INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL ECONOMIC STATUS, FINANCIAL LITERACY, AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS ON CHENNAI INVESTORS’ INVESTMENT DECISIONS.

Abstract

ABSTRACT
             The purpose of this study is to investigate how socioeconomic background, behavioural traits, and financial literacy affect Chennai investors' investment choices. The study employs a descriptive research approach and focusses on how demographic characteristics including lifestyle, income levels and education affect investing decisions. The statistical software applications AMOS 23 and SPSS 27 were used to analyse a sample of 446 investors who were actively participating in investment decision-making processes. To investigate the connections between variables, structural equation modelling (SEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used.  The findings suggest that behavioural factors (BF) have less of an impact on investing decisions than socioeconomic status (SE). Although both elements are important, SE stands out as the primary determinant. Interestingly, the model did not find that financial literacy (FL), which is frequently thought of as having a direct influence, had a direct effect on investing decisions. This suggests that FL's significance may be more situational or indirect. Investor activity was also found to be highly impacted by demographic characteristics, including age, gender, income, education, and employment position. The results highlight how crucial it is for future research on investment behaviour to consider the indirect effects of financial literacy and how it interacts with demographic factors.