A Study of the Determinance of the Type of Personality in Albanian Individual Investor Decision-Making

Traditionally, classical finance theories have argued that investors are rational and not influenced by human factors when making financial decisions. Recent developments in the field of finance, such as the anomalies that occurred and occasional financial crises took place, raised skepticism among researchers changing their approach towards traditional theories, as these theories failed to explain or predict unexpected developments in the markets, thus not supporting the unrealistic assumption of rational man (homo economicus). The research work for this new field of finance belongs to the recent decades. More specifically, there are quite a few studies in Albania due to the presence of an underdeveloped financial market. In the multitude of different factors, which influence the financial behavior of the investor, most of the research in the field of financial behavior is dedicated to the study of psychological biases. The topic of this study focuses on the impact of the personality type of individual investors on their decisions to invest in financial assets offered in Albania. The study is composed in the same logic line as that of the purpose and the research question raised. Quantitative strategy is used to answer the research question and draw conclusions. Descriptive and regression analysis was used through R-programme to identify the significance of the type of personality in Albanian individual investor behavior. We use the questionnaire as an instrument to collect data. Big Five Personality Model is chosen as the measurement scale. Only coherent data that remained after the reliability test (Cronbach Alpha), will be further used in regression statistical analysis to examine their impact on investor behavior. The analysis shows that the type of personality affects individual investment decisions in financial assets. More specifically Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism affect the amount of money invested in the asset. 'Openness' and 'Neuroticism' affect the level of certainty investors perceive for the investment made in financial assets.