Has financial attitude impacted the trading activity of retail investors during the COVID-19 pandemic?
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ABSTRACT: Financial attitude influences the financial behavior of retail investors. Although the extant research has acknowledged and examined this relationship, the measures of financial attitude and behavior still vary widely and are generally posed as a series of questions rather than statements. In addition to this, there is insufficient knowledge regarding retail investors' behavior in the face of a health crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. This study addresses these gaps in the prior literature by examining the relative influence of six dimensions of financial attitude, namely, financial anxiety, optimism, financial security, deliberative thinking, interest in financial issues, and needs for precautionary savings, on the trading activity of retail investors during the pandemic. Data were collected from 404 respondents and analyzed using the artificial neural network (ANN) method. The results revealed that all six dimensions had a positive influence on trading activity, with interest in financial issues exerting the strongest influence, followed by deliberative thinking. The study thus contributes important inferences for researchers and managers. Highlights • The study examined how financial attitude influences the financial behavior of retail investors.• Six dimensions were examined to explicate the financial attitude of individuals.• The dimensions and trading behavior had both linear and non-linear relationships.• Interest in financial issues had the highest relative importance in predicting the trading activity.• Optimism and financial anxiety had the least influence on trading during COVID-19.
SUBMITTER: Talwar M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7546191 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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