Individual Behaviour and Investment Decisions of Village Savings and Loan Associations in Samburu County

Abstract

Individual behavioral factors are emerging interest in the field of finance and investment and represent the irrational behavior of investors in regard to psychological and social factors. Initially, Investors tended to mainly focus on the market and monetary analysis encountered with lots of alteration and analytical faults. But recently, individual behaviours have been put into consideration alongside factors comprising finances for the purpose of making prudent resolutions which can aid them in getting the most from their investments’ returns. This research work is aimed at establishing the relationship between individual behavior on investments decisions in Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSALs) Groups in Samburu County. The following are the specific objectives that guided the study in order to find out the effect of representativeness on investment choices in the Village Savings and Loans Associations Groups, establishing the effect of sticking to an investment resolution in the Village Savings and Loans Associations Groups; assessing effects of overconfidence on a decision of investing in the VSLAs Groups; evaluation of herd behavior effects on a decision of investment in the VSLAs Groups. The study targeted 66 individual investments in Samburu County. There were 54 out of the targeted 66 respondents who completed and returned questionnaires which represents 81.81% of the total number of respondents. A structured questionnaire was used as an instrument during the collection of data. In the analysis of data inferential and descriptive statistics were employed. Descriptive statistics took the form of percentages mean, frequencies and standard deviations whereas regression models, analyzing by means of correlation comprised inferential statistics to examine the correlation of variables under study. Results of data analysis were in the form of pie charts and tables with frequencies. This investigation found out that individual behavioural factors that is the representativeness, anchoring, overconfidence, and herd behaviour have been considered by the investment groups in their investment decisions, for it is observed that investors tend to use their skills, knowledge, intuitions, representation in making their investment decisions. The study further found out that psychological and emotional factors play a bigger part in making the investment in regard to quantitative models. The study recommends that investors should not isolate the financial and investment analysis models but incorporate both the individual behavioural factors and the financial models in making investments decisions. The final recommendations were that another related research be conducted to investigate how the aversion ambiguity and innumeracy factors effect on the investment decisions and to conduct a study using longitudinal time frame design and to use other forms of data collection methods rather than the use of questionnaires