Financial Sophistication, Personality and Stock Market Participation: Theory and Evidence

Abstract

This study intended to investigate the behavior of human as an investor by capturing and envisioning the reasons for stock market participation. It examines the impact of investor‟s personality and emotional quotient on stock market participation. This study add to existing body of literature by investigating the moderating impact of financial sophistication, trading experience and gender between investor‟s personality emotional quotient and stock market participation. The study was cross sectional with time lag data collection, used multiple regressions and archival research methodology. Andrew Hayes Process was operationalize to measure the moderating relationships among the variables. The use of regression and Andrew Hayes Process helped to empirically test and validate the research hypotheses. The study finds that there was positive impact of extroversion and openness to experience on stock market participation. On the basis of literature it was hypothesized that there was negative relationship between conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism and stock market participation. The statistical results also validate and extended the support for the proposed hypothesis. It was also hypothesized that there is positive impact of motivation and self-awareness on stock market participation. Statistical results demonstrated positive impact of motivation on stock market 3 participation. While results for self-awareness were counter to the expectation and showed negative association with stock market participation. The study concludes that financial literacy, trading experience and gender can modify the relationship between some basic personality traits and stock market participation. It showed that, on the one hand, behavior finance is not completely predetermined by one‟s DNA, on the other, it also points out exactly what other traits that are not so influenced by financial literacy, trading experience and gender. Perhaps this implies that these traits are more predetermined by one‟s innate characteristics. The current study has used quantitative data for analysis, using qualitative interviews to gather more improved information would be an addition in the literature with influence of family resource management theory. The study has implications for policy makers and government at micro and macro level. The present study provides valuable insights and protection to vulnerable groups by exploring the financial behavior of individuals in case of financial planning and investments. Study provides interdisciplinary contribution by extending the usefulness of Big Five taxonomy and establishing personality as a viable approach with respect to stock market participation. The results of the study are in line with the Western settings and can be well generalized to the Pakistani settings. Furthermore the findings of this research provide firm grounds for future research. Keywords: financial sophistication, personality, emotional quotient, trading experience, stock market participation.