Beyond the Piggy Bank: An Analysis of Student Investment Behaviour
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64137/31080030/IJFEMS-V2I3P107Keywords:
Student Investment Behaviour, Financial Literacy, Risk Tolerance, Behavioural Finance, Digital InvestingAbstract
Digital investment platforms provide a way for people to access the financial markets like never before. Understanding how young adults particularly those in school invest is becoming increasingly important as more and more people use these tools to invest their money. Students used to save their money in simple ways, like putting coins into a piggy bank or depositing their savings into a bank account, but today they have access to a variety of different types of investments, including individual stocks, mutual funds, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs. This study takes a look at how students perceive, feel about, and participate in these types of investments. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was used, including the use of surveys and semi-structured interviews with undergraduate and graduate students. This study looks at the different factors that play a role in students’ investment behaviours, including financial literacy, risk appetite, parental guidance, peer influence, and access to digital investments. The results of the research show an interesting disconnect between being aware of opportunities to invest and actually acting on these opportunities. Many students are aware of the different options that are available to them, but relatively few of them engage in any type of investment activity at all. The primary barriers faced by students when trying to invest include: not having enough money, worrying about losing money, and not having received practical financial education. Conversely, there are also a lesser number of students, who are primarily self-educating using online resources and investment groups, and who exhibit a greater level of financial literacy and sophistication with regards to their investments than the average student.
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