A study of the factors that affect the investment decisions of private investors in Turkish stock market in the concept of behavioral finance

Turkey, as a developing country, has smaller capital markets compared to developed countries. These capital markets, still in development stage and growing rapidly, naturally have more different dynamics compared to their counterparts in developed countries. Therefore, the majority of the investors in Turkish capital markets still have a lot to experience in order to use these markets as an efficient means of return. As a result of this inexperience, Turkish investors exhibit more emotional decisions, which makes these investors a more appealing subject in the field of Behavioral Finance. In this study, an investor profile has been formed from online Turkish investor groups; then, with the help of a survey carried out, the general investment behavior of this investor profile was observed. Analyzing the data gathered from the conducted survey, there is evidence that gender plays a role in the level of risk the investors want to take. It was discovered that investors who have their own residence have a tendency to underestimate the risks of investment. Happiness was also found to be a key factor in tendency to take risk and emotional intelligence, both of which play a significant role in investment behavior; as a result, happier investors have a higher tendency to take risks and display increased levels of emotional actions. Also worth noting is is that an increased level of income results in less emotional intelligence, leading to less emotional actions in terms of investment. Level of income plays a similar role in risk perception; an increased level of income results in less risk perception, leading to an underestimation of the overall risk of investment.