I usually hold loosing stock for long time, expecting trend reversal (C52).” Research limitations/implications Although sample survey conducted in the present study was based on a limited sample selected from a particular area that truly represented the total population, it is considered as the limitation of this study. Practical implications The outcome of this research provides investors with a better understanding of behavioral biases that influence their decision making. This study provides them a guideline on different behavioral biases that they should consider while making investment decisions. Originality/value The research model is based on the available literature on behavioral finance and the research results and findings would add value to the existing knowledge base.

Challenging investment decision-making in pension funds

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl-Christian Trönnberg ◽  
Sven Hemlin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Pension Fund ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Investment Decision Making

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of pension fund managers investment thinking when confronted with challenging investment decisions. The study focuses on the theoretical question of how dual thinking processes in experts’ investment decision-making emerge. This question has attracted interest in economic psychology but has not yet been answered. Here, it is explored in the context of pension funds.Design/methodology/approachThe sample included 22 pension fund managers. The authors explored their decision-making by applying the critical incident interview technique, which entailed collecting investment decisions that fund managers retrieved from recent memory (Flanagan, 1954). Questions concerned the investment situation, the decision-making process and the challenges and uncertainties the fund managers faced.FindingsMany of the 61 critical incidents examined concerned challenging (mostly stock) investments based on extensive analysis (e.g. reliance on external analysts for advice; analysis of massive amounts of hard company and stock market information; scrutiny of company reports and personal meetings with CEOs). However, fund managers to a high degree based their decisions on soft information judgments such as experience and qualitative judgements of teams. The authors found heuristics, intuitive thinking, biases (sunk cost effects) and social influences in investment decision-making.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is small and not randomly selected.Practical implicationsThe authors suggest anti-bias training and better acquaintance with human forecasting limitations for pension fund managers.Originality/valuePension fund managers’ investment thinking has not previously been investigated. The authors show the types of investment situations in which analytical and intuitive thinking and biases occur.

scholarly journals How do emotional intelligence and behavioral biases of investors determine their investment decisions?

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47
Author(s):  
Saloni Raheja ◽  
Babli Dhiman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioral Biases ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In earlier studies, research has shown that EI is the only element, which influences the ways in which people develop in their lives, jobs and social skills control their emotions and get along with other people. It is EI that dictates the way people deal with one another and understand emotions. The research gap is to explore the impact of behavioral factors and investors psychology on their investment decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The information was gathered from 500 financial specialists. The region of research was the financial specialists who contribute through LSC Securities Ltd. in Punjab State. The purposive testing system was used in this examination. Findings The investigation found that the positive connection between the conduct predispositions of the financial specialists and venture choices of the speculators and positive connection between enthusiastic insight of the financial specialists and their venture choices. Yet, the authors found that the enthusiastic insight better foresees the venture choices of the financial specialists than the conduct predispositions of the speculators. Among the different elements of conduct inclinations of the speculator’s lament and carelessness are identified with the financial specialist’s venture choices. Among the various estimations of eager understanding – care, dealing with emotions, motivation, empathy and social aptitudes are related to the hypothesis decisions of the monetary pros. Research limitations/implications The sample selection was based on purposive sampling, rather than a random probability sample. The sample was area specific, restricted only to Ludhiana Stock Exchange in Punjab state. Therefore, the results of the study cannot be generalized with certainty to all the investors investing through other exchanges in other states. The inferences are based on the assumption that the data provided by the investors are true and correct. The findings may be relevant for other stock exchanges as that of the Ludhiana Stock Exchange. However, the authors do not claim the generalization of the results. Practical implications This study also helps to understand the relationship between investment decision-making and risk tolerance of investors. It will helpful for the financial advisors to know the behavioral biases of investors while making an investment decision, and therefore, they can advise investors properly to mitigate such biases. It may help the investors in understanding the subjective part of their behavior and control their emotions while taking decisions for their investment in stock market options. Social implications This research will help investment advisors and finance professionals to judge investors’ attitudes toward risk in a better way, which leads to better investment decisions. Originality/value This study is my own study and it is original and has not been published anywhere.

Does underconfidence matter in short-term and long-term investment decisions? Evidence from an emerging market

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maqsood Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Decision Making

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to clarify the mechanism by which underconfidence heuristic-driven bias influences the short-term and long-term investment decisions of individual investors, actively trading on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.Design/methodology/approachInvestors' underconfidence has been measured using a questionnaire, comprising numerous items, including indicators of short-term and long-term investment decision. In order to establish the influence of underconfidence on the investment decisions in both the short and long run, a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire has been used to collect data from the sample of 203 investors. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS graphics software. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling technique.FindingsThis article provides further empirical insights into the relationship between heuristic-driven biases and investment decision-making in the short and long run. The results suggest that underconfidence bias has a markedly negative influence on the short-term and long-term decisions made by investors in developing markets. It means that heuristic-driven biases can impair the quality of both short-term and long-term investment decisions.Practical implicationsThis article encourages investors to avoid relying on cognitive heuristics, namely, underconfidence or their feelings when making short-term and long-term investment strategies. It provides awareness and understanding of heuristic-driven biases in investment management, which could be very useful for finance practitioners' such as investor who plays at the stock exchange, a portfolio manager, a financial strategist/advisor in an investment firm, a financial planner, an investment banker, a trader/broker at the stock exchange or a financial analyst. But most importantly, the term also includes all those persons who manage corporate entities and are responsible for making its financial management strategies. They can improve the quality of their decision-making by recognizing their behavioral biases and errors of judgment, to which we are all prone, resulting in more appropriate investment strategies.Originality/valueThe current study is the first to focus on links between underconfidence bias and short-term and long-term investment decision-making. This article enhanced the understanding of the role that heuristic-driven bias plays in the investment management and more importantly, it went some way toward enhancing understanding of behavioral aspects and their influence on the investment decision-making in an emerging market. It also adds to the literature in the area of behavioral finance specifically the role of heuristics in investment strategies; this field is in its initial stage, even in developed countries, while, in developing countries, little work has been done.

Heuristic-driven bias in property investment decision-making in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert Abraham Lowies ◽  
John Henry Hall ◽  
Christiaan Ernst Cloete
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
South African ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Anchoring And Adjustment ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
New Information

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine whether anchoring and adjustment as heuristic-driven bias and herding behaviour influences listed property fund managers in South Africa’s property investment decisions. The study contributes to the understanding of the influence of heuristic-driven bias and herding behaviour on property investment decisions made in a highly volatile environment. Design/methodology/approach – This study is focused on the subject field of behavioural finance and follows a survey-based design. A questionnaire was finalised after completion of the pilot study and was sent via e-mail to fund managers of all South African-based property funds listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange. Non-parametric statistical measures were used. Findings – Consistency with other studies suggests that anchoring and adjustment may exist in the decisions made by listed property fund managers. However, fund managers tend to not adjust to new information due to the current socio-political environment in South Africa rather than a lack of understanding of the new information. Practical implications – It is recommended that investors form developed and emerging economies take notice of the highly volatile circumstances in which property fund managers in an emerging economy such as South Africa have to make investment decisions. The probability of missed gains as a result of conservative investment strategies may have an impact on future returns. Originality/value – This study enhanced the understanding of the role that heuristic-driven bias plays in the South African property industry and more importantly, it went some way towards enhancing understanding of behavioural aspects and their influence on property investment decision making in an emerging market.

Generation Y investment decision: an analysis using behavioural factors

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1023-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahfuzur Rahman ◽  
Soon Sheng Gan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Generation Y ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Trait Anger ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
Behavioural Factors

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the behavioural factors that affect individual investment decisions among Generation Y in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachFive human behaviours such as trait anger, trait anxiety, overconfidence, herding factor and self-monitoring have been examined using a sample of 502 respondents.FindingsThe results reveal that trait anxiety and overconfidence are negatively related to investment decisions while self-monitoring is positively associated. Trait anger and herding behaviour do not significantly affect investment decision. The results also show that investment decision-making is significantly distinct when examined by gender, employment status and income allocation. Among these three variables, the result shows that only self-employed individuals and those in the 5–10 per cent income allocation group are marginally positive vis-à-vis investment decision-making.Originality/valueThe outcomes of this study will expand investors' knowledge about the financial decision-making process.

scholarly journals Gender Wise Saudi Investors' Awareness of Corporate Governance Mechanism and Its Importance in Their Investment Decision Making – An Empirical Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rima Al-Sager ◽  
Durga Prasad Samontaray
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Governance Mechanism ◽  
Board Committees ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Governance Mechanism ◽  
Definition Of

This paper discusses the gender wise investors' awareness of corporate governance concepts and its importance in their investment decision process. It also answers the two questions "do investors depend on information related to corporate governance to make their investment decisions?" and "are the mechanisms of corporate governance important to them?" Books, studies, and research articles are used to enrich this paper. A survey is used as a tool to investigate the opinion of male and female investors, about corporate governance concepts and its importance on investors' decision making process. The survey shows that investors do not have a clear definition of corporate governance but they believe that it is important from companies' point of view. Also, most of investors do not always depend on information or factors that related to corporate governance as a base for their investment decisions. Mainly, Saudi investors care about board committees, disclosure and transparency as mechanisms of corporate governance.

Overconfidence heuristic-driven bias in investment decision-making and performance: mediating effects of risk perception and moderating effects of financial literacy

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maqsood Ahmad ◽  
Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Individual Investors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThis paper aims to show how overconfidence influences the decisions and performance of individual investors trading on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the mediating role of risk perception and moderating role of financial literacy.Design/methodology/approachThe deductive approach was used, as the research is based on the theoretical framework of behavioural finance. A questionnaire and cross-sectional design were employed for data collection from the sample of 183 individual investors trading on the PSX. Hypotheses were tested through correlation and regression analysis. The Baron and Kenny method was used to test the mediation effect of risk perception and the moderation effect of financial literacy. The results of mediation and moderation were also authenticated through the PROCESS and structural equation modelling (SEM) technique.FindingsThe results suggest that risk perception fully mediates the relationships between the overconfidence heuristic on the one hand, and investment decisions and performance on the other. At the same time, financial literacy appears to moderate these relationships. The results suggest that overconfidence can impair the quality of investment decisions and performance, while financial literacy and risk perception can improve their quality.Practical implicationsThe paper encourages investors to base decisions on their financial capability and experience levels and to avoid relying on heuristics or their sentiments when making investments. It provides awareness and understanding of heuristic biases in investment management, which could be very useful for decision makers and professionals in financial institutions, such as portfolio managers and traders in commercial banks, investment banks and mutual funds. This paper helps investors to select better investment tools and avoid repeating the expensive errors that occur due to heuristic biases. They can improve their performance by recognizing their biases and errors of judgment, to which we are all prone, resulting in better investment decisions and a more efficient market. The paper also highlights the importance on relying on professional knowledge, giving it greater weight than feelings and biases.Originality/valueThe current study is the first to focus on links between overconfidence, financial literacy, risk perception and individual investors' decisions and performance. This article enhanced the understanding of the role that heuristic-driven bias plays in the investment management, and more importantly, it went some way towards enhancing understanding of behavioural aspects and their influence on the investment decision-making and performance in an emerging market. It also adds to the literature in the area of behavioural finance specifically the role of heuristics in investment strategies; this field is in its initial stage, even in developed countries, while, in developing countries, little work has been done.

Is the investment decision affected by the independence and competence of the audit committee? A comparative study between Bahrain and Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-48
Author(s):  
Abdullah Hamza Al-Hadrami ◽  
Ahmad Rafiki ◽  
Adel Sarea ◽  
Muhammad Dharma Tuah Putra Nasution
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of the audit committee’s (AC’s) independence and competence in the company’s investment decision-making in Bahraini- and Indonesian-listed firms, then to compare the two results Design/methodology/approach A quantitative method is used and cross-sectional data are collected through a self-administered questionnaire survey. A stratified random sample technique is adopted with a total of 409 respondents from 39 listed companies in Bahrain and 303 respondents from 27 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). A descriptive analysis is used to identify the characteristics of the respondents, while a correlation analysis, linear regression and t-test analyses are used to test the model, explain the relationships among variables and compare the two studies (Bahrain vs Indonesia). Findings It is found that the AC independence and AC competence have a positive and significant influence on investment decision-making for both the Bahrain and the Indonesia studies Practical implications The current study’s results have implications for the process of appointing and nominating the AC members, since this would affect an investor’s investment decision. Investors’ perception of the independence and competence of ACs will make a difference in their investment decisions. Originality/value AC independence and competence are importantly crucial for the decision-makers in improving the quality of financial reporting, internal control, and audit. This may lead to an increase in investors’ trust in financial reports and their ability to make favorable investment decisions.

Algorithms and venture investment decisions: better, fairer or biased?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Levy ◽  
Eric Liguori
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Harvard Business Review ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
Investment Returns ◽  
Entrepreneurship Theory

PurposeThis paper is a rejoinder to the work of Blohm, Antretter, and colleagues recently published in both Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Harvard Business Review titled “It's a Peoples Game, Isn't It?! A Comparison Between the Investment Returns of Business Angels and Machine Learning Algorithms” and “Do Algorithms Make Better – and Fairer – Investments than Angel Investors?”, respectively.Design/methodology/approachWhile we agree with authors of prior scholarship on the importance of counteracting human biases, honing expert intuition and optimizing the odds of success in investment decision-making contexts, in the spirit of open academic discourse, this paper respectfully challenges some of the underlying assumptions concerning algorithmic bias on which prior work is based.FindingsInvesting remains part art and part science, and while algorithms may begin to play a more significant role in investment decision-making, human intuition remains hard to imitate. In both people and in algorithms, sources of bias remain both implicit and explicit and often have systemic roots, so more research continues to be needed to fully understand why algorithms produce potentially biased outcomes across a wide array of contexts.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to our collective understanding on the use of algorithms in making investment decisions, highlighting the fact that bias exists in humans and algorithms alike, even when the best of intentions are present.

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