Abstract:

Investment in financial products is by retail investors are guided by several factors which determine the time and type of investment and the investment horizon. By far the most dominant or the most common objective driving every individual is maximisation of return from their investment and minimization of the risks involved. Which is why all investors seem to observe some kind of caution and discipline in their investment activities. Investments by definition are risky as they involve money and time factors. It involves parting with one’s own resources with the objective of reaping a profit in the future. This means that risk is inherent in investments. Hence all investor would display different behaviour and attitude towards different investments according to their risk appetites. This article focuses on the retail investors who have emerged as a significant source of liquidity for the capital markets. However, at the onset it has been acknowledged that the investors do not follow the Von Neumann–Morgenstern type rational behaviour delineated in the Expected Utility Theory which emphasises that the investors will always make the optimal decision following rational bahaviour. This article will research behavioural aspect of investors and try to determine that factors that influence the allocation of funds towards long term and short term investment products and how this investor behaviour has been impacted by the COVID19 pandemic using literature review and secondary data analysis as the research methodology. The objective is to unearth any new trend that may be emerging and lay the foundation for further research.

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