Drivers of Stock Investment Decision: An Orthogonal Linear Transformation Approach

Abstract

According to the expected utility theory, investment decisions are a result of the tradeoff between deferred consumption and immediate consumption. Several drivers influence the stock investment decision in the bizarre equity environment. A survey of 436 secondary equity investors residing in Chennai, India, explores the influence of 20 variables on their stock investment decision. Using principal component factor analysis followed by varimax rotation, the 20 variables became five key factors of five decision-making tools. Including fundamental analysis, economic analysis, industry analysis, company analysis, advocate recommendation, and technical analysis. Financial advisors and wealth managers may use this research to identify the tool used by their clients (investors) to make stock investment decisions, and hence, guide them accordingly.