Investor risk profile during the COVID-19 pandemic

: the case of PSI 20

Abstract

This paper investigates the sociodemographic characteristics of capital markets investors' behaviour during the pandemic period. For this purpose, we use data provided by a major Portuguese financial institution that comprises data for 15,943 individuals' transactions during 2019 and 2020. Using ANOVA tests and OLS estimations it was concluded that there are sociodemographic variables that impact investors’ behaviour towards the market in crisis periods. Male investors are more active during crisis periods than female investors and marital status was seen to not impact trading activity. Investors' wealth, education and age influence invested amounts in a positive way whereas client seniority has a negative impact. The possession of a savings account was seen to impact trading activity negatively while the possession of a loan had a positive impact on amounts traded during the pandemic.

Date of Award	7 Jul 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Alves (Supervisor)