CHAPTER – II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND RESEARCH GAP

The purpose of review of literature is that it gives reader an easy access to the
research on a topic by going through articles and various papers and help in summing
up into one report. It helps in embarking the research and knowing different avenues in
that particular topic.

Atchyuthan and Yogendrarajah (2017) The study investigated the influence of

demographic factors on investors awareness and preferences among the working
women. Convenience sampling was used and questionnaire was distributed to 125
working women of Jaffna district. Simple percentages, tables and chi-square test was
used as data analysis tools. It was revealed that majority of the women had awareness
about the investment avenues and their prime aim of investment was future safety and
security. Bank deposits and gold were their preferred investments. It was stated that
there was no significant relationship between age, occupation, education and investment
awareness.

Bansal (2017) The research made an attempt to find awareness and knowledge
about investments, investment habits and different investment avenues among working
women in Ludhiana. The data was collected from the working women in Banking,
Insurance and Education Sector and were currently involved in direct or indirect
financial investment. In this research descriptive method was used. Stratified and
simple random sampling was used to collect sample size from 100 women of Ludhiana.
The statistical tools used were percentage anal ysis and correlation. The study revealed
that majority of working women who made financial investments lie in the age group of
20-30 and 30-40. It was observed that banking sector had shown trends in investment
than in education or insurance sector. There was a negative correlation between the age
and knowledge level of working women. The knowledge decreased with the increase in
the age. The younger people had more knowledge about the financial investment
avenues. The source of awareness among working women in Ludhiana was mostly
contributed by newspapers, discussions among the peers. The women of banking sector
had freedom for making financial decisions while women in education sector do not
enjoy this freedom and rely on their husbands or fathers.

Kumar and Sajana (2017) The objectives of the study was to find risk
perception of investors, understand the portfolio selection, and to understand the
motivation factors behind investment. Through convenience sampling method the data
was collected from the 100 investors of the Malappuram district. The data was collected
through questionnaire and analysed through percentage analysis. The majority of the
respondents were male in the age group of 31-40, allowing 10-20% of their income for
investment purpose. Bank Deposit was found to be the preferred investment of the
investors. Only 32% liked to invest in the high risk and high return funds. It was
advisable for the investors to seek guidance from the professionals to enhance their
investing skills.

Mittal (2017) The researcher looked into the demographic factors and
investment pattern of households in Haryana. The study was descriptive in nature. The
survey was done personally on face-to-face basis with the respondents by using
convenient random sampling. The data was collected from 200 respondents of Haryana
and used chi-square test to interpret the effect of demographic factors on investment
decision. It was clear that age, education level, occupation, residential area and annual
family income had affects on the choice of investment avenues. The major reasons
behind the investments were the child marriage, emergency need, wealth creation and
tax concession. The results showed that the age did not have any effect on the
investment decisions but education level, residential status and family income had
major impact on the investment criteria.

Monika and Aggarwal (2017) The objectives of this study was to study the
investment preferences of individual investors through demographic factors, the factor s
influencing investors towards different investment plans, the sources of information
influencing the investors and to examine their preferred mode of communication. The
data had been collected from 100 respondents of Udaipur city. The data had been
analyzed using the percentage and chi-square test with the help of SPSS. It was
concluded that investors were more aware about various investment avenues & the risk
associated with that. The traditional approach of the people led them to invest in those
avenues where risk was less like bank deposits, small savings, post office savings etc.
This study showed that life insurance was most preferred investment avenue among
different variables because it gave benefit of life protection, tax advantage & making
provision for future.

Syal and Walia (2017) The paper examined the factors affecting the women
investors of Punjab while making the investment decisions. For the purpose of the
research 500 women investors were selected through stratified sampling technique from
10 major cities of Punjab. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis technique was
applied to derive the results. The results showed that women make a formal financial
plan and face difficulty due to confusion of large investment options. They were in
favour of diversification of their investments and did not blindly follow the financial
consultants. It was their past experience and income that decides their investment
option.

Anil et al. (2016) The researcher evaluated the levels of financial literacy,
behavior, financial independence and also suggested methods to solve the issues
relating to the financial literacy. The data was collected from 110 working women of
Cochin, Kerala through convenient sampling method. Percentages, averages, tables and
graphs were used to analyse and interpret the data. The study showed that there was a
high degree of financial independence among working women. Most of them were post
graduate and had knowledge regarding financial products. They had their regular source
of income which imbibed them into saving and investment which showed their
confidence and risk taking ability.

Arora (2016) The research assessed the financial literacy level of women in the
state of Rajasthan. The questionnaire was prepared on various aspects of financial
literacy and sent to 700 working women in the state. Graphs and percentage method was
used to analyse the data. After interpreting the data it came out that dearth of basic
monetary knowledge was a grave concern. Highly educated women used to have
financial knowledge than the low educated ones. The women from rural background
lack behind the women of urban area regarding the financial literacy. Assessment of
financial behavior showed that 51% of women were engaged in personal finances and
only 41% were doing long term financial planning. It was a matter of great concern that
even though the women were earning but still they failed to recognize the significance
of savings and monetary planning.

Bonga and Mlambo (2016) The study was done to find out various ways to
increase financial literacy, to know the significance of each suggested method and
various policies to raise financial literacy among women in developing nations. The
electronic survey approach was used to collect the data using the monkey survey site.
Relative Importance Index was used to determine the weight and the significance of the
established ways to improve the financial literacy levels of the women. The study found
thirty–two ways that can improve financial literacy among women in Zimbabwe. It was
revealed that there was a need to promote the financial issues at the grass root level.
Parents should encourage the girl child to enhance the financial awareness. Family
should initiate women in investment decisions.

Mohan (2016) The research was initiated to find out the awareness level and the
objective behind the investments. The frequency of investment and the choice of
investment was also studied under the research. Through convenience sampling, data of
50 working women professionals were collected from the city of Kollam. Tables and pie
charts were used to interpret the data. The findings of the study showed that safety was
the primary motive of women behind investments. They invested mostly in fixed
deposits with banks. Tax benefits, high returns followed by retirement plans were some
of the factors that lure them to invest. Husbands, family, working organizations,
advertisements were the ones who assisted them in making choice of their investments.

Shanthi and Murugesan (2016) The main objectives of the study was to
examine the demographic detail, investment pattern and source of motivation of
salaried women employees regarding investments. The researcher had selected 60
respondents through convenience sampling from the salaried women employees of
Namakkal district. The data was presented in tables and analysed by percentage and chi -
square test. It showed that most of the married women in the age group of 31 -40 were
aware about the investment avenues. They preferred to invest in gold followed by bank
deposits. They were conservative investors who still prefer to invest in investments
which give risk free returns.

Shukla (2016) The main aim of the paper was to study the investment
preferences of working women of North Gujarat region. For this purpose total of 100
respondents had been studied through convenience sampling method. The responses
were compared with the data by using chi-square test. The results showed that as the
age increases tendency to invest also increases. There was also significant relationship
between income and investment. The results of tests showed that there was significant
relationship between various investment avenues and purpose of investment.

Hussain (2015) The researcher examined the impact of risk, confidence and
different strategies on the financial decisions among the women. The sample size was
120 women of private and public sector of Western Punjab, Pakistan. The research
results were obtained from the correlation analysis. The results stated that risk level,
personality type had positive impact on financial decision-making. It revealed that
confidence was the disturbing factor for women in fiscal matters.

Kansal and Zaidi (2015) The study aimed to find out various factors that impact
women while taking investment decisions. Risk appetite, long term objectives of
investment and their preferred investment avenues were also the areas of rese arch.
Sample of 152 women were taken on the basis of convenience sampling. Non -
parametric test chi-square was used to test the hypothesis. It was found that age, marital
status and number of dependents did not have significant im pact on the investment
behavior of the women. They were positive for the current and future investments and
preferred to invest in bank deposits, post office deposits, gold, silver and govt.
securities.

Selvi (2015) The study was aimed to find out the main objective of the investors
towards investment, their attitude towards the investment avenues and to offer
suggestions for making the investments in Coimbatore district. The district of
Coimbatore was selected for the study and it was divided into rural and urban areas.
The rural area comprises of 389 panchayat villages under 12 administrative blocks. The
urban area consists of Coimbatore Corporation and four municipalities and 52 town
panchayats. For the purpose of the study, 300 investors (150 from rural area and 150
from urban area) had been selected by applying stratified random sampling technique.
The statistical tools used for analysis of data include percentage analysis, and Garre t
ranking technique. It was seen that, investments was done on a long term basis,
government securities were not attractive and investor was guided by credit rating
agencies. The result clearly showed that the respondents save and invest today for their
better tomorrow. It was also suggested that investor should adopt diversified and
liquidity oriented approach for managing their portfolios.

Dodiya and Dhanak (2015) The study concentrated on the influence of various
demographic factors on investors‟ attitude towards mutual funds and to rank the factors
for the selection of mutual funds as an investment option. The primary data was
collected through structured questionnaire. The 300 respondents of Ahmedabad city
were surveyed for the collection of data. The data collected was analysed using simple
statistical tools like chi-square test. To measure the reliability of the data Cronbach
Alpha test had been used. The study revealed that out of 300 respondents surveyed,
(28.3%) have a positive attitude towards mutual funds (MFs), (47.7%) have a neutral
attitude and (24%) have a negative attitude towards MFs. The literacy level did not
have any affect towards mutual funds selection. The income and occupation of the
people too change the attitude towards the selection of the mutual funds.

Parimalakanthi and Kumar (2015) The study was based on the objective of
investment preference and behaviour of individual investors in Coi mbatore city. The
sample design selected was 107 customers. The data was analysed by making use of
Friedman test, Garratt ranking and factor analysis. It was found that respondents like to
invest in saving account or in gold and silver. The education of th e investors was
significant for the investment awareness. Mostly the transactions were done through
internet.

Kaur and Kaur (2015) The researcher aimed to categorize various avenues of
investment, the factors influencing and the preferred investment products of rural
women. Data was collected from 385 rural women of Punjab through convenience
sampling. The data was depicted through bar diagrams and percentage method was used
to analyse the data. Results showed that most of the rural women of Punjab invest ed in
saving accounts and post office products. National Saving Certificates and Vikas Patras
were not the choice of the rural women. Equity market products were least preferred.
Around 62.40% women preferred to invest in gold and silver.

Reddy and Narayan (2015) The researcher examined the perception, impact and
various factors affecting the investors in relation to risk and return associated with
investments. The sample for this research was 300 working women investors from the
twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The analysis was completed adopting chi -
square test, anova, factor analysis and regression technique. The results showed that
women tend to show less interest in debt/financial instruments. They felt dependent on
their family members and friends before taking any investment decision. They preferred
safety and savings but at the same time they want higher interest at low risk in shorter
span.

Shettar (2015) In this paper the researcher attempted to find the awareness of
women empowerment, various government schemes and the hindrances in the path of
the women empowerment. The paper was descriptive and analytical in nature. The data
used was purely from secondary sources as per the requirement of the research. It was
found that still some areas were there in India where women had no say and there was
lack of women empowerment. There was an urgency to completely change the mindset
of the people especially the men folk who still considers women under them. The main
reasons behind this condition of women was poverty and illiteracy. India will develop
only if there would be change in the position and status of the women. For the complete
growth of country, there was dire need to empower women.

Chijwani (2014) The main objective of the study was to check the level of
financial literacy and preferred investment instruments used by the investors. The data
was collected from the women professionals of Pune region between the age group of
20-40. The techniques of questionnaire, discussion, interviews were used to gather the
information. It was analysed that 75% respondents were from non finance background
and only 31% females showed the financial knowledge. The most preferred investment
avenue was Systematic investment plan. It was suggested that women should be
educated about the various investment avenues.

Goyal and Sharma (2014) The objectives of the study was to examine the
investment preferences, risk bearing capacity, behavior and perception towards varied
investment instruments among people with annual incomes between INR 200,000 – INR
500,000. The research was descriptive in nature and non-probability convenient
sampling was used on 100 respondents of Kota, Rajasthan. Simple percentage tool was
used to analyse the data tables. It was noticed that bank deposits /post office deposits
were first preferences due to less risk, satisfactory return and high availability of
liquidity. Liking for share market was very less. Real estate was the most desirable
investment avenue among the people due to high return within less time period and it
also provides social security and status. The income class investment decision was
influenced by their relatives, friend and family members at a greater extent and their
preference towards share market and risk taking was very low.

Jain (2014) In this paper the researcher aimed to find out the awareness level,
objectives, factors influencing and the preferred investment avenues of working women
in the city of Ahmedabad. The data was collected from the 250 working women
professionals by convenience sampling. The statistical tools used were percentage,
mean and standard deviation to analyse the data. It showed that the main objective of
women behind investment was for their safety. They preferred to invest in fixed
deposits as mutual funds and annuities did not help in achieving their financial goals.

Joseph and Prakash (2014) The main objective of the study was to understand
the awareness level of the people, their preferred investment avenues and the factors
considered for making an investment. The study was taken around 100 respondents of
working population in Bangalore. Data interpretation was done through charts and
percentage method. According to their study 73.08% were clear about the investment
avenues and only 26.92% were not aware about the different avenues. Majority of the
respondents wanted to invest in fixed deposits and preferred to ask their family
members before making an investment. The respondents were not interested in share
market because of the risk and lack of knowledge.
 Kaur and Raj (2014) It was observed that in the Malwa region particularly in
Mansa Urban Council, lack of general awareness, social and political obstacles are the
main hindrances preventing the women to be powerful in this male dominated society.
The low level of the literacy and the indifferent attitude of the women propelled by
their ignorance are some of the reasons at the grass root level. After defining the
meaning and definitions of women empowerment, discussing the significance of the
study and traversing the relevant literature, the views of seven women councilors of
Mansa Municipal Council and seventy women on the random sampling basis were
selected to collect the data. On the basis of these tables, percentage analysis were used
to interpret it. The study, by and large, found that lack of awareness, (40.54%),
demotivating attitude of family members, illiteracy (32.43%) and lack of political
awareness (37.84%) are some of the impediments confronting the motive of women
empowerment. The faulty education system devoid of logical reasoning and
independence perpetuate the vestiges of barbarism against women. Besides, parochial
mindset and sexual prejudice are the reasons behind exploitation, atrocity and injustice
of the women.

Mane and Bhandari (2014) The study probed the habits of the investors and the
various investment avenues available in Pune. The investors motivation and to identify
the objectives of their savings was also the part of the research. The statistical tools
used were percentage analysis, chi-square and correlation. The sample size was 784 and
was taken from Pune city. The convenience method of sampling was used to collect the
data from the respondents. This study confirmed that investors select two or more
sources of information while making decision. Most of them preferred to park their
funds in banks, mutual funds and gold. Especially women were attracted towards
investing in gold. Most of them were financially illiterate and their investment depends
upon their annual income.

Onsomu (2014) The researcher tried to identify behavioural biases which affect
individual investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The study was conducted by
issuing questionnaires to investors of Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya. The
investors who responded were 58 out of which 69% were men and 31% were women.
The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics . Chi-square technique was
used to analyse the relationship between gender and the behavioural biases. The results
revealed that investors were affected by availability bias, representativeness bias,
confirmation bias and disposition effect. Overconfidence bias had no significant effect
because less than 50% of the investors were affected. There was no significant
correlation between availability bias, representativeness bias, confirmation bias,
disposition effect and overconfidence bias and gender.

Patil and Nandanwar (2014) The study aimed to find out the investment
preferences , the source of their motivation, factors influencing and problems faced by
the investors of Pune city. The data was analysed by Chi-square test and Pearson
Correlation Coefficient. It was revealed from the study that 60% investors were aware
about the investment avenues and 40% were unaware. There was no relationship of
income levels and awareness of investment avenues. Bank deposit was considered safe
by the investors. The main objectives of investors were safety, good return and future
security.

Umamaheswari and Kumar (2014) The study was pursued to explore the
investment attitude, motivating factors and profile of salaried class investors of
Coimbatore district. The sample of 1000 investors were tabulated and analysed through
percentage analysis, mean, chi-square test and t-test in different contexts. The research
found that only 50% of the investors had knowledge about savings that they have to opt
for future. It showed that there was a significant connection between the demographic
factors and their acquaintance with the investment policies. One -third salaried class of
Coimbatore did not opt for right financial plan due to lack of awareness.

Vasagadekar (2014) In her paper the researcher stated that from ancient times,
women have been managing homes. Hence they are called „Home makers.‟ The research
laid emphasis on the investment awareness among Indian working women with
reference to Pune region. The women of today is momentarily independent and have
safe future. The research laid emphasis on the investment habits, decisions, various
investment avenues and the risk taking capacity of the Indian working with reference
Pune region. Random Sampling was used on 80 women working in different sectors.
Structured questionnaire was used to collect data and interpreted through percentage
analysis. The study found that 85% of women from the Pune region were aware of
investment but rest were not ready to take risks while making investments. They
preferred safe modes like FD‟s, Bonds, Post Office schemes etc. Though working
women had started handling their own portfolios yet the perc entage was low. The risk-
bearing capacity of working women was low due to the lack of sound financial
knowledge.

Zohra and Hamid (2014) The main motive of this case study was to find
relationship between access to resources and women participation in decis ion-making in
Northern Khorasan province in Iran. Data collection was done by the questionnaire
covering the demographic profile and the aspect of role of women‟s participation in
decision-making. Frequency, percentage, mean and tabulations were used to sh ow the
data. Pearson correlation formula was used to test the hypothesis. For collecting data
descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. It was probed that there was a
positive and significant relationship between the two. The economic stat us, age and
women responsibility also affected their participation in decision -making. The number
of children had nil effect on their participation in decision -making.

Beckmann (2013) The study presented the relationship between financial

literacy and household saving in Romania. The data used by the researcher was from
Euro survey of Austrian central bank. The percentage analysis and regression technique
was used to interpret the data. The results of the survey indicated that financial literacy
in Romania was lowest in central, eastern and south eastern European countries as
compared to other countries studied in financial literacy around the world. It suggested
to use certain measures to enhance the financial knowledge in order to be at par with
other countries.

Jariwala (2013) The study probed the in-depth impact of financial literacy and
its impact on financial decision-making on the investors in Gujarat state. The
population of this study was 385 retail individual investors. Chi-square test, correlation
and regression techniques were used to analyse the data. Majority of respondents were
having low level of financial literacy and did not understand the basics of calculation
and investment. With regard to demographic profile females possessed lower level of
financial literacy as compared to men. Respondents with high income and high years of
investment experience possessed higher level of financial literacy than others. I nvestors
preferred to invest in traditional investments instead of going for the market
investments.

Jothilingan and Kannan (2013) The study was undertaken to find out the main
objective of investors and their attitude towards investment in Namakkal district. It also
offered suggestions for the marketers of financial services and oth er investment
avenues. The primary data was selected from 300 respondents through simple random
sampling method. Tools used were percentage analysis, analysis of variance and Garret
ranking technique. It was found that there was no significant relationship between
gender and objective of investment. Education and occupation had found to be
significantly related to their objective of investment. Gold and mutual funds had been
the most preferred investment options among the investors.

Mathivanan and Mohanaranjani (2013) The researcher aimed to analyse the

gap between financial literacy and saving/investment behaviour among the working
women. Exploratory and descriptive research methodology was used by the researcher.
A very small sample of 30 respondents were chosen from Coimbatore city. T-test was
used to conclude that there exists close association between the financial literacy and
saving and investment practices. The results of the study showed that women have high
degree of awareness i.e. financial literacy towards traditional saving/investment
avenues, but with the change in time they have shifted their saving/investment avenues
from traditional bank saving avenues to modern technically risky capital market
operations. They were no longer interested in conventional styles and was ready to
accept the change.

Murty and Sastry (2013) The study was conducted with the objectives to know
the investors‟ perception towards risk-return of small investment in capital market
based on their demographic factors and to make appropriate suggestions to the stake
holders in security market. The primary data was collected from the equity investors
with the help of interview schedule. Test for paired differences and mean differences
had been used to identify the risk return perception of the investors. It was perceived
that debentures, bonds, mutual funds, NSC/PPF/PF, fixed deposits, insurance policies,
real estate, gold and silver generate greater relative return. Out of the above real estate
was considered as the best investment. The ratings differ depending upon the socio -
economic and investment profile of the investor. Moreover, the participation in equities
was too low comparatively other investment avenues. Hence the government or
regulatory bodies like SEBI should create awareness and encourage the investors in
equities to become greater part of development of economic system for making
investment on long term basis.

Sellappan, Jamuna and Kavitha (2013) The objective of the study was to know
the impact of marital status and age factors on the investment attitude of women with
special reference to Erode district. Convenient sampling technique was used to collect
the data from the respondents. Chi-square test was used to test the hypothesis. The
study concluded that married women were more conscious in making investment than
the single. The younger women were inclined towards investing in shares mutual funds,
insurance and fixed deposits than the older women. The preference for middle age
persons was in real estate. So the government, bankers and financial institutions should
introduce lot of schemes of investment based on segmentation of the age and marital
status.

Sharma and Vasakarla (2013) The study probed the linkages between gender
and behavioural finance biases. An effort was done to look at how gender, risk
aversion and overconfidence may affect the investment decision making of the
individual investor. The data was collected from 168 respondents conveniently through
questionnaire in capital city Delhi. Chi-square test was used as a statistical tool to
measure the differences between the gender. The authors revealed that female were
more traditional than their male counterparts in terms of risk aversion. In terms of
overconfidence, they could not reach to any conclusion with certainty because research
had shown mixed results.

Sreepriya and Gurusamy (2013) In the article “Investment Pattern of Salaried

People – A Study in Coimbatore District”, the researcher took objectives of knowing
the mode of investments of the salaried respondents in various investment avenues, the
factors influencing and problems faced by the investors. In total 150 samples were
collected by using simple random sampling method. Percentage analysis, Chi square
test and Ranking analysis were used as statistical tools. It was analysed that that there
was a close relationship between the education qualification of the respondents and
their level of investment. The salaried persons always invested in secure investments to
meet their future expenses. They were possessive about their investments rather than
return or gain on them.

Achar (2012) The study on―Saving and Investment Behaviour of Teachers - An

empirical study was performed to look into the factors influencing the saving and
investment behaviour of teachers. It was done on the teachers of Udupi district of
Karnataka state. The data was collected from 146 primary teachers, 114 high school
teachers and 173 university teachers from the district. Descriptive analysis was done by
using chi square test and regression technique. The factors such as age, gender, marital
status, and lifestyle determined the savings and investment behaviour of teaching
community in the study region. In addition to that the family characteristics such as
monthly family income, stage of family life cycle, and upbringing were the major
determinants of the savings and investment behaviour of teachers.

Arora and Marwaha (2012) The study “Investment Patterns of Individual Stock
Investors: An Empirical Analysis of Punjab” attempted to analyse investment pattern of
individual stock investors of Punjab. For this purpose, the preferences, factors and the
sources of information for various investment schemes were gauged. The determinants
such as demographic variables age, gender and income were studied for this purpose. A
pre-tested, well-structured questionnaire was administered personally to 250 individual
stock investors in Punjab and their responses were sought for further analysis. The
statistical tools were frequencies, percentages, weighted average scores and factor
analytic techniques. As usual the first and the foremost liking of the people were bank
fixed deposits followed by gold as the second preference and then stocks as the third
preference. The results indicated four factors that were - projected benefits, personal
financial need, taxation benefits and security needs as the considerable platform by the
investors. Internet, investment advisors and family-member recommendations were the
most preferred sources of information. Large numbers of investors had been found
monitoring their investments monthly.

Bahl (2012) The study was done to look into the investment pattern and style of
the working women in Punjab. For the purpose of the study, the working women is
operationally defined as “The female who is working in any kind of private and public
sector at any level, whose gross salary is more than 15000/per month and fall in the age
bracket of 25-55 years. The present empirical study had incorporated the collection of
both primary and secondary data for the in-depth investigation. An intensive desk
research had been undertaken to collect published data. For collecting primary data,
structured questionnaire has been used and 100 managers of public banks were surveyed
after pilot survey. To find out the most significant strategies while going ahead with
green banking, Garrett's ranking technique was used. The study presented that less
financially literate may be less likely to engage in financial practices; such as planning
for retirement. Working women were more interested in insurance plans as they were
not willing to take risk to attain gain and want to have safe future. Working women in
private sector had more faith in investing their money. On the other hand single women
as compared to married women had developed the plans for making investments.

Brahmabhatt and Kumari (2012) The researcher studied about the in-depth of
different investment avenues available in the market, the pattern of investors and the
factors influencing their investment. The 100 investors were taken for the sample size.
Test of regression and correlation was applied and it was found that investing is mostly
done by men. Mostly highly educated people invest and they prefer red to save in their
saving account. They gathered information from two or more sources regarding the
investments. Generally women were attracted towards gold rather than any other
investment avenues.

Chaturvedi and Shruti (2012) In this paper the main objectives were to study
saving pattern of the individual household in India, analyse investment preferences, to
advice new ways for improved investor awareness and providing financial literacy to
the masses. The population was confined to class 2 and class 3 cities in India. A
questionnaire was prepared and data was collected from 526 respondents using simple
random sampling technique. Percentage analysis was used to interpret the data by
presenting tables and charts. It had been observed that age was not related to the level
of awareness and there was no significant difference between the awareness level of
male and females. Financial education affects the level of awareness. The researcher
concluded that due to increase in the working women, efforts should be done to attract
the women more toward the investment avenues.

Digal and Chakraborty (2012) In this study “A Study of Saving and Investment
Behaviour of Individual Households – An Empirical Evidence From Orissa” an
attempts had been made to analyse the investment pattern, objectives of saving and
preferences of individual investor‟s for various investment options avail able in India. A
structured questionnaire was used with 200 potential investors as respondents from the
state of Orissa (India). The study employed both parametric and non-parametric
statistical methods. The result showed that demographic factors such as age, occupation
and the income level of investors affect the saving objective of the people. It was
reported that female investors tend to save more in an accurate and disciplined way than
the male investors. The study also stressed on finding the risk ave rsion between the
genders and it was apparent that women were risk averse indeed but save more than the
male counterparts as the income level rises.

Harikanth and Pragathi (2012) The study aimed at finding out relationship
between income ,occupation and investment avenues, factors that influence investment
behavior of individual investors , attitude of respondents towards different financial
instruments and to evaluate the awareness about various investment opportunities. The
sample size was 270 and respondents were randomly selected from urban investors of
Andra Pradesh. The data was analysed through average and percentages. The study
revealed males were more interested to invest in risky avenues like shares than female
investors. Risks bearing capacity and educational level of investors were also the two
main factors which affect in investment avenues selection. In urban areas male
investors were more participative as against their female counterparts because of their
exposure and market knowledge. The financial policies should be designed after
looking into place geographical area, age, occupation etc.

Kumar and Arora (2012) The research was done with the purpose tostudy the
investment pattern of mutual fund investors in Punjab. Primary d ata was collected from
200 mutual fund investors with the help of pre-tested questionnaire. Chi-square test,
percentages, average weighted scores and Kendall‟s coefficient of concordance were
used to analyse the data. Return, liquidity, tax savings, lock -in period are the important
factors influencing mutual fund investments. Open -ended mutual funds in private sector
was preferred among the respondents. Majority of the respondents liked to invest in
equity schemes and systematic investment plan.

Murugan (2012) This research had been done with the motive of studying the
socio-economic profile of the investors‟, their awareness, preferences, behavior and
perception towards investment avenues. The data was collected from the 200 investors
in Nellore district region, Andhra Pradesh. The analysis had been done through
frequency distribution tables and percentage. Investors generally had little knowledge
about the developments in the securities market. The financial performance of the
companies and data of share market available to investor was also limited. Their
interest for traditional investment avenues like real estate, bullion, bank deposits, life
insurance schemes, and small savings schemes was significant.

Parihar and Sharma (2012) The research had been performed on salaried
persons to note and analyze the impact of demographic variables on investment
preferences of employees. For this study sample of 200 different demographic
characteristics of salaried persons were selected in Agra. The data was collected
through questionnaire. Weighted average scores and Chi-square test were used for
testing of hypothesis. In this paper it was discussed that today investment decisions had
become more complex and difficult. Salaried persons had invested in different
investment options according to their preferences as low or high risk to keep their
savings in capital gains. This study analyzed the impact of different demographic
variables like age, gender, income education on the investment decisions of s alaried
persons. Instead of it other factors like safety, liquidity, return, convenience and tax
benefits are material for investment decisions. The findings of the study described that
salaried persons preferred the secured investments because of fear of losses on small
income.

Patel and Patel (2012) The study was undertaken with the purpose of knowing
the behavioral pattern of investments, to find out the difference in perception of an
individual related to various investment alternatives and to provide a n insight into
factors responsible for an appropriate investment among the salaried people of private
sector. The study comprised of 50 salaried people in private sector by using stratified
random sampling. Bar diagrams were used to depict the data of male and female
respondents. It was observed that males were attracted toward stock market followed by
mutual fund, real estate and government securities and did not go for investments in
gold .The majority of female respondents invested in the government secu rities ,gold,
mutual fund and stock market while the minimum was in real estate. Another finding
was that males were satisfied and invested for higher returns. The women seemed to be
unclear about their investments and liked to go for safer securities.

Ramanujam and Kumar (2012) In this paper the researcher attempted to

identify the financial situation, knowledge, behavior and decision -making of the
working women of Madurai, Tirchy, Tirunelveli in stock market. Sample of 100
respondents was collected using structured questionnaire. Simple statistical tools
likechi-square test and anova were used to assess the association between dependent
variables. It was revealed that women invest from their savings and preferred to invest
to meet their future expenses. Their main objective behind investment was to derive
regular income. It showed that there was no significant difference between the
investment experience with that of different type of securities.

Rastogi and Chaturvedi (2012) In this study the researcher examined the impact
of risk on saving pattern and the different ways to diversify it. Different types of risks,
identification of saving pattern of households were also studied. The data had been
presented in tables with percentages and correlation was to f ind out the relationship of
risk and return. In this present era risk and its repercussions pose a terrible threat to
saving pattern. The study came up with the view that risk causes an opposite impact on
the saving of the investor because every investor wants to make a balance between their
risk and return. Safety of investment was considered first objective in choosing the
investment alternative.

Singh (2012) The research was done to investigate the view point of investors
towards mutual funds. It was conducted on 250 investors in Ranchi region and mainly
questionnaire had been used for collecting the data. Ranking was done on the basis of
weighted scores and Chi-square test was used to test the hypothesis. In this study it was
observed that most of respondents were unaware about the mutual fund and its different
schemes. People were totally ignorant about the mutual fund rules and regulations. The
demographic factors gender, income and level of education had great impact on the
attitude of the investors. On the other hand the other two demographic factors like age
and occupation had not been found influencing the attitude of investors towards mutual
funds.

Siva (2012) The study was conducted to identify the differences in investment
choice and risk level between men and women. The questionnaire was distributed to
200 respondents in Puducherry and out of which 144 questionnaires were received. The
data was analysed using percentage and Mann Whitney rank sum test. The findings
showed that as the age increases the inclination of people towards investment decreases.
Women were equally active in investments as compared to men. Female were
calculative and tend to take less risk than men. Male were interested in equity funds
where as women in bank and post office deposits.

Das (2011) The research had been made into preferred investment avenues
among rural and semi-urban households in Nagaon district of Assam. The data was
collected from primary source using close ended questionnaire from 150 respondents.
The data was interpreted using Chi-Square test. The study revealed that insurance
products still remains the most preferred investment avenues of the households. Further,
it was observed that the level of income had serious impact on the investment decisions.
Unit linked insurance policies were preferred by the respondents because of short term
capital gain and tax benefits. The people belonging to higher income group showed
preference towards investment in share market, conversely lower and average income
group showed keen preference towards insurance and banks. The results also
highlighted that certain factors like education level, awareness about the financial
system, age etc. made significant influence while making decision for the avenues for
investment.

Fonseca and Kathleen (2011) In this paper the researcher put forward the
explanations for the gap in financial literacy between men and women and also
examined the role of marriage and financial decision making among couples. The data
was collected from the RAND American Life Panel for probing into the matter of
gender gap, the role of marriage and division of financial decision -making among
couples. For this 2500 respondents over the age of 18 years were interviewed on the
internet. An analysis had been completed using weighted average scores, mean,
standard deviation and multivariate regression technique. Research had shown that
financial illiteracy was widespread among women, and that many women were
unfamiliar with even the most basic economic concepts needed to make saving and
investment decisions. The retirement plans of women and men differ ed because of the
gender gap in financial literacy. It was found that differences in the demographic
characteristics of women and men did not explain much of the financial literacy gap,
whereas education, income and current and past marital status reduced the observed gap
by around 25%. It was revealed that there was lack of financial knowledge among
women and it came up with the results that women even did not know the basic
concepts of saving. There was no strong support for specialization in financial decision -
making within couples by gender. Instead, the education level of spouse was the
guiding factor of decision-making within couples for both women and men.

Gaur et al., (2011) The objective of this study was to study the differences in
the Investment Decision Making (IDM) process between female and male investors.
The sample size of 200 investors had been taken on the basis of random sampling from
the residents of Hyderabad. In this study, chi-square test had been applied as statistical
tool. The study found that there was higher level of awareness for males than females
for different investment avenues and female investors tend to display less confidence in
their investment decisions and hence had lower satisfaction levels. The research showed
that males were much more conscious regarding investment avenues than females.
Female investors exhibited less confidence in their investment settlements and hence
presents lower satisfaction levels. Female investors were more cautious with regards to
investment in equity shares.

Geetha and Ramesh (2011) In this paper the researcher studied the factors that
influence investment behavior of the people and the attitude of respondents towards
investment avenues The sample taken was 210 respondents of Kurumbaler Town.
Simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Percentage
analysis was applied to reach the conclusion. It was concluded that people gave
preference to insurance, NSC, PPF and bank deposits. Second most preferable
investment was gold and other like equity, mutual funds etc. People near the retirement
preferred to invest in life insurance. Low income group went for safety investments. It
showed that there was no significant relationship between investment avenues, gender
and age group.

Gupta and Kumar (2011) The research examined the women participation in
household decision-making process and threw light on the different socio-economic
aspects of women empowerment in Punjab. Looking at the activities performed in the
house and purchases made by the household, 14 decisions had been identified such as:
knowledge about husband‟s income, decision for monthly expen diture, control over own
earnings, use pattern of husband‟s income, seasonal expenditure, purchase of consumer
durables, decision regarding saving and investment, sale and purchase of land,
agriculture and cattle rearing activities, decisions about social and religious ceremonies,
decision regarding education of children, decision of self-marriage and voting
decisions. The study was based on the primary data and multi-stage sampling technique
had been used for the selection for districts, blocks and villag es. The analysis of
comparative study of rural and urban, working and non -working had been calculated by
using simple average and percentage method. The study showed that urban and working
women were definitely better than their rural and non -working counterparts. Working
women had a higher say because of their contribution to the family income and the
family‟s dependence on their income.
 Rao (2011) This attempt was initiated to study investors' perceptions towards
mutual fund schemes (with reference to awareness and adoption of personal and family
considerations). 350 respondents were selected from Visakhapatnam,Vizianagaram and
East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh. Simple statistical tools had been used like
percentage, cross-tabulation and chi-square test. It was concluded that investors
between 31 to 40 years of age had highest awareness and adoption of different mutual
fund schemes. It was also indicated that there was an association between respondents'
residential status and awareness of balanced fund and debt fund schemes.

Thiruchelvan and Mayakkannam (2011) The study aimed to identify the

objective of investment plan of an Indian investor, their preferred investment avenues,
to know their extent of financial literacy and risk tolerance. The samp le size taken was
250 on the basis of random sampling. Chi-square tests and correlation had been used to
uncover relationships among the variables. It was found that male investors dominate
the investment market in India, as the age increases the level of risk tolerance
decreases. Investors did not read much while investing and their knowledge regarding
finance was nil. Generally investments were done in PPFs, FDs and bonds.

Abid and Afridi (2010) In this article titled “Assessing the Household Saving
Pattern of Urban and Rural Households in District Muzaffarabad”, an attempt was done
to analyze saving behavior of household in urban and rural areas of the district. A
sample of 120 households, 60 from rural areas and 60 from urban areas and 10
households from each locality were randomly selected. An econometric model was
made to study the effect of income, family size, locality and education on saving
behavior of households of the district. The analysis concluded that there was a strong
relationship between saving behavior of households and variables. Income and locality
had good effect on saving behaviour whereas education and family size ha d negative
effect on the households in District Muzaffarabad. It was concluded that if income of
the peoples increases the savings will also increase. Large family size and more
educated peoples had less saving and rural people save more than urban ones.

Berggren and Romualdo (2010) The researcher in his paper examined whether
women were more risk averse or less overconfident than men. The purpose of this study
was to determine if gender can really affect financial decisions. The data for the study
had been collected through survey from the students of Ume University of Sweden. The
most commonly used were; the quantitative and the qualitative method. The statistical
chi square test had been applied to find out the difference between the genders. It was
assumed that risk will affect the decision of the individuals and it were closely related
to return. It was vital for the investors to know the level of risk for better return and by
assembling optimal portfolio. After analysis, it was found that there was tendency
among women to have a high degree of risk aversion than men. It also concluded that
men and women were similar in their level of confidence when it came to financial
decisions.

Jain and Kothari (2010) This article “Investors‟ attitude towards Post Office
Deposits Schemes” attempted to identify the awareness, preference, p roblems and
attitudes of investors' towards various deposit schemes offered by post office among
100 respondents of Udaipur district. The primary data was collected through structured
questionnaire and convenience sampling was used. Statistical tools like simple
percentage, chi – square analysis, standard deviation and mean were taken to find out
the significance level. Thus from the study it was discovered that majority of the
respondents invest in post office deposits schemes for the purpose of safety and
security.

Kathuria and Singhania (2010) The research paper “Investor Knowledge and
Investment Practices of Private Sector Bank Employees” aimed to look into the
awareness of various investment avenues of the private bank employees in Ludhiana
city. A sample of 150 respondents was selected from the 19 private sector banks in the
city. The analysis was performed by grouping the data into frequency distribution tables
and percentage analysis. It concluded that the marketers of investment avenues should
keep advertising in the print as well as electronic media. Another surprising fact of the
study was that even the bank employees assume insurance as an investment tool rather
than risk coverage instrument. It was also found that only four per cent of the
respondents used investment planner for their investment decisions. There was an
urgent need to raise the level of awareness about the various investment avenues among
the bank employees.

Sultana (2010) The main objective of this was study was to identify the
objective of investment plan, financial literacy, the level of risk and the preferred
sources of information of the investor. It had been carried out on 150 investors using
referral sampling method. The statistical tools like correlation, Chi -square test of
independence had been used to check the relationship among the var iables etc. It was
found that males were more confident in risk taking. Income level, high level of
education, occupation status did not have positive impact on investment behavior of
investors. Women preferred to play in low risk areas. Most of the investors got the
information through electronic media next to print media. The increase in age also
decreased the risk tolerance level.

Geetha (2009) This study was done with the aim of finding the choice of
investment avenues of individual investors at Tirunelveli District. It was observed that
investment was the usage of funds on assets with the aim of earning income or capital
appreciation. The motive behind every investment was to increase the rate of return and
reducing the risk, safety and liquidity. Interview schedule was the main tool for
collecting the data. The sample size of the study was 150 respondents and they were
selected at random. The statistical tools like percentage analysis, mean score,
correlation analysis and multiple analysis were used. Therefore, the study concluded
that the investment behaviors of the respondents frequently change. The highly
preferred investments by the respondents were bank deposits, postal savings and
insurance.

Ajmi (2008) The research was done to found the differences in gender on the
basis of risk taking capacity in Bahrain. The sample size of 1500 respondents were
taken for data collection. The statistical tools used were frequency tables and
percentage. It was concluded that level of education had an impact on the risk taking
capacity. Males were less risk averse than women. People with little educational
background usually took up more risk than others. The investments in stock market
depend upon the psychological differences of the investors „market. Th e other
determinants like age, marital status and occupation had major influence on the
investment pattern of the people. The overall investment choices of the investors
noticed were comprised of gold, silver, fixed deposits, insurance and stock market.

Kumar, Banu and Nayagam (2008) The researcher studied the financial product
preferences of Tiruchirapalli investors. A stratified random technique was adopted and
120 respondents were selected from the town. The data obtained from the questionnaire
was analysed using the analytical hierarchy process and fuzzy multi person decision-
making method. The preferences of the respondents were judged according to their
attributes like safety of principal, liquidity, stability of income, capital growth, tax
benefits, inflation resistance and conceal ability. The authors noted that the investors
were unlikely to determine the financial product preference. So, the investors ranked
the product according to the attribute needed in the product. The rank preferences of
investors were prioritized as post office, bank deposits, gold, real estate, equity
investments and mutual funds.

Lusardi and Mitchell (2007) In this research, the numeracy and financial
literacy among a younger segment of the population, the Early Baby Boomers, who
were 51 to 56 years old in 2004 was examined. The statistical tools used were weighted
average scores, percentages and multivariate regression technique. It was particularly
useful to study as respondents in this age group were near to the peak of their wealth
accumulation and had experience with many economic decisions already (mortgages,
car loans, credit cards, pension contributions, etc.). In order to be well versed with the
saving and investment decisions, one should acquire knowledge beyond the
fundamental financial concepts and should have profound relationship between risk and
return; how bonds, stocks, and mutual funds work; and basic asset pricing. It was found
that there were intense gender differences in financial literacy, with women showing a
lower level of comprehension than men, particularly with regard to risk diversification.

Panda, Tapan and Tripathi (2007) In this study entitled, “Recent Trends in
Marketing of Public Issues: An Empirical Study of Investors‟ Perception”, attempted to
identify the investors awareness and attitude towards public issues. One hundred and
twenty five investors covering the salaried and business class, from the city of
Bhubaneswar were selected at random. The data was collected through a questionnaire
and was analysed using simple percentage and weighted average analysis. The study
indicated that majority of the investors relied on newspapers as the source of
information followed by financial journals and business magazines. A large number of
investors were of the opinion that they were not in a position to get the required
information from the company in time. Selling of securities po sed to be big problem for
the investors. The investors were more interested in safe and return principle. Equity
shares were preferred for their higher rate of return by the investors.

Bernasek and Bajtelsmit (2002) The purpose of this study was to look into the
factors that can enhance the women‟s participation in household and investment
decisions. The data was collected from the spring 2000 survey of university faculty
employed at five Colorado University. Out of 319, 121 were women and 198 were men.
Chi-square test was applied on the data for the results. The result showed that the one
with higher income had more say in decision-making process. Based on the theory, it
was hypothesized that the level of women‟s participation in decision -making depends
upon age, income and education of each spouse. Majority of the households reported
that 62% of the decisions were taken jointly by men and women. Men were primary
decision-maker in 26% households and women had primary decision-making in 12%
households.

Bernasek and Shwiff (2001) This study attempted to find that whether women
were more unchanging than men when allocating assets in their retirement account. The
data used in this paper came from faculty of five universities in Colarado. Regression
technique, mean and percentages were employed to drew the result. They concluded
that gender differences was a significant factor in explaining individual investment
decisions. Men were often optimistic about the accuracy of their judgments and
knowledge. It had been analysed that men were overconfident regarding the investment
decisions. As women save less money and more risk averse than men, they were more
prone to poverty in their old age. As the life span of the women is longer than men,
they should invest wisely. So women should change her attitude towards risk and
investment decisions.
 Rajarajan (2000) This study was conducted with the purpose to analyze the
investment size, pattern and future investment preference of individual investors on the
basis of their life styles in a state capital on 405 investors, divided into three categories
of groups like active investor, individualists and passive investors. The tools used were
cluster analysis, correspondence analysis and wall is test. The study revealed that the
level of expenses, earnings and investment were associated with the size of household.
The active groups were dominated by officers and passive groups were dominated by
professionals. Active investor groups were ready to take risks whereas individualists
were possessing upto 20% of their financial assets in the risky investment.

Corner (1997) The researcher investigated the status of women in decision -

making. The data was collected from the various secondary sources like United Nations
1995. The World‟s Women 1995. Trends and Statistics. United Nations: New York. It
was found that due to lack of education, women were marginalized in decision -making
and leadership at the global level. The reason behind this was that in most societies,
women lack education. The experience of decision-making was less in women as they
were given passive roles to play and less opportunities to make decisions or develop
leadership skills outside the family context. They were taught to accept the decisions
that parents, teachers and brothers make on their behalf. Even when women succeed ed
in gaining education and enter the decision-making mainstream, they were often
marginalized in unfriendly male dominated institutional cultures.

Embrey and Fox (1997) The researcher studied that how the women living alone
had different investment habits than men living alone. The data used in this study was
1995 survey of consumer finances. Multivariate analysis was done to test the
hypothesis. It was discovered that women hold less risky investments and the difference
was because of the net worth and the expectation of an inheritance.

Palsson (1996) In this study the researcher examined Swedish household

financial risk taking between men and women. The data was collected from 7000
households of Sweden. The statistical tool correlation was used to find out the
relationship between the different variables. It was found evident that women were
more risk averse than men. The other variables such as education, age, gender and
income were also considered and it was found that risk aversion increases with age.

2.1 Gaps in research

After reviewing the literature the financial household, investment behavior, risk
tolerance, financial literacy and investment decision-making studies have been done at
national and international level. In Punjab also most of the available literature research
has been done either on the general household decisions or on investment behaviour of
the educated working women. There is a complete makeover in the personality of the
women of Punjab in respect to its earnings and savings. Its mandatory to examine the
changing scenario of the working women of Punjab. No research has been done on the
financial household decisions, the investment decision making aspect of the working
women especially in banking, Corporate and Teaching sector. Further, no comparison of
the status of women on the basis of financial decision making has been done between
the advanced and backward belt of the urban Malwa region of Punjab. In addition to
this the level of financial literacy among the three sectors have been se en regarding
financial autonomy. Hence this research is an addition to the existing literature.