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Understanding Individual Investors Investment Behavior in Mutual Funds PDF
Understanding Individual Investors Investment Behavior in Mutual Funds PDF
*Assistant Professor
School of Management Studies
MVGR College of Engineering
Viziznagaram
**Assistant Professor
School of Management Studies
MVGR College of Engineering
Viziznagaram
ABSTRACT
After the Liberalization, Privatization & Globalization policy in India there was a
drastic change in the market conditions and also there was changes observed in the behavioral
and investment pattern of investors towards investments. After going through microscopic
analysis it is found that the research was conducted in the space of financial risk adjusted
returns, financial planning, investors behavior and so on. But there was no significant study
was made to know the perceptions of the investors in making the investments in selected
portfolios. Hence there exists a gap in the research. There must be a proper study to be
conducted to find out behavioral elements of the investors to identify their attitude towards
their investments. Hence, to fulfill the gap the following study has been initiated.
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Executive summary:
The study was presented in following sub headings
Introduction
Review of literature
Analysis & Discussions
Suggestions
Conclusion.
Introduction includes, introduction to investment, objective of the study, methodology
adopted and limitations of the study. Review of literature includes various studies made on
behavior of investors on various investments also some literature was collected on study of
perception levels of investors in portfolio investments. Analysis and discussions include the
study of investors profile and their effective mobilization of the investments, it would be
fruitful to examine and understand their socio-economic characteristics that influence, their
behavior and performance in a large measure. Therefore, an attempt is made in this section to
present the socio-economic profile of selected investors of several companies. Finally there
were some suggestions which were made out of our study.
INTRODUCTION
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These financial assets are then expected to provide income or positive future cash flows, and
may increase or decrease in value giving the investor capital gains or losses. Trades in
contingent claims or derivative securities do not necessarily have future positive expected
cash flows, and so are not considered assets, or strictly speaking, securities or investments.
Nevertheless, since their cash flows are closely related to (or derived from) those of specific
securities, they are often studied as or treated as investments.
Investments are often made indirectly through intermediaries, such as banks, mutual
funds, pension funds, insurance companies, collective investment schemes, and investment
clubs. Though their legal and procedural details differ, an intermediary generally makes an
investment using money from many individuals, each of whom receives a claim on the
intermediary
Need for the study:
During the last decade Indian financial sector has witnessed a lot of changes. As the
financial markets is continuously becoming more efficient by providing more promising
solutions to the investor. In this context investments relating to capital markets have made
their mark. In a certain period, it crossed even bank savings also. It is mainly because of
positive perception of investors towards investments viz., safety to their investments and
appreciation to their capital. Despite of the glory with investments in the country, the
investment pattern of Indian investors has been diluted. Due to turmoil of foreign banks
followed by economic meltdown in USA, have negative influence on Indian Stock market
coupled with failure of real estate market in the country. At the same time abnormal raise in
the bullion prices also added fuel to the investment climate. All these factors have created a
stage of stagnation to the investment trends in India. The Indian investor is in dilemma. He is
hesitating to invest in any of the options that he have. Moreover some of them are trying to
quit the present options also. In this juncture it is felt necessary to study and understand the
investors perception and attitude towards investments.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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The small investors purchase behavior does not have a high level of coherence due to
the influence of different purchase factors. The buying intent of a mutual fund product by a
small investor can be due to multiple reasons depending upon customers risk return trade off.
Presently, more and more funds are entering the industry and their survival depends on
strategic marketing choices of mutual fund companies, to survive and thrive in this highly
promising industry, in the face of such cutthroat competition. Therefore, the mutual fund
industry today needs to develop products to fulfill customer needs and help customers
understand how its products cater to their Needs.
A Mutual Fund is a trust that pools together the savings of a number of investors who
share a common financial goal. All such investors buy units in a fund that best suit their
needs - be it growth in capital, regular returns or safety of capital. Therefore, mutual fund is
the most suitable investment for the common man as it offers an opportunity to invest in a
diversified, professionally managed basket of securities at a relatively low cost. For this
study, among various mutual fund investors are identified in Coimbatore City. The study
concludes that debt scheme are suitable for genuine investors as there exists a variety of
investors needs depending on objective, expectations and risk taking abilities etc. It is good
channel investing and turning it into an investment opportunity as well as for availing tax
relief. There is no doubt that the determinant for investing in a mutual fund is the NAV
factor. Mutual funds have to focus more on proper pricing, better investor servicing as well as
offer handsome returns and to understand the psychology of investors.
This study attempts to formalize the effect of demographic variables like marital
status, gender, occupation and age on the source of investment advice which in turn affect the
herd behavior of investors and probability of investment in near future. Further, postulations
have been made for most preferred investment option and purpose of saving and source of
investment. Impact of theoretical analysis on choice among investment alternatives has also
been investigated. The analysis contributes to understanding the different investment choices
made by households in India. The insights offered in the paper indirectly contribute in
uncovering the various unexplained asset pricing puzzles.
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METHODOLOGY
A sample of 400 Investors has been taken at stratified random sampling covering all
categories viz. Executives, Non-Executives, etc., from the selected mutual fund companies
among three regions viz. Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Visakhapatnam. The sample covers
all the levels of the investors viz., small, medium and large.
The details of sample size are presented in Table 1
Srikakulam 125
Vizianagaram 125
Visakhapatnam 150
TOTAL 400
DATA COLLECTION
Data has been collected from both primary & secondary sources. The researcher
personally visited the institutions and investing centers during February 2013 to May 2013.
An administered close ended questionnaire was circulated to the selected investors in order to
collect first-hand information. This has been followed by personal interviews of informal
nature.
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Data was collected through the techniques of schedule, interview and observation.
One comprehensive schedule meant for investors was designed and the same was
administered after pre - testing in a pilot study. Interviews with the sample respondents took
place at the times convenient to them. Convenient timings for the interviews have been fixed
in advance mostly during early hours of the office or during lunch break and at times in the
houses of respondents. Personal interviews were conducted with all the respondents.
Secondary sources of data were also used and they include record files, brochures and
other published and unpublished material of the institutions as well as outside stock broking
agencies. The enquiry is essentially in the nature of a qualitative study. Though the study has
not used any advanced quantitative methods, a few statistical techniques like the following
were used wherever necessary to make the data more precision and systematization.
In view of the importance of the investors and their planning in mutual funds and for
effective mobilization of the investments, it would be fruitful to examine and understand their
socio-economic characteristics that influence, their behavior and performance in a large
measure. Therefore, an attempt is made in this section to present the socio-economic profile
of selected investors of several companies.
Gender
Traditionally most of the women in India are confined to kitchen and other domestic
activities. Very recently, they are coming out of the kitchen burrows and are also seeking
employment in order to supplement their family income. Still for obvious reasons, the
investment pattern of women in the country is not encouraging.
Marital status
Marriage is an important event in ones life. Marriage is treated as an important
social institution in India. But its form and functions may vary according to the socio-
cultural environment of the society. Marriage in India is considered as a religious sacrament
in which a man and a woman are bound in permanent relationship for physical, social and
spiritual purposes, sexual pleasure and procreation. It influences their style of living and also
their attitude, disposition and commitment towards work. Sometimes, matters relating to
their household also affect the state of mind of the employees at work.
Size of the family
The number of dependents will have a bearing on the economic conditions of the
investor. It is natural that higher the number of dependents, higher would be financial burden
on the family. It is pertinent to mention here that the observation of Morse study of white-
collar workers, indicating that more dependents one has, the less satisfaction he has with the
job.
The annual income of the respondents is exhibited in the cross tabulation along with
age and educational classification in the table 2
Distribution of age, income and education:
Proportion of the sample data is presented in the table 1 given the distribution of age,
income and education of the sample of 400 investors.
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From the above table it is to be observed that there are 3 income categories with less
than 3 lakhs as one income group, 3.1 to 6 lakhs as another income group and 6 lakhs and
above as another income group. Each income group is again divided into 3 different age
groups as less than 35 with age as one age group, 36to55 with age as another age group and
above 55 with age another age group.
So, an individual can be in any of the above groups with a different Educational
Qualification as SSC, Inter/Degree, PG and Professional.
From, the above table it is clear that in the group of individuals with income less than
3 lakhs there are 17 individuals with SSC as educational qualification, 41 individuals with
inter/degree as educational qualification, 59 individuals with post graduation as educational
qualification and 13 are professionals.
If the group of individuals with income ranging from 3.1 to 6 lakhs is considered it is
to be noted that there are 18 individuals with SSC as educational qualification, 45 individuals
with Inter/Degree as educational qualification,74 individuals with PG as educational
qualification and 24 individuals as Professionals.
Finally, when individuals with income more than 6 lakhs are considered there are 12
individuals with SSC as educational qualification,31 individuals with Inter/Degree as
educational qualification, 53 individuals with post graduation as educational qualification and
13 professionals.
Among all the income groups the group with 3.1 to 6 lakhs as income is large with
161 investors in which there are 91 in the age group less than 35, 41 individuals in the age
group between 35 to 55 years and there are 29 members in the age group above 55 years.
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The group with income more than 6 lakhs is by far the smallest with 109 investors
with 57 individuals in the age group less than 35, 30 individuals in the age group with the
age 35 to 55 and 22 individuals in the age group above 55 years.
After knowing the profile of the respondents it is necessary to know financial
planning of the selected investors in the mutual funds. Its detailed information is presented in
the following tables and later illustrated in the paragraphs that followed.
Financial planning of investors:
In the process of study to know the investment pattern and the attitude towards
investment in mutual fund of the investors, the following tables are drawn to show the
perceptions of the respondents in regarding to mutual fund investments.
Investors category of mutual fund investments against their age was shown in the
table 3.
Table 3 Showing category of mutual funds invested by investors in all three regions
Institutions 67 38 21 126
From the above table it is observed that out of 400 investors 185 investors are
interested in investing in bank sponsored mutual funds because of security and 126 investors
are interested in investing in institutions because of their returns, remaining 89 investors are
interested in investing in private sector & joint venture to maximize their returns and to hedge
against risk.
Out of 185 investors 96 investors come from the group of individual with their age
less than 35, 56 investors come from the group with age between 35 55 and remaining 33
come from the group with their age above 55 in this maximum number of investors fall in the
group with age less than 35 who like to invest in bank sponsored mutual funds. Out of 126
investors 67 investors fall under<35 age group who would like to invest in institutions and
55 investors who fall<35 age group would like to invest in private sector & joint venture. If
we observe the maximum number of investors fall in <35 age group investing in bank
sponsored funds, institutions and in private sector & joint venture.
After a brief review on investors perception on mutual fund investment it is
necessary to know where and how the funds are invested its information is presented in the
table no. 4
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Table 4 showing mutual fund schemes that are considered for investments.
1 - Open-ended; 2 - Growth fund; 3 - Closed-ended; 4 Regular income fund; 5 - Liquid
fund mid-cap; 6 - Long-cap sector fund
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2;5;6 2 3 1 6
2;5;3;4 3 2 2 7
2;5;3 2 2 1 5
2;6;4 1 1 1 3
2;3 2 2 2 6
2;1;6;3 4 3 1 8
2;6 2 2 2 6
3;4 2 2 2 6
3;4;5 2 3 2 7
3;4;6 2 3 1 6
3;4;6;1 2 3 1 6
3;5 2 2 2 6
3;5;1 2 2 1 5
3;5;2 2 3 2 7
3;6 1 2 1 4
3;6;2 2 2 2 6
3;6;2 3 2 2 7
3;1 1 2 2 5
3;1;2 2 2 2 6
3;2;1 4 1 2 7
3;5 2 2 2 6
4;3 2 3 2 7
4;5 2 1 2 5
4;5;6 3 2 2 7
4;6 2 2 2 6
1;2;4;6; 4 2 1 7
4;2 2 4 2 8
5;6;3 2 2 2 6
5;3 2 2 2 6
6;2 2 2 2 6
6;1;2;3 3 3 1 7
6;3 2 2 1 5
3;4 1 2 3 6
2;3 1 3 1 5
1;2;3; 2 3 2 7
150 140 110 400
Source: Data collected from survey
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From the above table we can observe that out of 400 respondents 150 investors fall
under less than 35 age group, 140 investors fall under 35 55 and remaining 110 investors
fall under above 55. Maximum number of investors prefers open ended schemes because of
the time it offers and they are interested in investing more than 3 funds. The individuals in
age group <35 invest in more than 3 funds to maximize their returns and less number of
investors are interested in Long-cap sector fund.
After this brief review on investors preference of funds in mutual fund investment it
is necessary to know what source encouraged them to invest, this was done with cross
tabulation with age and information is presented in the table no. 5
Table 5 Showing sources of information have encouraged you to invest in mutual funds
Self-decision 23 20 19 62
Total 198 121 81 400
Source: Data collected from survey
From the above analysis we can observe that out of 153 investors 79 investors are
depending on brokers or agents to get information and 49 investors are getting it from their
friends, 47 investors are getting it from advertisement and 23 are depending on their own
decision. Out of 400 investors 198 investors are less than 35 age group, 121 investors are
between 35 55 age group and remaining 85 falls under age group above 55 in that 153
investors are getting information from broker or agent.
After the brief review on investors source for encouraging them to invest in mutual
fund, the mode of investment was also analyzed this was done with cross tabulation with age
and information is presented in the table no.6
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From the above table we can observe that out of 400 investors 169 investors are
investing through agents, 115 investors are investing through asset Management Companies
and remaining 116 investors are investing through banks. Maximum number of investors are
under age group less than 35 i.e. 218, while 112 investors come under 35 55 and remaining
70 fall under above 55. Investors are depending more on agents because they are authorized
persons.
After the brief review on investors mode of investment it is necessary to know what
feature in mutual fund attracted them to invest, this was done with cross tabulation with age
and the information is presented in the table no.7
Table 7 showing the feature of mutual funds that attracts the investors:
1-Diversification; 2-Better returns and safety; 3-Reduction in risk and transaction cost; 4-Tax
benefit; 5-Regular income
The above table clearly reveals that objective behind investment of funds. It is evident
from the table that the investors in age group less than 35 years have a clear objective and
many of them prefer to invest for better returns coupled with safety followed by minimization
of risk with maximum tax benefits.
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SUGGESTIONS
Some of the important suggestions drawn out of the study are mentioned below:
Markets cover maximum schemes with equity share; hence it is suggested to have debt
schemes, so that it can attract investors who expect better returns.
Majority of the studies have gone on behavioral finance in the field of capital markets,
scope of researching more on various schemes and investors attitude will lead to
successful retaining of investors.
Like banking, insurance and telecom, penetration of mutual fund schemes into market is
more essential.
Since investors will be of different age groups, it is to be advised for the agents to educate
them in detail about various benefits, earnings etc. Also educational levels should be
noted before explaining them about the details of the scheme.
Organizations should improve proper infrastructural facilities to attract and retain the
investors of all areas which help them providing best service to investors.
Monthly educational programs on mutual fund schemes at various levels should be
conducted.
Advice for the investors not to invest only by seeing the pattern of stock market blindly.
It is advice that the investors have to deal only with/ through SEBI registered
intermediaries
Help desks are to be arranged at the investment centers.
Language barrier should be overcome by the organizations in providing service for the
investors.
CONCLUSION
Overall it can be understood that all age groups of investors are participating in
mutual fund investments but more precisely that the investors belonging to the age group <35
years have a clear planning for investments and also prefer to take more risk to yield more
returns. Hence it is a notable point for the organizations to concentrate on this particular age
group to attract more investments through the mutual funds.
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