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The purpose of this paper is to assess the financial literacy of the UAE individual investors who invest in the local financial markets. In addition, it examines the relationship between financial literacy and the influence of the factors that affect the investment decision.

A modified questionnaire has been developed divided into three parts. The first part covers demographic variables. The second part identifies 37 factors affecting the investment decision of the UAE investors. The third part is devoted to financial literacy using exam‐type questions of true or false and includes 18 questions. A convenient sample of 290 of UAE national investors is used.

The results indicate that the financial literacy of UAE investors is far from the needed level. The financial literacy level is found to be affected by income level, education level, and workplace activity. High‐income respondents hold high educational degrees, and those who work in the field of finance/banking or investment had as expected a higher financial literacy level than others. Whereas, financial illiteracy exists regardless of the age of the respondents. A significant difference in the level of financial literacy was found as well between the respondents according to their gender. Specifically, women have a lower level of financial literacy than men. Finally, the results indicate that there is a significant relationship between financial literacy and investment decisions. The most influencing factor that affects the investment decision is religious reasons and the least affecting factor is rumors.

The current study is considered the first of its kind conducted on the UAE. To the best of our knowledge, no such studies have been conducted regarding measuring financial literacy in the UAE or the relation between financial literacy level and the factors that influence the investment decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect moderation effects of demographic and socio-economic(s) factors on the adoption of Islamic banking in UAE.

Convenience sampling was done on the residents of Sharjah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. A closed-ended questionnaire with 30 items was designed and pre-tested before the start of the study. Path analysis and moderation testing were the main analytical approach. A total of 320 respondents completed the survey.

The research revealed that demographic and socio-economic(s) moderators may have direct and indirect moderation effects on the adoption of the Islamic banking in the UAE, which indicates the importance of these factors in the provision of Islamic banking products and services in the UAE.

This study further revealed that these moderators have huge practical implications for Islamic bank managers and marketers as they can exploit these demographics to enhance their market share in the UAE.

In UAE, minimal attention has been directed toward the role moderators would play in the criterion that individual investors would use in the adoption of Islamic banking products and services in a cosmopolitan environment that is experiencing competition from conventional banks.

An extensive review of the existing literature on the adoption of Islamic banking reveals that no empirical research has been undertaken to explore the role played by demographic and socio-economic(s) moderators in the adoption of Islamic banking in UAE and internationally. This study attempts to fill this gap.

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of behavioural biases (i.e. overconfidence, risk-aversion, herding and disposition) on investment decisions amongst gender. The authors further examine the moderation effect of financial literacy in the relationship between behaviour biases and investment decisions amongst gender.

The study considered a cross-sectional research design. For this survey, the data have been collected through a structured questionnaire from 253 individual investors of the Delhi-NCR region. To analyse the validity and reliability, the Pearson correlation and Cronbach's alpha test have been taken into account respectively. For testing the hypothesis, hierarchical regression analysis has been used in the study.

The results of the study reveal that amongst male investors, the influence of risk-aversion and herding on investment decision was negative and statistically significant, while the influence of overconfidence on investment decision was positive and significant. However, the influence of disposition was found statistically insignificant. The results stated that amongst female investors the effect of risk-aversion and herding on investment decision was negative and statistically significant. However, the effect of overconfidence and disposition was statistically insignificant influence the investment decision. It has been observed that financial literacy has significantly influenced investment decisions amongst male and female investors. The results of the interaction effect amongst male investors stated that the interaction between overconfidence and investment decision was significantly influenced by financial literacy. However, the interaction of financial literacy with the remaining three biases, i.e. risk-aversion, herding and disposition was found insignificant. The results for the interaction effect of financial literacy with overconfidence, risk-aversion, disposition and herding were found statistically significant amongst female investors.

Based on this present research finding, the study is more productive for the portfolio manager and policymakers at the time of making an investment portfolio for the investors based on their behavioural biases. The study recommends that investors need training programmes, workshops and seminars that enhance financial literacy and financial knowledge of investors which helps them to overcome the behavioural biases while making an investment decision.

The current study aims to explore whether several behavioural biases can affect investment decisions amongst gender. Moreover, the authors would like to examine whether these associations are moderated by financial literacy. In this sense, financial literacy might also show a substantial part in the prediction of investments. The current study might be of the first study that examines the moderation effect financial literacy amongst male and female investors.

This paper aims to show how overconfidence influences the decisions and performance of individual investors trading on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the mediating role of risk perception and moderating role of financial literacy.

The deductive approach was used, as the research is based on the theoretical framework of behavioural finance. A questionnaire and cross-sectional design were employed for data collection from the sample of 183 individual investors trading on the PSX. Hypotheses were tested through correlation and regression analysis. The Baron and Kenny method was used to test the mediation effect of risk perception and the moderation effect of financial literacy. The results of mediation and moderation were also authenticated through the PROCESS and structural equation modelling (SEM) technique.

The results suggest that risk perception fully mediates the relationships between the overconfidence heuristic on the one hand, and investment decisions and performance on the other. At the same time, financial literacy appears to moderate these relationships. The results suggest that overconfidence can impair the quality of investment decisions and performance, while financial literacy and risk perception can improve their quality.

The paper encourages investors to base decisions on their financial capability and experience levels and to avoid relying on heuristics or their sentiments when making investments. It provides awareness and understanding of heuristic biases in investment management, which could be very useful for decision makers and professionals in financial institutions, such as portfolio managers and traders in commercial banks, investment banks and mutual funds. This paper helps investors to select better investment tools and avoid repeating the expensive errors that occur due to heuristic biases. They can improve their performance by recognizing their biases and errors of judgment, to which we are all prone, resulting in better investment decisions and a more efficient market. The paper also highlights the importance on relying on professional knowledge, giving it greater weight than feelings and biases.

The current study is the first to focus on links between overconfidence, financial literacy, risk perception and individual investors' decisions and performance. This article enhanced the understanding of the role that heuristic-driven bias plays in the investment management, and more importantly, it went some way towards enhancing understanding of behavioural aspects and their influence on the investment decision-making and performance in an emerging market. It also adds to the literature in the area of behavioural finance specifically the role of heuristics in investment strategies; this field is in its initial stage, even in developed countries, while, in developing countries, little work has been done.

This paper aims to investigate perceptions of United Arab Emirates (UAE) real estate investors’ behaviour and the factors that most influence their investment decisions.

This study used a modified questionnaire that was divided into two parts. The first part covered demographic and socioeconomic variables. The second part identified 36 factors that affect the perceptions of real estate investors in the UAE regarding their investment decisions. These factors were placed in eight different categories that correspond to non-personal factors such as, profit, market conditions, risk, transparency, credit facilities (loans), infrastructure and services.

The findings confirm that there is a significant and positive relationship between three factors; namely, profitability, risk and service quality regarding investments in the real estate sector. The findings also confirm a positive but statistically insignificant relationship between transparency, market conditions, credit facilities, infrastructure and investment in the UAE’s real estate sector.

The sample size represents one of the limitations of this study. In addition, the gender of the sample is another limitation as, in general, men are more involved in investment than women are. Furthermore, there are no previous studies regarding the behaviour of UAE real estate investors; thus, the findings of this study cannot be directly compared with other empirical studies.

It might be helpful to create separate units under the name “Real Estate Information Unit” in every municipality of each of the seven emirates. In addition, it is recommended that decision makers should consider ensuring that modern high-quality real estate infrastructure is available to attract more investors. Finally, minimizing any restrictions on access financing facilities may encourage investors to invest more in the UAE real estate sector.

This study is the first of its kind to be conducted in the context of the behaviour of UAE real estate investors.

Changes in economic markets have made it necessary to understand the psychology of individual investors. Conducting effective studies on the decision of investors to buy stock in the stock market can be useful. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the decision-making of investors to purchase shares of the stock exchange. The purpose of this study was to analyze causal relationships and to weight effective factors on individual investment to purchase shares of Tehran Stock Exchange.

The present study is applied research in the term of its purposes and a descriptive-survey one in the term of data gathering methods. The data required in this study was collected through library and field studies. The study population included 35 investment experts. In present study, multi-criteria decision-making techniques in type-2 fuzzy environments have been used to analyze the causal relationships and weighing the factors affecting individual investment in purchasing stock in the stock market.

In the study, 4 indicators and 20 sub-indicators influencing individual investors’ decision to purchase shares of Tehran Stock Exchange were selected based on the literature review in the field of investment in the stock exchange, as well as interviews with experts. Analyzing the opinions of experts showed that they have much paid attention to financial index compare to the economic, political and psychological indicators of the market in determining the priority of indicators. In analyzing sub-indicators, it was identified that Iranian investors pay special attention to economic and political developments, political news and international economic developments.

The present study has been carried out in Iran, and therefore, is geographically limited to Iran. In thematic terms, it is limited to effective factors of individual investments in Tehran Stock Exchange. The statistical population of present study was limited to investing experts in Tehran Stock Exchange. The difference in financial, economic, social and political conditions of individuals was another limitation of present study. The main consequences of research were the explanation of causes of investors’ higher attention to financial factors than economic, political and mental factors of market in buying stocks.

Given the uncertainty in the market status, using multi-criteria decision-making techniques in financial analysis can help decision-makers to make better decisions. In addition, it would be possible to take into account many variables that do not have a mathematical aspect but are important in decision-making and lead to increased decision-making satisfaction. The research initially analyzed causal relationships of determinants of individual investment on stock exchange for buying stocks through a type-2 fuzzy approach.

Financial illiteracy could pose a significant challenge to micro-entrepreneurs. There is a pressing need to foster financial literacy;, therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine particularly how Islamic financial literacy may enhance their businesses toward achieving financial sustainability.

This study uses quantitative methods. Three hundred (300) questionnaires were distributed to micro-entrepreneurs in three states in Malaysia, namely, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. This study used the partial least squares (PLS) analysis using the SmartPLS 3.2.

The study found that the most robust Islamic financial literacy factors are financial behavior, followed by financial knowledge and financial attitude .The outcome of Islamic financial literacy, which is financial sustainability, also demonstrates a positive and significant relationship.

All variables show a positive and significant relationship toward financial sustainability. Stated differently, micro-entrepreneurs are aware that understanding the basic concepts of Islamic finance may help them achieve long-term financial sustainability

This study incorporates Islamic financial concepts into financial literacy while also assessing demographic aspects like years of business operation and education as moderators, which were not considered by previous studies.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the investment choices' relationship with cognitive abilities, risk aversion, risky investment intentions, subjective financial literacy and objective financial literacy.

To examine the relationship, two investment choices were given to 256 subjects from Pakistan. Questionnaire had total 20 questions for measuring five variables. To review this nexus, discriminant analysis was used as to explore the depth of the nexus that is the ability of the variables to predict the investment choices.

This study establishes the findings that Investment choices are guided by risk aversion, risky investment intentions, financial literacy (subjective and objective) and cognitive abilities. The risk aversion has negative relation to investment choices and other variables depict positive relationship to with investment choices.

This study provides a new and useful understanding into the existing literature on investment choices. The results are significant as the cognitive abilities show a positive contribution to the investment choices. This is point of significance as the portfolio managers and advisors would get help in regards of advising investments as they are aware what factors impact the investment choices.

This study is novel in its nature to evaluate investment choices using the cognitive ability alongside risk attitudes and financial literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender disparity in financial literacy among retirees in the Cape Coast metropolis in Ghana.

The finding of this paper is based on 334 respondents (183 males and 151 females) to financial literacy questionnaires covering the respondents’ general knowledge on budgeting, use of automated teller machine, time value of money, account types, cheque handling and insurance. Data were analysed with Pearson χ² and independent sample t-test.

Nominal scores showed that male domination in financial literacy in seven out of the ten questions used to assess financial literacy while female retirees lead in three. These observed nominal differences were, however, found not to be significant through χ² test of independence except the question on the calculation of interest rate on loans in favour of males. The cumulative effect, through computation of financial literacy index was deemed to be significantly different between males and females, favouring males, using independent sampled t-test.

The implication is that older men continue to have their financial literacy hegemony perpetually and are stronger in computational ability. It suggests that policy responses to address gender disparity in financial literacy should work more on computational ability of females.

There is no known study of financial literacy related to gender disparity in Ghana.

This study aims to examine the investor's level of financial literacy and their attitude toward making any investment decision in the Bangladeshi capital market.

To measure the level of financial literacy of an individual investor, three variables have been used – financial knowledge, financial behavior and financial attitude. It also considers investment opportunity as a moderator variable to assess the effect of market-specific characteristics on financial literacy. Data have been collected through a structured questionnaire from 152 retail investors of the Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange. Smart-PLS 3.3 was used for analyzing the set of hypotheses for examining the relationships in the study.

Results found that financial attitude and financial behavior have a positive and significant relationship with investment decisions. Further evidence shows that investment opportunity moderates the relationship between financial attitude and financial behavior. This indicates that equity investors are suffering from market inefficiency and cannot ensure wealth maximization.

Regulators should focus not only on financial literacy programs but also on market discipline, accountability and performance. This will encourage investors to invest their money wisely and independently.

The study adds value to the capital market literature in two ways. First, it investigates the success of financial literacy programs in Bangladesh to resolve the behavioral bias issue among investors, which used to affect their returns negatively. Second, the study introduces a very new and relevant variable as a moderator in the context of Bangladesh. Investment opportunity is a moderating variable developed from the efficient market hypothesis. Results reveal that investors are somehow financially literate over time, which can be a positive attribute for controlling behavioral bias. However, market inefficiency, corporate corruption, financial crime, insider trading and information asymmetry hamper the regular growth of the market. Hence, equity investors are unable to ensure wealth maximization in Bangladesh, where this kind of problem exists.