Gender behavioural finance in a South African context

Abstract

There is little research exploring the relationship between gender and investors’ behavioural finance biases. In addition, not a lot has been done to implement majority of these prevailing biases in the South African context. Behavioural finance biases are emotions sustained by investors that can possibly have an influence on their investment decisions. The objective of this study is to examine if male and female investors in South Africa are subject towards certain behavioural finance biases. This study examined the behavioural finance biases that male and female investors are subject towards. The study made use of a quantitative approached that involved a self-structured questionnaire. A sample of 600 participants were selected where participants participated in an online questionnaire out of their own free will. Results from the study indicated: (i) male investors are slightly subject towards anchoring, overconfidence and loss eversion; while female investors are slightly subject towards anchoring, overconfidence and regret aversion; (ii) both male and female investors are moderately subject towards gamblers fallacy, loss aversion and the representativeness behavioural finance bias; and (iii) In terms of highly subject towards the behavioural finance biases, both male and female investors are highly subject towards self-control, availability bias and mental accounting.

Keywords: gender, behavioural finance biases, investors, South Africa