A Comparative Study of Demographic and Risk Tolerance Profile of Conventional and Socially Responsible Investors in India

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to examine whether demographic factors like age, gender, income, occupation, marital status and education, and a risk tolerance score calculated through a structured questionnaire could be used individually or in combination to differentiate between investors keen to invest in socially responsible investment avenues and conventional investors whose investment decision is mainly based on risk and return. A single cross-sectional survey was conducted among 236 investors of different age groups and investment experience. The respondents included individuals who have at least two years of investment experience. Age, marital status, occupation and socially responsible investment behavior show strong association with Financial Risk Tolerance (FRT) of Indian investors.