Factors Affecting the Investment Decision Making on Mutual Funds of Retail Investors in Thailand

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective factors that influence the retail investors’ decision in Thailand, through the process of data collecting from 162 retail investors who bought the unit trust of the mutual-fund asset management company in Thailand. The data collection was completed via multiple-sample randomization, whereas the questionnaire was used as a research tool. The statistics used in this study included the percentage, the average, the standard deviation, T-test, and F-test (ANOVA). The result indicated that the retail investors selected to put their investment in mutual fund only when the interest rate was lower. The most selected formation of mutual fund was general fixed income fund. The majority of retail investors searched for the preliminary data before investing in mutual fund. The follow-up for the operation and the status of the mutual fund was occasional. The information sources for the follow-up consisted of presses, radios, televisions, and internet. In fact, the investors mostly considered the earnings announcement helpful for making decision toward the investment, since it provided them with the expense of the investment. When considering each aspect, it was found that: in an aspect of motivation, the most effective factor on the retail investors’ decision toward the mutual fund was a good service of the company; in an aspect of the investing objectives, the investors looked forward to the more rewards than the deposition to the commercial bank. In an aspect of information, the information sources that investors considered the most effective for making decision were the earnings announcement/prospectus. The different educational backgrounds resulted in different investing objective. (p < 0 .05)