Chapter – II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0 Introduction
to the topic of research topic, which are published in journals,
online databases, magazines, newspapers, books or any other
source of information including online sources. Literature review
helps researcher to know and understand the findings and views of
earlier researches who have carried out research in an area similar
or related to topic of study. It also helps in understanding the data
collection methods and the statistical tools used for analysing the
data. The key findings and the conclusion drawn by researchers
are of great help for any new researcher. It helps us the researcher
to find research gaps, which could be taken up for further studies.

A large body of literature is available in the area of investments

related to institutional investment pattern, portfolio construction

methods, portfolio performance evaluation, retirement planning,

product preferences and many more associated topics. Studies

have been carried out by researchers on the gender differences in

allocation of assets, constituents of domestic savings, saving

behaviour of household, gender differences in knowledge about

financial investments, investors risk tolerance, investors perception

of various financial products. Some of the most insightful studies

carried out in India and outside are given below.

1. Nupur Gupta and Vijay Agarwal (2013) looked at the

constituents of domestic savings and investments by investors,

from the cities of Mumbai and Delhi. A total of 251 respondents

were administered a structured questionnaire in person and with

the help of online survey portal. The type of sampling chosen for

the study was convenience and snowball sampling. Respondents

from different age groups and professions were contacted for the

study. Data was collected from April to November 2011. The

reliability of the questionnaire was ascertained by Cronbach‟s

alpha value. Important variables for the study were extracted using

factor analysis. The three factors identified were stock market

factor, savings factor and interest rate factor. For discrete data like,

investment in stock market and city of dwelling, Chi square test was

used to establish the presence or absence of association. For

finding the relationship between discrete independent variables like

income level and the investment pattern, one-way ANOVA test was

used. The investment patterns were categorized as, Non Risky,

Risky and Combination. Classification was based on the

composition of the investment held by the respondents. It was

found that bank deposit was the most preferred form of investment

followed by mutual funds, real estate and gold. Significant

differences were found in the investment patterns of households

between the cities of Mumbai and Delhi. Stock market investment

was third most preferred investment avenue in Mumbai whereas it

was not so with the respondents from Delhi. There was significant

dependence of investment pattern on household income only in the

age group of 40 to 49years. Interest rate did not have any relation

with the investment patterns. This is in contrast to the study by

Kabra (2010) where one of the factor influencing investment

decision was the prevailing interest rate.

2. Geetha. N and Ramesh M, (2012), studied the role of

demographic factors in investment decisions. Response received

from 475 respondents from Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu

was used for analysis. The sampling method used was convenient

sampling. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect the

data from the respondents. Statistical inference was drawn using

ANOVA and Chi square tests. The demographic attributes included

age, gender, education, occupation, income, savings size and

family size. The investment avenue considered for the study were

gold, provident fund,life insurance, real estate, bank deposits,

postal savings, mutual funds and equities.

According to the study, risk protection, safety of investment, rate of

return and liquidity were main factors which influenced investment

decisions. This is in line with the findings of Elder & Rudolph

(2003).

Graduates and post graduates were more likely to invest in long

term investment products. This is in contrast to the study by

AlTammie (2009), who found no relationship between educational

background and investments. People in the age group of 31 to 40

years preferred investing in long term investment products. People

with a family size of four and above preferred short term

investments. Self-analysis and advice from friends and relatives

were the major source of investment information. This study found

that most of the respondents preferred monthly investments.

Further it was found that majority of the respondents were driven by

technical analysis and newspaper reports while taking investment

decisions.

The most preferred investment was life insurance followed by real

estate, provident fund, gold and silver respectively. The

researchers concluded that preference for real estate and gold was

may be due to the boom in the prices of gold and silver during their

period of study.
3. P. Parmashivivaiah, Puttaswamy and Ramya (2013)

conducted a study in the city of Mysore, to understand he factors

influencing investment decisions. The sample size for the study

was 120 respondents. They used judgment and snow ball sampling

to collect the data. The study was conducted in the first half of 2013

in the city of Mysore. Statistical tools used for analysing the data

were Percentage, mean, standard deviation, Chi square test, F

test, ANOVA and regression. Data was classified based on the

demographic profile of the respondents. It was found that liquidity

was the most important factor while choosing an investment

portfolio as far as government employees and entrepreneurs were

concerned.This is similar to the findings of Geetha. N and Ramesh

M, (2012). Private employees and professionals gave equal priority

to growth and liquidity. Women did not select investments on the

basis of safety of the principal. This is in line with studies conducted

by Annika, Sunden and Surrette (2009) and Bernasek (2002).

Based on the correlation between occupation and investment

objective, it was found that investment objective had no relation to

the occupation of the respondent. Liquidity and tax reduction were

found to be the two important criteria for the selection of the

investment portfolio in this study.

4. Ravi Vyas and Suresh C Moonat (2012) carried out a study

on the perception and behaviour of mutual fund investors. The

study was carried out to understand the preference of investors

investment avenues, mode and form of investment preferred by

investors at Indore with a sample size of 500 respondents out of

which 363 respondents were investing in mutual funds, and these

363 respondent‟s data was analysed to come out with conclusions.

A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data during

personal interviews. To understand the nature of holding by the

respondents, chi square test was used along with the calculation of

median and mode. After analysis of data, it was found that Gold

was the most preferred investment option followed by bank

deposits and fixed deposits. Mutual fund investment got average

score in parameters like safety,liquidity, reliability and tax benefits.

Majority of the investors were aware about the risk involved with

mutual funds. Direct equity investment was not the most preferred

investment avenue. Respondents preferred less risk products in

comparison to the risky financial products.

5. Giridhari Mohanta and S S Debasish (2011), conducted a study

on the investor preferences among the investors from the city

Cuttack and Khurda in Orissa. Sample size used for the study

was 210 respondents, consisting of men and women residing in

the geographical area of the study. They used a structured

questionnaire consisting of 35 question for collecting the data. The

questionnaire had 12 questions regarding the demographic

attributes and 23 questions related to the various factors influencing

the investment avenue. A total of five investment avenues were

considered for the study, namely, equity shares, mutual

funds,insurance, bank recurring deposits and postal schemes. Data

was analysed using mean and percentage. Equity investment was

considered to be risky. The study found that respondents having an

annual income of rupees 10 lakhs and above were willing to invest

in equity market, whereas lower income respondents preferred

bank deposits and postal savings.This is in line with the findings of

Raja ram (2010) and Ravi Vyas and Muoonat (2012) Further the

study found a relationship between occupation and Investment

Avenue. Business class respondents were willing to invest in equity

and mutual funds, whereas government employees preferred

mutual funds, insurance and bank deposits. Investors considered

safety of investment as a major criterion.

6. Umamaheshwari.S, Ashok Kumar (2011) carried out a study to

understand the investment pattern and awareness level of

individuals belonging to the salaried class from the city of

Coimbatore. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the

data during December 2010 to July 2011. Responses from 1000

respondents were collected over a period of eight months from

the areas of Valparai, Pollachi, Metupalayam and Coimbatore.

Statistical tools used for analysis were Chi Square test and

ANOVA along with mean value calculation. The awareness level

was divided into three types:low, medium and high.

Classification was based on the mean score obtained for the

respondent. It was found that the most preferred avenue of

investment was provident fund followed by insurance gold and

Jewellery. The financial product awareness level among men

and women was low. Married people had better awareness

compared to the unmarried ones. Savings and investment

pattern were influenced by the education level of the

 respondents. A strong correlation was found between monthly

income level and the number of dependents.

7. Gaurav Kabra, Prashant KMishra and Manoj Kumar Dash

(2010) carried out a study in order to identify the factors that could

influence investment decisions of individual investors. The sample

frame chosen for the study was the investors who had invested

regularly. Data was collected using a four-page questionnaire

containing questions related to demographic details and their

investments. A total of 196 completed questionnaires, found

complete in all respects were used for data analysis. The

consistency of the questionnaire was tested by calculating the

Cronbach Alpha. The statistical test used were standard deviation,

percentage, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure, factor analysis and

regression. A total of 18 statements were identified to understand

the investment pattern of individuals. Using factor analysis six

component factors were identified. The factors were security,

opinion, awareness, hedging, duration and benefits. It was found

that there were no significant differences of opinion, security and

hedging among different age groups. There was significant

difference in the awareness level, benefit and duration among

different age groups. Women preferred investment product carrying

higher level of security in comparison to men. This is in contrast to

the findings of P. Parmashivivaiah, Puttaswamy and Ramya (2013)

where women did not consider security as a main

factor.

8. Sunita Bishnoi (2013) carried out a study consisting of 200

respondents from Faridabad, part of national capital region. It was

found that most preferred source of saving was life insurance

followed by deposits with banks, PPF and postal savings. This is in

contrast to Nupur Gupta and Vijay Agarwal (2013), who found Bank

deposits to be the most preferred investment avenue. Occupational

group and gender did not have impact on investment objective.

This is in similar to the findings of P. Parmashivivaiah , Puttaswamy

and Ramya (2013).

Newspapers and magazines were the most preferred source of

information. Most of the investors preferred the investment horizon

of five years and more. Main investment objectives were safety of

capital followed by tax savings. Age, income and education were

found to have association with the investment objectives.

Respondents for the study were picked using convenience

sampling. A structured questionnaire containing questions related

to demographic details and the investment objective along with

investment preference was administered to the respondents.

Simple percentage calculations along with Chi square test was

used to analyse the data. This study reconfirms the association

between

9. Pandian L and Aranganathan T (2012) carried out a study in

the district of Cuddalore, to assess the attitude of the salaried

people towards savings and investments. To collect the data, a

structured questionnaire was used. Sample size for the study was

520 respondents. The respondents covered different age groups of

salaried class. The sampling technique followed was multi stage

sampling. To measure the attitude of investor towards savings and

investments, a five-point rating scale was used. To identify the

major aspects of savings and investments, factor analysis was

used. ANOVA was used to find the relationship among variables.

Major aspects of savings and investments were found to be to have

a secured life and good future. There is lack of push from

government to create savings habit. Past wrong investments also

had influence over investments and savings decisions.

10. Parimal Kanthi and Ashok Kumar (2013) carried out a study

in order tounderstand the investment holding behaviour of investors

from the city of Coimbatore. The sample size for the study was 600,

and the sampling plan used was convenience sampling. A

structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from the

respondents. Cluster analysis, and chi square test was used for

classification of the investors and to find the association between

the personality type and the investments held. Based on the

personality profile of respondents, they wereclassified as

Innovative, moderate and conservative investors. Most of the

investors were in the category of innovative and moderate. Most

preferred investment avenue for moderate investors was Post

office saving schemes followed by bank deposits and pension

schemes. This is in contrast to the findings Nupur Gupta and Vijay

Agarwal (2013) and P. Parmashivivaiah , Puttaswamy and Ramya

(2013) ofConservative investors preferred National Savings

Schemes (NSS) and were averse to chit funds. Innovative investors

were willing to invest in mutual funds and endowment policies, bank

deposits, postal savings,life insurance policies and mutual funds. It

was found that mutual fund and endowment policy were

independent of the personality type, whereas other investment

avenues under study were dependent on the

personality of the investors.

11. Buchaiah M. (2014) carried out a study to in order to

understand the perception of individual investors from the city of

Hyderabad, towards mutual fund investment. Sample size of the

study was 300. Data was collected from the respondents using a

questionnaire. Convenience sampling was used for picking up the

respondents for the study. Questionnaire contained questions

related to the demographic details and their perception about

mutual funds. Weighted mean value and percentage calculation

were used to analyse the data. The study found that investors

below the age of 40 years were more conscious about savings and

investments. Growth fund was the most preferred mutual fund

scheme followed by balance fund and income fund.

12. Karthikeyan K, Bharta S and Ranjit Kumar K (2012) carried

out a study to understand the perception of those investors who

were sold the mutual fund products by banks. The survey was

conducted in the city of Tiruchirappalli city in Tamil Nadu. The

sample size for this study was 108 and the method of sampling

used was convenience sampling. A five-point rating scale was used

to capture the response of the respondents. In the rating scale, one

stood for strongly disagree and five for strongly agree.

Questionnaires were distributed to only those respondents who had

prior experience in mutual fund investments. The statistical tool

used for the analysis were, factoranalysis, multiple regression,

correlation and reliability statistics. It was found that, before taking

investment decision investors take into account competitive product

offerings, quality of service offered, past return on

investment,safety, communication from fund house and

emergency need fulfilment.

13.Rajarajan (2000), conducted a study on investor demographics

and risk bearing capacity, using a sample size of 405 investors

from the city of Chennai. The variables used for the study were

age, occupation, family size, income and the current investments

made. The respondents were classified into four risk bearing

capacity categories R-I, R-II, R-III andR-IV based on the

percentageof investments in high risk assets to total financial

investments made by the respondent. High risk assets included

equity shares, mutual funds and convertible debentures. R-I had no

investments in risky assets, R-II and R-III had high risk investment

below 40 % and R-IV had more than 40% investment in high risk

assets. To analyse the association between the risk bearing

capacity and the independent variables viz. age, occupation, family

size and income, Chi square test was used. The study found a

strong relationship between the four independent variables namely

age, occupation, family size and income and the risk bearing

capacity of the investor. It also supported the earlier studies carried

out confirming the relationship between age and income and

investment pattern.

14. Tirupathi.T (2012) in his study to understand the tax planning

by individuals from Vellore district of Tamil Nadu found that, there

was lack of association between the age, marital status and gender

of the respondents as far as tax planning is concerned. A

Sample size of 750respondents was used for the study.

Convenience sampling was used for the selection of the

respondents. A structured questionnaire was used for collecting the

data. The study period was from July to December 2010. The data

collected were analysedusing, mean and standard deviation along

with simple percentage analysis, ANOVA and Chi square test was

used to find the association and relationship between the variables

under study. To measure the attitude a five point Likert scale was

used.
15. Aparna Samudra and Bhurghate (2012) carried out a study to

understand the investment behaviour among the middle class

investors from Nagpur. The study was carried out to examinethe

preference of the investment instruments and investment pattern of

the middle class households along with the objective of investment.

The investment options considered for the study were

Bank deposits,shares, mutual funds, real estate, Kisan Vikas

Patrika and post office deposits. A sample size of 300 households

was used for the study. Statistical tools like percentage and mean

were used for carrying out the analysis.

The study found that bank deposit was the most preferred

investment option followed by life insurance Investment in provident

fund and post office deposit were at the third and fourth place.This

is similar to the findings of Nupur Gupta and Vijay Agarwal

(2013).Real estate was found to be the least preferred investment

avenue. Investment in equity was not figuring in the preferred

investment avenue across all age categories.

16. Ramanujam.V and Chitra Devi K (2012) conducted a study to

analyse the impact of socio economic variables on the attitude of

investors towards investments. The sample size for the study was
100 respondents from the city of Coimbatore. The sample

consisted of respondents from different age group, educational

back ground income level and with varied level of awareness about

the financial products. A structured questionnaire was administered

for collecting the responses of the respondent.

Convenient sampling method was used for picking up the

respondents. To analyse the data,ANOVA, mean and Chi square

tests were used. It was found that the occupation of the respondent

and the frequency of making investment were not significantly

associated. The study did not find any relation between annual

savings of respondent and purpose of investment. It was also found

that, there was no difference in the investment patterns of

respondent‟s form government, public and private class of

investors.The findings of this study were different from most of the

other studies that found association between the nature of jobs and

income levels with the investment pattern.

17. Suyam Prabha R, (2011) carried out a study to understand

the Decision making process and pattern of investments by

investors from the city of Coimbatore. The sample size for the study

was 109
respondents. Data was collected using a well-

designedquestionnaire. Data was collected during September –

October 2009. Respondents were selected among those who were

working in Bank,Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) in an

Information Technology (IT) company. Statistical tools used were

simple percentage analysis, weighted average score and Chi

square test. It was found that the selection process of a suitable

financial product depended on the,age,gender, marital status and

educational background, annual income and quantum of amount

saved annually.The main purpose of saving by married

respondents were towards child education. Employees of NBFC

firms were moderate risk takers and were investing in mutual fund

schemes. Bank deposit was the most preferred investment avenue.

18.Kathrivel. N and Mekala.A (2009) carried out a study in

Coimbatore district to understand the women investors perception

towards on line trading. The sample size for the study was 150.

Convenience sampling was used for the selection of the

respondents. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect

data from the respondents.Chi square test was used to find if there

is association between the desired variables and women investors

perception. Investment related variables included age,income,

educational qualification, occupation and number of dependents. It

was found that there was a significant association between age,

education qualification and time taken for investment decisions.This

similar to the findings of Umamaheshwari.S, Ashok Kumar (2011).

No significant association was found between marital status and

investment decision. This is similar to the findings of Tirupathi.T

(2012) but in contrast to the findings of Suyam Prabha R ,(2011)

19. Vrushali Shah, Priyanka Zanwar and Pratibha Deshmukh

(2011) carried out a study to find, if there is any association

between the investment pattern and life cycle of rural investors.

The sample size for the study was 403 respondents from 13

villages from two taluka regions of Satara district from the state of

Maharashtra. Convenience sampling was used for the selection of

respondents. Classified data was processed using weighted

average, percentages and the hypothesis testing was done using

the Chi square test. Life stage of a respondent was divided into

eight stages of life and were classified as Bachelor stage, Newly

Married Couples, FN1, FN2, FN3, EN1, EN2 and Solitary.Where

FN means full nest and EN means empty nest. Classification was

based on the age, marital status and number of children. The data

was collected using a questionnaire during May to July 2008. The

questionnaire had questions regarding demographic

details,avenues of investment, objectives behind investments,

guiding factors to investment and source of information. It was

found that there was association between life cycle stage and

investment avenues and guiding factors. No significant association

was found between the life cycle stage and tax savings, safety and

future personal obligations. Post office savings and bank deposits

were the most preferred avenues of investments. Mutual funds,

equity were the most neglected financial instruments. Real estate

was of interest only in the early stages of life and weaned away

with age.

20. Patti Fischer (2010), used the Survey of Consumer Finance

(SCF), 2007 data to understand the gender differences in personal

saving behaviour. Sample size was 1171. Sampling frame for the

study were persons who were single and not married. This criterion

wasset to have clear understanding about the investment decision

maker. Statistical tools used were Likelihood ratio test and Logistic

regression analysis. The independent variables included

age,income, risk tolerance, preferences and consumption needs.

The respondents were classified as low risk tolerance and average

risk tolerance. Men and women differed significantly as far as risk

tolerance distribution was concerned. Over half of the women were

not willing to take financial risk. Difference between men and

women was found in short term and regular saving behaviour.

Women with poor health were likely to save less in short term,

whereas poor health condition did not play any role in short term

saving of men. Women had low risk tolerance.

Education level had positive relationship with the savings habit of

men.

21. Syed Tabaasum Sultana (2010) in her research work, studied

the Indian investors behaviour to understand the relationship

between the risk tolerance level, age and gender of an

individual.Researcherfound that investors were well educated and

earned well, but were poor risk takers. A negative correlation was

found between risk tolerance level and age. This supports the

findings of Srinivasan , Sakyhi K and Lakshmidevi S (2006). Among

all the sources of information, television was found to be the most

influencing source of information to make investment decision for

an investor. Over all investors have low level of risk tolerance.

22.Lewlllen, W.G, Leas, R.C and Schlarbaum G.G (1972)

conducted a study to understand the investment strategy and

behaviour of American investors. The sample for the study was

collected from the client base of large retail brokerage houses. The

sample size was 972. Data was collected using a questionnaire

which solicited information on demographic characteristics, market

attitudes, investment objectives, portfolio strategies and asset

holdings. The dominant elements of the study were age, income

level, gender, marital status, family size and educational back

ground. Statistical tools used was regression analysis. It was found

that age influences investment behaviour. Older people relied less

on advice compared to younger respondents. Females were more

broker reliant. Higher income people are pre occupied with

professionals.

23. Clark and Strauss, (2008) found that women were more risk

averse in comparison to men. Based on age as a factor, the young

are willing to take a higher risk in comparison to the old. Wealthier

individuals were willing to invest in equity market in comparison to

poor who preferred risk averse securities.

24. Daniela Beckmann and Lukas Menkhoff (2008) conducted a

survey among the professional fundmanagers from USA,Germany,

Italy and Thailand. Questionnaires were sent to fund managers

through the respective investment associations. The questionnaire

contained questions related to the respondent‟s version of risk

behaviour, overconfidence along with demographic data. A total of

649 respondents filled the questionnaires and among them 125

were women. Mann-Whitney U test,mean,percentage were used

for analysis of data. It was found that women fund managers

showed risk averse behaviour. Women fund managers were found

to be overconfident and shied away from competition.

25. Srinivasan, Sakyhi K and Lakshmi Devi S (2006) in their

studies covering 13 villages with a sample size of 291 rural

investors, found significant relationship between percentage of

income saved and the gender. Study found no significant

association between the percentage of saving and age. It was also

found that, majority of rural investors invest in post office savings

followed by insurance and bank savings. Rural investor looks for

the safety of the capital.

26. Gnana Desigan C, Kaliselvi. S and Anusuya L., (2006)

studied the perception of women towards investment. The study

focused on the investment pattern of women investors. Their

empirical study found no association between age and level of

investment awareness. They did find significant association

between education level and level of awareness. The study found

no association between marital status and awareness.

27. Bajtelsmit, V.L, V.L, V.L and Jianakoplos.N.A. A (2001)

carried out a study to investigate the stock investing propensities of

US households. They used the data as reported in Survey of

consumer Finance, 1998 released by Federalreserve. The sample

size was 4305 households. For their analysis, the allocation by

household in financial assets only were considered. This brought

down the sample size to 3070 households.Investment in stock in

their study meant holding the stocks directly or indirectly through

mutual funds. Linear regression, and probity model were used for

analysing the data. Majority of the households holding defined

contribution plan held investments in stocks.On anaverage, those

households with stock holding are likely to be older, more educated

and more affluent.

28. Sundden and Surette (1998) with the help of data collected

from 1992 and 1995 Surveys of Consumer Finances, tried to study

whether demographic variables influence investments. The survey

sample size was 3906 in 1992 and 4299 in 1995. The demographic

variables used for the study were age, gender, marital status,

education level and the defined contribution plan towards

retirement savings plan of the respondent. The defined contribution

of the respondents was classified into three categories 1) Invested

mostly in stocks 2) invested mostly in interest bearing

assets(bonds)and 3) invested with a split between stocks and

bonds(diversified). Descriptive statistics and multinomial logit

model were used to analyse the investment behaviour. The results

demonstrated that it is not gender alone that determines investment

choice, rather investment decision in asset classes seems to be

drawn more by a combination of gender and marital

status.

29. Somasundaram (1998) in his studies found Bank deposits to

be the most preferred investment choice followed by the chit funds.

Even though mutual funds gained popularity, Unit trust of India

schemes were out of favour with investors.Primary concern of most

of the respondents was about their children. Most of the investors

had invested in gold and silver. The main features investors were

looking in an investment product was safety and regular income.

30. William Warren (1990) used demographics and life style

attributes to segment individual investors. The sample size for the

study was 152 respondents. Data was collected using

questionnaires which were mailed to households located in

southern metropolitan area in USA. The questionnaire captured the

details about the types of investments held, and the proportion of

investments between stocks and bonds. Other data gathered were

gender, marital status, education, number of children. Life style

measures were gathered by asking 29 life style statements. Life

style questions were based on agreement level on a scale of one to

five. Based on the amount invested, respondents were classified as

light (investment of $30,000 and less) and heavy (investment above

$30,000) investors. Statistical tool used was Multiple Discriminant

Analysis (MDA) to determine the relationship between investment

pattern and demographic and lifestyle dimensions. His analysis

showed that there was a strong relationship between the marital

status, number of children, age and education level. He additionally

found a relationship between the life style characteristics of the

respondents and the investment pattern.

31. Suriya Murithi S, Narayanan B and Arivazhagan B (2012)

carried out a study to understand the investors preference towards

different investment alternatives available in the Indian market.

Sample size was 100 respondents. Sampling method used was

convenience sampling. Questionnaire was used to collect the data

from respondents belonging to the city of Trichy. Simple

percentage calculation, correlation andchi square test was used to

analyse the data. The two main reasons for saving was for

purchasing house and children‟s education. Bank deposits was the

most preferred investment avenue followed by mutualfunds, gold

and post office savings. Equity was the most avoided avenue of

investment. Safety of the principal was the top most priority for

most of the investors followed by low risk. Women investors were

found to prefer low risk products irrespective of their educational

background. Before taking an investment decision, investors

invariably consulted their family and friends.

32. Reshma Arora (2003), Gallop poll among male and female

investor in 2001, found that based on the UBS/Gallup index of

investor optimism, there was no difference in aggressiveness

between Male and female investors as far as future return on their

overall investment is concerned. Her findings are different from

many research studies which suggest that women are more risk

averse in comparison to men. In the UBS/Gallup

survey,respondents were asked to give details of the actual return

they earned on their investments in the past one year. In 2001, on

an average, female investors did better than their male

counterparts. The sample size for the survey was 1000 investors

from US and the age of respondents was above 18 years and the

survey was conducted during January 2000 to September 2003.

33. TamilKodi (1983) in her study found that small savings was

preferred by investors as it provided an opportunity for not only

men and women but for children to accumulate their savings.

During her study period the geographical reach for other savings

product was limited. With the current trends the small savings may

not find the appeal it had earlier.

2.1 Conclusion of Literature survey

Past research works reviewed were in the area of investments by

individuals. Barring few, majority of the research work taken up for

review were carried out in the south Indian cities and towns.

Literature review helped in understanding the investment pattern of

individuals, financial products preferred, risk tolerance capability of

individuals and the variables used for the study. It also helped in