OPTIMISM AND FINANCIAL SECURITY AS DETERMINANTS OF INVESTMENT BEHAVIOR: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM RETAIL INVESTORS

Present study is an attempt to empirically investigate the predictive role of optimism and financial security towards shaping the investment behavior of retail investors. Thus, drawing on insights from behavioral finance, the research examines how psychological disposition and economic stability influence individual willingness to participate in the investment activities, risk tolerance and the long-term financial planning. For this purpose, 487 retail investors residing in the major urban centers of Punjab, Pakistan is surveyed. The close-ended questionnaires, having Likert type questions related o current study constructs, are used as data collection instrument. In order to examine the hypothesized relationships, the scale reliability, validity, correlation and regression statistical tools are employed to get empirical evidences for current study. Results revealed that both, optimism & financial security, have significant positive impact and association with investment behavior among retail investors in the present study context. At the end, some recommendations and directions for future researchers are provided to promote informed & sustainable investment participation among retail investors.